Miscellaneous Songs
Amhrán ana-choitianta é seo i bparóiste na Dromad, go mórmhór soir i dtreo Bharra na hUíne agus is minic a chloistear é á rá sa lá atá inniu ann. Císte a dheintí as prátaí briste ab ea an steaimpí atá fé chaibideal san amhrán seo. Do bhailigh Fionán Mac Coluim roinnt mhaith leaganacha de, agus, go deimhin, bhí sé mar nós aige féin é a chasadh go minic. Tá Fionán agus an t-amhrán á rá aige le clos ar an ndlúthdhiosca Maidin Bhog Álainn.
A very popular song from the parish of Dromid, which can still be heard today, especially in the top of the Inny valley. The ‘steaimpí’ referred to in the song was a cake, or boxty, made from grated potatoes. The song collector Fionán Mac Coluim gathered many versions of this song and also liked to sing it himself. Fionán can be heard singing his own version of the song on the CD Maidin Bhog Álainn.
Baineann an t-amhrán seo le Mons a’ Chasúir Ó Súilleabháin, feirmeoir beag a cuireadh as seilbh in Íochtar Cua le linn bhlianta an Ghorta Mhóir. De réir an tseanchais dob é Eoghan Ó Súilleabháin, aibhéardaí an Tiarna Talún, a chuir Mons as seilbh agus bronnadh an gabháltas beag ar Mhícheál Óg, duine muinteartha leis an aibhéardaí. Fágadh Mons agus a chlann ag lorg déirce agus iad ag braith ar na comharsain chun greim bídh a sholáthar. Ach bhí an saol ag luí go dian ar gach éinne agus bhí bia gann. Ghoill sé seo ar Mhons mar cheap sé go raibh an bia a cheilt ar a chlann féin. Síle Ní Chonaill ós na Tuairíní, a bhí ag freastal ar scoil an Ghleanna Mhóir, a bhailigh an leagan áirithe seo den amhrán ó Bhairbre Ní Shúilleabháin, Íochtar Cua.
This song deals with the eviction of Mons a’ Chasúir Ó Súilleabháin, a small farmer from Íochtar Cua. The eviction took place during the Great Famine and was overseen by Eoghan Ó Súilleabháin, the landlord’s agent. The small holding was subsequently leased to Mícheál Óg, a relative of the agent. Mons and his family were left to fend for themselves and were depending on neighbours to provide them with food. Times were difficult throughout the parish and food was scarce. However, Mons believed some people had sufficient food but were unwilling to share it with him, so in anger he decided to compose a song about them. This particular version was collected by Síle Ní Chonaill, a pupil in Glenmore National School, from Bairbre Ní Shúilleabháin, Íochtar Cua.
Marbhna Dhomhnaill Uí Chonaill
Deirtear gurb é Domhnall Ó Conaill, ó Chathair Saidhbhín ó dhúchas, a chum an marbhna seo sa bhliain 1754 agus é i bPríosún Chorcaí. Crochadh é an lá dar gcionn. Daoradh an Conallach chun báis de bharr an bhaint a bhí aige le marú John Puxely, oifigeach cánach a mhair i nDún Baoi i mBéarra.
This lament is believed to have been composed in 1754 by Domhnall Ó Conaill, a native of Cahersiveen, as he awaited execution in Cork Gaol. Ó Conaill was hanged for his part in the killing of John Puxely, a revenue officer and magistrate who lived near Dunboy Castle on the Beara peninsula.
Amhrán é seo fé fhear ó hUíbh Ráthach a chuaigh in arm na Breataine tráth. Ní tugtar le fios cén tréimhse atá gceist ach ós rud é go bhfuil na West Indies luaite, tharlódh go mbain sé leis an West Indies Campaign 1804-10 a tharla le linn Chogaí Napoléon.
This is a song about a man from Iveragh who joined the British Army. It’s not clear which era this song belongs to, but as the West Indies are mentioned, there’s a strong possibility that this soldier fought during the West Indies Campaign of 1804-10.
The races in Cahersiveen are an annual event held on land at Carhan, donated by Daniel O’Connell. The event has taken place annually since 1852. The song was composed by Sigerson Clifford. He was born in Cork City of Kerry parents in l913. At the age of two he moved with his family to Cahersiveen. His descriptive powers capture in his ballads and poems the characters and beauty of the area.
Diarmuid Ó Loingsigh ab ainm do bhuachaill a liostáil in arm Shasana. Do dhíol a mhuintir giní as agus scaoileadh abhaile é ach tháinig an lá go raibh sé ar meisce agus liostáil sé arís. Bhí sé tógtha anonn go Sasana nuair a fuair a mhuintir amach cá raibh sé agus dhein a mháthair an t-amhrán seo air. Dónall Ó Curnáin, Málainn, a thóg an t-amhrán óna athair (80 bliain) i 1938.
