GIFT OF '; POPULAR SONGS OF IRELAND MORLEVS UNIVERSAL LIBRARY. 1. Sheridan's Plays. 2. Plays from Molttrt* By English Dramatists. 3. Marlowis Faustus and Goethe's Faust. 4. Chronicle of the Cid. 5 . Rabelais' Gargantua and the Heroic Deeds of Pantagr-uel. 6. Machiavcltfs Prince. 7. Bacon* s Essays. 8. Defoe's Journal o/ th* Pla%it* Year. 9. Locke on Civil Government and Filmed s "Patriarcha." 10. Butler's Analogy of Religion. 11. Dryden's Virgil. 12. Scotfs Demonology and Witchcraft. 13. derrick's Hesperides. 14. Coleridge's Table- Talk. 15* Boccaccio 1 s Decameron* 1 6. Sterne's Tristram Shandy. 17. Chapman's Homer's Iliad, 1 8. Mediawal Tales. 19. Voltaire* s Candide % and Johnson's Rasselas. 20. Jonson's Plays and Poems. 21. Hobbes's Leviathan. 22. Satnuel Butler's Hudibras, 23 /<& 1592. " Larks, sparrows^ and potato pies." Every Man oztt of his Humour, ii. 3. " Some artichokes and potato roots." Menechmi of Ptatthis, translated 1594. " If any person wishes for more illus- tration," says Nares, who merely quotes of the above passages that from the " Merry Wives of Windsor," and does not question the identity of the root with the one at present used as food, "they may consult Beaumont and Fletcher's 'Elder Brother,' iv. 4 ; Ben Jon- son's 'Cynthia's Revels,' ii. 2. Massinger's 'New Way to Pay Old Debts,' it. 2 ; 'Old Plays,' iii. 323; iv. 427, &c. The medical writers of the times," adds Dr. Nares, " countenanced the fancy " of the potato having a stimulating effect upon the constitution. See, rlso, "Harrington's Epigrams," b, iii, 33. THE POTATO. 51 Wants the soil where 'tis flung, Hogs, cows, or horses' dung, Still does the crest of O'Shaughnessy grow. Shout for it, Munster men,* Till the bogs quake again, Whack for O'Shaughnashane ! Tooley whagg ho ! " It is useless to detain the reader by entering into an inquiry about the lost treatise on this inestimable vegetable alluded to in the " Irish Hudibras " " Who can forget the learned Cato, That writ so much on the pottado ? " The illustrious author is merely mentioned in a note as " Cormack Mac Art, styled the Cato of Ireland. He writ a treatise of the virtues of a potado, beyond the wisdom of Solomon, the know- ledge of Aristotle, the rhetoric of Cicero, Con Clerenaugh, and Mureartagh O'Collehan." The opinion of Sir Joseph Banks, who took con- siderable pains to investigate the matter, is that the root now called the potato was introduced into the British Islands in July, 1586, by the return expedition of Sir Walter Raleigh, for which the patent passed the Great Seal in 1584. Herriott, a scientific man who accompanied the expedition, describes under the head of roots a plant called in * The Editor has here corrected the error of young Mr. Cole- man's printer, according to whom this passage would read " Ulster men," 52 POPULAR SONGS OF IRELAND. Virginia openawk, which perfectly agrees with our potato. " These plants," he says, "are round, some as large as a walnut, others much larger ; they grow in damp soil, many hanging together as if fixed on ropes ; they are good food, either boiled or roasted." Cuvier, notwithstanding, denies that Europe has derived the potato from Virginia ; but when its introduction into the British Isles is thus circumstantially connected with the return of Raleigh's expedition in 1586, and it is recorded that Sir Walter Raleigh was mayor of Youghall in 1588, the anecdote related in Smith's " History of Cork," speaking of Youghall, appears extremely probable. " It was in this town that the first potatoes were )anded in Ireland by Sir Walter^ Raleigh. The person who planted them, imagining that the apple which grows on the stalk was the part to be used, gathered them ; but, not liking their taste, neglected the roots till the ground, being dug afterwards to sow some other grain, the potatoes were discovered therein; and, to the great surprise of the planter, vastly increased. From these few this country was furnished with seed." According to a popular song upon the potato " By Raleigh 'twas planted at Youghall so gay, And Munster potatoes are famed to this day, Ballinamona ora, A laughing red apple for me." In 1 662 ; a letter was read in the Royal Society THE POTATO. 53 recommending the culture of potatoes, and roots were distributed to the members for this purpose in the spring of the following year. Evelyn in- culcated the project in his " Sylva," and from this period the plant became common in England. Sir Robert Southwell, the President of the Royal Society, informed the Fellows on the 3rd of December, 1693, that his grandfather introduced the potato into Ireland, and that he had the root from Sir Walter Raleigh. " This evidence proves, not unsatisfactorily," ac- cording to Sir Joseph Banks, " that the potato was first brought into England, either in the year 1586, or very soon after, and sent from thence to Ireland without delay by Sir Robert Southwell's ancestor, where it was cherished and cultivated for food before the good people of England knew its value ; for Gerarde, who had the plant in his garden in 1597, recommends the roots to be eaten as a delicate dish, not as common food." That Sir Robert Southwell's ancestor may have received the potato from Sir Walter Raleigh, will not be disputed ; but Sir Joseph Banks, in arriving at the conclusion that Raleigh was not the intro- ducer of the root into Ireland, seems to have over- looked his intimate connection with the south of Ireland, already pointed out, at the precise period when the potato of our times made its appear* ance ? 54 POPULAR SONGS OF IRELAND. What renders this question an object of more than ordinary interest to the Editor is, that in a manuscript among the " Southwell Papers," unfor- tunately without date, but, from the contents, believed to have been written about 1 640, potato- roots are called " Crokers," from having been first planted in Croker's field at Youghall. Possibly the spot mentioned by Lord Castlehaven, who, in his " Memoirs," states that when he encamped with the Irish army before that town in 1645, he caused Major-General Butler to take up a position " towards the sea near Croker's Works." Tradition also says, " that the potato-root, be- sides being planted on Sir Walter Raleigh's ground at Youghall, was likewise planted on some land in the diocese of Tuam, which Sir Walter afterwards let to endow a school." About the year 1633 the potato is supposed to have been introduced into Lancashire by a vessel from Ireland, which was wrecked in the North Moels. In Scotland it does not appear to have been popularly cultivated until 1728, although it was known there many years previously; as Sutherland notices it in 1683, in his " Hortus Medicus Edin- burgensis." It is observed by Mr. Samuel M'Skimin, the ingenious author of the " History of Carrickfergus," that in Ireland it is likely potatoes had long been introduced before they attracted the attention of the THE POTATO. 55 farmer for the purpose of cultivation. In a manu- script, of which he is the possessor, written between 1670 and 1679, which treats largely of the prices of every kind of agricultural produce, potatoes are only once mentioned, and that in 1676, when they were sold at the high rate of is. %d. per bushel. This must refer to the north of Ireland ; and Mr. IVrSkimin speaks of the same district, when he remarks, " very old people informed me that few potatoes were formerly used after harvest, except a small quantity preserved as a treat for their Hal- loween supper, which were eaten with butter. It, however, does appear that they were coming into general circulation before their time.'' The south of Ireland, there can be no doubt, w r as the cradle of the potato. In the " Irish Hudibras " (1689), numerous passages occur to prove that this root was extensively cultivated, and commonly used. Thus, we are told of " That monstrous giant, Finn MacHeuyle, Whose carcase, buried in the meadows, Took up nine acres of pottadoes." And, in u Hesperi-neso-graphia," swine are de- scribed as good as e'er " turned the earth of garden, where Beloved potatoes growing were." Again, in the " Irish Hudibras," the hero is represented as having g6 POPULAR SONGS OF IRELAND, "No cannons, nor wide-mouth'd granadoes; Nees's fire-balls were boiled pottadoes." And the arrival of King William III. does not &llow him " To enjoy his land, or any part, His banniclabber * and pottadoes, Without these French and Dutch granadoes.* Among the amusements of the Irish at this period, it is mentioned that some of a party . " played at blindman's buff, Some roast pottadoes, some grind snuff/' That potatoes were ordinary food in the south of Ireland before the time of the Commonwealth, is shown by " An Account of an Irish Quarter," printed in 1654, in a volume entitled " Songs and Poems of Love and Drollery. By T. W." The writer and his friend, two cavaliers, visit Coolfin, in the county of Waterford, the seat of Mr. Poer, or Power, the high-sheriff, where their entertain- ment is thus described : "And now for supper, the round board being spread ; The van a dish of coddled onions led ; I' th' body was a salted tail of salmon, And in the rear some rank potatoes came on." * Buttermilk. THE POTATO. 57 THE LAND OF POTATOES, O! To the honour of Ireland must it be stated, that the potato, that " admirable vegetable/' experienced a very different reception there as a stranger than in other nations ; of which treatment more hereafter. " The Irish," observes Cuvier, " seem to have taken advantage of this root first ; for, at an early period, we find the plant distinguished by the name of Irish potato/' However, long before this event for so may the introduction of the potato be styled the hospitality of Ireland to strangers was proverbial. An anecdote, for example, is told as the origin of the name of Sullivan that is, the one-eyed * " Who gave his bright eye as a proverb to shine." So great was the reputation of this old gentleman for hospitality, that it was asserted he would refuse to his guest no request, however unreasonable. This was tested by a stranger whom he entertained, asking his host to put out his eye, into which he immediately thrust his finger; and, from thenceforward, was distinguished as O'Sullivan, while the fame of the act passed into the proverb of * * Nulla manus, Tarn liberalis, Atque generalis, Atque universalis, Quam Sullivanis ! " The subsequent song, in which the hospitality of the land of potatoes has been commended, is ascribed to Mr. Owenson, the father of Lady Morgan ; who is also said to have been "the author of various lyrical compo- * " Sut means the ' sun ; * hence suM t the ' eye,' because it is the light of the body," O'BiUEN, 58 POPULAR SONGS OF IRELAND. sitions, which were sung on the Dublin stage, and are remarkable for broad wit and genuine humour." "Mr. Chvenson, by an imprudent connection with a once beautiful and celebrated actress, was early in life infected with the theatrical mania, and, on his marriage afterwards with a respectable Englishwoman, he purchased a share in one of the Dublin theatres, and became joint- proprietor with the celebrated Mr. Ryder. On Mr. Daly obtaining an exclusive patent for a metropolitan theatre Mr. O \venson resigned. He afterwards embarked in mercantile concerns, became a wine-merchant, and built some provincial theatres; among others, that beautiful edifice at Kilkenny." Sir Jonah Barrington, in the " Personal Sketches of his own Times," thus describes Mr. Owenson : " He was," says Sir Jonah, " highly celebrated in the line of Irish characters ; and never did an actor exist so perfectly calculated, in my opinion, to personify that singular class of people. Considerably above six feet in height, remarkably handsome and brave-looking, vigorous and well-shaped, he was not vulgar enough to disgust, nor was he genteel enough to be out of character ; never did I see an actor so entirely identify himself v/ith the peculiarities of those parts he assumed. In the higher class of Irish characters (old officers, &c.) he looked well, but did not exhibit sufficient dignity ; and in the lowest, his humour was scarcely quaint and original enough ; but in what might be termed the middle class of Paddies, no man ever combined the look and the manner with such felicity as Owenson. Scientific singing is not an Irish quality; and he sang well enough. I have heard Jack Johnstone warble so very skilfully, and act some parts so very like a man of first-rate education, that I almost forgot the nation he was mimicking ; that was not the case with Owenson ; he acted as if he had THE POTATO. 59 not received too much schooling, and sang like a man whom nobody instructed. He was, like most of his profession, careless of his concerns, and grew old without growing rich. His last friend was old Fontaine, a very celebrated Irish dancing-master, many years domiciliated and highly esteemed in Dublin. He aided Owenson and his family whilst he had the means to do so ; and they both died nearly at the same time, instances of talent and improvidence." Tune " Morgan Rattler." Had I in the clear But five hundred a-year, Tis myself would not fear, Though not adding one farthing to 't Faith, if such was my lot, Little Ireland's the spot Where I'd build a snug cot, With a bit of a garden to 't. As for Italy's dales, With their Alps and high vales, Where with fine squalling gales, Their seignoras so treat us, O ! I'd ne'er unto them come, Nor abroad ever roam, But enjoy my sweet home In the land of potatoes, O ! Hospitality, No formality, All reality, There you ever see ; The free and the easy Would so amaze ye, You'd think us all crazy, For dull we never be I 60 POPULAR SONGS OF IRELAND. If my friend, honest Jack, Would but take a small hack, So just get on his back, And of joy ride o'er full to us ; He, throughout the whole year, Then should have the best cheer, For, faith, none so dear As our brother, John Bull, to us ! And we'd teach him, when there, Both to blunder and stare, And our brogue with him share, Which both genteel and neat is, O I And we'd make him so drink, By St. Patrick, I think, That he'd ne'er wish to shrink From the land of potatoes, O ! Hospitality, &c. Though I freely agree I should more happy be If some lovely she From Old England would favour me For no spot on earth Can more merit bring forth, If with beauty and worth You embellished would have her be Good breeding, good nature, You find in each feature, That naught you've to teach her So sweet and complete she's, O ! Then if fate would but send Unto me such a friend, What a life I would spend In the land of potatoes, I Hospitality, &c. THE POTATO. 61 THE SMILING POTATOES. Cobbett terms the potato " Ireland's lazy root," and " Ireland's accursed root ; " but Cobbett, against whom this song about the " sweet roots of Erin " is levelled, stands by no means alone in his opposition to the culture of the potato. In France potatoes were at first proscribed. Bauhine states that in his time the use of them had been prohi- bited in Burgundy, because it was supposed that they produced leprosy. " It is difficult to believe," says Cuvier, " that a plant so innocent, so agreeable, so productive, which requires so little trouble to be rendered fit for food ; that a root so well defended against the intemperance of the seasons ; that a plant which, by a singular privilege, unites in itself every advantage, without any other inconvenience than that of not lasting all the year, but which even owes to this circumstance the additional advantage that it cannot be hoarded up by monopolists ; that such a plant should have required two centuries in order to overcome the most puerile prejudices ! "Yet we ourselves," continues the enlightened Cuvier, "have been witnesses of the fact. The English brought the potato into Flanders during the wars of Louis XIV. It was thence spread, but very sparingly, over some parts of France. Switzerland had put a higher value on it, and had found it very good. Several of our southern pro- vinces had planted it in imitation of that country, at the period of the scarcities, which were several times repeated during the last years of Louis XV. Turgot, in particular, rendered it common in the Limousin and Angoumois, over which he \vas intendant ; and it was to 6s POPULAR SONGS OF IRELAND. be expected that, in a short time, this new branch of sub- sistence would be spread over the kingdom, when some old physicians renewed against it the prejudices of the sixteenth century. " It was no longer accused of producing leprosy, but > fever. The scarcities had produced in the south certain \ epidemics, which they thought proper to ascribe to the sole means which existed to prevent them. The Comp- troller-General was obliged, in 1771, to request the opinion of the faculty of medicine, in order to put an end to these false notions. " Parmentier, who had learned to appreciate the potato in the prisons of Germany, where he had been often con- fined to that food, seconded the views of the Minister by a chemical examination of this root, in which he demon- strated that none of its constituents are hurtful. He did better still. To give the people a relish for them, he cultivated them in the open fields, in places very much frequented. He guarded them carefully during the da.y only, and was happy when he had excited as much curiosity as to induce people to steal some of them during the night. He would have wished that the king, as we read of the Emperors of China, had traced the first furrow of his field. His majesty thought proper, at least, to wear a bunch of potato flowers at his button-hole in the midst of the Court on a festival day. Nothing more was wanting to induce several great lords to plant this root. " Parmentier wished likewise to engage the cooks of the great in the service of the poor, by inducing them to practise their skill on the potato ; for he was aware that the poor could not obtain potatoes in abundance, unless they could furnish the rich with an agreeable article of food. He informs us that he one day gave a dinner composed entirely of potatoes, with twenty THE POTATO. 63 different sauces, all of which gratified the palates of his guests. " But the enemies of the potato, though refuted in their attempts to prove it injurious to the health, did not con- sider themselves vanquished. They pretended that it injured the fields, and rendered them barren. It was necessary, however, to answer this objection, and to consider the potato in an agricultural point of view. Parmentier accordingly published, in different forms, everything regarding its cultivation and uses, even in fertilizing the soil. He introduced the subject into philo- sophical works, into popular instructions, into journals, into dictionaries, into works of all kinds. During forty years, he let slip no opportunity of recommending it. Every bad year was a kind of auxiliary, of which he profited with care to draw the attention of mankind to his favourite plant. " Hence," continues Cuvier, " the name of this salutary vegetable and the name of Parmentier have become inseparable in the memory of the friends of humanity. Even the common people united them, and not always with gratitude. At a certain period of the Revolution, it was proposed to give Parmentier some municipal place. One of the voters opposed this proposal with fury. ' He will make us eat potatoes/ said he. ' It was he who invented them.' " In the following song, which is copied from a volume of " Poems, chiefly Historical, by the Rev. John Graham, M.A., Rector of Tamlaghtard, in the Diocese of Derry " (Belfast, 1829), the merits of the potato are more briefly, though not less zealously advocated, than by Parmentier. 64 POPULAR SONGS OF IRELAND. Tune " Dear creatures^ we carit do vuithoiit them" While we fatten and feast on the smiling potatoes Of Erin's green valleys, so friendly to man, Oh ! there's not in the wide world a race that can beat us, From Canada's cold hills to sultry Japan.* It is not an abundance that Pat calls a plenty, Of plain simple fare the potato supplies ; But milk, beef, and butter, and bacon so dainty, Hens, ducks, geese, and turkeys, and fat mutton-pies. Sweet roots of Erin ! we can't do without them ; No tongue can express their importance to man. Poor Corporal Cobbett knows nothing about them ; We'll boil them and eat them as long as we can. r In the skirts of our bogs, that are covered with rushes, In dales, that we till with the sweat of our brow, On the wild mountain side, cleared of heath, rocks, and bushes, We plant the kind root with the spade or the plough. Then come the south breezes, with soft vernal showers, To finish the process that man has begun, And orange, and purple, and lily-white flowers, Reflect in bright lustre the rays of the sun. Sweet roots of Erin, &c. The ground, too, thus broke and brought in by potatoes, Produces the cream of our northern cheer In crops of rich barley, that comfort and treat us To Innishone whisky, and Maghera beer, * The Editor has taken the liberty of transposing the third and fourth lines of the author to be the first and second, and vice wsfa THE POTATO. 65 Then here's to the brave boys that plant them and raise them, To fatten their pigs, and their weans, and their wives ; May none of the corporal's principles seize them, To shorten their days, or embitter their lives. Sweet roots of Erin, &c. 66 POPULAR SONGS OF IRELAND. WHISKY. "' BLESSINGS on the man,' says Sancho Panza, 'who invented sleep ! it covers one all over as with a blanket.' Blessings on the man, says Pat, who invented poteen ! it brings one's heart into the mouth ; it's better than an outside coat ; it makes one spake out, and care not a fig for the Pope, the priest, or the devil." Thus does Mr. John Barrow apostrophize the national spirit of Ireland, about which a super- abundance of twaddle has been published of late by political economists and Temperance Society speechifiers ; the former being in general men who are unable prudently to conduct their own affairs, and the latter notorious drunkards. In 1835, when John Barrow visited " The houseless wilds of Connemara/* he paid his respects to the chief of the gigantic race of Joyce, distinguished as " Big Jack Joyce," by whom this adventurous traveller amongst the rude Irish was most hospitably received and entertained. "On the poteen," says Barrow, "being produced; I hoped he (the aforesaid * Big Jack Joyce ') would not oblige me WHISKY. 