Near the town of Liscannor in the county of Clare Where many great Irishmans plans were laid bare You saw the wild sea's as you stood on the heath And wondered and gazed at the ocean beneath Your life of religion was never to be You soon found your way to the land of the free Chorus: Some men for adventure have planned for the stars And others had hoped to see Venus or Mars But you worked and you labored to build your wild dream That you'd be the man with the first submarine Now O'Donovan Rossa Bold Breslan Devoy Knew that Holland's invention was real and no toy For to take on the ships of the British Navy And all would be done now from under the sea The English protested to Old Uncle Sam About the mischievous boat called the Great Fenian Ram Oh he's just an inventor we've got nothing to hide John Bull was so angry when the Yankees replied Chorus Neath the waves of the ocean this craft was at home And the Fenians had plans for this boat for to roam In the Passaic River, your friends were amazed As your ship moved so silent neath the rivers and waves An attack on the Empire was prevented by spies And the cause was all crushed mid dissension and lies But Uncle Sam's Navy was so proud of the boat That the Holland's the name of the first sub afloat Chorus Here as I stand beside New York Bay I can see all the ways you are remembered today For your name is all written on tunnels and ships On the streets of New York and on New Jersey's slips So be proud sons of Erin, an Irishman he John Holland the first for to voyage 'neath the sea Leet the Statue of Liberty, a beacon shine free For John Holland, the first for to voyage 'neath the sea. Chorus