Diarmuid Ó Loingsigh was a young man who enlisted in the British army. His parents managed to secure his release from service at a cost of a guinea. Unfortunately, a few days later, while drunk, Diarmuid enlisted once more. By the time his parents were informed Diarmuid had already been carried away to England. It’s said that his mother composed this moving song.
Written in 1908 for the Annual picnic of the Kerryman’s P.S &B association, which was to take place at Sulzer’s Harlem River Park on the 15th August 1908. President Buckley and the committee in charge of the annual summer’s night festival of the Kerrymen’s Society were quoted in the press as saying, ‘Many a rosy-cheeked Kerry colleen is looking forward with feelings of delight to that night. Numbers of big-hearted young Kerrymen are counting the days until its arrival; they anticipate an enjoyable night, pouring words of love into the not unwilling ears of their sweethearts or tripping with them on light fantastic toe to the old music of Erin, music that for pathos and sadness, on the one hand, and for life and jollity on the other, has no equal in the wide world.
Nóra Bean de Búrca, 67 bliain d’aois ag an am, a sholáthraigh an t-amhrán seo do Thadhg Ó Murchú sa bhliain 1933. Bhí cónaí uirthi ar an gCois i nDairbhre. Dúirt Nóra go raibh aithne aici ar an bhfile a chum an Rógaire Dubh. Seán Ó Siochrú an ainm a bhí air agus chuaigh sé ar imirce go Meiriceá. Ó Ghleann Beithe ab ea an “Rógaire Dubh.” Ainneoin gaol a bheith acu lena chéile, d’éirigh idir é féin agus Mac Uí Shiochrú lá sa Chathair agus thugadar ana bhearradh dá chéile.
The “Rógaire Dubh”, or ‘Black Rogue’ featured in the song is said to have been from the Glenbeigh area. One day a bitter argument arose between the ‘Rógaire Dubh’ and a local poet, Seán Ó Siochrú, in a public house in Cahersiveen. Although the pair were related Ó Siochrú had the last word in the composition of this song which contains a litany of insults directed at the ‘Rógaire Dubh.’ Tadhg Ó Murchú collected the song in 1933 from Nóra Bean de Búrca from Knightstown in Valentia. Nóra said she knew the poet, Seán Ó Siochrú, and that he later emigrated to America.
On St. Stephen's day 26th December 1941, a German reconnaissance JU88 aircraft with a crew of four, running low in fuel, made an emergency landing at Caol Boig bog in the townland of Canuig in Dromid Parish. Jack Carey of Foildrenagh, the first person on the scene, alerted the authorities, and the Waterville LDF unit arrested the crew and guarded the plane. The crew were detained in the water tower of the Cable Station in Waterville and were wined and dined by the ladies of the station pending their internment for the war's
duration in Tintown Camp in the Curragh. The plane was burnt by the military in the New Year and the remaining wreckage was sold to a Mr. Sheehan of Cahersiveen. Some souvenirs of the plane remain, including a seat, a Flare gun etc. Fine shirts were made by the women of the area from the plane's silk parachutes.
The Mangerton Fusiliers (The Rise of Skellig Mór Part 1)
The origin of Boston, Massachusetts’s own ‘Puck Fair’ and its King ‘Skellig Mór’ is a curious tale. Skellig Mór’s first appearance was at the 1905 Puck Fair in Killorglin. Michael Shea, a member of the Knights of St. Brendan and domiciled in Boston was visiting his home town of Killorglin around the time of the fair and conceived the idea that the Knights ought to have a fair in Boston. The goat ‘Skellig Mór’ was purchased by Mr Shea from its owner on behalf of the Knights of St. Brendan and transported to the U.S.A. It is likely that the cost of the goat was refunded to Mr Shea by Colonel’ Roger F Scannell, President of the Knights of St. Brendan from the society’s coffers. As the goat became more famous, a legal question arose as to who was the legal owner of Skellig Mór. On arrival at Boston “His Majesty” was not allowed to land and was quarantined. However the Knights successfully petitioned the White House and President Roosevelt sent a telegram authorising all restrictions be withdrawn and allow “ The King of the Kerry Hill” to enter the state. On the day of the fair the throne was gaily decorated and ‘Skellig Mór’ duly ensconced. The streets of Boston were lined with people and bands playing ‘God save Ireland’ and ‘the wearing of the green’ were heard everywhere. Over one hundred thousand people participated in the festivities including over twenty thousand Irish-Americans.
Skellig Mór had become so popular that members of the Knights got zealous as to who was the rightful owner. When in-fighting and dissent split the organisation the following year, Scannell founded another society and took the goat with him. The two societies fought a long bitter battle in the courts over the rightful ownership of the Kerry goat until wiser heads prevailed and the factions compromised and made a present of the animal to the battleship USS Vermont (BB-20). What happened to the goat afterwards is told in the song ‘The Death of Skellig Mór’.