67 to drink alone ; but it was not without much entreaty I could prevail upon him to take a single glass, which he did only, he said, to welcome my arrival. Tempera mutantur, thought I, and some of us are changed with them; for it was scarcely a twelvemonth since Inglis visited him, when ' room was found on the table for a double-sized flagon of whisky, and water appeared to be a beverage not much in repute.' The mystery was soon unriddled by his telling me that he Joyce, of all men in the world had become a member of a Temperance Society ! and had taken a vow (on three months' trial) not to drink spirits, save and except on such an occasion as the present, and when necessary to do so medicinally. He, however, gave me to understand that he had taken his fair share of poteen in his day, and was nothing the worse of it. " It is to be hoped," adds Barrow, " that this honest fellow will not endeavour to prevail on his poor neigh- bours to forego entirely this necessary beverage; abso- lutely necessary, as I am assured by a medical gentleman of great eminence, to prevent scorbutic habits in those whose chief or sole food is the potato, which Cobbett not improperly calls ' the root of poverty.' Rice has not much more nutrition in it than potatoes, and yet the millions of India and China feed upon little else; but they never eat it alone ; it is either dressed in the shape of curries, or highly seasoned with pepper and other hot spices, which answers the purpose of whisky." The Editor is inclined to assign the introduction of the manufacture of whisky into the Green Island to the fourteenth century, although the precise period has not been satisfactorily determined by antiquaries. Before the progress of whisky, leper- c 2 68 POPULAR SONGS OF IRELAND. houses, which, as Dr. Ledwich observes, "were everywhere to be found " in Ireland, rapidly dis- appeared ; and hence this healing spirit was termed the water of life, or aqua vitae, which words rendered into Irish, are uisge beaga, or usquebagh, emphati- cally called uisge ; or, to use the expression of Sir Walter Scott, "by way of eminence termed the water" and from uisge is our common word whisky derived. By the old physicians this charming cordial was recommended as a means of prolonging life, and it was, consequently, eagerly and universally sought after. Fennel-seeds, saffron, and other pungent matters, were mingled with it ; but these were soon found to be only whimsical adulterations of the sublime purity of an inestimable extract. Fynes Moryson, although little inclined to admit the excellence of anything Irish, says, " The Irish aqua vitse, vulgarly called usquebagh, is held the best in the world of that kind ; which is also made in England, but nothing so good as that which is brought out of Ireland'.' As something to be proud of, the superiority of this manufacture may be traced in the national character. Between both there is a certain degree of similitude. In both the same volatile properties exist, when fresh, wild, and fiery ; when mellowed by time and travel, the delight of all circles. It is admitted that there are few better things in company than an Irish WHISKY, 69 gentleman and a bottle of old whisky ; most welcome are they both in society : good- humour and cheerfulness are their associates. Dr. Madden evidently saw the parallel, and what an exquisite relish they produce, when he said, " We have got the character of bearing our national miseries with the best grace ; nay, of being the most boon companions, and the fairest drinkers of Europe." To understand the merits either of the Irish character or of whisky-punch, which does so much for it, requires a certain experience of both. With respect to the latter, Dr. Campbell, in "A. Philosophical Survey of the South of Ireland," made by him in 1775, recording his visit to Spring House, near Tipperary, says : " After supper I, for the first time, drank whisky-punch, the taste of which is harsh and austere, and the smell worse than the taste. The drinkers of it say it becomes so palatable that they can relish no other; which may very possibly be the case, for I suppose that claret is not relished by any palate at first. " The spirit was very fierce and wild, requiring not less than seven times its own quantity of water to tame and subdue it." He then speaks of usquebagh, and this, he says, " is the liquor which the Czar Peter the Great was so fond of, that he used to say, 'Of all wines, Irish wine was the best ! ' ' But not the Czar alone lauded Erin's whisky ; 70 POPULAR SONGS OF IRELAND. even the King of England is said highly to have approved thereof. In February, 1821, when an address to George IV. was under consideration by the Court of D'Oyer hundred of Cork, the question of his Majesty's partiality for whisky-punch was seriously entertained. The mover of this grave matter prefaced his question to the mayor, who presided, by observing that the tendency of the inquiry he was about to make would be the more to endear the king to his Irish subjects. He then requested of Sir Anthony Perrier (the mayor) to state the correctness of the public rumour, that when his worship was enjoying the pleasure of a cool bottle at the Pavilion at Brighton, the king was pleased to pronounce a high panegyric upon the merits of whisky-punch. The late Mr. Connell, who was Recorder of Kinsale, solemnly protested against the mayor answering this ques- tion. His Majesty's Irish subjects, he observed, were, for the sake of the peace of the country, already sufficiently partial to whisky-punch ; and no doubt they would become more so, if a recom- mendation of the national beverage, coming from so high a quarter, were to be thus publicly pro- mulgated by the highest civic authority. The mayor, having good-humouredly declined making any reply to the question put to him, in con- sequence of the legal opinion expressed by his worthy and learned friend, the Recorder of Kinsale, the querist closed the debate by observing, that he would take his worship's silence as assent to the correctness of the report, and would therefore consider "the native" to be especially in royal favour. AN IRISHMAN'S CHRISTENING May be fairly supposed, from the national character for blunders, to be, like many other serious matters, not free from mistakes. Coleman makes an Irishman sing "The day I was christened, my poor mother saw On my face our dog Dennis was putting his paw ; * What's his name ?' axed the clergy * Down, Dennis !" says she, So Dennis Bulgruddery they christened me." In the present instance we find an unlucky Irishman baptised with whisky instead of water, the melancholy effect of which is evident in his having " never forgot His first taste of whisky." Indeed the pathetic exclamation of Hillaloo is sufficient to show the unhappy state of his existence. Yet such is the fascination of whisky, that he declares, if such a thing was possible, he would "Call out from his grave to be christericU a^ain," and, no doubt, in the same manner. It is no uncommon assertion by an Irishman that, " If his mother had reared him upon whisky, he'd have been a sucking babe to the day of his death." )2 POPULAR SONGS OF IRELAND. Of myself, my dear joy, if you wish to be told The first day I was born, I was not a night old, Hillaloo ! The parson was sent for to christen the child ; He looked at the water, he grinned and he smiled, Hillaloo ! i He looked at the water, he grinned and he smiled ; Says he, " 'Tis with whisky I've christened the child ; Oh, what a blunder, dear joy ! " So the day I was christened, I've never forgot My first taste of whisky, it made me a sot ; And could that be a wonder, my boy? So, you see, I loved whisky while yet but a boy, And I loved it still better, a hobbledehoy, Hillaloo ! When I went to be married, they asked for the ring ; Says I, " Wait a minute, I'll give you that thing," Hillaloo ! Says I, " Wait a minute, I'll give you that thing," But I pulled out the whisky instead of the ring ; Oh, what a blunder, dear joy ! " So," says I, " as it's here, we'll just taste it, I think, To the bride's happy wedding we'll all of us drink ; " And could that be a wonder, my boy ? I drank to her health, and drank on to her death, For Katty, sweet soul, soon gave up her breath, Hillaloo ! One day I must follow her to the cold ground, Where, to moisten the throat, no whisky is found, Hillaloo ! Where, to moisten the throat, no whisky is found, Though the nights are so long, and so cold is the ground- Oh, what a blunder, dear joy I WHISKY. to Then should a dead man of his christening dream, And call out from his grave to be christened again ; Oh ! could that be a wonder, my boy ? LOVE AND WHISKY. The most popular song of the heyday of Irish Volun- teerism (see pp. 41-44), and which song continued a general favourite until the dissolution of the Irish Yeo- manry Corps, when, notwithstanding that both love and whisky, as there is every reason to believe, continued as potent as ever in Ireland, this excellent lyric, in which the similarity of their influence is explained, fell most unac- countably into disuse ; and a copy of it has been, with some difficulty, procured by the Editor. The allusion to invasion, so skilfully introduced in the last verse, probably originally referred to Thurot's cap- ture of Carrickfergus, in 1760, although from that period, until 1805, Ireland was in a constant state of excitement respecting a French descent upon her coasts. Air" Bobbin Joan." Love and whisky both, Rejoice an honest fellow; Unripe joys of life Love and whisky mellow. Both the head and heart Set in palpitation ; From both I've often found A mighty sweet sensation, SONft? &- Love and whisky's joys, Let us gaily twist 'em, In the thread of life, Faith, we can't resist 'em. But love's jealous pang, In heartache oft we find it ; Whisky, in its turn, A headache leaves behind it, Thus, of love or drink, We curse th' enchanted cup, sir; All its charms forswear, Then take another sup, sir, Love and whisky's joys, Let us gaily twist 'em, In the thread of life, Faith, we can't resist 'em. Love and whisky can To anything persuade us ; No other power we fear That ever can invade us. Should others dare intrude, The> '11 find our lads so frisky, By none can be subdued, Excepting love and whisky. May the smiles of love Cheer our lads so clever ; And, with whisky, boys, We'll drink King George for ever. WHISKY. 75 THE POWERS OF WHISKY. Bernard, in his " Retrospections of the Stage," tells us that, when in company with some of the Sligo corps dramatique, he visited a house of entertainment " for man and horse," at no great distance from that town, and "asked the landlord what he had to eat? He said, Whisky ! ' What he had to drink ? < Whisky ! ' What they could contrive to stay their stomachs on? His answer was still, * Whisky I' There was nothing to be had at this place but the one commodity." This is no bad illustration of the opinion entertained of the powers of whisky, which has been described not merely as " meat and drink," but as " food and clothes," to an Irishman; who, as long as he has the price of " a glass " in his pocket, is as light-hearted as a feather. Even when that is not the case, he is far from feeling despondent, trusting that some lucky chance will aid him in his emergency. " Hunger," it has been observed, "sharpens the wit;" the same thing may be said of whisky. M. de Latocnaye, an amusing French traveller, gives the following instance of this in his " Promenade en Irlande." "Le jeune homme qui tait mon com- pagnon de voyage paraissait bon enfant, et m'expliquait le pays chemin faisant. ' Je suis bien faerie*, monsieur,' me dit-il; 'je suis bien facheY * Eh bien ! mon gargon,' lui dis-je, 'quel est le sujet de votre chagrin?' 'Ah! monsieur, je suis bien faerie* de n'avoir point d'argent pour vous offrir un verre de whisky' Je trouvai cette maniere de demander assez originale; et je lui r^pondis que cela ne devait pas I'affliger, parce que je serais bien aise de le regaler moi-meme." J6 POPULAR SONGS OF IRELAND. Air" 7 he Kinnegad Slashers." Oh ! merry am I, ever jocund and gay, If for whisky in plenty my pocket can pay ; If we feel melancholy, and cannot tell why, Whisky lightens the heart, though it deadens the ey. If sorrow should vex us, Or care should perplex us, Get tipsy enough, every pang will depart ; Oh ! there's nothing like whisky Makes Irishmen frisky, It bothers their sorrows, and gladdens their heart* If in love with a maid, who your flame would deride, Drink enough, you'll find charms in a dozen beside ; Drink more, and your victory, then, is complete, For you'll think you're in love with each girl that you meet. If a girl's sick, poor creatur', Let no doctor treat her, But a plentiful drop of the native impart ; For there's nothing like whisky To make the girls frisky, To make them good-natured, and soften their heart Oh! whisky, dear whisky, it charms and cajoles, And it lies at the heart like a friend, and consoles ; No grief, be it ever so great, can subdue, While I have, my dear whisky, a flask full of you. Then let it, ye powers, Rain whisky in showers ; Let each of the other be a full counterpart j For there's nothing like whisky Makes Irishmen frisky ; It bothers their sorrows, and gladdens their heart. WHISKY. 77 ERIN'S WHISKY. Copied from Captain Rock in London, No. 42, a weekly publication of the year 1825, price twopence. Gamble, in his " Views of Society and Manners in the North of Ireland," philosophically remarks, that " there seems a natural and instinctive fondness in the inhabi- tants of damp and mountainous places for ardent spirits ; and perhaps everywhere, in vacant and unemployed minds, there is similar fondness ; for a love of sensation seems the strongest appetite or passion of our nature. For the purpose of speedy intoxication whisky is superla- tive ; and when, to physical and other general causes, are added the more powerful moral ones of his condition, it is little wonderful that the Irish peasant should seek, in 'che Lethean draught, oblivious happiness; and regard the inventor of his beloved liquor as a greater benefactor than Ceres and Triptolemus put together." Whilst others sing the joys of wine, And high their voices raise ; For ever shall the theme be mine To chant old whisky's praise. Oh ! the charming whisky, Erin's famous whisky ; 'Midst all our grief, It gives relief, To know we have good whisky ! What is it makes our heart so bold ; What makes us love so true ? Oh ! if in faith, the truth be told. Dear whisky, gra', 'tis you. 73 POPULAR SONGS OF IRELAND. Oh ! the charming whisky, Erin's famous whisky ; Then bumpers bring, And let us sing The joys of Erin's whisky ! ROCK'S POTEEN. The word poteen has been already explained as illicit whisky. " Whisky from illicit stills," according to Wake- field, " is sold as openly (in Ireland) as if it had been gauged by the excise officer; it has a peculiar smoky taste, different from that which has been regularly and carefully distilled, and which the people imagine to have acquired its white colour from vitriol. Were one to find fault with the whisky in the northern counties, the imme- diate reply would be, 'It's as good poteen as any in Ulster, for it never paid a happ'orth of duty.'" From 1802 to June 1806 a space of four years and a half no less than 13,439 unlicensed whisky-stills, 11,098 heads, and 9732 worms, were seized in Ireland. Some idea, therefore, of the magnitude of the traffic in poteen may be formed by this official return. This song, in praise of poteen ; is copied from Captain Rock in London, No. 2. Begone, ye dark obtruding cares, And ne'er again come near me ; My soul for every ill prepares, Whilst I've poteen to cheer me. WHISKY. 79 Oh, poteen, The nice poteen, The mellow, mild, and rich poteen I The chosen toast Round Erin's coast, The pink of spirits, Rock's poteen. Un fathom'd by the exciseman's rule, Our native shines in bottles green ; And where's the drink so mild and cool As barley juice? our smoked poteen. Oh, &c. Let Britons boast their ale and beer, For whisky, gra' ! they've never seen ; Or else another tune we'd hear In praise of Rock-glen's prime poteen. Oh, &c. Let stupid sots, while tippling wine, The virtues of the grape make known ; But those who wit and worth combine Must pledge themselves is Innishone.* Oh, &c. Then fill your glass of sparkling juice That never met a gauger's nose ; For where's the man who could refuse To drink the land where poteen flows ? Oh, &c. * " This district (the barony of Innishone, county of Tyrone) has long been famous for its whisky, and has even become a name for the liquor itself ; real Innishone is its highest praise, and nothing in the way of panegyric can be added to this." Views of Society and Manners in the North of Ireland. By John Gamble, Esq. 1819. 8o POPULAR SONGS OF IRELAND. THE GLASS OF WHISKY Was originally printed in The Sentimental and Masonic Magazine, vol. iii., for December, 1793, a Dublin periodi- cal remarkable from the first productions of the Muse of Moore having appeared therein. This song bears the signature W. P. C y, and was illustrated in that publication by an engraving, executed by W. P. Carey, probably the author, which represents an old man with clasped hands, uplifting a glass of whisky. (See the last verse.) William Paulet Carey is known to have been the writer, in 1789, of a political squib against the Marquis of Buckingham, entitled " The Nettle : an Irish Bouquet to Tickle the Nose of an English Viceroy." Carey was the printer and publisher of The National Evening Star, a Dublin newspaper, and acquired considerable and an unenviable notoriety in June 1794, as the principal witness on the trial of Dr. Drennan for the publication of a seditious libel. It appeared that Carey had been a zealous member of the Society of United Irishmen ; but conceiving himself aggrieved by the conduct of that body towards him, and being himself under prosecution for a libel against Government, he came forward as an evidence for the Crown. Carey was closely cross-examined by Curran, who commented so severely upon his admis- sions and statements, that the acquittal of Dr. Drennan followed. Considering the political apostasy of the author a crime seldom forgotten or forgiven in Ireland it is singular that any song known to have been of his writing should have become popular, which Murrough O'Monaghan's aspiration respecting a glass of whisky certainly did ; and WHISKY. 8 1 it has continued to be so to the present time upwards of forty years. This, however, has been accounted for to the Editor by the statement that the character of Murrough O'Monaghan was a sketch from life of a well-known cripple and mendicant, who frequented the locality men- tioned, and retailed whisky from a huge black bottle. He is further said to have been a faithful emissary of the United Irishmen, and an active agent in procuring infor- mation for them, and in extending the influence of the association by means of u a glass of north country" judi- ciously administered. It is not easy to arrive at the approved standard of a glass for whisky. Irishmen are sometimes fastidious about the matter. On one occasion a hospitable lady, who had rewarded a labourer for his exertions with some admirable whisky, administered in a claret glass, was both shocked and astonished at the impiety and ingratitude of his ex- clamation " May the devil blow the man that blew this glass ! " " What is that you say ? " inquired the lady. " What do I hear ? " " I'm much obliged to you, honourable madam, and 'tis no harm I mean ; only bad luck to the blackguard glass-blower, whoever he was, since, with the least bit of breath in life more, he could have made the glass twice as big." Air " When 1 was a young man in sweet Tipperary" At the side of the road, near the bridge of Drumcondra,* Was Murrough O'Monaghan stationed to beg : He brought from the wars, as his share of the plunder, A crack on the crown, and the loss of a leg, A village in the vicinity of Publiw, vulgarly called Drumconder, 82 POPULAR SONGS OF IRELAND. " Oagh, Murrough ! " he'd cry " musha nothing may harm ye, What made you go fight for a soldier on sea ? You fool, had you been a marine in the army, You'd now have a pinchun and live on full pay. tl But now I'm a cripple what signifies thinking ? The past I can never bring round to the fore ; The heart that with old age and weakness is sinking, Will ever find strength in good whisky galore. Oagh, whisky, ma vurneen, my joy, and my jewel, What signifies talking of doctors and pills ; In sorrow, misfortune, and sickness so cruel, A glass of north country can cure all our ills. " When cold in the winter, it warms you so hearty; When hot in the summer, it cools you like ice ; In trouble false friends, without grief I can part ye ; Good whisky's my friend, and I take its advice. When hungry and thirsty, 'tis meat and drink to me ; It finds me a lodging wherever I lie : Neither frost, snow, nor rain, any harm can do me, The hedge is my pillow, my blanket the sky. ''Now merry be the Christmas! success to good neighbours ! Here's a happy new year, and a great many too ! With a plenty of whisky to lighten their labours, May sweet luck attend every heart that is true ! " Poor Murrough, then joining his old hands together, High held up the glass, while he vented this prayer : " May whisky, by sea or by land in all weather, Be never denied to the children of care ! " WHISKY. 83 A SUP OF GOOD WHISKV. Whisky has been styled " the universal favourite from the prince to the peasant ; " and this assertion is fully supported by the following song, which chronicles its influence over various sects and parties. Mr. Gamble, discussing the origin of the name of some high ground called Whisky Hill, in die north of Ireland, conjectures that " Perhaps whisky is made in greater quantities here than elsewhere ; for on all hills, and I believe I may add in all valleys, people drink as much as they can." This writer elsewhere adds, describing an acquaintance at Strabane : " Though an Englishman and a Methodist, he is not averse to the beverage of the country ; for time, as he well remarked, does reconcile us to many things ; and I never met in this country with an Englishman, of his condition in life, that it did not reconcile to whisky. So universal, indeed, is the perception of misery, and the nothingness of this world, that the people of all countries are pleased to have a cheap opportunity of drowning thought in intoxication, and creating a little happy world of their own. Even the nations which the strong motive of superstition induces to abandon the use of strong liquor here, look to it with longing hereafter ; and per- petual inebriation is the Mahommedan's heaven." A sup of good whisky will make you glad ; Too much of the creatur' * will make you mad : If you take it in reason, 'twill make you wise ; If you drink to excess, it will close up your eyes : f * <( C'est le nom aimable que Ton donne au Whisky." M. DE LATOCNAYE, Prom:nade en Irlande. f Shakspeare observes " One draught above heat makes him a fool, the second mads him, and a third drowns him." Twelfth Night, i. 5. 84 POPULAR SONGS OF IRELAND. Yet father and mother, And sister and brother, They all take a sup in their turn. Some preachers will tell you that whisky's bad ; I think so too if there's none to be had : The swaddler* will bid you drink none at all; But, while I can get it, a fig for them all. Both layman and brother, In spite of this pother, Will all take a sup in their turn* Some doctors will tell you, 'twill hurt your health ; The justice will say, 'twill reduce your wealth \ Physicians and lawyers both do agree, When your money's all gone, they can get no fee. Yet surgeon and doctor, And lawyer and proctor, Will all take a sup in their turn. If a soldier is drunk on his duty found, He to the three legged horse is bound, * The Irish term for the followers of John Wesley. It arose from one of the early Methodists in Dublin, named Cennick, taking, on Christmas Day, the text of his discourse from St. Luke's Gospel, ii. 12 : " And this shall be a sign unto you ; ye shall find the babe wrapped in swaddling clothes lying in a manger." One of his auditors, who was ignorant of the text, " thought this," says Southey, "so ludicrous, that he called the preacher a swaddler in derision; and this unmeaning word became a nickname of the Methodists, and had all the effect of the most opprobrious appellation." In John Wesley's journal he mentions that, during the riots which occurred n Cork during the months of May and June, 1749, "The mob paraded the streets, armed with swords, staves, and pistols, crying out * Five pounds for a swaddler's head ! ' " WHISKY. 85 In the face of his regiment obliged to strip ; But a noggin will soften the nine- tailed whip. For sergeant and drummer, And likewise his honour, Will all take a sup in their turn. The Turks who arrived from the Porte sublime, All told us that drinking was held a great crime ; Yet, after their dinner away they slunk, And tippled whisky till they got quite drunk.* The Sultan and Crommet, And even Mahomet, They all take a sup in their turn. The Quakers will bid you from drink abstain, By yea, and by nay, they will make it plain ; But some of the broad-brims will get the stuff, And tipple away till they've tippled enough. For Stiff-back and Steady, And Solomon's lady, Will all take a sup in their turn. /The Germans do say they can drink the most, The French and Italians also do boast : Hibernia's the country (for all their noise) For generous drinking and hearty boys. * This is no stretch of fancy. The Editor recently met some Turks at dinner, who refused wine ; he facetiously assured them thac the law of the Prophet did not extend to Iiish whisky, which word he could expound to them in English as literally meaning water. The consequence of this translation is faithfully given above. Another party of Turks, of whom the Editor has heard, consumed, on their passage in an English man-of-war, no inconsiderable quantity of champagne, which they called for and drank under the name of soda-water ; observing that English soda-water was a most refreshing beverage. 86 POPULAR SONGS OF IRELAND. There each jovial fellow Will drink till he's mellow, And take off his glass in his turn. "BOUNCE UPON BESS" Seems to have been a cant term for strong whisky, which, the Editor has been informed, was caused by the evidence given in a court of law respecting one of the fair sex, who was delicately and mysteriously represented to have been " overtaken." " What do you mean by being overtaken ? " inquired the examining counsel. " Overtaken by whom ? " " By no one, yo'r honour. Oh ! indeed, no one overtook her : it would be well for her if any decent Christian had done so." " You said she was overtaken ; by whom, or what, was she overtaken ? " " Oh, then, indeed she was overtaken by the liquor." " How overtaken ? did she drink too much ? " " Lord love yo'r honour's innocent heart, I see ye know all about the matter. It overtook the poor girl sure enough ; it came, for all the world, bounce upon Bess ; it was so very strong it knocked her down so flat, she couldn't stand after it." " Pray what liquor did she drink ? " " It was Walker's best whisky, yo'r honour." In the " land of song," so fair an opportunity for recommending the potent effects of its national manufac- ture could scarcely have escaped without notice ; and accordingly, in the following lyric, the merits of " Bounce upon Bess " are set forth, WHISKY. 87* The song is given from a manuscript copy, which has been in the Editor's possession upwards of twenty years. Mr. Walker was an eminent distiller in Cork. Air " The Priest and his Boots" Come all you good fellows who love to be gay, Who spend every night what you earn each day ; Drink deep of that liquor which Irishmen bless, For you'll find no such cordial as " Bounce upon Bess." Compared with this balsam, all drink is small beer ; What raises the spirits can never be dear : The inside it warms, and it cheers up the heart, And puts life in a man from a gill to a quart. Sing, fall de ral, &c. Let Englishmen talk of their porter and ale, Which grow very bad as they grow very stale ; But give Paddy the liquor to fuddle his nose, Which improves still the more as the older it grows. In a glass it so clear and transparent appears, 'Tis as bright as the eye of your sweetheart in tears ; And, next to a smack of her lips, by my soul, There is nothing like Walker's best " Bounce " in a bowl. Sing, fall de ral, &c. When in winter, the frost of a morning feels raw, Were the ice in your stomach, good Bounce would it thaw ; And for heat in the summer you'll care not a fig, If of " Bounce upon Bess " you but take a full swig. Oh ! 'tis good in all weather, in each time and place, To all ranks and professions it shows a bright face ; And if you had enough of it, neighbours, in store, Oh, the devil a grief would come inside your door ! With, fall de ral, &c. , POPULAR SONGS OF IRELAND. If at fair or at patron* your sweetheart you meet, To a tent you invite her to drink and to eat ; Let her eat what she will, but you can do no less Than to mix for her tipple some " Bounce upon Bess ! " Though hard as a flint she looked on you before, Her heart will grow soft, oh ! 'twould melt on the floor ; And her eyes will so wink, that I'd venture to guess She would pledge her best cloak for good " Bounce upon Bess ! " Sing, fall de ral, &c. All join, then, in chorus, may Bounce never fail ; And the man who produced it, may naught ever ail, Who keeps up our spirits, and raises our land, Should the good will of Irishmen always command. May his still ever prosper, and prosper it will, Whilst the fields supply barley, and he supplies skill ; And as for consumption, my hearties ! 