William McGonagall - Tay Bridge Disaster

Tay Bridge Disaster

Of the 200 or so poems that he wrote, the most famous is probably "The Tay Bridge Disaster", which recounts the events of the evening of 28 December 1879, when, during a severe gale, the Tay Rail Bridge near Dundee collapsed as a train was passing over it.

Beautiful Railway Bridge of the Silv'ry Tay!

Alas! I am very sorry to say

That ninety lives have been taken away

On the last Sabbath day of 1879,

Which will be remember'd for a very long time.

(Modern sources give the death toll as 75.)

Few could disagree with McGonagall's closing judgement: 'I must now conclude my lay/By telling the world fearlessly without the least dismay/That your central girders would not have given way,/At least many sensible men do say,/Had they been supported on each side with buttresses,/At least many sensible men confesses,/For the stronger we our houses do build,/The less chance we have of being killed'.

McGonagall had previously written a poem in praise of the Tay Bridge: "The Railway Bridge of the Silvery Tay" "With your numerous arches and pillars in so grand array". Once the new replacement bridge had been built, without the least feeling of irony, he proceeded to compose an ode to the new construction: "An Address to the New Tay Bridge" "Strong enough all windy storms to defy".