THE GIANTS OF THE POINTS
(A Tribune to Pats Hynes and Jimmy Barrett)
by John Pitcher

Big Pats Hynes, he's tall as a Giant
The strongest man to come off the point
He's many o‘friend but has no foe
He killed a charging bull with just one blow!

It was said one day, this rumour spread
That Jimmy Barrett could “Kill Pats dead!“
For Jimmy, too, he was a Giant
The strongest man, off another point.

One summer's morning Jimmy docked
Near Wareham's Wharf to pick up a crock
It was on this day you all should know  
Each Giant met his fearless foe.

As Jimmy came round Wareham's Store
People braced for a terrible war
Pats stood towering near Wareham's gate
His clenched fists shook in sudden hate.

One fist's blow, from Jimmy Barrett
Blew Wareham's fence a mile apart
As Pats stood fixed by Jimmy's eyes
He glanced him up to gage his size.

In circled steps each man stalked
Great deal of grit but not much talk
Round and round, they tramped a trough
Two big men both rough and tough.

Pats grabbed a post with massive hands
And crushed it like a barn straw strand
Then when they broke the circled pace
An awful snarl curled Jimmy's face.

And then Pats Hynes, with just one blow,
Smashed wind that shook the grass below
Great boulders rolled when Jimmy fell
Drove herds of sheep around Mick's hill.

Now Pats, he thought, the Giant was beat
‘Till Jimmy leaped back to his feet
Struck his fists like two ton stones
Sent ripples up the Big Jaw Bones.

Pats hit the ground with a thunderous roar
Jimmy allowed Pats could fight no more
But to Jimmy’s shock, Pats bounced upright
‘I'm warmed up Barrett, let's start the fight!’

You never heard such a hullabaloo
Great trees uprooted in Rose au rue
When Pats hit Jimmy with dreadful thuds
Harold Rose's sheep swallowed their cuds.

The force of blows like constant thunder
Neither Titan would knuckle under
And not a lie of this fight is told.
It caused a tidal wave in the Muddy Hole.

All through the day, into the night
But neither ‘Behemoth’ could win that fight
When the harvest moon, it did ascend
Both men paused to catch their wind.

Pats said, ‘Barrett would you kill me dead?’
‘No’, said Jimmy, ‘That I never said’
‘Well I’ said Pats, ‘have no quarrel with you’
‘Nor I’, said Jimmy, ‘My word is true’.

As the tale was told in Old Merasheen
The likes of that fight was never seen
So no one knows to this very day
Why these great Giants went separate ways.

And even though they were powerful men,
We will never know which one would win
Both Pats and Jimmy, as big as giants
The strongest men to come off the points.

Let this be a story that'll serve you well
And many a year ahead will tell
For in every port or so it's said
There's always a man with a lie to spread.