'tis said, Qh ? the devil our fellows lift hands to their head ! Sing, fall de ral, &c. HAD I THE TUN WHICH BACCHUS USED, To the lover of Irish song, considerable interest will attach to this trifle, now first printed from the author's manuscript, when the name of the writer is stated to be " honest Dick Millikin," who has rendered " the Groves of Blarney " classic ground. Richard Alfred Millikin was born in 1767, at Castle Martyr, a small town in the county of Cork, and was * A meeting dedicated to the honour of q. Patron Sa : nt, 89 placed in the office of a country attorney, where he had the reputation of devoting more attention to painting, poetry and music, than to the niceties of law. Having completed his apprenticeship, when he claimed to be admitted as a member of the legal profession, the gentle- man by whom he was to be examined " thought proper to declare his having received information by letter that Mr. Millikin, then present in court, and claiming a right to be sworn a member of it, so far from being regularly initiated in the profession of an attorney, was bred a painter, and consequently was wholly unqualified for admission. This statement (so grossly false)," says Millikin's biographer, " was promptly corroborated by a Cork attorney, who asserted that he could himself point out a person in Cork for whom the young man in question had actually painted a sign. Such an attack, in such a place, was in itself sufficient to abash an inexperi- enced young man ; but, when a recollection flashed on his mind of having really painted a board, at the request of a poor widow (she was that attorney's nurse), to place over the window of her son's shop, his embarrassment became so great that he was unable to utter a word ; and had not his limbs refused their office, he would have quitted the court never to return. But, just at that dis- tressing moment, an acquaintance of happier times, the good-natured, kind-hearted Counsellor Fitzgerald (as remarkable for his urbanity of disposition as corpulence of person), happening to be present, and taking fire at the malicious falsehood, rose, and in a very eloquent address to the court fully disproved the illiberal and unmanly charge, asserting, in his turn, that Mr. Millikin his schoolfellow and early friend, who was designed for a higher walk in life than that he was now about to enter on had not only received the education of a 90 POPULAR SONGS OF IRELAND. gentleman, but was possessed of those accomplishments generally attached to the character, one of which was drawing, in which he excelled, and which, till now^ he had never heard attributed to any man as a fault, or con- sidered as a barrier to professional pursuits. " The consequence of this kind and sea-sonable ex- planation was his being admitted and sworn an attorney, and a member of the King's Inns, after which he returned to Cork to commence business. Young and unpatronized, however, he had little employment, being mostly applied to for the recovery of debts, a branch of the profession particularly disagreeable to him, his heart revolting from the idea of depriving a fellow being of liberty, or distress- ing those who were already distressed ; and a circum- stance or two which occurred in the course of his short practice, effectually confirmed his dislike to the business altogether. Being employed by a clergyman to recover some debts, due by his parishioners for tithe, he pro- ceeded for the purpose to a town where a quarter session was holding, and where the process-server who had been employed was appointed to meet him. This person, however, not appearing, he waited, but waited in vain, until the conclusion of the session ; for he never saw him more, the unfortunate man's body being found some time after, where he had been murdered while on his journey to the appointed place." As professional employment, for which there are many candidates, must be courted rather than shunned as irk- some, Mr. Millikin was left with ample leisure to indulge his taste for literature and the fine arts; and, in 1795* several poetical contributions from his pen were printed in the Monthly Miscellany, a Cork magazine. In April, 1797, he published, jointly with his sister a lady who had distinguished herself by some historical novels WHISKY. 91 The Casket ; or, Hesperian Magazine, which appeared monthly until February, 1798, when the political circum- stances of Ireland terminated its existence. On the breaking out of the Rebellion, Mr. Millikin zealously joined the Royal Cork Volunteers, and soon became a conspicuous member of that corps. He was subsequently, by the exertions of his pen and pencil, an active promoter of various benevolent objects in Cork. In 1807, he published " The Riverside," a poem, in blank verse; and, in 1810, a little tale called "The Slave of Surinam," During the spring of 1815, the foundation was laid by him of a Society for the Promotion of the Fine Arts in Cork, which followed an exhibition of his drawings, combined with the works of a few amateur friends and artists of that city. Mr. Millikin's death was caused by water on the chest, and occurred, after a short illness, on the i6th of December, 1815. He was buried with a public funeral at Douglas, near Cork, and his loss deplored as a general calamity. A little volume, entitled " Poetical Fragments of the late Richard Alfred Millikin, with an authentic Memoir of his Life," was printed by subscription in 1823 ; and pre- fixed to it is a portrait, which was a good likeness of what the author must have been in the prime of life. Previous to this publication, all Mr. Millikin's papers were given by his widow, now no more, to the Editor, with the request that nothing unworthy of the memory of her husband should be published. The Editor has only to add to this sacred trust that, to the best of his judgment, if every line of the manu- scripts thus placed in his hands were printed, nothing would appear injurious to the reputation of the witty head and warm heart of " honest Dick Millikin." 93 POPULAR SONGS OF IRELAND. Had I the tun which Bacchus used, I'd sit on it all day ; For, while a can it ne'er refused, He nothing had to pay. I'd turn the cock from morn to eve, Nor think it toil or trouble ; But I'd contrive, you may believe, To make it carry double. My friend should sit as well as I, And take a jovial pot ; For he who drinks although he's dry- Alone, is sure a sot. But since the tun which Bacchus used We have not here what then ? Since godlike toping is refused, Let's drink like honest men. And let that churl, old Bacchus, sit, Who envies him his wine ? While mortal fellowship and wit Makes whisky more divine. THE NIGHTCAP. A true Irishman says of his whisky as Boniface does of his " Anno Domini/' " I have ate my ale, drank my ale, and I always sleep upon ale." So an Irishman, after the eating and drinking of his whisky is over, always sleeps upon it, which " parting glass," as it has been affec- tionately termed, is distinguished as " the nightcap." WHISKY. 93 With a nightcap of this manufacture, it has been already asserted (p. 82), that " Neither frost, snow, nor rain, any harm can do me ; The hedge is my pillow, my blanket the sky." The burlesque, classical, little jeu esprit here given, appeared in a Dublin newspaper or magazine, about the year 1820, and was recited to the Editor by a friend, who informed him that the author was Mr. Thomas Hamblin Porter, elected a Scholar of Trinity College, Dublin, in 1817. The Bog of Allen, from whence the nectar patronized by Apollo was derived, is a tract famous formerly for Tories and Rapparies, and of more recent times for the manufacture of poteen. It extended for a considerable distance through part of the counties of Dublin, Carlow, Kildare, Kilkenny, and Meath. " The Bog of Allen " was, in short, a vague term for any matter about which an awkward question was likely to be asked. The Editor remembers that a gentleman was once robbed near Cork of a valuable watch, which, a day or two afterwards, was bought by a silversmith in Cork from a man who asserted, with the utmost simplicity, that he had found it in the Bog of Allen ! Jolly Phoebus his car to the coach-house had driven, And unharnessed his high-mettled horses of light ; He gave them a feed from the manger of heaven, And rabbed them and littered them up for the night. Then down to the kitchen he leisurely strode, Where Thetis, the housemaid, was sipping her tea ; He swore he was tired with that damn'd up-hill road, He'd have none of her slops nor hot water, not he. 94 POPULAR SONGS OF IRELAND. So she took from the corner a little cruiskeen Well filled with nectar Apollo loves best ; (From the neat Bog of Allen, some pretty poteen), And he tippled his quantum and staggered to rest His many-caped box-coat around him he threw, For his bed, faith, 'twas dampish, and none of the best; All above him the clouds their bright fringed curtains drew, And the tuft of his nightcap lay red in the west BUMPERS, BUMPERS, FLOWING BUMPERS. This convivial lyric, in which the inspiration of whisky is set forth, appeared in BlackwoocTs Magazine for December, 1821, associated with the song of " St. Patrick of Ireland, my Dear." The author has entitled it " A real Irish ' Fly not yet', " and informs us that it was an im- promptu, chanted " on the spur of the occasion," at the time noted viz , " Four o'clock in the morning, or there- abouts." Tune" Lillibullero. " Hark ! hark ! from below, The rascally row Of watchmen, in chorus, bawling " Four ! " But spite of this noise, My rollicking boys, We'll stay till we've emptied one bottle more.* * Of whUky viz. , about thirteen tumblers. Authors Note, WHISKY. 9S CHORUS.* Bumpers bumpers flowing bumpers ! Bumper your glasses high up to the brim ! And he who is talking A word about walking, Out of the window at once with him ! Our whisky is good As ever yet stood Steaming on table, in glass or pot ; It came from a still, Snug under a hill, Where the eye of the gauger saw it not. Bumpers, &c. Then why should we run Away from the Sun ? Here's to his health, my own elegant men ! We drank to his rest Last night in the west, And we'll welcome him now that he wakes again, Bumpers, &c. And here we shall stop, Until every drop That charges our bottles is gone, clean gone ; And then, sallying out, We'll leather the rout f Who've dared to remind us how time has run. Bumpers, &c. * \Ve pronounce the word generally in Ireland as we sound the ch in church tchorus. I think it is the prettier way. Author's Note. f Beating the watch is a pleasant and usual finale to a social party in the metropolis (Dublin), I am compelled myself, now and then, 96 POPULAR SONGS OF IRELAND. I'LL NEVER GET DRUNK ANY MORE! In contrast to the preceding song, so full of action, may be placed one in which the reaction of " Bumpers, bumpers, flowing bumpers," is exhibited. The Editor has been informed that it was sung with much effect by a man named Eagan at the early meetings of a temperance society in the south of Ireland, upon which occasions the lines referring to the suicidal proceeding of hard drinking " For your own brains out you're dashing : Don't you feel your head quite sore ? " were always received with marked approbation. Tune-" Matt Brook." One night when I got frisky Over some poteen whisky, Like waves in the Bay of Biscay, I began to tumble and roar. My face was red as a lobster, I fell and I broke my nob, sir, My watch was picked from my fob, sir Oh, I'll never get drunk any more ! Now I'm resolved to try if, I'll live upon moderate diet ; I'll not drink, but will deny it, And shun each alehouse- door; to castigate them, merely for the impertinent clamour they make at night about the hours. Our ancestors must have been in the depths of barbarity when they established this un^euJemaniike custom, Authors Note* WHISKY. 97 For that's the place, they tell us, We meet with all jovial good fellows ; But I swear by the poker and bellows I'll never get drunk any more. The landlady is unwilling To credit you for a shilling ; She straightway sends her bill in, And asks you to pay your score. And if with money you're stocked, She'll not stop till she's emptied your pocket; Then the cellar-door is locked, And you cannot get drunk any more. So by me now take caution, Put drinking out of fashion, For your own brains out you're dashing : Don't you feel your head quite sore ? For when all night you've tarried Drinking of punch and claret, In the morning home you're carried, (Saying) " I'll never get drunk any more." A man that's fond of boozing, His cash goes daily oozing ; His character he's losing, And its loss he will deplore. His wife is unprotected, His business is neglected, Himself is ^-respected, So, do not get drunk any more. 98 POPULAR SONGS OF IRELAND. BARRY OF MACROOM. Who the hero of the following song may be, the Editor is unable satisfactorily to determine ; although Mr. Daniel MacCarthy, whom he is represented to have excelled in toping, is recorded in Dr. Smith's " History of Kerry " to have died in 1751, as is asserted, at the age of 112 years. " He drank/' says Smith, " for many of the last years of his life, great quantities of rum and brandy, which he called ' naked truth : ' and if, in compliance to other gentlemen, he drank claret or punch, he always took an equal quantity of spirits to qualify these liquors : this he called ' a wedge.' " Old Jem Nash was, no doubt, an equally distinguished individual belonging to that " perse- cuted and hard-drinking country," Ireland. It is difficult to form a correct estimate of the quantity of whisky-punch which may be comfortably discussed at a sitting. In the case of a gentleman whose life had been insured for a large sum of money, the payment at his death was resisted by the Insurance Company, upon the plea that he had caused his death by excessive drinking. The matter came to a legal trial, and among other wit- nesses examined was one who swore that, for the last eighteen years of his life, he had been in the habit of taking every night four-and-twenty tumblers of whisky- punch. " Recollect yourself, sir," said the examining counsel. "Four and- twenty! you swear to that; did you ever drink five-and- twenty ? " " I am on my oath," replied the witness ; " and I will swear no further, for I never keep 'count beyond the two dozen, though there's no saying how many beyond it I might drink to make myself comfortable ; but that's my stint." The Editor believes that he is not wrong in assigning WHISKY. 99 this lyric to the pen of Mr. Richard Ryan, the author of a national biographical dictionary, entitled "The Worthies of Ireland," 2 vols. 8vo. 1819 and 1821, and of other works. The town of Macroom, upon which the fame of " bold Barry " has bestowed celebrity, is about eighteen miles west of the city of Cork. Upwards of eighty years ago, Smith, in his " History of Cork," observes that, " in this town are some whisky distillers ; a liquor and manu- facture so pernicious to the poor, that it renders every other employment useless to them." But it is to be hoped that Mr. Barry's example may have had its in- fluence in diffusing a civilized taste for whisky-punch among them, and thus, by inducing the drinkers of " naked truth " to dilute their liquor, effect an important moral improvement. Oh ! what is Dan MacCarty, or what is old Jem Nash? Or all who e'er in punch drinking, by luck, have cut a dash, Compared to that choice hero, whose praise my rhymes perfume I mean the boast of Erin's Isle, bold Barry of Macroom ? 'Twas on a summer's morning bright that Barry shone most gay, He had of friends a chosen few, to dine with him that day ; And to himself he coolly said (joy did his eyes illume) " I'll show my guests there's few can match bold Barry of Macroom ! " The dinner was despatched, and they brought six gallon- jugs * Of whisky-punch ; and after them, eight huge big-bellied mugs; * The custom of making punch in jugs seems a better one than that of each person making for himself* It mingles the spirits and D 2 loo POPULAR SONGS OF IRELANt). And soon all 'neath the table lay, swept clean as with a broom Except the boast of Erin's Isle, bold Barry of Macroom ! Now Barry rose, and proudly cried " By Judy, I'll go down, And call into each whisky-shop that decorates our town ; For lots of whisky- punch is here for master and for groom, If they'll come up and drink it with bold Barry of Macroom ! Thus Barry soon he brought with him a choice hard- drinking set, As ever at a punch-table, on Patrick's Day, had met ; Yet soon upon the floor they lay a low, disgraceful doom; While, like a giant fresh and strong, rose Barry of Macroom ! Then Barry went unto his wife, and to his turtle said " My d^ar, I now have had enough, therefore I'll go to bed; But, as I may be thirsty soon, just mix it in the room, A gallon-jug of punch, quite weak, for Barry of Macroom ! Brave Barry, he got very ill, his malady was such; It sprung from drinking whisky-punch, too little or too much; water more intimately, and gives more mellowness to the liquor, from the practice of pouring it several times out of one jug into another. It is long since punch has been drunk out of bowls, but the large china bowl still holds its place in closets, in memory of past times, and as an article of show." Views of Society and Manneri in the North of Ireland, By John Gamble, Esq. 1819, WHISKY t$& And sickness, night and morning did, like canker in the bloom, Attack and waste the carcase of bold Barry of Macroom ! The doctors they declared all, that punch he must give o'er, And less two gallons drink each day, of soon he'd drink no more ; Then would the wild flowers, fair and gay, spring up around his tomb, Above the turf that sepulchred bold Barry of Macroom ! Now Barry thought such talk as this was mighty hard to bear, And grumbled as each day he quaff d his hermit-kind of fare; But Barry lived for many years, old whisky to consume, And, proved the prince of punch-drinkers, died Barry of Macroom ! THE MERRY MAN. There is something extremely melancholy in the pic- ture of reckless conviviality here exhibited; but it is, nevertheless, eminently characteristic of Irish good-fellow- ship. The hero of this song, to use an American phrase, " goes the whole hog ; " for, not content with expressing an utter contempt for the ordinary decencies of the table, such as filling his glass from the decanter, bottle, jug, or pitcher, which may be at hand, he absolutely inculcates the adoption of gymnastic exercise while drinking, by " fugling the can." And subsequently, when he is no l.b.2 POPULAR SONGS OF IRELAND. longer able to be the fugleman, a match at single-stick with blackthorn cudgels is recommended, as a convenient interlude between the disappearance of a cruiskeen of whisky and the introduction of a " full flowing bowl." This is evidently here done in the spirit of kindness, and without any malicious motive ; unlike the directions given in the will of one of Cromwell's followers in Ireland : " My body shall be put upon the oak-table in my coffin in the brown room, and fifty Irishmen shall be invited to my wake, and every one shall have two quarts of the best aqua vitse, and each a skein, dirk, or knife, laid before him ; and, when their liquor is out, nail up my coffin, and commit me to earth, from whence I came. This is my will. Witness my hand, this 3rd of March, 1674. "JOHN LANGLEY." " Some of his friends asked him why he would be at such charge to treat the Irish at his funeral, a people whom he never loved ? * Why, for that reason/ replied Langley ; ' for they will get so drunk at my wake that they will kill one another, and so we shall get rid of some of the breed ; and if every one would follow my example in their wills, in time we should get rid of them all ! ' " The fifth verse of the song is levelled against an ancient practice, now rapidly falling into d suse, of hiring professional mourners, called keeners (from caoine, a funeral elegy), to lament over the dead. The chorus by which the effusions of Erin's elegiac muse are supported is termed, by Mr. Twiss, " the Irish howl." I am a young fellow Who loves to be mellow, To drink and be merry is all my delight \ WHISKY. 103 I often get frisky, By tippling good whisky, With jovial companions from morning to night. I never took pleasure In hoarding up treasure ; The sight of a miser I cannot endure, Who always is griping, And sharping, and biting, And laying out schemes for to plunder the poor. Ri fal-da-riddle lah, &c. Of the beggarly miser I am a despiser ; The fruit of his labour he never enjoys : His heirs for his money, Impatient of honey, Are waiting and hate him, while with it he toys. His frame is complaining, For want of sustaining ; His limbs are decrepit, from hunger and cold ; Instead of good liquor To make his pulse quicker, He's gloating and doating on that idol called gold. Ri fal, &c. As for me, while I'm able, At the head of a table, Set me down of good whisky a full water stand, Where each clever toper May drink like the Pope, or May toast to his friends with a bumper in hand. By the side of that jorum, Like a Justice of Quorum, I'll preside full of state in my holiday clothes ; JO* POPULAR SONGS OF IRELAND. In winter or summer, With a rollicking rummer, A pipe for to smoke, and a jug at my nose, Ri fal, &c. " Come, drawer, this spirit Of yours has some merit. Sweet piper, come squeeze up your leather and play ; And hand him the pitcher, It makes music richer," Thus we'll drink and carouse to the dawning of day. I hold them but asses Who wait to fill glasses, Such muddling and fuddling's unworthy of man ; It only is wasting The time that is hasting, . Commend me to those that will fugle the can, Ri fal, &c, When stopped in my toddy By death seizing my body, No crocodile tears shall be shed at my wake ; While there I am lying No counterfeit crying, No moans, I desire, shall be made for my sake. I've no taste for squalling, Or old women's bawling, Who string nonsense together and call it a keen ; Who only are selling Their yelping and yelling For some one, perhaps, that they never have seen. Ri fal, &c. But of whisky a cruiskeen To fill up each loose skin, Let all have to toast to my journey up hill ; WHISKY, 105 And three jolly pipers To tune up for the swipers, While each boy honestly swallows his fill* Then a blackthorn cudgel For each should they grudge ill, To anoint one another, and none to control. Nor let them be downhearted For him that's departed, But end their disputes in a full flowing bowl. Ri fal, &c. The next morning early, When daylight 'tis fairly, My trunk shall be nailed quite close to my back ; Four stout lads so civil Will bear it up level, Whilst I ride on their shoulders instead of a sack. Now let them all sing, And the valleys will ring, Raising up a fine chorus, both gallant and brave ; Then lay me down flat, Like a sieve-woman's hat, And away goes the merry man into his grave. Ri fal, &c. xo6 POPULAR SONGS OF IRELAND. THE IRISH OAK, FIGURATIVELY termed " a sprig of Shillelah," is so called from Shillelah, a district in the county of Wicklow, formerly celebrated for its oak woods. " And who has not heard of Irish oak ? " vehemently inquires the amusing essayist upon national em- blems, in The Dublin Penny Journal. "And who has not heard of Irish oak? For, though our hills and plains are now so bare of trees that they excite the admiration of all timber-hating Yankees as they sail along our improved shores, yet formerly it was not so. No ! It is said that Westminster Hall is roofed with oak, brought from the wood of Shillelah; and a great many of our common names are significant of oak woods. As Kildare, the wood of oak ; Londonderry, the oak wood planted by Londoners ; Ballinderry, the town in the oak wood. At the bottom of all our bogs, and on the tops of our highest hills, roots of oak of immense size are found ; and we may fairly conclude, that though Ireland is now a denuded country, it was once the most umbrageous of the British isles. The customs of our country show that our people once dwelt under the greenwood tree ; for an Irishman cannot walk or wander, sport or fight, buy or sell, comfortably, without an oak stick in his fist. If he travels, he will beg, borrow, or steal a shillelah ; if he goes to play, he hurls with a THE IRISH OAK. 107 crooked oak stick ; if he goes to a fair, it is delightful to hear the sound of his cloghel-peen on the cattle-horns ; if he fights, as fight he must, at market or at fair, the cudgel is brandished on high ; and, as Fin Ma' Coul of old smiled grimly in the joy of battle, so his descendants shout lustily in the joy of the cudgels ' Bello gaiidentes prxlio ridentes ! ' ' In 'ruxion delighting, Laughing while fighting ! ' "' Leather away with your oak sticks !' is still the privilege, the glory, and the practice of Irishmen. Nay, more, while living, their meal, their meat, and their valuables (if they have any, of course), are kept in oak chests ; and when dying, Paddy dies quietly, if assured that he shall have a decent * berrin,' be buried in an oaken coffin, and attended to the grave by a powerful faction, well provided with oak saplings ! " It has been observed to the Editor by an inge- genious friend, that when Shakspearc made Hamlet swear by St. Patrick, it was with the view of show- ing the ancient connection which existed between Denmark and Ireland. But that Hamlet had no Milesian blood in his veins is clear from his not carrying a shillelah, which he might then have used with so much effect to illustrate his doctrine of suit- ing " the word to the action." " Horatio. There's no offence, my lord. Hamlet. Yes, by St. Patrick, but there is, Horatio ; And much offence, too." The superiority of the Shillelah oak will be here* after spoken of. From " A Practical Treatise on io8 POPULAR SONGS OF IRELAND. Planting/' published in Dublin in 1794, by Mr. Hayes of Avondale, the following particulars have been collected respecting the disappearance of trees "of ancient birth " from this renowned wood : " It is generally understood that a sale was made of some of the finest timber of Shillelah, which remained in Charles the Second's time, into Holland for the use of the Stadt- house, and other buildings constructed on piles driven close together, to the number of several thousand. In 1669, William, Earl of Strafford, furnished Lawrence Wood of London with such pipe- staves, to a great amount, at ;io per thousand, as are now sold for ^50, and are only to be had from America. The year 1692 introduced into Shillelah that bane of all our timber, iron forges and furnaces ; and, as the parties were allowed to fell for them- selves several thousand cord of wood yearly, and were only confined to a particular district, they cut whatever was most convenient to them for the purpose, and it is inconceivable what destruction they must have made in the course of twenty years, which was the term of their contract." From a paper in the handwriting of Thomas, Marquess of Rockingham, it appears that, in 173 1, there were standing in that part of Shillelah called the Deer Park, 2150 oak trees ; of these, in 1737, there remained 1540 trees. In 1780, thirty-eight only of the old reserves were in existence. " The evident symptoms of decay which from that time they began to exhibit, owing to windshakes and other dis- orders incidental to all old trees which have lost a mass Qt" shelter on every side, make it expedient to cut them THE IRISH OAK. 109 nearly all down from time to time. The last I remember to have been felled," adds Mr Hayes, "produced, at three shillings per foot, ^27 is. 8^.; another, about the same time, was purchased for the arm of a fire-engine at Donane Colliery, and with the rough end sawed off after the axe, for which two guineas was given, produced 26 4s. 3) told me that more marriages were celebrated in Dublin the week after Donny- brook Fair than in any two months duiing the rest of the year; the month of June being warm and snug (as he termed it) smiled on everything that was good, and helped the liquor in making the arrangements ; and with great animation he added, that it was a gratifying sight to see his young parishioners, who had made up their matches at Donny brook, coming there in a couple of years again to buy whistles for their children." Edward Lysaght, the author of this humorous and descriptive song, generally known as " pleasant Ned Ly- saght," was the son of John Lysaght, Esq., of Brickhill, in the county of Clare. He was born on the 2 1 st of December, 1763, and educated at the school of the Reverend Patrick Hare, of Cashel. In 1779,* young Lysaght entered Trinity College, Dublin, through which he passed with much credit, and was particularly distinguished as a member of the Historical Society. " In 1 784, he became a student of the Inner Temple, and took his degree of Master of Arts at St. Edmund Hall, Oxford. He was called to the English Bar at the term of 1788, and to that of Ireland in the following term. His professional duties commenced with his being counsel for Lord Hood in the long-contested election for Westminster, between that nobleman and Mr. Fox." Sir Jonah Barrington says, " Lysaght, a gentleman by birth, was left, as to fortune, little else than his brains and * The editor of a volume of "Poems, by the late Edward Ly- saght, Esq.," Svo., Dublin, 1811, from whose preface the above particulars are copied, adds to the date 1779, Mr. Lysaght " being then about eighteen years of age." If this statement of age be correct, the date of Mr. Lysaght's entrance into Trinity College should be 1781. H2 POPULAR SONGS OF IRELAND. pedigree. The latter, however, was of no sort of use to him, and he seldom employed the former to any lucrative purpose. He considered law as his trade^ and conviviality (to the cultivation whereof no man could apply more sedulously) his profession. Full of point and repartee, every humorist and ban vivant was his patron. He had a full proportion of animal courage ; and even the fire-eaters of Tipperary never courted his animosity. Songs, epi- grams, and lampoons, which, from other pens, would have terminated in mortal combat, being considered inherent in his nature, were universally tolerated. " Some of Lysaght's sonnets," adds Sir Jonah, " had great merit, and many of his national stanzas were singularly characteristic. His ' Sprig of Shillelah and Shamrock so Green,' is admirably and truly descriptive of the low Irish character, and never was that class so well depicted in so few words. " Lysaght was, perhaps, not a poet, in the strict acceptation of the term ; but he wrote a great number of miscellaneous verses ; some of them, in general estimation, excellent, some delicate, some gross. I scarce ever saw two of these productions of the same metre, and very few were of the same character. Several of the best poetical trifles in MacNally's * Sherwood Forest ' were penned by Lysaght. Having no fixed politics, or, in truth, decided principles respecting anything, he was one day a patriot, the next a courtier, and wrote squibs both for govern- ment and against it. The stanzas relatively commencing ' Green were the fields that our forefathers dwelt on/ &c., * Where the loud cannons rattle, to battle we'll go,' c. ; and, 1 Some few years ago, though now she says no,' &c., were three of the best of his patriotic effusions ; they THE IRISH OAK. ii$ were certainly very exciting, and he sang them with great effect." Sir Jonah Barrington gives a whimsical account of Lysaght's marriage. Shortly after his death, a few of his poems were hastily collected, and published in a volume, by subscription ; to which a portrait, from recollection, otf his " mild, pale, and penetrating " countenance is prefixed. 7he hnllant wit, the rich vein of humour, and irresistible mimicry, the extraordinary readiness of reply, and high social qualities of Mr. Lysaght, gave a certain reputation to every trifle which came from his pen. However, it is unfair critically to estimate by the contents of the volume just mentioned, Mr. Lysaght's powers of mind, or the effect which his lyrics on elections, or other occasions of popular excitement, produced. It cannot be doubted, from their fugitive nature, that many of his happiest effusions have perished; indeed, the volume of his poems contains neither the following song, nor any of those mentioned by Sir Jonah Barrington ; and all the verses there to be found are evidently written to answer some temporary purpose, and bear obvious marks of that haste which did not permit a second perusal. Some literary interest attaches to Mr. Lysaght's memory, as the godfather of Miss Owenson (the present Lady Morgan), whom he subsequently ad- dressed in some sportive lines, of which only a fragment is preserved. "The Muses met me once, not very sober, But full of frolic, at your merry christening ; And now, this twenty-third day of October, As they foretold, to your sweet lays I'm listening," &c. It only remains for the Editor to state, that Donny- brook Fair no longer exists. Mr. D' Alton, in his " History of the County of Dublin" (1838), speaking of Donny brook, says, *' This place was long celebrated for its 114 POPULAR SONGS OF IRELAND. annual August fair the ' Bartholomew ' of Dublin ; but which, in consequence of several riotous and disgraceful results, it has been found necessary to suppress." Oh ! love is the soul of a neat Irishman, He loves all that is lovely, loves all that he can, With his sprig of Shillelah and shamrock so green ! His heart is good-humoured, 'tis honest and sound, No envy or malice is there to be found ; He courts arid he marries, he drinks and he fights ; For love, all for love, for in that he delights, With his sprig of Shillelah and shamrock so green ! Who has e'er had the luck to see Donnybrook Fair ? An Irishman, all in his glory, is there* With his sprig of Shillelah and shamrock so green ! His clothes spick and span new, without e'er a speck, A neat Barcelona tied round his neat neck ; He goes to a tent, and he spends half-a-crown, He meets with a friend, and for love knocks him down With his sprig of Shillelah, and shamrock so green ! At evening returning, as homeward he goes, His heart soft with whisky, his head soft with blows From a sprig of Shillelah, and shamrock so green ! He meets with his Sheelah, who, blushing a srnile, Cries, " Get ye gone, Pat," yet consents all the while. To the priest soon they go ; and nine months after that, A fine baby cries, " How d'ye do, father Pat, With your sprig of Shillelah and shamrock so green ?" Bless the country, say I, that gave Patrick his birth, Bless the land of the oak, and its neighbouring earth, Where grow the Shillelah and shamrock so greeal THE IRISH OAK. IiJ May die sons of the Thames, the Tweed, and the Shannon, Drub the French, who dare plant at our confines a cannon ; United and happy, at Loyalty's shrine, May the Rose and the Thistle long flourish and twine Round a sprig of ShiJlelah and shamrock so green ! HAIL TO THE OAK, THE IRISH TREE! Speaking of the magnitude and value of trees in Ire- land, Mr. Hayes observes : " In the small survey which my time permitted me to make, the district of Shillelah, in the county of Wick low, first claimed my attention. Though the name, with little variation in the spelling, may be literally translated fair wood, there are few now remaining of those celebrated oaks which authorized that denomina- tion ; but those few are sufficient to support what has been handed down to us concerning them. Tradition gives the Shillelah oak the honour of roofing Westminster Hall, and other buildings of that age ; the timbers which support the leads of the magnificent chapel of King's College, Cam- bridge, which was built in 1444; as a ^ so the roof of Henry the Seventh's Chapel, in Westminster Abbey, are said to be of oak, brought from these woods ;* and I think it by no means improbable," continues Mr. Hayes, " that the superior density and closeness of grain, which is the character of the Irish oak, particularly in high situations and a dry soil, as may appear by comparing its specific gravity with that of other oak, added to the inattention of the Irish at that time to the article of bark, which permitted * Charles V. of France founded the Royal Library at Paris in 1365, and, it is said, had the chambers wainscoted with Irish oak. ED. n6 POPULAR SONGS OF IRELAND. their oak to be felled in winter when free from sap, might have induced the English architects to give it the preference in such national works ; and, it must be allowed, that the present unimpaired state of these roofs, after so many centuries, seems very well to warrant this conjecture." So late as the close of the seventeenth century, com- missioners were sent over to Waterford and Wexford by the English Government. " Nigh which places, in the county of Wickloe," Dean Story tells us, u there is good store of suitable timber, and other advantages for building ships, at easier rates than in England." This lyric is to be found in several recent collections of songs, with the signature, "W. Kertland," attached to it. When, from the new-formed pregnant earth, Sprang vegetation's progeny, The Irish oak, of ancient birth, Arose the kingly forest tree, Hail to the oak, the Irish tree, And Irish hearts, with three times three ! Its verdure sickens where the slave, To power despotic, homage gives ] But real Shillelah, with the brave, True to the soil, luxuriant lives. Hail to the oak, the Irish tree, And hearts of oak, with three times three ! Our Druid rites have spread its fame ; Our bards have sung the noble tree ; Our sailors gain a deathless name, Borne, on its planks, to victory. Hail to the oak, the Irish tree, British tars, with three times three. ! THE IRISH OAK. 117 Still may its circling arms extend, To guard our isles from foreign foes ; Its branching green head long defend The Shamrock, Thistle, and the Rose. Hail to the oak, the Irish tree, And British hearts, with three times three ! OH! AN IRISHMAN'S HEART. The comparison of an Irishman's heart to a sprig of shillelah is an exceedingly happy one. When Pat's heart goes " thump " within his breast, a " whack " from the twig, which he can so skilfully handle, is sure to follow. There is a mysterious sympathy between his hand while it poises a shillelah, and his heart while it swells for " Old Ireland, his king, and his friend." And then so sensitive is that heart of his, like a well- greased and seasoned "bit of stick," it lights up, as touchwood, beneath that burning glass the dark eye of a pretty girl To pursue the simile further is unnecessary. The fear- less way in which Jack Johnstone used to sing the follow- ing song, and the dexterous manner in which he accom- panied it by flourishes of his shillelah, will long be remembered by those who have witnessed his personifica- tion of the Irish character : Air " The Kinnegad Slashers." Oh ! an Irishman's heart is as stout as shillelah, It beats with delight to chase sorrow and woe ; When the piper plays up, then it dances so gaily, And thumps with a whack for tp leather a foe. n8 POPULAR SONGS OF IRELAND. But by beauty lit up, faith, in less than a jiffey, So warm is the stuff, it soon blazes and burns ; Then so wild is each heart of us, lads of the Liffey, It dances and beats altogether by turns. Then away with dull care, let's be merry and frisky, Our motto is this, may it widely extend- Give poor Pat but fair freedom, his sweetheart and whisky, And he'll die for old Ireland, his king, and his friend. Should ruffian invaders e'er menace our shore, Though the foes of dear Erin may strut and look big ; Yet, na bogh-a~lish* my lad, they shall have \\. galore^ For Patrick's the boy that can handle a twig. But the battle once over, no rage fills his breast, Mild mercy still softens the heart of the brave ; For of valour, of love, and of friendship possessed, The soldier of Erin still conquers to save. Then away with dull care, whilst swigging so frisky, Our toast shall be this, may it widely extend Thus blest with fair freedom, our sweethearts and whisky, Here's success to dear Ireland, our king, and our friend. * Equivalent to "Never mind it." LOCAL SONGS. THERE is scarcely a city, town, village, seat, grove, river, lake, or glen in Ireland, the charms of which, or of some fair damsel thereunto appertaining or belonging, do not, as Pope says of the groves of Eden, ' ' Live in description, and look green in song." That Irish local songs should be so abundant is readily accounted for, not merely by the general fondness for such compositions, but by a curious custom, in compliance with which every traveller in Ireland made verses in praise of certain places through or by which he passed. Dr. Smith, in his " History of Kerry," thus notices this whimsical practice : 44 The road from the other parts of Kerry into this barony (Iveragh) runs over very high and steep hills, that stand in this parish (Glanbehy), called Drung and Cahircanawy; which road hangs in a tremendous manner over that part of the sea that forms the Bay of Castle- main, and is not unlike the mountain of Penmenmaure in North Wales, except that the road here is more stony and less secure for the traveller. There is a custom t26 POPULAR SONGS OF IRELAND. among the country people to enjoin every one that passes this mountain to make some verses to its honour, otherwise, they affirm, that whoever attempts to pass it without versifying, must meet with some mischance ; the origin of which notion seems to be, that it will require a person's whole circumspection to preserve himself from falling off his horse. They repeated to me/' adds Smith, " several performances, both in Irish and English, made on this occasion ; but this mountain is not like that of Helicon, consecrated to the Muses, for all the verses that I heard were almost as rugged and uncouth as the road on which they were made, for which reason I shall not trouble the reader with them, although I had several copies given me for that purpose." This remarkable custom is also mentioned in " A Pastoral, in imitation of the First Eclogue of Virgil," published at Dublin in 1719. " Curag Can a Wee, Full often have 1 made a song for thee ; Lest some disaster should attend my life, My tender children, or my loving wife." A writer, under the nom de guerre of Dr. Mac Slatt, presumed to be Mr. Windle of Cork, says " The sound or strait between Clear and Sherkin (in the county of Cork) is called Gascanan, and is singular for a usage which requires that all who cross it for the first time should improvise, at least, a couplet, otherwise some mischance may be the consequence. A similar exercise of the little of poetry within us is required on passing the rugged pathway of Cahircanawy, over- LOCAL SONGS. 121 hanging the dizzy cliffs of Castlemain ; and I doubt not but a collection of these effusions would afford a rare picture of the mind of the gentry who frequent these passages of song." There are few things that sink more deeply into the memory than local songs. A lover at once immortalizes the memory of his mistress by asso- ciating her name, even under the mask of Chloe, Phillida, or Pastora, with a romantic scene. From thenceforward the ground is consecrated to her ; she becomes the presiding goddess of the place, and her praise is echoed by every admirer of the love- liness of Nature. In the songs of England, the same fondness for local association is of parasitical growth. " The pretty Maid of Derby, O ! " " The Lass of Richmond Hill," and similar songs, are known to be the productions of Irishmen ; all the particulars respecting the composition of the latter, by Mr. MacNally, may be found recorded by Sir Jonah Barrington. As to the influence of local songs, an old proverb of " Give a dog a bad name," &c., is not inappli- cable. We find, for instance, after upwards of three hundred years, " these bald verses," as Sir Richard Cox calls them, respecting the miserable state of Armagh, quoted against that city : " Civitas Ardmachana, Civitas vana, *\ Absque bonis moribus : 122 POPULAR SONGS OF IRELAND. Mulieres nudae, Carnes crudae, Paupertas in oedibus." Which have been rendered Armagh 'tis a pity- Is now a vain city, Deprived of all common morality ; The women go nude, The meat 's taken crude, And poverty there has locality. Who, if " the beautiful city " is mentioned, does not immediately appropriate the phrase to Cork ? And why ? Because Cork was introduced as a rhyme in a ridiculous song called, " I was the Boy for bewitching them/' which was a favourite some thirty years ago. " My father he married a Quaker, My aunt she made hay with a fork ; And my uncle 's a great grand brogue-rnaker In 'the beautiful city called Cork." Among the remarkable particulars connected with local song, may be mentioned the practice which exists in Cork of publishing, on Shrove Tuesday, a certain species of song or ballad, called " Skellig Lists ;" of which, in the course of a few days, no less than 30,000 copies are printed and sold.* These lists contain a rhyming catalogue * A ballad publisher in Cork told the Editor, that, in 1836, he printed thirteen different Skellig Lists, His Average press-v.-ork was LOCAL SONGS. 123 of unmarried women and bachelors, whom the poetaster has undertaken to pair together, as suit- able companions for what is termed a pilgrimage to the Skelligs, which are dangerous rocks in the Atlantic, distant about twelve miles from the south- west point of the coast of Ireland, and which were formerly much frequented as places suitable for prayer and penance. On pilgrimages of this kind many matrimonial matches were made up. The 300 impressions a day, and his press was fully occupied for twelve days ; this gives 3,600 impressions. But as, in ballad printing, four or five copies are worked off together, the produce of this press was about 15,000 Skellig lists ; and, as no less than twenty-nine varieties were collected by the Editor in that year, he believes that the above estimate of ihe number circulated is not an unfair one. The fol- lowing are the titles : The Aristocratic List. The Blackpool and Skellig List. The City Skellig List. The Comet Skellig List. The Corkscrew Skellig List. The Flash and Blue Bell Skellig List. Grand Route of the Northerns to Skellig. The Hours of Idleness' Skellig List. Jack Robinson's Skellig List. The Lads of the Whip List. The Looker-on Skellig List. The Morning Herald Skellig List. The Morning Star Skellig List. The Pic-nic Skellig List. The Paul Pry Skellig List. The real Cheese List. No. 2 Repeal Skellig List. The Revenge. The Royal Hottentot Skellig List for 1836. The Sentimental Grand Match to Skelligs. Shrove Tuesday and SpUUcator List, or cut and come again. The Simple Paddy Skell List. The Spyglass Skellig List. No. 3. Skellig List. The Tatler's List. Thwacker's Skellig List. The Try Again. The Virgins of the Sun. And a Skellig List without title, a woodcut being substituted. 124 POPULAR SONGS OF IRELAND. fun, if it may be so called, of the Skellig Lists consists in associating the most probable and im- probable persons. "The pilgrims," observes a learned critic upon the " Munster Melodies," " are paired as whim or fancy dic- tates, making as motley an assortment, to use the simile of the melancholy Jaques, 'as went with Noah into the ark/ Some of these are very amusing, but the humour is too local to be generally understood, and we must add that the personalities too frequently border on ill-nature." In 1832 the Editor received the following note from a friend at Cork, enclosing one of these lists : " Do you remember the local custom of sending all our maids, young and old, accompanied by bachelors of all ages, upon a pilgrimage to Skellig ? I have been told that the custom of these lists arose when some Kerry regiment was here. The tumult in the streets, last Tuesday night, was extreme. Bodies of five hundred men and boys paraded the town, blowing horns, firing, ringing the bells of houses, breaking lamps, &c., and all on the occasion of the Skellig Lists." Appended to one of these lists, published in 1834 which lists are invariably without the printer's name this notice occurs : "TO SKELLIG LIST WRITERS. " The following very polite letter has been sent to the printer, of which it is hoped the Skellig List writers will please to notice, and comply with its contents ; LOCAL SONGS. 125 ! SiR, You are requested to take notice that I will hold you responsible for any liberties taken with the names of Mary Ellen Harris, Sarah Harris, and Eliza Driscoll, they being members of my family, and having received intelligence of some person or persons wish- ing to expose them in the Skellig Lists which are to come to and through your press. I am, therefore, fully determined to indict all persons concerned, if there is anything prejudicial to their person, interest, or character, in any manner. * Most respectfully, c. ' HUGH DRISCOLL.' "Jan. 28, 1834." In making a selection from the popular local songs of Ireland, the Editor has considerable diffi- culty, in consequence of the quantity before him* He is, therefore, necessarily guided by space ; and his object is, as far as possible, to obtain an agree- able variety in a subject apparently circumscribed by amatory or descriptive effusions. PROVINCIAL CHARACTERISTICS. From The Milesian Magazine ; or, Irish Monthly Gleaner? edited and, it is believed, entirely written by Dr. John Brenan of Dublin, who has been termed " The Hudibras of Medicine." Nine numbers of this periodical were published between 1812 and 1825. "Its very appearance was as eccentric as the articles it contained. It had a lofty contempt for all periodical punctuality; 126 POPULAR SONGS Of IRELAND. and, although it styled itself ' Monthly/ not only monthly intervals elapsed between its publications, but sometimes even years themselves were disregarded as * trifles light as air' in its calendar." The members of his own pro- fession were the chief subject of Dr. Brenan's satire ; and several of his allusions to the Dublin practitioners are remembered to the present day for their bitterness and brilliancy. A Connaught man Gets all that he can, His impudence never has mist- all ; He'll seldom Hatter, But bully and batter ; And his talk's of his kin and his pistol. A Munster man Is civil by plan, Again and again he'll entreat you ; Though you ten times refuse, He his object pursues, Which is, nine out of ten times, to cheat you. An Ulster man Ever means to trepan, He watches your eye and opinion ; He'll ne'er disagree Till his interest it be, And insolence marks his dominion. A Leinster man Is with all cup and can y He calls t'other provinces knaves ; Yet each of them see, When lie starts with the three, That his distance he frequently saves. LOCAL SONGS. 