Entries Related To: ireland

An ghaoth sa bhiobhóg ; Cornphíopa Shraith Salach / Mick Kinsella ; Steve Larkin ; Donal Siggins

Steve Larkin, fiddle, Ireland & Mick Kinsella, harmonica & concertina, Ireland, Steve Larkin & Mick Kinsella, Larkin & Kinsella SLMK001, 2015. CD Track 9: An ghaoth sa bhiobhóg, hornpipe ; Cornphíopa Shraith Salach / composed by Mick Kinsella ‘‘An ghaoth sa bhiabhóg’’ was composed while transfixed by the mammoth leaves of a rhubarb plant in the ornate gardens of Sham’s Place, Harold’s Cross’ while ‘’Cornphíopa Shraith Salach’’ was written on the road to Letterfrack, Co. Galway, amidst the rugged beauty of The Twelve Bens.’ (from CD liner notes)  

Banna's banks / Caroline Brennan

Banna's banks, song (As down by Banna's Banks I strayed one evening in May …) This 18th-century broadside ballad is more commonly known as “Molly Asthore.” Composition is credited to Wexford politician George Ogle (1739–1814). The protagonist of the song wanders by the shore (Co Kerry), thinking back on an estranged lover.  Caroline Brennan learned this song from her grandmother.

Bells of Shandon / Ellen Emma Power

Bells of Shandon, song (With deep affection and recollection, I often think on those Shandon Bells …) This song was composed by the Rev Francis Mahoney (Father Prout, 1804–1866). In this nostalgic song, the protagonist remembers the sound of the church bells being rung in St Anne’s Church, Shandon, Co Cork.

Brennan on the moor / Patsy Judge

Brennan on the moor, song (It's of a fearless highwayman the truth to you I'll tell …) Probably of Irish origin, this broadside ballad tells the story of folk hero and highwayman Willie Brennan, who was tried and hanged in Clonmel in 1804. Some versions of this song place Brennan in the mountains near Limerick; other versions depict Brennan on the highways of North Cork and South Tipperary.  Patsy Judge’s version references the Comeragh Mountains, perhaps a nod to the ancestry of the people of the Cape Shore, whose origins were mainly in Ireland’s southeast.

Down by the riverside / Minnie Murphy

Down by the riverside, song (When I was young and in my prime my age scarce twenty-one …) This song tells the tale of a man whose parents force him to marry a woman of higher social status, forsaking the woman he loves. He later murders his wife because he cannot live with his choice. He is sentenced to hang for his crimes.  After Minnie Murphy finished her performance, one of the men present in the room comments that he sometimes heard this song in the lumber camps of western Newfoundland. Little is known about the origins of the song, though the reference to Wexford Gaol suggests a possible southeast Ireland connection. Variants, including that collected by MacEdward Leach from John James of Trepassey, Newfoundland, have been recorded almost exclusively in Newfoundland.

India's burning shore / Tom Murphy & Minnie Murphy

India's burning shore, song (As I strayed beneath those lofty pines on India’s burning shore …) Also known as the “Irish Patriot,” this song tells the story of a man whose wife and child are killed when he refuses to fight for his landlord’s rebel army. He takes revenge by killing his landlord and thereafter must forever live in exile, though he dreams of returning to Ireland to be buried beside his wife.  The origins of this song are unknown; Robert B Waltz and David G Engle note that it is found predominantly along North America’s eastern seaboard. The song seems to have had some popularity in lumbering camps during the early 20th century.

Ireland over all / Jack Healy

Ireland’s lovely shore / Veronica Barrett

Veronica Barrett, singing in English, Ireland, When the roses bloom again, Veronica Barrett n.n., 2015. CD Track 1. Ireland’s lovely shore / composed by Veronica Barrett

Junior’s lament ; Caisleán an óir ; Heron jig ; Raga Asawari / AnTara

Matthew Noone, sarode, Australia & Tommy Hayes, bodhrán, Ireland, An Tara: the space between, Noone & Hayes OPP6, [2015]. CD & Digital download Track 4: Junior's lament, air ; Caisleán an óir, hornpipe / composed by Junior Crehan ; Heron jig / composed by Matthew Noone ; Raga Asawari, air / traditional

Lonely Banna strand / Frankie Nash

Lonely Banna strand, song (Being on a Friday morning all in the month of May ...) This song tells the story of an incident that took place in the lead-up to Ireland’s 1916 Easter Rising. Sir Roger David Casement (1864–1916) attempted to gain German support for a rebellion against British rule. Due to a series of mishaps, the Irish rebels never received the arms that the Germans attempted to supply. Casement was arrested, tried for treason, and executed for his part in the plot.  Aidan O’Hara speculates that Frankie Nash probably learned this song from a Newfoundlander who served alongside an Irishman with nationalist sympathies at the end of the First World War. Many Newfoundlanders served in the British forces.

Mackenzie's dream / John Joe English

Mackenzie's dream, song (One night of late I chanced to stray, from a shore so far away ...) John Joe English learned this song from his uncle, John English. The protagonist of the song, Mackenzie, dreams of all the heroes of Erin standing together against tyranny.  At the end of John Joe’s performance, Aidan O’Hara speculates that the song’s origins might have been in the Young Ireland movement. The song is more widely known as the 19th-century Irish broadside ballad, “McKenna’s Dream.” John Joe sings the song in triple metre, a slowed-down version of the melody for “Suíl, a ghrá.”

O’Donnell abú / Ridgely’s 69th Regiment Band