The Death of Skellig Mór (Part 2)
A bitter battle in the courts over the rightful ownership of the goat ‘Skellig Mór’ was fought by the Knights of St. Brendan and a splinter organisation. Wiser heads prevailed and the factions compromised and made a present of the animal to the battleship USS Vermont (BB-20). Skellig Mór was welcomed to its new home in a special ceremony on the warship’s quarterdeck on 16th March 1909. He was well received and was very popular with the crew. At mess he chewed tobacco and was happy to partake in drinking the ship’s supply of alcohol. He was rather carless in regard to the rest of his dietary requirements and when a steel hatch, a hog’s hair brush and a mop disappeared the blue-jackets began to worry about him. His reign as the ship’s mascot was short lived. It appears he died by drowning sometime around Independence Day (4th July) that same year. An elegy to Skellig Mór was penned by a Mr Joseph Smith in the Boston Traveler shortly afterwards and was reprinted in the in ‘Kerry People’ on the 31st July 1909. The remains of Skellig Mór were stuffed and bagpipes and bugles sounded as he was borne to his last resting place in the Main Hall of the Boston National Museum.
The composer of this song goes under the pseudonym Valentia Bridge. In late 1960 into early 1961 the Caherciveen Group of Creameries owned by the Dairy Disposal Board closed the Ballinskelligs Creamery on the grounds that it was not financially viable to keep the depot open based on the low volume of milk it supplied to the group.
This very original ballad was written by Michael Sugrue of Coolnaharrigal, Mountain stage. It is thought Herbert Hughes collected in Glenbeigh from Tomasheen Griffin circa 1935/36. The song appears in ‘Irish Country Songs’ Vol. IV Other songs collected in Kerry also appear in this volume and are arranged for voice and piano by Herbert Hughes. The publisher was Boosey & Hawkes.
Amhrán é seo a bhaineann go mór le Barra na hUíne i bparóiste na Dromad ach ata coitianta anois ar fud na tíre. Tán feirmeoir bocht go brónach tar éis dá chaora bhreá dul ar iarraidh air sa chnoc. Is léir ón amhrán áfach, go bhfuil an feirmeoir bocht den dtuairim gur goideadh uaidh í! An bailitheoir béaloidis Fionán Mac Coluim a sholáthraigh an leagan seo é féin do Roinn Bhéaloideas Éireann sa bhliain 1960.
This is a song which is mainly associated with Barra na hUíne in the parish of Dromid, but which is sung throughout Ireland. It’s believed locally that the song refers to the Great Famine, where a poor farmer laments the loss a sheep in the mountains. It’s obvious, however, that the farmer has his suspicions, believing his sheep may have been stolen. The version reproduced here was given by the collector Fionán Mac Coluim to the Department of Irish Folklore in 1960.
Amhrán breá a cumadh faoin bhfear bocht a chaill a scian lá fhaid agus a bhí sé ag obair ar an dtráigh. Deintear ana-chur síos ar iontaisí na scine agus ar an ndíomá a bhí ar an bhfear nuair a chuaigh an scian amú air. Deintear cáineadh chomh maith ar an té a thóg leis í. Tógadh an leagan ata anseo ó thaifead a dhein Raidió na Gaeltachta le Seán Ó Ceallaigh ó Chill Rialaigh sa bhliain 1980. Ta teacht ar an dtaifead sin ar an ndlúthdhiosca Maidin Bhog Álainn.
A fine song about the loss of a fine knife. The unfortunate man lost his treasured knife as he worked at the shore and in the song he provides us with eloquent descriptions of the knife’s great ability and strength. The version provided here is taken from a recording of Seán Ó Ceallaigh from Cill Rialaigh made by Raidió na Gaeltachta in 1980. The recording can also be found on the CD Maidin Bhog Álainn.
Amhrán óil a chum an file Seán Brúnach Ó Súilleabháin agus ceiliúradh á dhéanamh aige ar phraghas an fuiscí a bheith titithe. Ó Bharr na Sráide i gCathair Saidhbhín ab ea Seán Brúnach a deirtear agus bhí sé de cháil air go bhféadfadh sé an ruaig a chur ar fhrancaigh lena chuid véarsaíochta. Bailíodh an t-amhrán ó Phádraig Ó Súilleabháin (70 bliain d’aois) ó Chúm Dhá Stabha sa bhliain 1938.
A merry drinking song composed by Sean Brúnach Ó Súilleabháin, where the poet celebrates a drop in the price of whiskey. Sean Brúnach is believed to have lived in Barr na Sráide in Cahersiveen, and is was claimed that the power of his poetry could rid a house of rats. This song was collected from Padraig Ó Súilleabháin (70 years of age) from Coomastow in 1938.