127 SWEET AVONDU. This song is copied from a volume entitled " The Recluse of Inchidony, and other Poems," by J. J. Callanan, published in 1830. James Joseph Callanan, the author, was of humble parentage. His father was the confidential servant of an eminent physician in Cork of the same name, and pos- sibly some relative. By his father young Callanan was destined for the Catholic priesthood, and entered at May- nooth, where he remained two years ; but, feeling little sympathy for the clerical vocation, he wilfully quitted that establishment about the year 1816, and, consequently, incurred the displeasure of parents and friends anxious to provide creditably for him. He, however, had made sufficient progress in the classics to enable him to accept a situation as tutor, which was offered to him in 1818. Callanan subsequently entered Trinity College, Dublin, and gained some credit by two clever poems, which were written for college prizes. After a residence of two years in Dublin, his slender pecuniary resources failed him, and, in a fit of despair, he enlisted as a private soldier in the i8th Regiment of Foot, then on the point of embarkation for Malta. " Its name, of the * Royal Irish/ had, for his enthusiastic and patriotic mind, an attraction which, he declared, he was unable to resist." He proceeded to the depot of this regiment in the Isle of Wight, and, with some difficulty, was traced there from Dublin. When the imprudent step which he had taken was discovered, his friends, by exertion? succeeded in purchasing his discharge, and he returned to Cork after an inglorious fortnight of military service. He soon obtained a tutorship in the family of a gentle- 128 POPULAR SONGS OF IRELAND. man named MacCarthy, who resided in the neighbour- hood of Millstreet, in the west of the county of Cork, and, during his stay there, his poetical temperament was nourished by the wild scenery which surrounded him, and the vicinity of the Killarney and Muskerry moun- tains, which were visible from the windows of the house. In 1822, Mr. Callanan went back to reside in Cork, chiefly with the view of printing, by subscription, a collec- tion of his poems, and translations from the Irish. But not receiving sufficient encouragement, he forwarded several of the translations to Blackwood's Magazine, and in the number of that publication for February, 1823, they were inserted. Dr. Maginn was then an active contributor to Black- woody and, by him, Callanan was patronized and engaged as an assistant in his school. Here, however, he did not long remain, for Callanan's mind was haunted by a visionary spirit of poetical fame, and he took up his resi- dence at Bantry, that he might be at liberty to rove and muse among the mountains, from whence seemed to flow for him the springs of inspiration. The failure of his finances, and the hopelessness of aid from friends, who had already done much for him, and were unable to understand his romantic views and feelings, obliged Mr, Callanan again to undertake the task of tuition, and he availed himself of an opportunity to do so in the family of Mr. Alexander O'Driscoll, of Clover Hill ; but no sooner had he become the possessor of a few pounds, than he revisited Cork, and made another effort to print, by sub- scription, his poems. " This intention, which might have been accomplished," says Callanan's biographer, " was soon abandoned, from the absurd idea that his publishing by subscription would have the effect of rendering his productions less respect- LOCAL SONGS. 129 able in the eyes of the public, and he determined to make an effort to dispose of the copyright to a London pub- lisher. Procrastination, that source of many evils, was a favourite and cherished weakness of Callanan's, and it did not fail him here, as a year elapsed before he made an effort even to do this. " From this period forward his life was one of much disappointment; and every day, every hour, brought privation and embarrassment. The kindness of friends, and they were numerous and sincere, perhaps fostered that tendency to an habitual indolence which was his bane; was he less certain of their assistance, he might have made those exertions which, with his powerful talents, would have assured to him a respectable independence, and placed his name beside the proudest and the brightest. He felt the necessity for the effort, but he possessed not the power to make it ; whatever were his aspirations and they were not those of the mean or grovelling, or the sordid his resolution or power of doing never re- ceived the impulse. His social habits, too, his local and personal attachments, kept him in fetters which he seldom sought to break ; and as his society was sought after with eagerness, he was too unresisting to tear himself from the pleasures or enjoyments into which he suffered himself to be plunged." In 1825, Mr. Callanan accepted a situation at Ever- ton School, near Carlow; but in 1826 he returned to Bantry and his beloved haunts in the mountainous west of the county of Cork, as will be more particularly noticed hereafter. Here he continued dreaming away existence, and dependent upon the hospitality, to use his own words, of " priests and doctors, police-officers and bourgeois," until the summer of the following year, when the urgent representations of his friends stimulated him to I 130 POPULAR SONGS OF IRELAND. accept the offer of Mr. Hickey, an Irish gentleman engaged in commercial pursuits at Lisbon, to go out there as tutor to his children. Callanan left Ireland in September, 1827, in a bad state of health, which his residence in Portugal did not improve ; and, as his case became hope- less, he determined on returning to draw his last breath in his native land. After he had embarked in a vessel about to sail for Cork, symptoms of speedy dissolution being observed, Mr. Callanan was put on shore at Lisbon, where he died on the iQth of September, 1829, in the thirty- fourth year of his age. the pealing roar Of the deep thunder, and the tempest's sweep That call'd his spirit up so oft before, May shout to him in vain ! the minstrel wakes no more !" Immediately after his death, the volume of poems; tfl ' which the following song appeared, was published by Mr. Bolster in Cork, to whom Callanan had disposed of the copyright upon his departure for Lisbon. . "In person, Mr. Callanan was not remarkable. A finely formed head, a forehead high, ample, and beauti- fully fair, and an intellectual cast of countenance, gave him an air of dignity that was peculiarly impressive. His voice was gentle and bland; and though its tones were low and soft, he recited poetry with great effect. His acquirements were considerable ; his reading having extended, not only through the Greek and Roman classics, but also over the wide and ample field of French, Spanish, Portuguese, and Irish literature. His patriotism was sincere, and his disposition and manners kind and conciliating." "Avondu," says the author, means "the Blackwater (Avunduff of Spenser). There are several rivers of. this LOCAL SONGS-. 131 name in the counties of Cork and Kerry, but the one here mentioned is by far the most considerable. It rises in a boggy mountain called Meenganine in the latter county, and discharges itself into the sea at Youghall. For the length of its course and the beauty and variety of scenery through which it flows, it is superior, I believe, to any river in Munster. It is subject to very high floods ; and from its great rapidity, and the havoc which it commits on those occasions, sweeping before it corn, cattle, and sometimes even cottages, one may, not inaptly, apply to it what Virgil says of a more celebrated river ' Proluit insano contorquens vortice silvas Rex fluviorum Eridanus.' Spenser thus beautifully characterizes some of our principal Irish rivers, though he has made a mistake with regard to the Allo ; it is the Blackwater that passes through Sliav-logher : ' There was the Lime rolling down the lea, The sandy Slane, the stony Au-brian, The spacious Shenan. spreading like a sea ; The pleasant Boyne, the fishy, fruitful Ban ; Swift Awnidttffi which of the Englishman Is called Biackwater^ and the Liffar deep. Sad Trowis, that once his people overran ; Strong Alio tumbling from Siew-logher steep, And Muila mine whose waves I whilom taught to weep.'" Edmund Burke wrote some " Lines on the River Blackwater," in 1745. (See Prior's " Life of Burke/') Mr. Prior informs the Editor that he was never able to procure a copy of these lines, or to ascertain anything more than the fact that Burke wrote such verses. E 2 132 POPULAR SONGS OF IRELAND. On Cicada's * hill the moon is bright, Dark Avondu still rolls in light ; All changeless is that mountain's head, That river still seeks ocean's bed. The calm blue waters of Loch Lene f Still kiss their own sweet isles of green ; But where's the heart, as firm and true, As hill, or lake, or Avondu ? It may not be, the firmest heart From all it loves must often part ; A look, a word, will quench the flame That time or fate could never tame ; And there are feelings, proud and high, That through all changes cannot die ; That strive with love, and conquer too-*- I knew them all by Avondu, How cross and wayward still is fate j I've learn'd at last, but learn'd too late \ I never spoke of love 'twere vain j I knew it, still I dragged my chain, I had not, never had a hope : But who with passion's tide can cope ? Headlong it swept this bosom through, And left it waste by Avondu. Oh, Avondu, I wish I were As once upon that mountain bare, Where thy young waters laugh and shine On the wild breast of Meenganine. * " Cleada and Cahir-bearna (the hill of the four gaps) form part of the chain of mountains which stretches westward from Millstreet to Killarney. " Author's Note. t Killarney, LOCAL SONGS. 133 I wish I were on Cleada's hill, Or by Glenluachra's rushy rill ; But, no ! I never more shall view Those scenes I loved by Avondu. Farewell, ye soft and purple streaks Of evening on the beauteous Reeks ;* Farewell the mists that love to ride On Cahir-bearna's stormy side ; Farewell November's moaning breeze, Wild minstrel of the dying trees. Clara ! a fond farewell to you, No more we meet by Avondu. No more but thou, O glorious hill, Lift to the moon thy forehead still ; Flow on, flow on, thou dark swift river. Upon thy free wild course for ever ; Exult, young hearts, in lifetime's spring, And taste the joys pure love can bring : But, wanderer, go they're not for you ; Farewell, farewell, sweet Avondu ! BANNA'S BANKS. " Near Camolin (in the county of Wexford) is the village of Rosmenogue. Here/' says Mr. Brewer, in " The Beauties of Ireland," " the late Right Honourable * "Macgillacuddy's Reek?, in the neighbourhood of Killarney, are the highest mountains in Munster ; for a description of these and of the celebrated lakes of that place, see Weld's ' Killarney, by far the best and most correct work on the subject." Author's Note. 134 POPULAR SONGS OF IRELAND. George Ogle of Bellevue, distinguished for brilliancy of wit and exuberance of social qualities, passed some of his early years, under the tuition of the Rev. Mr. Miller, rector of the parish. It was at. this place, and whilst he was very young, that Mr. Ogle wrote his admired song, beginning * Shepherds, I have lost my. love- Have you seen my Anna? Piide of every shady grove, On the banks of Banna ! ' Here, likewise, at a less youthful age, he composed his still more celebrated song of * Molly Asthore/ in which the banks of his favourite * Banna ' are still the scene of his poetical wanderings." A note adds " The first of these juvenile effusions is said to have been inspired by the charms of Miss Stepney, of Durrow House, Queen's County, afterwards Mrs. Burton Doyne of Wells, one of the most admired beauties of her day. It is believed that the lovely ' Molly Asthore ' was Miss Moore, the lady whom Mr. Ogle afterwards married. " The Banna is a beautiful stream that waters the chief part of the Barony of Gorey." Mr. Hay, in his " History of the Insurrection of the County of Wexford," evidently sneers at the popularity of Mr. Ogle's songs when he says, " Duncannon Fort is a military station on the shore, commanding the entrance of the Barrow, of which and the Slaney there is sufficient mention and observation made already ; and, surely of 'Banna's Banks ' we have heard enough'' In a work entitled " Sketches of Irish Political Cha- racters," published in 1799, Mr. Ogle, the author of " Banna's Banks," who then represented the city of Dublin, is thus noticed : -" This gentleman was for many years one of the most popular characters of the kingdom. LOCAL SONGS. 135 Despising the allurements of a Court, every public measure of acknowledged utility had his decided sup- port ; and his spirit was as conspicuous as his resolution was inflexible. He has lately accepted a place, and has since aided administration with his vote, though seldom with his oratory. " His sources of information are not very copious, but he has a lively imagination, a good understanding, and a fine person ; his arguments are more showy than solid, and have more surface than depth. "His voice is clear, distinct, and well toned, and his action graceful ; his language abounds with figurative diction, while the spirit and energy of his manner cor- respond with the warmth of his expressions. He is always heard with deference and attention, and even pleases when he fails to convince. He is distinguished for all the elegant accomplishments which form the finished gentleman." Mr. Ogle voted against the union of the two countries. He was born in 1739, an( ^ died m As down by Banna's banks I strayed, one evening in May, The little birds with blythest notes made vocal every spray ; They sung their little notes of love, they sung them o'er and o'er. Ah, gra-ma-chree, rna colleen oge, ma Molly Asthore !* The daises pied, and all the sweets the dawn of Nature yields, [fields : The primrose pale, and vi'let blue, lay scattered o'er the * This line, which is a compound of several Irish phrases, literally translated means " O love of my heart my dear young girl my darling Molly ! " l$6 POPULAR SONGS OF IRELAND. Such fragrance in the bosom lies of her whom I adore. Ah, gra-ma-chree, &c. I laid me down upon a bank, bewailing my sad fate, That doomed me thus the slave of love and cruel Molly's hate; How can she break the honest heart that wears her in its core? Ah, gra-ma-chree, c* You said you loved me, Molly dear; ah, why did I believe ? Yet who could think such tender words were meant but to deceive ? That love was all I asked on earth nay, Heaven could give no more. Ah, gra-ma-chree, &c. Oh! had I all the flocks that graze on yonder yellow hill, Or low'd for me the numerous herds that yon green pasture fill ; With her I love I'd gladly share my kine and fleecy store. Ah, gra-ma-chree, &c. Two turtle-doves above my head sat courting on a bough, I envied them their happiness, to see them bill and coo : Such fondness once for me she showed ; but now, alas ! 'tis o'er. Ah, gra-ma-chree, &c. Then fare thee well, my Molly dear ! thy loss I e'er shall mourn ; While life remains in Strephon's heart, 'twill beat for thee alone : Though thou art false, may Heaven on thee its choicest blessings pour. Ah, gra-ma-chree, &c. LOCAL SONGS. THE GROVES OF BLARNEY. The memoir prefixed to the little volume entitled " Poetical Fragments of the late Richard Alfred Millikin " (see p. 91), contains the following passage : " Amongst his poetical effusions were innumerable songs, tender, classical, and comic. Of the latter, that entitled * The Groves of Blarney ' is frequently adverted to of late (with a degree of consequence * attached to it quite astonishing to those who know the foolish thing), requires to be particularized, and had its origin as follows : An itinerant poet, with the view of being paid for his trouble, composed a song in praise (as he doubtless intended it) of Castle Hyde, the beautiful seat of the Hyde family on the river Blackwater ; but, instead of the expected remuneration, the poor poet was driven from the gate by order of the then proprietor, who, from the absurdity of the thing, conceived that it could be only meant as mockery ; and, in fact, a more nonsensical com- position could scarcely escape the pen of a maniac. The author, however, well satisfied of its merits, and stung with indignation and disappointment, vented his rage in an additional verse against the owner, and sung it wher- ever he had an opportunity of raising his angry voice. As satire, however gross, is but too generally well received, the song first became a favourite with the lower orders ; then found its way into ballads, and at length into the convivial meetings of gentlemen. It wae in one of those that Mr. Millikin undertook, in the gaiety of the moment, * " Called in a London Print, * The National Irish Poem.' "Nott in the Memoir on this passage. Attributed by Mr. Lockhart, in his "Life of Sir Walter Scott," vi. 75, to "the poetical Dean of Cork." Quoted by Lord Brougham in one of his speeches, &q. POPULAR SONGS OF IRELAND. to produce a song that, if not superior, should be at least equal in absurdity to 'Castle Hyde;' and accordingly adopting the tune, and taking Blarney* for his subject, he soon made good his promise. " ' The Groves of Blarney,' which was received by the company with a burst of applause, soon rivalled its prede- cessor ' Castle Hyde;' and continued long the favourite of every laughter-loving party. Of late it has been in- troduced on the stage by Mathews, the comedian, and is very well received by the London audience. During the Rebellion, several verses were, in the heat of party, added to this song, particularly those alluding to the mean descent of a certain noble lord ; but they were not the production of the original author, who, incapable of scurrility or personal enmity to those with whom he dif- fered in opinion, scorned such puerile malice." Millikin's intention was to ridicule the songs which ignorant Irish village bards with a vast fondness for rhyme, an imperfect knowledge of the English language, and a pedantic ambition to display the full extent of their classical knowledge were, and still are, in the habit of composing : and in Ireland, rhyme, or even the approach to it, is often far more effective than reason.f Upwards of two hundred years before Millikin's satirical effusion, Stanihurst published an imitation of the Anglo- Irish style, attached to his translation of " The First Foure Bookes of Virgil's ^Eneis," 1583; which burlesque he called "An Epitaph, entitled Commune Defunctorum, * " A fine old domain and castle, within three miles of Cork." t The village schoolmaster having remonstrated with a worthy of this class respecting the grammatical construction of a sentence, was answered with, and silenced by " Who is Grammar ? V J say, damn her," LOCAL SONGS. 139 such as our unlearned Rithmours accustomably make upon the death of everie Tom Tyler, as if it were a last for every one his foote, in which the quantities of sillables are not to be heeded." 11 Come to me, you Muses, and thou most chiefly Minerva, And ye that are dwellers in dens of darckened Averna ! Help my pen in writing a death most soarie reciting, Of the good old Topas ; soon too thee, miglitie syr Atlas. For gravitee, the Cato ; for wit, Mars, Bacchus, Apollo ; Scipio, for warfare ; for gentil curtesie, Csesar; A great Alexander, with a long white neck like a gaunder." &c. &c. Little did Millikin foresee the extended celebrity of his "Groves of Blarney;" and it would seem that he even felt some regret at having written this song, from the following lines which were found, after his death, among his papers, and were probably composed by him with the idea of introducing them as an apology into his poem of <-The Riverside:" " O ! Blarney, in my rude unseemly rhymes, Albeit abused, lo ! to thy bowers I come I come a pilgrim to your shades again, And woo thy solemn scenes with votive pipe. Shut not your glades, nymphs of the hollow rock, 'Gainst one who, conscious of the ill he did, Comes back repentant ! Lead me to your dens, Ye fays and sylvan beings lead me still Through all your wildly tangled grots and groves, With Nature and her genuine beauties full ; And on another stop, a stop thine own, I'll sound thy praise, if praise of mine can please A truant long to Nature, and to thee ! " The Editor is in possession of several various readings of " The Groves of Blarney," which he declines noticing, as the following, with the exception of the fifth verse, is copied from the author's manuscript (in pencil, upon the i46 POPULAR SONGS OF IRELAND. back of a letter addressed to him) ; although, in many instances especially in the version of Father Prout it must be admitted that there are some improvements. The fifth verse, which has been already particularly noticed as "alluding to the mean descent of a certain noble lord/' was an impromptu addition at an electioneer- ing dinner in the south of Ireland, and is attributed, but probably incorrectly, to Mr. John Lander. It is said to have been intended as an insult to Lord Donoughmore, who happened to be present. His lordship's readiness, however, completely turned the tables : he applauded the verse, and when the song was ended 3rose, and, in a very humorous speech, acknowledged the relationship- thanked the author for his mention of it, and requested leave to toast the Murphys, Clearys, and Healys, with all others who in the recent political contest had ventured life and limb in support of the Hutchinson cause, and had thus made their blood relationship with him unquestion- able. The late Lord Donoughmore (then Lord Hutchinson) always laughed heartily at this verse, which has become so completely identified with Millikin's song, that it would be scarcely recognized as perfect without it. In that remarkable combination of humour and erudi- tion, "The Reliques of Father Prout," translations of " The Groves of Blarney" into Latin, Greek, and French, may be found "a polyglot edition" of this far-famed song (vol. i. pp. 90-95) ; in which, however, the verse commencing " Tis there's the kitchen " is omitted, and the following verse appended " There is the stone there, that whoever kisses, Oh ! he never misses to grow eloquent ; J Tis he may clamber to a lady's chamber, , Or becorr*^ a member of parliament ; LOCAL SONGS. \4t A clever spouter he'll sure turn out, or An out-and-outer * to be let alone.' Don't hope to hinder him, or to bewilder him,-* Sure he's a pilgrim from the Blarney stone." Among the pilgrims to the Blarney stone was Sir Walter Scott. The Editor remembers observing to Sir Walter, that the good people of Cork were not half pleased with him for going to see an old and neglected ruin such as Blarney, in preference to their noble harbour ; of which the citizens are so justly proud, that they have adopted " Statio benefida carinis " as the motto to the civic arms. Sir Walter Scott's reply was highly characteristic of his temper. " If I had known," said he, " what you tell me that any one had a wish on the subject of my proceed- ings, I would have gone anywhere, or have done anything, in my power to please the good citizens of Cork ; although it would have cost me a pang not to have visited (here Sir Walter hummed) ' The Groves of Blarney, that are so charming, All by the purling of sweet silent streams.' " Millikin probably wrote " The Groves of Blarney " in the year 1798 or 1799. Mr Richard Jones (the accom- plished comedian) told the Editor that he obtained a copy of this song at Cork in the summer of 1800, which city he visited in company with the late Air. Mathews ; by both of whom it was sung in private parties, with the alteration of the lines " Besides the leeches, and the groves of beeches, All standing in order for to guard the flood," into " The trout and salmon play at backgammon, And groves of beeches guard the sportive flood.'* The supposed pummelling of Blarney by Oliver Crom- well will be particularly noticed hereafter. The castle, ,143 POPULAR SONGS OF IRELAND. however, continued in the possession of the MacCarthy family until forfeited, in 1689, by Lord Clancarty, when it was purchased by an ancestor of Mr. Jeffreys, the present possessor of this celebrated but now dilapidated and neglected place. " Oh ! the Muse shed a tear When the cruel auctioneer, With a hammer in his hand, to sweet Blarney came ! " So sings the venerable Father Prout ; at a carousal given by whom, it was observed, that that day was " a day to be blotted out of the annals of Innisfail a day of calamity and downfall. The nightingale never sang so plaintively in ' the groves ;' * the dove or the gentle plover ' were not heard ' in the afternoon ;' the fishes wept in the deepest recesses of the lake ; and strange sounds were said to issue from ' the cave where no daylight enters.' Let me have a squeeze of lemon/' is the conclusion of this pathetic picture. The groves of Blarney they are so charming, All by the purling of sweet silent streams ; Being banked with posies that spontaneous grow there, Planted in order by the sweet rock close. ; Tis there's the daisy, and the sweet carnation, The blooming pink, and the rose so fair ; The daffodowndilly, besides the lily Flowers that scent the sweet fragrant air. Oh, ullagoane, &c. 'Tis Lady Jeffreys that owns this station, f ' Like Alexander or Queen Helen fair ; There's no commander throughout the nation For emulation can with her compare. LOCAL SONGS, 143 She has castles round her, that no nine-pounder Could dare to plunder her place of strength ; But Oliver Cromwell he did her pummel, And made a breach in her battlement Oh, ullagoane, &c. There's gravel walks there for speculation, And conversation in sweet solitude ; Tis there the lover may hear the dove, or The gentle plover, in the afternoon. And if a young lady should be so engaging As to walk alone in those shady bowers, 'Tis there her courtier he may transport her In some dark fort, or under ground. Oh, ullagoane, &:c. For 'tis there's the cave where no daylight enters, But bats and badgers are for ever bred ; Being moss'd by natur', that makes it sweeter Than a coach and six, or a feather bed. Tis there's the lake that is stored with perches, And comely eels in the verdant mud; Besides the leeches, and the groves of beeches, All standing in order for to guard the flood. Oh, ullagoane, &c. 'Tis there's the kitchen hangs many a flitch in, With the maids a stitching upon the stair ; The bread and biske', the beer and whisky, Would make you frisky if you were there. 'Tis there you'd see Peg Murphy's daughter A washing praties forenent the door, With Roger Cleary, and Father Healy, All blood relations to my Lord Donoughmore. Oh, ullagoane, &c. 144 POPULAR SONGS OF IRELAND. There's statues gracing this noble place it/, All heathen goddesses so fair Bold Neptune, Plutarch, and Nicodemus, All standing naked in the open air.