John Arnold: I sang a song for every Irish county... but one stumped me!
Under the auspices of the local Comhaltas Branch, the gatherings were held weekly during July and August. With no ‘set in stone’ format, these were mighty occasions.
Oft times there would be tourists present from all over the world, and they just loved the Irish music, song and dance. People with Fermoy ‘roots’ were always attracted to the evening entertainment too - to reminisce about long ago and just soak up the joy and happiness of those unique occasions.
No-one ever told me, ‘you can’t sing, you can’t dance - you’ll go far’, but sure, God knows ’tis eight miles from home to Fermoy so I suppose I went far enough!
The fear an tí on the night, Neilus, had a way with words and always welcomed ‘audience participation’. You weren’t embarrassed with a Mrs Doyle type exhortation, ‘Go on, go on, go on’ - no, if you felt like singing a song, reciting a poem, playing a tune, or as Paddy Crosbie put it, ‘telling a funny incident’, well, there was a welcome on the mat for you.
If one chose to sit back and just enjoy the night, that was just grand.
Well, one particular night didn’t I attempt to sing as many ‘county’ songs as possible!
You know the way certain famous songs are inextricably linked to individual Irish counties? Some people think they are simply GAA anthems, but in reality they are much more.
Precious few counties get to join in their favourite song in Croke Park on September Sundays - sorry, it’s now unfortunately July Sundays... somehow it’s just never the same is it?
Anyhow, that particular Monday night I did a fair auld tour of Ireland with a verse and a chorus of all of Munster and Connacht and a share of Leinster. In the end, I think Fermanagh bate me!
Many song words were ‘handed down ó ghlúin go glúin - from one generation to another - and then maybe set to music.
‘How oft do my thoughts in their fancy take flight’ will never be the same again - no matter who sings it, since the death in January of our beloved Seán Ó Sé. They say it was James Charles Shanhan who composed the haunting music to , in the 1930s, for much older lyrics. Hopefully, ’twon’t be long before we’re singing ‘de Banks’ with gusto on the streets of Cork city.
It seems to happen very often that ‘the pale moon was rising above the green mountains’, but we cannot deny the beauty of the Kerry scenery and the skill of their footballers, so the Kingdom anthem is well sung.
From a Waterford point of view, some people love , but my favourite is . The song encompasses the whole county - city, east and west.
Like so many great Irish ballads, it’s a story of leaving and then recalling home-place.
Surely one of the newest county songs must be Denis Allen’s , and in truth it’s got plenty reason to be sung again and again in recent years!
I love the lines
Driving through Tipperary town, one sees the fine statue of Charles Kickham and his rousing is a truly great song. The words combine the love of a beautiful girl and the love of country – - I’m a Cork man but could never tire of singing those verses.
Clare is a musical- and song-filled place... , , etc. is the finest. Once ever I drove through the place but must go back sometime on ‘Fair Day’ where
I was in Croke Park on that September Sunday when Joe Connolly had finished his speech ‘as gaeilge’ and the late Joe McDonagh took the mike and sang his inimitable version of - it never fails to bring a tear to my eye. Written by Mallow man Thomas Davis, it rises to a crescendo with
Has any other county in Ireland had as many songs written about it as does Mayo? Doubtful, I’d say.
I love , , and Big Tom’s . Oh, such a choice but the one for me has to be , which mentions over 30 villages and town in the county and embodies that spirit and will to keep going despite all adversities. The chorus sums it all up just so perfectly
If I’m ever suffering an absolute ‘mental blank’, I sing that song then listen to Seán Ó Riada’s Mise Éire - I can guarantee anyone - that combination always gets the ‘creative juices flowing’ once more!
When we hear of the NYPD in song, we think of Shane MacGowan’s hit - where the New York Police Department’s Choir were singing Galway Bay.
Well, Aughavas-born Philip Fitzpatrick joined that self-same NYPD in 1926 and served in the force until he died in a hail of bullets whilst on duty in May, 1947. Philip had written Lovely Leitrim, which extols the virtues of Ireland’s least populated county. I was just eight in 1965 when Larry Cunningham had a smash hit with his beautiful rendition of the song.
It’s like Spancil Hill in a way - “Last night I had a pleasant dream… I woke up with a smile” - the lonely exile dreaming of home. I’m just mad about that song, though I’ve never visited the county. Seamus O’Rourke has promised me a week-long guided tour in his home turf during the summer.
To me, the county of Roscommon brings memories of one of the greatest ever Gaelic footballers - the majestic Dermot Earley, and of course Brendan Shine sings a wonderful song... Lough Ree, O Lough Ree, where the three counties meet - Longford, Westmeath, and Roscommon.
But as I love sentimentality, the anthem of Roscommon must be , which has these chorus lines.
I’ve been just twice to see ‘bare Benbulben’ in Sligo and Drumcliffe cemetery, where Yeats lies and , though a modern song, reflects and mirrors well this beautiful corner of Ireland.
Well now, I’ve my Munster and Connacht ‘albums’ picked, it’s on to Ulster and Leinster, but not today.
When I can sing all these perfectly, we’ll travel north and east.
App?