* So now to finish this brave narration, Which my poor geni' could not entwine; But were I Homer, or Nebuchadnezzar^ 'Tis in every feature I would make it shine. Ohj ullagoane, &c. O! BLARNEY CASTLE, MY DARLING, Originally appeared in the Cork Southern Reporter newspaper, about April, 1827, where it is entitled, "An Old Ballad, giving a full and true account of the storming and taking of Blarney Castle by Oliver Cromwell; to- gether with some particulars not generally known." The Editor has no doubt that this song, and that on St. Patrick's arrival, explanatory of the origin of the word Punch, came from the same pen. " O ! Blarney Castle, my Darling," has been as unceremoniously appropriated by Father Prout (vide " Reliques," i. 158) as, according to that reverend gentleman, Moore has availed himself of sundry obscure Greek, Latin, and French lyrics. Upon the allusion made to Oliver Cromwell in the * Alas ! these statues were knocked down, by the magical touch of the auctioneer's hammer, to Sir Thomas Deane 44 Who bought the castle, furniture and fixtures, O ! And took off in a cart ('Twas enough to break one's heart) AH the statues made of lead, and the pictures, O ! " Vide " Relives of Father front" i. 1 40, LOCAL SONGS. 145 second and sixth verses, it is necessary to remark that, according to the popular belief of the Irish peasant, Cromwell was endowed with supernatural powers ; and that the fraternity of Freemasons, which was said to be founded by him, were supposed, from the secrecy and ceremonies observed by them, to be dabblers in the black art. Among the pieces of magical skill that Cromwell is asserted to have acquired, was the knowledge of a powder for throwing balls from cannon without making any re- port; and hence termed u dumb-powder," in distinction to gunpowder. It is also traditionally asserted that a spell, of which Cromwell was master, could make his opponents become powerless as statues ; or, in the words of the song " Though the eyes of the people stood open, they found themselves all fast asleep." In a curious French work, entitled " L'Ordre des Francs-Masons Trahi," printed at Amsterdam in 1745, it is stated that " Cromwell was the first who gave the name of the order of Freemasons. Willing to reform mankind, and exterminate princes and kings, he proposed to his party the re-establishment of the Temple of Solomon." Whether this account be true or false, the coincidence between it and the tradition current in Ireland is re- markable. The name of Cromwell, although associated both in song and story with the taking of Blarney Castle, is obviously used for that of his partisan, Lord Broghill (afterwards the Earl of Orrery). Cromwell, if indeed he ever was at Blar- ney, could only have paid it a short and peaceable visit. In the early part of the year 1646, Lord Broghill became master of this castle, and it was held by the Parliamentary party from that period tp the termination of the Common- 146 POPULAR SONGS OF IRELAND. wealth war. The published letter from Lord Broghill to Lenthall, the Speaker, giving an account of his lordship's victory over Lord Muskerry and the Irish forces, at Knocknaclashy, on the 26th of July, 1651, which was followed by the surrender of Limerick to Ireton, is pre- faced by a communication, dated " Blairney, ist August," which states, that " To-morrow the Lord Broghill goeth hence into the field to hinder the Irish from gathering in a body again." Tune " O, hold your Tongue^ dear Sally ! " O ! Blarney Castle, my darling, you're nothing at all but cold stone ! {grown. With a small little taste of old ivy, that up your side has Och, it's you that was once strong and ancient, and you kept all the Sassenachs down : And you sheltered the Lord of Clancarty, who then lived in Dublin town.* Bad cess t to that robber, old Cromwell, and to all his long battering train, Who rolled over here like a porpoise, in two or three hookers, \ from Spain ! * Specimen of Father prout's version : " O ! Blarney Castle, my darling, Sure you're nothing at all but a stone, Wrapt in ivy, a nest for all varmint, Since the ould Lord Clancarty is gone. Och ! 'tis you that was once strong and ancient, And ye kept all the Sassenachs down, \ While fighting them battles, that aint yet Forgotten by martial renown." f A common malediction in Ireland, originally importing " heavy taxation." A description of fishing or pilot boat peculiar to the south-west coast of Ireland, LOCAL SONGS. 147 .And because that he was a Freemason, he mounted a battering-ram, And he loaded it up of dumb-powder, which in at its mouth he did cram. It was now the poor boys of the Castle looked over the battlement wall, And they there saw that ruffian, old Cromwell, a-feeding on powder and ball ; And the fellow that married his daughter, with a great big grape-shot in his jaw, 'Twas bold I-ER-TON they called him, and he was his brother-in-law. So they fired the bullet like thunder, and it flew fhrough the air like a snake ; And they hit the high walls of the Castle, which, like a young curlew, did shake ; While the Irish had nothing to fire, but their bows and their arrows " the sowls ! " Poor- tools for shooting the Sassenachs,* though mighty good for wild fowls. Now one of the boys in the Castle, he took up a Sasse- nach's shot, [it was red-hot. And he covered it up in turf ashes, and he watched it till Then he carried it up in his fingers, and he threw it right over the wall ; He'd have burned their tents all to tinder, if on them it happened to fall. The old Castle, it trembled all over, as you'd see a horse do in July, When just near the tail in his crupper, he's teased by a pestering fly. * Saxons. 148 POPULAR SONGS OF IRELAND. Black Cromwell, lie made a dark signal, for in the black art he was deep ; So, though the eyes in the people stood open, they found themselves all fast asleep. With his jack-boots he stepped on trre water, and he marched right over the lake; And his soldiers they all followed after, as dry as a duck or a drake ; And he gave Squire Jeffreys the Castle, and the loch and the rock close, thty say ; Who both died there, and lived there in quiet, as his ancestors do to this day.* THE VICTORIOUS COALERS OF CARRIGALINE AND KILMONEY. Hurling, or goal, a favourite Irish game, which has been called by Mr. Arthur Young " the cricket of savages," resembles the Scotch game of golf; but the ball is much larger, being in general four inches in diameter ; the in- struments used are larger also, and not turned angularly at the bottom, but curved. "The number of goalers may be twenty, or even a * F:itlier Front's version runs thus : " Then the gates he burned down to a cinder, An J the roof he demolished likewise ; O ! the rafters, they flamed out like tinder, And the building flared up to the skies. And he gave the estate to the Jeffers, With the dairy, the cows, and the hay ; And they lived there in clover, like heifers, As their ancestors do to this day." LOCAL SONGS. 149 hundred, or more. It is usually played in a large level field, by two parties of nearly balanced powers, either as to number or dexterity ; and the object of each is to strike the ball over one of two opposite "hedges, assigned respec- tively before the game begins. Baire combrtais, signifies, according to an expression quite Irish, * two sides of a country (that is, a certain number of the youth of each), who meet to goal against one another/ generally on a Sunday, or holiday, after prayers. On these occasions, instead of the hedges of a field, two conspicuous land- marks (a road and a wood, for instance) are assigned, and the game is contested in the space between them, with a heat and vigour which often lead to a serious and bloody conflict, especially if one of those clannish feuds, so prevalent among the peasantry of Ireland, should exist between the opposing parties : the hurley, or hurlet, being an effective and desperate weapon. The game derives one of its names from the instrument employed ; the other, goal, is evidently taken from the boundary, or winning-mark, which must be passed by the ball before the game can be won." Goal is played in Ireland " with intense zeal, by parish against parish, barony against barony, county against county, and even province against province." Mr. Wakefield states it as his opinion, " that the vigour and activity of the peasantry in the South are, in a great measure, to be ascribed to their attachment to this play, which, by the exercise it affords, strengthens the whole frame, and contributes to health. Children," he says, "as soon as they are able to follow each other, run about, in bands of a dozen or more, with balls and hurls, eagerly contending for victory." General Vallancey has illus- trated an essay on the language, manners, and customs of an Anglo-Norman colony, settled in the baronies of j 50 POPULAR SONGS OF IRELAND. Forth and Bargy, in the county of Wexford, in the twelfth century, by "an old song, in the language of these baronies, which has been handed down, by tradition, from the arrival of the colony in Ireland." The subject of this song is " the game at -ball, called camdnn^ or * hurley ;' the scene, the commons in the barony of Forth ; the time, a Church holiday. In this curious lyric, Walter relates how his son Thomas lost the game, by aiming a strong blow at the ball, and missing it, broke his bat against an emmet-hill." The following song commemorates a goaling match, which, it appears, was played in Cope's Field, on the bank of the River Onnabuoy, by a party of nineteen or twenty, whose names are given, belonging to a small district of the barony of Kirricurihy, of which Carrigaline is the principal village, against (it is presumed) an equal number from the neighbouring baronies of Barrymore and Muskerry, in the county of Cork. The name of Mr. Conner, in the seventh verse, and the mention of " Bally bricken's rover, the leader of them all," in the last verse, induced the Editor to apply to Mr. Crawford of Cork for information respecting this goaling match, as he remembered to have had the pleasure of meeting at his house Miss Conner of Ballybricken. Mr. Crawford, in his very kind reply to so trivial an inquiry, says : " I have been by no means idle in the investigation of the matter, and only regret that my information is confined, after all, to the following paragraph of a note from Miss Conner, sister to the hero of the ballad. * Goaling matches have been always frequent in this country, and William has been umpire, and sometimes goaler, in many. The famed contests of Onnabuoy occurred in December, LOCAL SONGS. 151 1828, and the second in April, 1829.' Mr. William Conner, whom you probably know," adds Mr. Crawford, "is a lieutenant in the navy, and was on board the Bellerophon when Bonaparte surrendered to Captain Maitland. He is brother to Daniel Conner of Bally- bricken ; which era in his history was the most glorious, it is for you to decide." The song is given from a manuscript copy. An inferior version is in the Editor's possession, printed on a broadside. The phrase of " pucked the well-sewed leather," which occurs in the sixth verse, may be ex- plained as " struck forcibly the well-sewed leather ball." " Puck the ball," and " now for the goat's puck," are common goaling expressions, the former meaning strike, the latter, butt the ball. The Irish word boc, or -foe, pronounced puck, signifies a forcible blow, and also a goat, from that animal butting, or striking forcibly with the head. After this explanation, it will not be difficult to understand the compound word puck-fist, used by old English writers, as a heavy-handed, coarse, fighting fellow ; and which Dr. Nares labours so unsatisfactorily to ex- plain, in his glosssary, as a fungus, or upstart. " Ariosto a puck-fist to me." Ford's Loves Sacrifice, ii. i ; see, also, Beaumont and Fletcher s Cust of Country, i. 2. Notwithstanding all that commentators have written on the subject, it would not be difficult to identify with the Puck of Shakspeare the Irish goblin, Phook, or Phuca. Thus, in the "Sad Shepherd" of Ben Jonson, this spirit appears, under the title of " Puck-hairy ;" and, in the ninth book of Golding's translation of " Ovid's Metamor- phoses," edit. 1587, we find " And the countrie where Chymcera, that same Fooke % Hath goatish bcdie," &c. I53 ? POPULAR SONGS OF IRELAND. Air'* Mjttrneen gal ma chree" There's joy throughout the nation, and great congra- tulation, With wondrous acclamation, from the Liffey to the Lee. Without exaggeration, our goalers take their station, For the highest approbation >the.y have won the victory ; 'Twas in no combination, or field association, But in rural relaxation, on the plains of Onnabuoy.* There was Fionn,f the chief of heroes, who high the ball in play rose, Though long he's gone to repose, arid will never play again. There's Don and Con J the peerless, and Barry Oge the fearless, Since whom we are left cheerless, could they have seen our men ; They'd join the acclamation, and add their approbation, With my congratulation to the boys of Onnabuoy. * Pronounced Onnabouie ;"*and sometimes called Annabuoy, and Avonbuee. It signifies the yellow water, and its mouth forms a creek on the west side of Cork harbour, named Cross Haven. f Fionn MacCumhal, the Fingal of Macpherson's Ossian. % Don, in Irish, as in Spanish, means a lord or chief, and was a general complimentary name for any leader who was pre-eminently styled Don, or the lord. Who the above Don or Con may have been, the Editor cannot determine. The tract called Kinalea, which lies between Kerricurihy and the Bandon River, nearly due south of the city of Cork, "was," says Smith, " named Insovenagh, and was formerly granted to Robert Fitzmartin, but it belonged to Barry Oge until the Rebellion of 1641," LOCAL SONGS. 153 Were Homer the narrator, and Virgil a spectator, No praises could be greater, than were due this gallant corps ; [Patricians, For never did the Grecians, nor the Romans called Exceed the stout Milesians that defeated Barrymore. TVas in no combination, or field association* But in rural relaxation, on the plains of Onnabuoy. All men will long remember the seventeenth of December, For good and bad each member, came from far and near to see ; Not a cabin had a soul in, all flocked to view the goaling, And unremitted bowling of Kilmoney's chivalry ; Undaunted sons of Beaver,* no hearts were ever braver Upon your bounding wave, or the plains of Onnabuoy. Five times our men were turned, by rivals whom they spurned, With shame their cheeks they burned, but the ball was in the field ; [merit Then, with redoubled spirit, they showed the strength and That they did all inherit, and made their foes to yield ; While Barrymore they doubted, and Muskerry they shouted, When both of them were routed on the plains of Onnabuoy* The south by mearingsf bounded, at first our boys confounded, [speed ; Upon the wind they rounded, then tried their utmost * An old name for Carrigaline, and still appended to it as an alias in law writings. t Certain boundaries within which the game is to be decided are laid down at goal ; these depend, of course, upon the number of players, and the character of the country. A stream, a road, a wall, 154 POPULAR SONGS OF IRELAND. Against both hill and weather, they all bore on together, And pucked the well-sewed leather; 'twas wonderful, indeed : The north was then contested, on that their last hope rested, But soon they were down-crested on the plains of Onnabuoy. Two baronies of boasters, one district of our coasters,* Have made look foolish toasters, and their former fame undone ; For lost is now the honour of their leader, Mister Conner, Whose mother has upon her all my pity for her son, In Cope's Field ends the story of their goaling and his glory, And he'll travel far before he will play by the Onna- buoy. Success to young O'Daly, who led us on so gaily, He is our hero really shout for Kilmoney's pride ! And here is for his brothers, and three times for all others, True sons of worthy mothers, who were upon our side ; Their names are here recorded, may they be all rewarded, For never king nor lord did so much for the Onnabuoy. or any other obvious line of demarcation, is sufficient ; but when such is not readily found, sticks called "mearings," or " mearing twigs, 1 ' are placed in the ground. It is the Saxon word mcere, which is used by Spenser "And Hygate m.i:;e the meare thereof by west." Fairy Queen, III. ix. 46. A proof, among many others which may be adduced, that several obsolete English words are still current in Ireland. * That is, dwellers on the coast. A large portion of the barony of Kerricurihy is bounded by the sea. LOCAL SONGS. 155 First I'll extol stout Saunders, and after him brave Landers, They behaved like great commanders; and next I'll aggrandize OToomey and Mulcahy ; two Carties, and Bat Fahey ; O'Callaghan of Rahey, and also Thomas Wise ; O'Flinn, with head like carrot, De Cogans, Jack and Garret ; And Jordan, Welsh, and Barrett, on the plains of Onnabuoy. Now Shanbally give over Coolmore lie up in clover, And Ballybricken's rover, the leader of them all ; Loughbeg and Barnahaley, Ring and Seamount by O'Daly Were beaten till quite mealy, and to tatters like the ball.; Here's to our boys so clever, their equals they saw never, Success to them for ever on the plains of Onnabuoy. THE CARRIGALINE COALERS DEFEATED. A reply to the preceding song, on the defeat of the aforesaid " Victorious Coalers of Carrigaline and Kil- money," by a party belonging to Tracton, a neighbouring district, which match appears to have been played in the ensuing spring. The rival poets, although they have carefully noticed the month and even the precise day when these memorable struggles took place, are alike silent as to the year, no doubt presuming that the date of such important occurrences could not be forgotten. The single rhyme used throughout the entire song cannot escape the reader's notice. It is evident from the last line, which in itself contains four rhymes similar to the one used throughout the song, that this monotonous 156 POPULAR SONGS OF IRELAND. jingle, which, to the Editor's ear, does not sound offen- sively, has been an object of considerable ambkion to the author, and was apparently done with no other view than to exhibit a command over the rhyme. The song is copied from a broadside without the name of the printer, procured by the Editor at Cork in 1829. A much inferior version is also in his possession on a broadside "printed by Haly, Hanover Street, Cork," embellished with a rude woodcut of a horseman leaping a three-barred gate, and entitled " The New Joy of Tracton, by a Mountain Poet." Air " 77ie Roving Journeyman" For ages hold on record Kinalea with ecstasy The triumph of our goalers at the top of Boherbuoy \ By utterly defeating with the greatest bravery The goalers that were famed upon the banks of Onnabuoy.' On the second day of April, to will conformably, The supple Tracton goalers put an end to all their spree ; With pucking round the ball did bound, and such activity Was never seen upon the green fields of the Onnabuoy. As heroes gay, were they each day, sung through the whole country ; And on * the public papers named, out of curosity.^ * " In the papers," is the common expression in England ; "on the papers," in Ireland. "Any news on the paper?" is obviously more correct phraseology than " in the paper." t That is, as a remarkable matter ; anglice, curiosity. " How that fellow murders the king's English ! " remarked a brother barris- ter to Curran upon hearing an illiterate witness pronounce this word as above written, and as it is vulgarly pronounced in Ireland. " I cannot agree with you," said Curran, "knocking an /out is neither murder nor manslaughter." LOCAL SONGS. 157 Say, will Kilmoney, my boys, now own ye, since ended is your glee ; For you were beaten,* early and late on the plains of Onnabuoy ? Wherever self-persuasion is of gaining the victory, Then fortune never favours it, in high or low degree ; Ballygarven, Douglas, Ring, and Seamount had to see How Kinalea could clear the way on the plains of Onnabuoy. A fortune-teller came by chance and said repeatedly That Tracton's skill, on plain or hill, was as eight to thirty-three ; But in spite of all his fairy call and his necromancery, He was too bold in what he told on the plains of Onnabuoy. And of a leader boasting, they gave publicity To a gentleman of high renown, living independently, A star of honour, the great O'Connor, shining in dignity At Ballybricken, no glory seeking from goaling by the Onnabuoy. A gentleman descended from kings of high degree, A honey-scented blossom, and a sprig of purity ; A stately tree that day was he, the pride of his country ; Long may he flourish, and Erin nourish such saplings by the Onnabuoy. He cleared the field, and justice showed to all impartially ; And there he stood, eye-witness good, to decide the victory. Long may his line resplendent shine to all conspicuously ; And long a creek in, stand Ballybricken, by the plains of Onnabuoy. * Pronounced in Ireland, baifcn. 158 POPULAR SONGS OF IRELAND. I could not name the half who came that day the game to see, From far and near, when they did hear that such a sight would be ; And never gave spectators brave their shouts more lustily, Than when the pride, that did deride, was vanquished by the Onnabuoy. The poet small, who challenged all, from the Liffey to the Lee, His honest trade I'll not upbraid, but 'tis not prophecy ; The empty praise, which he did raise, is now bitter irony ; And his vain song, is sorrow strong to the boys of Onnabuoy. The boasting ass, I let him pass, nor strive in rivalry ; Dull and unsonorous his verse, and small his poetry. I want no fame from whence I came, nor claim (deservedly) The title rare, of poet fair, for the Muse of Carberry. Your ear now lend, to make an end, without vaunt or vanity ; As autumn gives the quivering leaves to earth devotedly, So Kinalea hath won the day, all men of decency With me will see, and will agree on the plains of Onnabuoy. CORK'S OWN TOWN. This song originally appeared in the Cork Southern jRepwter newspaper, in March, 1825, where it is "dated from the vane of St. Finbarr's steeple, this day of the* vernal equinox, xxi. Mar." The Editor has no doubt that the authorship may bq LOCAL SONGS. 159 correctly assigned to the writer of "O! Blarney Castle, my Darling '* (see p. 144), and the subsequent song entitled " Darling Neddeen." Speaking of " The Groves of Blarney," and other rural lyrics, a learned critic on the " Munster Melodies " observes, when introducing the fol- lowing song to notice, " But while the country is thus celebrated, the beauties of the city do not remain unsung. Cork has had many laureates, but the last describer of its localities best deserves to wear the bays.' 7 These localities, however, require some explanatory remarks. Daunt's Square, from whence the lyrist takes, as sailors say, his departure, will be presently noticed. He next arrives at " tne region of frolic and spree," Fishamble Lane, which, says Mr, Windle, "no longer possesses a shambles ;: and has lost its once high-sounding name of ' Ireland's Rising Liberty Street/ conferred on it in the days of the Volunteers ; but the stone with that name, full of recollections, still retains its place on the front wall of one of the houses." The presiding goddess of this interesting spot, " Where salmon, drisheens, and beefsteaks are cooked best," has been thus addressed by the Muse of Toleken : " The sun had gone down, and the lofty dark mountains Were hid from the view by a smart shower of rain, When I wandered in search of a few of those round things Called sausages, made up in Fishamble Lane. There as I walked on amidst broiling and frying, I spied out a fair one my heart felt a pain ; I sat myself down, for I thought I was dying For Judy MacCarthy of FUhamble Lane. I gazed on the fair one one eye was a swivel, Her nose it was smutty, her hands not too clean ; <{ She told me that she was then broiling a devil, For which they are famous in Fishamble Lane. i6o POPULAR SOXGS OF IRELAND. 'You're broiling a devil,' says I, 'Judy Carty ? The devii may broil you and boil you again ; For broils I detest, and this moment I part ye, Miss Judy MacCarthy of Fishamble Lane !' " Of Blackpool, mentioned in the third verse, a par* ;! ticular account will be found in the introductory remarks to a subsequent song. Mallow Lane " is at once the principal passage and main trunk" of the northern part of Cork. " At the west side of Mallow Lane, and on still higher ground, is an extremely populous suburb, divided into numerous alleys and lanes. Its southern boundary is Blarney Lane " (to the description of which the second verse of the following song is devoted), "a long, old street, formerly the principal western entrance to the city." Returning, in the fourth verse, to the " one-sided Buckingham Square," and to Daunt' s Bridge or Square, which is neither a bridge nor a square, the Editor again ventures to quote Mr. Windle in illustration : " Of squares, Cork possesses none, although the word, strangely enough, occurs as a name to several places ; thus we have Buckingham Square, Knapp's Square, Jones's Square, and Dauni's Square, to which a stranger would find it rather difficult to apply the term." In the latter square is the domicile of that ingenious citizen, renowned in lathering metres " One Robert Olden, Inventor sole of Eukeirogeneion, Soother of beards." Of the " narrow broad lane that leads up to the Dyke," the Editor can speak from actual measurement. It varies in breadth from eight to ten and eleven feet, and was, until recently, the popular thoroughfare between the east and west parts of the city of Cork. The Dyke, mentioned in the fifth verse, is, according LOCAL SONGS. 161 to Mr. Windle, "a delightful walk about a mile in length, and shaded with ranges of noble elm at either side, form- ing a long vista in one straight line from beginning to end." It was made in 1720, and about thirty years ago protected by an iron gate, the erection of which was celebrated, and the inscription recorded in an ode attributed to Mr. John Lander: ' * Here future shoemakers shall read on Sunday, When our good mayor shall be in heaven, As bird-catching they're going. ' IOHN DAY, ESQUIRE, MAYOR, 1807.' " " Blair's Castle that trembles above in -the breeze," Mr. Windle calls " a modern absurdity, consisting of a centre tower and side wings, finished in the Dutch fashion ; but it possesses the advantage of a beautiful situation, and indeed, like the rest of Sunday's well, of a fine pro- spect," which locality is alluded to as " sweet Sunday's well " in the seventh verse. " Dr. Blair was a man of skill, He built his castle on a hill ; He set four statues in the front, And every morning went to hunt. From his castle you may see Up and down along the Lee." So says an old song. This Dr. Blair was a Scotch phy- sician, who settled in Cork about the middle of the last century; and in 1775 published a freethinking volume, entitled " Thoughts on Nature and Religion," the able answer to which first brought the famous Father O'Leary into public notice. Glanmire and Blackrock, the roads leading to which are referred to in the sixth verse, are both agreeable outlets of Cork ; the Boreen Manah is a minor road of the latter environ, which, literally translated, means " the I 1 62 POPULAR SONGS OF IRELAND. little road to the fields." The steeple, termed " pepper- box," in the seventh and last verse, will be particularly noticed hereafter as the edifice from whence " The bells of Shandon Sound so grand on The lovely waters of the river Lee." " Regarding it in a general point of view," Mr. Windle^ with great truth, asserts that " Cork may be justly called a fine city. Strangers have, without exception, described it as such ; but the natives, with a very pardonable vanity, borrowing the words of an old song, speak of it as ' the beautiful city;' and looking at it in conjunction with its unrivalled outlets, the claim may, we think, be safely conceded." Air" They may rail at this life" They may rail at the city where first I was born, But it's there they've the whisky, and butter, and pork; And a neat little spot for to walk in each morn They call it Daunt's Square, and the City is Cork. The square has two sides why, one east and one west, And convenient's the region of frolic and spree, Where salmon, drisheens,* and beefsteaks are cooked best : Och ! Fishamble's the Eden for you, love, and me ! If you want to behold the sublime and the beauteous, Put your toes in your brogues and see sweet Blarney Lane, Where the parents and childer are comely and duteous, And dry lodging both rider and beast entertain ; In the cellars below dine the slashing young fellows That come with the butter from distant Tralee ; While the landlady, chalking the score on the bellows. Sings, Cork is an Eden for you, lore, and me ! * Sheep's puddings, LOCAL SOJVGS. 163 Blackpool is another sweet place in that city, Where pigs, twigs, and weavers, they all grow together, With its smart little tan-yards och, more is the pity To strip the poor beasts to convert them to leather ! Further up to the east is a place great and famous, It is called Mallow Lane antiquaries agree That it holds the Sheebeen, which once held King Shamus :* Och ! Cork is an Eden for you, love, and me ! Then go back to Daunt's Bridge, though you'll think it is quare [like That you can't see the bridge f faix you ne'er saw the Of that bridge, nor of one-sided Buckingham Square ; Nor the narrow Broad Lane that leads up to the Dyke, Where, turning his wheel, sits that saint, " Holy Joe,"J And umbrellas are made of the best quality, And young virgins sing "Colleen das croothin a mo /'' And Cork is an Eden for you, love, and me ! When you get to the Dyke, there's a beautiful prospect Of a long gravel walk between two rows of trees ; On one side, with a beautiful southern aspect, Is Blair's Castle, that trembles above in the breeze. Far off in the west lie the Lakes of Killarney, Which some hills intervening prevent you to see ; But you smell the sweet wind from the wild groves of Blarney Och ! Cork is the Eden for you, love, and me I Take the road to Glanmire, the road to Blackrock, or The sweet Boreen Manah, to charm your fair eyes ; * James II. t " There is no bridge, but an archway Under the street.** '* A noted knife and oath grinder, now deceased." "The pretty girl milking her cow." F 2 164 POPULAR SONGS OF IRELAND. If you do what is wise, take a dram of Tom Walker, Or if you're a Walker, toss of! Billy Wise.* I give you my word that they're both lads of spirit ; But if a "raw chaw"f with your gums don't agree, Beamish, Crawford, and Lane, brew some porter of merit, Though poteen is the nectar for you, love, and me ! Oh ! long life to you, Cork, with your pepper-box steeple, Your girls, your whisky, your curds and sweet whey : Your hill of Glanmire, and the shops where the people Get decent new clothes down beyont the Coal Quay. Long life to sweet Fair Lane, its pipers and jigs, And to sweet Sunday's well, and the banks of the Lee ; Likewise our court-houses, \ where judges in wigs Sing, Cork is the Eden for you, love, and me ! * Mr. Walker, whose " Bounce upon Bess " has been already noticed at p. 86, and Mr. Wise, were two famous distillers in Cork ; their memories are enshrined in the following epigram : " You people of Cork that are talkers, I beg you will show me the rules, Why Walker won't let you be walkers, And Wise strives to make you all fools." f What Mr. Daniel McCarthy would have termed " naked truth," Vide p. 99. * The rapid improvement in Cork is in nothing more evident than its architecture. So recently as 1806, when the old County Court House was built, an English architect was imported to design and execute it. "They have managed these things differently in our days," observes Mr. Windle ; " the names of Deane, Pain, Hill, Cottrell, &c., are now connected with some of our public edifices, to which the citizen may point without shame. " LOCAL SONGS. 165 CORK'S GOOD-HUMOURED FACES. A specimen of the ingenious manner in which a witty manufacturer in Cork of an excellent liquid shaving soap, and other articles, that really require no puffing, contrives to attract attention to his inventions. Mr. Olden, who has been already noticed in the introductory observations to the preceding song (p. 160), modestly remarks in one of his poetical effusions, when commending the superiority of his goods " I hope that you not such an ass are To send for shaving soap as far as Naples, Or to imagine oil brought from Macassar, From aged pates each hair that's turning gray pulls." And in another he thus eulogizes the merits of his Essence de Savon, which bears what country gentlemen call " a confounded hard Greek name/' and which may be classed with those words that Moore has recommended " Should only be said on holidays, When one has nothing else to do." " ETKEIPOrENEION, Whene'er I lay eye on, I firmly rely on A capital shave ; And as for the water, 'Tis not a pin matter From where derivatur ' The well or the wave." Cork has sometimes been styled "the Irish Athens," possibly from the fame of Olden's verses, and his and Father Prout's partiality for Greek. It is stated that Mr, Oiden's very amusing and most learned poems have been collected and printed for private 166 POPULAR SONGS OF IRELAND. circulation, with the title of "Soap Bubbles." All his verses which have come under the Editor's observation display an extraordinary command of rhyme, which is sported with in actual wantonness. As Messrs. Day and Martin, and Mr. Warren, of blacking notoriety, are believed respectively to have retained a poet on their establishment, so it has been shrewdly conjectured that Mr. Olden cannot make good his claim to the authorship of all the songs put forth by him, and that he has even secured the services of more poets than one ; among whom the Rev. Mr. Chester and Mr. John Lander are suspected to be the most industrious. Tune" Ballinafad. " For good-humoured faces, Cork once beat all places How altered the case is, more a thrue mavrone I * By politics now are contracted each brow, or Every nose turned up sour, like a dog with a bone. Then Olden, beholding Young and old in a scolding- Match joining, the whole din resolved to assuage : In he pops, the State props With soap drops, fast as hops Lathering chops, ill-blood stops, and all dire party rage. Thus Peter of Russia, with a razor and brush, he Once made a great fuss a' his subjects to shave ; He smoothed their manners, like hides scraped by tanners, Wherever his banners triumphant did wave. Then at home let us try, on Each phiz, low and high on, The Eukeirogeneion of Olden so rare ; * An Irish phrase, expressive of deep regret. LOCAL SONGS. ^7 Catholic or Brunswicker, By this liquor will quicker Cease to bicker, though thicker than pigs in a fair. An old witch seized Asmodeus, a devil most odious, And did for his abode use a bottle so frail ; But Olympus* sweet vapours, condensed for chin- scrapers, Olden bottles, like capers, or smart Burton ale. Let this drug aid your rugged Old mug, it so smug : it Will look, the maids hug it, and tug it both ways ; Then you sooty muzzled brute, ay, In truth, I will mute eye With wonder your beauty, when you shave but three days. THE COURT OF CONSCIENCE IN CORK Is copied from a newspaper-cutting in Miss Elliot's Scrap- book, entitled " Reflections occasioned by the Court of Conscience of Cork being held over the Meat Market." How various are the roads we mortals take To happiness, this building a strong test is : Some dive below, to purchase a beefsteak ; Others ascend, to stake their all for justice. In either region, with an equal hand The scales are held, and like material put on ; For when the blood is drained, you understand The conscience of a suitor's dead as mutton. 1 68 POPULAR SONGS OF IRELAND. Thus, 'twixt the market-scales and those of law, A strong similitude exists, quite pat in Point; for whoe'er did informations draw, But he for make-weight slipt a bit of fat in ? Above, below, the inmates live by broils; Their wares are equally plunged in hot water, Or in sad pickle, after all their toils, And destined finally to go to pot are. Below hangs many a slaughtered fatted calf; Above, their skins are pressed by lips of sinners ; By which the flesh (esteemed the better half) Becomes mock-turtle for their worships' dinners. THE GROVES OF BLACKPOOL. {Descriptive of the rettim of the City of Cork Militia.} Blackpool is an extensive suburb on the northern side of Cork, which has been particularly noticed in the song at p. 162. John Wesley, in his "Journal," describes it in 1765 as a place "famous, from time immemorial, for all manner of wickedness for riot in particular." Blackpool was, in short, as its name denotes, a sink of iniquity, which the muse of Dr. De la Cour has thus depicted : " Oh, the very first day that I came to Blackpool, I stared, and I gaped, and I gazed like a fool ; For the butchers and bull-dogs were beating a bull, On the very first day that I came to Blackpool. There were tanners, and skinners, and dressers of leather, And curriers, and combers, and dyers, together ; LOCAL SONGS. 169 Oh, the devil himself never saw such a school As I did, the first day that I came to Blackpool." "Cork, like London, Paris, and other great cities," says Mr. Windle, "possesses a patois nearly peculiar to itself; it will be found most prevalent, and least adul- terated, in Ballythomas (a locality in the immediate vicinity of Blackpool). The vernacular of this region may be regarded as the ancient cockneyism of the mixed race who held the old city Danes, English, and Irish. It is a jargon, whose principal characteristic appears in the pronunciation of th, as exemplified in dis, dat, den, de this, that, then, they ; and in the dovetailing of words, as ' kum our ishj for ' come out of this.' There is a general attenuation or contraction in the articulation of words, accompanied by a hissing and jarring wherever s and r occur, which it would be difficult to convey any sufficient idea of. ' De Groves of de Pool ' is a very popular exemplar of the poetry of this dialect ; and Mr. Daniel Casey may be regarded as its living laureate. "As to the population, they are a hardy, hard-working, improvident, and vivacious race ; attached to old usages and habits of thinking and acting. Here have ever been found the readiest and gayest actors in the mummeries of the ' May-day mummers/ None ever equalled them in the hearty ceremony of ' whipping out the herring ' on Easter Saturday, or throwing bran on the new mayor. What other part of the city has ever furnished so jolly or uproarious a train of males or females, to sustain the homours of the Irish carnival the l going to Skellig?' The groups of ' Wren Boys ' here muster strongest on St. Stephen's morning ; and the mimic warfare of a * batter ' between the clans of rival streets, is nowhere else waged with more spirit or earnestness. But the march of intel- lect is even here visible ; the mummeries, and batterings, 170 POPULAR SONGS OF IRELAND. and bran throwing are, of recent years, become more infrequent ; and the day may not be far distant when the memory of these things shall pass away." The watercourse mentioned in the sixth verse, adds Mr. Windle, in his interesting notices of Cork, is " the busiest outlet of the city ; the principal seat of its tanneries and distilleries. At the end of this well-frequented way the water is open ; a police station adjoins, and an antique narrow bridge, impassable for horse or carriage, bearing the odd name of Tanto Bridge, leads over into the once umbrageous haunt of the Muses the birthplace of many a militia legioneer the classical * Groves of de Pool ! ' But the Blackpool is now treeless ; its long rows of elms and poplars have been cut down ; its manufactures have ceased; its looms are silent; and its once numerous and respectable inhabitants have given place to a poor and ill- employed population. The glory of the pool is no more." " De Groves of de Pool," which was written by " honest Dick Millikin " (see p. 91), was intended to depict the return, or, as he humorously calls it, the " advance back again," of the "gallant Cork City Militia," after the Rebellion of 1798, and their reception in "de groves," which had sheltered the infancy of " dose Irish heroes." It is given from the recitation of Mr John Lander, by whom the last verse is said to have been added. Now de war, dearest Nancy, is ended, And de peace is come over from France; So our gallant Cork City Militia Back again to head-quarters advance* No longer a beating dose rebels, Well now be a beating de bull, And taste dose genteel recreations Dat are found in de groves of de Pool. Bi fol didder rol didder rol, &c. LOCAL SONGS. 171 Den out came our loving relations, To see whether we'd be living or no ; Besides all de jolly ould neighbours, Around us who flocked in a row. De noggins of sweet Tommy Walker* We lifted according to rule, And wetted our necks wid de native Dat is brewed in the groves of de Pool. Ri fol, &c. When de regiment marched into de Commons, 'Twould do your heart good for to see ; You'd tink not a man nor a woman Was left in Cork's famous city. De boys dey came flocking around us, Not a hat nor wig f stuck to a skull, To compliment dose Irish heroes Returned to de groves of de Pool. Ri fol, &c. Wid our band out before us in order, We played coming into de town ; We up'd wid de ould " Boyne Water,'* Not forgetting, too, " Croppies lie down." { * Alias ) " Bounce upon Bess." Vide pp. 86, 164. A noggin is the fourth of a pint. Cocknice, a "quartern," t In " Castle Rackrent," a note upon the Irish practice of using the wig instead of a sweeping brush states, " that these men (labourers of the old school) are not in any danger of catching cold by taking off their wigs occasionally ; because they usually have fine crops growing under their wigs. The wigs are often yellow, and the hair which appears from beneath them black ; the wigs are usually too small, and are raised up by the hair beneath, or by the ears of the wearers." Two loyal tunes. The Cork Militia were especially Orange. They suffered severely in the Rebellion of 1798, particularly at Oulart, where they lost 1 1 5 men. The officers killed in this unfortunate affair if* POPULAR SONGS OF IRELAND. Bekase you might read in the newses 'Twas we made dose rebels so cool, Who all tought, like Turks or like Jewses, To murther de boys of de Pool. Ri fol, &c. Oh, sure dere's no nation in Munster Wid de groves of Blackpool can compare, Where dose heroes were all edicated, And de nymphs are so comely and fair. Wid de gardens around entertaining, Wid sweet purty posies so full, Dat is worn by dose comely young creaturs Dat walks in de groves of de Pool. Ri fol, &c. Oh ! many's de time, late and early, Dat I wished I was landed again, Where I'd see de sweet watercourse flowing, Where de skinners dere glory maintain : Likewise dat divine habitation,* Where dose babbies are all sent to school Dat never had fader nor moder, But were found in de groves of de Pool. Ri fol, &c. Come all you young youths of dis nation, Come fill up a bumper all round ; Drink success to Blackpool navigation, And may it wid plenty be crowned. were Major Lombard, the Honourable Captain De Courcy, Lieu- tenants Williams, Ware, Barry, and Ensign Keogh. * Alias, the Foundling Hospital. Established under Act of Parlia- ment in LOCAL SONGS. 173 Here's success to the jolly hoop-coilers ; Likewise to de shuttle and de spool ; To de tanners, and worthy glue-boilers, Dat lives in de groves of de Pool. Ri fol, &c. THE COURT OF CAHIRASS. " About a mile from Groom," says the " History of Limerick/' by Fitzgerald and MacGregor (vol. i. p. 332), " situated on the Maig, is Cahirass House, with its finely wooded park and plantations, belonging to David Roche, Esq.,* a descendant of the house of Fermoy ; " and a note adds : " There was once a chapel of ease here belonging to the Carbery family, whose property it was. The chap- lain falling desperately in love with the daughter of Lord Carbery, and being disappointed, hanged himself in the chapel, which soon afterwards went to decay. This unfortunate lover had composed a song beginning with 'At the Court of Cahirass there lives a fair maiden/ which is still recollected by the country people." Another version of the tradition, which the Editor obtained from his sister, Mrs. Eyre Coote, in 1827, agrees with the above, except in the manner of the imprudent chaplain's death, who is stated to have shot himself on a tomb in the churchyard of Cahirass, when this song was found in his pocket ; and it is said that the marks of his blood are still visible on the tombstone. Unluckily, however, for the romance of this story the name of Katey occurs as a rhyme in the first and seventh * Now Sir David Roche, Bart., M,P, 174 POPULAR SONGS OF IRELAND. verses, and is twice repeated in the last; and five manu- script copies of the song, procured through various channels, though differing materially in many lines, all retain that name. It is therefore impossible to reconcile this with the facts, that the only daughter of the first Lord Carbery was named Anne; the only daughter of the second lord, Frances Anne ; and the only daughter of the third lord, Juliana. So stands the case in Archdale's edition of "Lodge's Irish Peerage," vol. vii., versus Tradition. In the Court of Cahirass there dwells a fair lady, Of beauty the paragon, and she is called Katey ; Her lofty descent, and her stately deportment, Prove this lovely damsel was for a king's court meant. There's many a great lord from Dublin has sought her ; But that is not strange for a nobleman's daughter : Yet if she was poor as the poorest of creatures, There's no one her rival in figure or features. On a fine summer's morning, if you saw but this maiden, By the murmuring Maig, or the green fields she strayM in; Or through groves full of song, near that bright flowing river, You'd think how imperfect the praise that I give her. In order arranged are her bright flowing tresses, The thread of the spider their fineness expresses ;* * Tiie verse of an Irish song, in which the poet describes the first meeting with his mistress, was thus translated to the Editor by Mr. Edward Penrose : " Her hair was of the finest gold, Like to a spider's spinning ; In her, methinks, I c^o behold My joys and woes beginning/ LOCAL SONGS. 175 And softer her cheek, that is mantled with blushes, Than the drift of the snow, or the pulp of the rushes. But her bosom of beauty, that the heart which lies under, Should have nothing of womanlike pride, is my wonder ; That the charms which all eyes daily dwell on delighted, Should seem in her own of no worth, and be slighted When Charity calls her she never is weary, Though in secret she comes with the step of a fairy; To the sick and the needy profuse is her bounty, And her goodness extends through the whole of the county.* I felt on my spirit a load that was weighty, In the stillness of midnight, and called upon Katey; And a dull voice replied, on the ear of the sleeper, " Death! death!" in a tone that was deep, and grew deeper. 'Twas an omen to me 'twas an omen of sadness, That told me of folly, of love, and of madness ; That my fate was as dark as the sky that was o'er me, And bade me despair, for no hope was before me, O, Katey, dear Katey, disdain not your lover ; From your frowns and your coldness he cannot recover: For if you but bid him his passion to smother, How fatal the day when we first met each other. * The prosaic close of this verse is strangely contrasted with the strain of poetry which pervades those immediately following ; but inequality of sentiment appears to be the chief characteristic of Irish song in the English as well as the Irish language ; in fact, the Irish style. 176 POPULAR SONGS OF IRELAND. THE DONERAILE LITANY. The popularity of this jingle in the south of Ireland is remarkable ; and is, among many other instances, a proof of the national fondness for rhyme, and the admiration of any production which displays a command over it, how- ever rude or grotesque the exibition may be. The Doneraile Litany consists of a series of anathemas upon that town, strung together, it appears, in con- sequence of the author having there lost his watch, of Dublin manufacture ; in what manner is not stated, and, possibly, it has escaped the author's recollection, who, from the bardic propensity exhibited in Ireland towards intoxicating draughts, subjects himself to the suspicion that the loss he so vigorously deplores may have occurred while he was under the influence of that spirit, or Irish goddess, addressed as " Divine Malthaea." The occurrence, however, took place upwards of thirty years ago; since when, it is trusted, the morality of Doneraile has very much improved. In 1808, Mr. Patrick O'Kelly published at Dublin, "Poems on the Giant's Causeway and Killarney, with other Miscellanies/' among which was introduced " The Litany for Doneraile." This volume was followed in 1812 by another, named "The Eudoxologist, or an Ethicographical Survey of the West Parts of Ireland," and which contains several attacks upon an unfortunate poet, who had ventured to put forth "A Defence of Doneraile," in reply to O'Kelly's malediction. Ulti- mately, a recantation, entitled "The Palinode," most humbly dedicated to Lady Doneraile, appeared in a LOCAL SONGS. 177 Volume of poems, entitled " The Aonian Kaleidoscope," printed by O'Kelly at Cork, in 1824. Prefixed to this are " Verses addressed to the Author," by J- J- C. (Callanan, see p. 127), and P. S. (Dr. Sharky, of Cork) ; of course, ironically intended, but which Mr. O'Kelly seriously entertains. In the latter, the lines alluded to, but not correctly quoted, by Mr. Lockhart in his "Life of Sir Walter Scott," occur. Speaking of the galaxy of genius which adorned the reign of George IV., after noticing Moore, P. S. says : " ScoU, Morgan, Edgeworth, Byron, prop of Greece, Fate, in thy death, shall blast the hopes of peace ; O'Kelly, too, of proud Iberian blood, Shall, from Castalian fountain, pour the flood Of bardic song * * * * The ancient glories of our native song, In him shall live, to him those bays belong." O'Kelly's introduction to George IV. is thus related in the Roscommon Gazette: "When His Majesty was in Dublin, our countryman, the poet, Patrick O'Kelly, Esq., of the county of Gal way, waited on him at the Phoenix Park. His Majesty, when Prince of Wales, having subscribed his name for fifty copies, the poet took that opportunity to deliver his work. He was announced to the King by Sir Benjamin Bloomfield, who ordered the baronet to hand the poet fifty pounds, which Sir Benjamin accordingly did. Mr. O'Kelly declined accepting it, declaring that he would rather see His Majesty than receive the money, and re- quested Sir Benjamin to say so, which was complied with. The King ordered him to be introduced. When admitted into the royal presence, His Majesty received him most graciously, hoped he was well, and then 1 78 POPULAR SONGS OF IRELAND. observed that Mr. O'Kelly was lame as well as Lord Byron. ' And Sir Walter Scott, too/ said Mr. O'Kelly; 'and why should not the Irish bard be similarly honoured?* for * If God one member has oppressed, He made more perfect all the rest.' At which the King smiled. "The Marquess of Conyngham, who was present, requested Mr. O'Kelly to express himself, extempore, on Lord Byron, Sir Walter Scott, and himself; to which the poet replied, in the following impromptu : * Three poets for three sister kingdoms born, One for the Rose, another for the Thorn ; One for the Shamrock, which will ne'er decay, While Rose and Thorn must yearly fade away. ' At which the King and his Court laughed heartily ." O'Kelly seems to have been fond of associating his fame as a poet with that of Byron and Scott. Mr. Lock- hart, in his Life of the latter, says : "I find recorded in one letter (August, 1825), a very merry morning at Lime- rick, where, amidst the ringing of all the bells in honour of the advent, there was ushered in a brother poet, who must needs pay his personal respects to the author of ' Marmion.' He was a scarecrow figure, attired much in the fashion of the strugglersby name O'Kelly ; and he had produced, on the spur of the occasion, this modest parody of Dryden's famous epigram ; ' Three poets, of three different nations born, The United Kingdom in this age adorn : Byron, of England ; Scott, of Scotia's blood ; And Erin's pride, O'Kelly, great and good.' " Sir Walter's five shillings," adds Mr. Lockhart, " were at once forthcoming; and the bard, in order that Miss LOCAL SONGS. 179 Edgeworth might display equal generosity, pointed out, in a little volume of his works (for which, moreover, we had all to subscribe), this pregnant couplet : 1 Scott, Morgan, Edgeworth, Byron, prop of Greece, Are characters whose fame not soon will cease.' " The worthy inhabitants of Doneraile do not seem to have taken the slightest offence at O'Kelly's Litany ; on the contrary, it has been a subject of much amusement to them. The Editor recollects to have heard it sung, in 1821, by a ballad-singer through the streets of that town, much to the amusement of his auditors, and the profit of the vocalist. Alas ! how dismal is my tale ! I lost my watch in Doneraile ; My Dublin watch, my chain and seal, Pilfered at once in Doneraile. May fire and brimstone never fail To fall in showers on Doneraile ; May all the leading fiends assail The thieving town of Doneraile. As lightnings flash across the vale, So down to hell with Doneraile ; The fate of Pompey at Pharsale, Be that the curse of Doneraile. May beef or mutton, lamb or veal, Be never found in Doneraile ; But garlic soup, and scurvy kail, Be still the food for Doneraile. And forward as the creeping snail, Th' industry be of Doneraile ; i8o POPULAR SONGS OF IRELAND. May Heaven a chosen curse entail On rigid, rotten Doneraile. May sun and moon for ever fail To beam their lights in Doneraile ; May every pestilential gale Blast that cursed spot called Doneraile. May no sweet cuckoo, thrush, or quail, Be ever heard in Doneraile ; May patriots, kings, and commonweal, Despise and harass Doneraile. May every Post, Gazette, and Mail, Sad tidings bring of Doneraile ; May loudest thunders ring a peal, To blind and deafen Doneraile. May vengeance fall at head and tail, From north to south, at Doneraile ; May profit light, and tardy sale, Still damp the trade of Doneraile. May Fame resound a dismal tale, Whene'er she lights on Doneraile ; May Egypt's plagues at once prevail, To thin the knaves of Doneraile. May frost and snow, and sleet and hail, Benumb each joint in Doneraile ; May wolves and bloodhounds trace and trail The cursed crew of Doneraile. May Oscar, with his fiery flail, To atoms thresh all Doneraile ; May every mischief, fresh and stale, Abide ? henceforth, in LOCAL SONGS. May all, from Belfast to Kinsale, Scoff, curse, and damn you, Doneraile ; May neither flour nor oaten meal Be found or known in Doneraile. May want and woe each joy curtail That e'er was known in Doneraile ; May no one coffin want a nail That wraps a rogue in Doneraile. May all the thieves that rob and steal, The gallows meet in Doneraile ; May all the sons of Granaweal Blush at the thieves of Doneraile. May mischief, big as Norway whale, O'erwhelm the knaves of Doneraile ; May curses, wholesale and retail, Pour with full force on Doneraile. May every transport wont to sail A convict bring from Doneraile ; May every churn and milking-pail Fall dry to staves in Doneraile. May cold and hunger still congeal The stagnant blood of Doneraile ; May every hour new woes reveal, That hell reserves for Doneraile. May every chosen ill prevail O'er all the imps of Doneraile ; May no one wish or prayer avail To soothe the woes of Doneraile. May th' Inquisition straight impale The rapparees of Doneraile ] 182 POPULAR SONGS OF IRELAND. May Charon's boat triumphant sail, Completely manned, from Doneraile. Oh ! may my couplets never fail To find a curse for Doneraile ; And may grim Pluto's inner gaol For ever groan with Doneraile. DUBLIN AFTER THE UNION. - Kjeu tfesprit, printed in the posthumous collection of Mr. Lysaght's poems (see p. 112), with the following introductory observations, copied from Sir John Carr's " Stranger in Ireland." As I have given a little specimen of the prose which the measure of the Union produced, my readers will, per- haps, be pleased with the following excellent song, which, amongst the many good ones written at that time, I think the most witty and playful, and has much of the spirit of Swift in it. It was a great favourite with the anti- Unionists, and I give it with the more pleasure, because its poetical predictions have not been verified ; and, I feel confident, never will be. It is from the sprightly pen of Mr. Lysaght." Capel Street, which, it is prophesied in the song, would become a rural walk, leads from the Castle, the residence of the Lord Lieutenant, to College Green, where stood the Parliament House, now converted into the Bank of Ireland. Dame Street, in which it is foretold that cab- bages were to be cultivated, was the principal street leading from Essex Bridge through the northern portion of Dublin, LOCAL SONGS. jg 3 The jocular allusions to the anticipated produce of the College, in " wild oats ; " the Courts of Law, in "hemp ;" the Parliament House becoming the resort of " vermin," as placemen were called ; and Daly's Club House, the haunt of " rooks " and " pigeons "terms applied to gamblers and their dupes are so obvious, as not to require further comment. How justly alarmed is each Dublin cit, That he'll soon be transformed to a clown, sir ! By a magical move of that conjuror, Pitt, The country is coming to town, sir ! Give Pitt, and Dundas, and Jenky, a glass, Who'd ride on John Bull, and make Paddy an ass. Through Capel Street, soon, as you'll rurally range, You'll scarce recognize it the same street ; Choice turnips shall grow in your Royal Exchange, Fine cabbages down along Dame Street. Give Pitt, &c. Wild oats in the College won't want to be tilled, And hemp in the Four Courts may thrive, sir ; Your markets, again, shall with muttons be filled : By St. Patrick, they'll graze there alive, sir ! Give Pitt, &c. In the Parliament House, quite alive shall there be All the vermin the island e'er gathers j Full of rooks, as before, Daly's Club House you'll see, But the pigeons won't have any feathers. Give Pitt, &c. Our Custom House quay, full of weeds, oh, rare sport ! But the Minister's minions, kind elves, sir, 1 84 POPULAR SONGS OF Will give us free leave all our goods to export, When we've got none at home for ourselves, sir I Give Pitt, &c. Says an alderman, " Corn will grow in your shops ; This Union must work our enslavement." " That's true," says the sheriff, " for plenty of Crops,* Already I've seen on the pavement ! " Give Pitt, &c. Ye brave loyal yeomen, dress'd gaily in red, This Minister's plan must elate us ; And well may John Bull, when he's robbed us of bread, Call poor Ireland " The land of potatoes ! " Give Pitt, &c. THE HUMOURS OF DONNYBROOK FAIR Have been already introduced to the reader, in Mr. Lysaght's song of " The Sprig of Shillelah and Shamrock so Green," p. 114. Prince P tickler Muskau, who was a spectator of this scene on the 29th of August, 1828, says: " I rode out again to-day, for the first time, to see the Fair at Donnybrook, near Dublin, which is a kind of popular festival. Nothing, indeed, can be more national ! The poverty, the dirt, and the wild tumult were as great as the glee and merriment with which the cheapest pleasures were enjoyed. I saw things eaten and drunk with delight, which forced me * "A proverbial term for the rebels in 1798, who wore their hair close cut." LOCAL SONGS. 185 to turn my head quickly away, to remain master of my disgust. Heat and dust, crowd and stench (ilfaut k dire) made it impossible to stay long : but 'these do not annoy the natives. There were many hundred tents, all ragged, like the people, and adorned with tawdry rags instead of flags ; many contented themselves with a cross on a hoop ; one had hoisted a dead and half -putrid cat as a sign. The lowest sort of rope-dancers and posture-masters exer- cised their toilsome vocation on stages of planks, and dressed in shabby finery, dancing and grimacing in the dreadful heat till they were completely exhausted. A third part of the public lay, or rather rolled, about drunk ; others ate, screamed, shouted, and fought. The women rode about, sitting two or three upon an ass, pushing their way through the crowd, smoked with great delight, and coqueted with their sweethearts. The most ridiculous group was one which I should have thought indigenous only to Rio de la Plata. Two beggars were seated on a horse, who, by his wretched plight, seemed to supplicate for them ; they had no saddle, and a piece of twine served as reins. " As I left the fair, a pair of lovers, excessively drunk, took the same road. It was a rich treat to watch their behaviour. Both were horridly ugly, but treated each other with the greatest tenderness and the most delicate attention. The lover especially displayed a sort of chival- rous politeness. Nothing could be more gallant, and, at the same time, more respectful, than his repeated efforts to preserve his fair one from falling, although he had no little difficulty in keeping his own balance. From his ingra- tiating demeanour, and her delighted smiles, I could also perceive that he was using every endeavour to entertain her agreeably, and that her answers, notwithstanding her txalte state, were given with a coquetry, and an air pf 1 86 POPULAR SONGS OF IRELAND. affectionate intimacy, which would have been exquisitely becoming and attractive in a pretty woman. " My reverence for truth compels me to add, that not the slightest trace of English brutality was to be per- ceived ; they were more like French people, though their gaiety was mingled with more humour and more genuine good -nature ; both of which are national traits of the Irish, and are always doubled by poteen (the best sort of whisky, illicitly distilled)." In the "Anthologia Hibernica," for April, 1793, "An Ode on Donnybrook " appeared, of rather a sentimental cast, which was followed, in the June number of that periodical, by " An Irregular Ode " on the same locality, after a passage in which the song now given seems to have been copied. "Ah ! muse debonnair, Let us haste to the fair ; 'Tis Donnybrook tapsters invite. Men, horses, and pigs, Are running such rigs, As the cockles of your heart will delight. Such crowding and jumbling, And leaping and tumbling, And kissing and stumbling, And drinking and swearing, And carving and tearing, And coaxing and snaring, And scrambling and winning, And fighting and flinging, And fiddling and singing ; Old Dodder, enchanted, refuses to flow, But his mouth waters fast at each kiss and each blow." " Donnybrook is situated on a mountain stream, called the Dodder, over which there is a handsome bridge with lofty arches. In dry weather the quantity of water is so inconsiderable, that a stranger would be very apt to use LOCAL SONGS. 187 the sarcastic observation of the Spaniard, who, on viewing the magnificent bridge that spanned the contemptible Manzanares, near Madrid, exclaimed, ' Es menester, vender la puenle, para comprar agua ; ' (they ought to sell the bridge to buy water) ; but in a few hours after a heavy fall of rain in the mountains, the Dodder becomes a river indeed, and swells up to the very summit of the arches. This has been mentioned for the sake of noticing a pecu- liarity in the name Donnybrook, 'little brook.' It is curious that the word ' brook' hardly ever occurs in English speech or writing, except in the sense denned by Johnson, * a running water, less than a river ;' and is always asso- ciated with the idea of flowery meads, &c. ; but in Ireland it appears to be employed in its true and original sense. The streams, which, in the county of Wicklow, during rain, burst or break from the hills, are always, by the com- mon people, called brooks. Now, the Anglo-Saxon, broc, from whence it evidently comes, signifies ' a torrent/ torrens, x* L P a PP ovs ; and it is clear that it is derived from brocan, the participle of brecan, 'to break."' Air "Baltynafad." To Donnybrook steer, all you sons of Parnassus- Poor painters, poor poets, poor newsmen, and knaves, To see what the fun is, that all fun surpasses The sorrow and sadness of green Erin's slaves. Oh, Donnybrook, jewel ! full of mirth is your quiver, Where all flock from Dublin to gape and to stare At two elegant bridges, without e'er a river : So, success to the humours of Donnybrook Fair ! O you lads that are witty, from famed Dublin city, And you that in pastime take any delight, 188 POPULAR SONGS OF IRELAND. To Donnybrook fly, for the time's drawing nigh When fat pigs are hunted, and lean cobblers fight ; When maidens, so swift, run for a new shift ; Men, muffled in sacks, for a shirt they race there ; There jockeys well booted, and horses sure-footed, All keep up the humours of Donnybrook Fair. The mason does come, with his line and his plumb ; The sawyer and carpenter, brothers in chips ; There are carvers and gilders, and all sort of builders, With soldiers from barracks and sailors from ships. There confectioners, cooks, and printers of books, There stampers of linen, and weavers, repair ; There widows and maids, and all sort of trades, Go join in the humours of Donnybrook Fair. There tinkers and nailers, and beggars and tailors, And singers of ballads, and girls of the sieve ; With Barrack Street rangers, the known ones and strangers, And many that no one can tell how they live : There horsemen and walkers, and likewise fruit-hawkers, And swindlers, the devil himself that would dare, With pipers and fiddlers, and dandies and diddlers, All meet in the humours of Donnybrook Fair. 'Tis there are dogs dancing, and wild beasts a-prancing^ With neat bits of painting in red, yellow, and gold ; Toss-players and scramblers, and showmen and gamblers, Pickpockets in plenty, both of young and of old. There are brewers, and bakers, and jolly shoemakers, With butchers, and porters, and men that cut hair; There are mountebanks grinning, while others are sinning, To keep up the humours of Donnybrook Fair. LOCAL SONGS. i8 9 Brisk lads and young lasses can there fill their glasses With whisky, and send a full bumper around ; Jig it off in a tent till their money's all spent, And spin like a top till they rest on the ground. Oh, Donnybrook capers, to sweet catgut-scrapers, They bother the vapours, and drive away care ; And what is more glorious there's naught more up- roarious Huzza for the humours of Donnybrook Fair ! GLASHEN-GLORA. This lyric originally appeared, with the signature W. , in the Cork Constitution newspaper of 4th June, 1824; and was introduced by the following note to the Editor of that paper : U MR. EDITOR, Your politeness in inserting a few lines which 1 wrote on the death of Lord Byron (dated iSth May), induces me to request a place for the trifle I now send you in your poet's corner. " A RAMBLER." " Glashen-glora," adds the author, " is a mountain torrent, which finds its way into the Atlantic Ocean through Glengariff, in the west of this county (Cork). Glashen-glora, I have been informed, signifies the ' roar- ing torrent.' Whether this is a literal or liberal trans- lation, I will not venture to assert." The Editor may add that the name, literally translated* signifies " the noisy green water : " glas, green ; en^ water ; gtorctch, noisy. t96 POPULAR SONGS OF IRELAND. 'Tis sweet, in midnight solitude, When the voice of man lies hush'd, subdued, To hear thy mountain voice so rude Break silence, Glashen-glora ! I love to see thy foaming stream Dash'd sparkling in the bright moonbeam ; For then of happier days I dream, Spent near thee, Glashen-glora 1 I see the holly and the yew Still shading thee, as then they grew ; But there's a form meets not my view, As once, near Glashen-glora ! Thou gaily, brightly, sparkl'st on, Wreathing thy dimples round each stone ; But the bright eye that on thee shone Lies quench'd, wild Glashen-glora ! Still rush thee on, thou brawling brook ; Though on broad rivers I may look In other lands, thy lonesome nook I'll think on, Glashen-glora ! When I am low laid in the grave, Thou still wilt sparkle, dash and rave Seaward, 'till thou becom'st a wave Of ocean, Glashen-glora ! ' Thy course and mine alike have been Both restless, rocky, seldom green ; There rolls for me, beyond this scene, An ocean, Glashen-glora! LOCAL SONGS. And when my span of life's gone by, Oh ! if past spirits back can fly, Til often ride the night-wind's sigh That's breathed o'er Glashen-gloia ! GOUGANE BARRA. The river Lee, the Luvius of Ptolemy, has its origin in the romantic lake of Gougane Barra, which is about two miles in circumference, and is formed by numerous streams descending from the mountains that divide the counties of Cork and Kerry. One small island, with some luxuriant ash -trees upon it, growing amid the ruined walls of a rude building, is strikingly contrasted with the bare precipices and the wild and uncultivated hills which surround this beautiful lake of dark clear water. The approach to Gougane Barra was formerly over rocky moors, intersected by numerous mountain denies ; and this difficulty of access, together with the remote situation of the place from "tower or town," made it a secure retreat for the vanquished and persecuted of various periods. The verdure of a solitary island reflected from the gentle bosom of a lake, encircled by the stately cliffs of majestic mountains, would have been sufficient to conse- crate the spot in the minds of those who, in times of , trouble, sought as an asylum the rugged scenery amid which it reposed. They fled from clamour, strife, and danger ; and here they found stillness, peace, and safety. The island which rested on the waters of " lone Gougane Barra," seemed to those who had retreated there, " when 192 POPULAR SONGS OF IRELAND. all but hope was lost," as an ark sanctified by a tradition of the early ages of Christianity, from whence they might securely look abroad for the olive-branch of peace. But, alas ! no dove was ever sent forth by the defeated yet unconquered Irish, as the spirit of the verses to which these remarks are prefixed will testify. In this " green, island" it is believed that the venerable St. Finbar, so named from his grey locks,* led for many years a life of holy seclusion about the close of the sixth century, pre- vious to his founding the cathedral church of Cork ; and from this circumstance Dr. Smith says that Gougane Barra signifies the hermitage of St. Finbar. The doctor, however, is mistaken in this assertion, as the Irish word gougane ; t like the French glouglou^ is descriptive of a bubbling or gurgling sound ; and Gougane Barra means* literally, the " gurgling head " of the river Lee, than which name nothing can accord more closely with the words of a writer in Bolster's Magazine, a Cork perio- dical, who, in an account of this lake, speaks of " the murmur of the young Lee, as complainingly its waters quitted for ever their wild home in the mountains." Mr. Callanan, of whom a short memoir will be found at p. 127, is the author of the following spirit-stirring song on Gougane Barra. It was composed by him in 1826. " During Mr. Callanan's residence in Bantry," says his biographer, " he made many excursions to visit the sur- rounding scenery, which is of the most romantic and interesting character. The beautiful lines on ( Gougane Barra ' were written in that secluded hermitage during a thunder-storm, which had overtaken him there." A copy of these verses was transmitted by Mr. Callanan to Dr. * //', or whiteness ; bar y a head. t Gogan, cackling, prating. O'REILLY. LOCAL SONGS. 193 Maginn, in a letter (now in the Editor's possession) dated September 27, with a request to endeavour to get them inserted in the New Monthly Magazine, then edited by Mr. Thomas Campbell; but they do not appear to have been printed in that periodical. An inferior version to that now given is included in the posthumous collec- tion of Mr. Callanan's poems, entitled " The Recluse of Inchidony," &c. There is a green island in lone Gongane Barra, Whence Allu of songs rushes forth like an arrow ; In deep-valley'd Desmond * a thousand wild fountains Come down to that lake from their home in the mountains. There grows the wild ash ; and a time-stricken willow Looks chidingly down on the mirth of the billow, As, like some gay child that sad monitor scorning, It lightly laughs back to the laugh of the morning. And its zone of dark hills oh ! to see them all brightening, When the tempest flings out his red banner of lightning, And the waters come down, 'mid the thunder's deep rattle, Like clans from their hills at the voice of the battle ; And brightly the fire-crested billows are gleaming, And wildly from Mallocf the eagles are screaming : Oh, where is the dwelling, in valley or highland, So meet for a bard as that lone little island ? * South Minister, in distinction to Thomond or North Minister, the ancient division of the kingdom of Momonia. Like the Hebrews, the Irish expressed the south and north by the right and left hand. Thus decis, the right hand, is the only word in the Irish language which signifies south ; as tuath, the left, is the north. The com- pound mond probably means a mountain chain. t A mountain over the lake. 194 POPULAR SONGS OF IRELAND. How oft when the summer sun rested on Clara,* And lit the blue headland of sullen Ivara,f Have I sought thee, sweet spot, from my home by the ocean, And trod all thy wilds with a minstrel's devotion, And thought on the bards who, oft gathering together, In the cleft of thy rocks and the depth of thy heather. Dwelt far from the Saxon's dark bondage and slaughter, As they raised their last song by the rush of thy water. High sons of the lyre ! oh, how proud was the feeling To dream while alone through that solitude stealing ; Though loftier minstrels green Erin can number, I alone waked the strain of her harp from its slumber, And gleaned the gray legend that long had been sleeping Where oblivion's dull mist o'er its beauty was creeping, From the love which I felt for my country's sad story, When to love her was shame, to revile her was glory K Last bard of the free ! were it mine to inherit The fire of thy harp and the wing of thy spirit, With the wrongs which like thee to my own land have bound me, Did your mantle of song throw its radiance around me ; Yet, yet on those bold cliffs might Liberty rally, And abroad send her cry o'er the sleep of each valley. But, rouse thee, vain dreamer ! no fond fancy cherish, Thy vision of Freedom in bloodshed must perish. I soon shall be gone though my name may be spoken When Erin awakes, and her fetters are broken- Some minstrel will come in the summer eve's gleaming, When Freedom's young light on his spirit is beaming, * The Irish name for Cape Clear. f Beer Haven. LOCAL SONGS. 195 To bend o'er my grave with a tear of emotion, Where calm Avonbuee* seeks the kisses of ocean, And a wild wreath to plant from the banks of that river O'er the heart and the harp that are silent for ever.f YOUNG KATE OF KILCUMMER Is copied from a tale entitled " The Rapparee," printed in Bolster's " Quarterly Magazine, No. IX. ," a Cork periodical publication, August 1828, where this ballad is said to be " a favourite Irish song, which we have endea- voured to translate, preserving as much as possible the simplicity of the original." The Editor, however, does not recognize anything to induce him to credit this state- ment. He believes it to be an original composition. Kilcummer is a seat of the Bowen family, in the county of Cork, on the east side of the river Awbeg, not far distant from the town of Doneraile. There are flowers in the valley, And fruit on the hill, Sweet-scented and smiling, Resort where you will. But the sweetest and brightest In spring-time or summer, Is the girl of my heart, The young Kate of Kilcummer. * The Carrigaline River. (See p. 152.) t Alas ! the melancholy wish expressed by poor Callan-an was not realized. He lies buried in a foreign land. (See p. 130.) G 2 196 POPULAR SONGS OF IRELAND. Oh ! I'd wander from daybreak Till night's gloomy fall, Full sure such another I'd ne'er meet at all. As the rose to the bee, As the sunshine to summer, So welcome to me Js young Kate of Kilcummer, THE BOYS OF KILKENNY. The Editor believes that this song, although unclaimed, is not incorrectly attributed to Mr. Thomas Moore, and the reasons for his belief are these : 1. Moore was a prominent member of the Kilkenny private theatricals about the years 1802-3-4. 2. The melody called "The old head of Denis" was an especial favourite with Moore; to it he wrote his well-known song in the first number of the " Irish Melodies," on the " Meeting of the Waters" in the county of Wicklow, commencing, " There is not in this wide world," &c. a line, by-the-by, which the fastidiousness of Moore's matured judgment has changed into the wide world." 3. The internal evidence of the song itself. The luscious picture conveyed to the fancy in the concluding lines of the second, and the beautiful local imagery of the third verses> as well as the humour which pervades the entire song, partake more of the tone of Moore's mind than of the national character. LOCAL SONGS. 197 It was no doubt originally written for and sung on the Kilkenny stage, and the last verse was probably an adjunct by the author when he sung " The Boys of Kil- kenny " in England, where he became a permanent resi- dent about 1807.* The Kilkenny theatre has been already noticed (p. 58), as a speculation of Owenson's. Mr Banim, in some gossiping letters on Ireland, published in a London periodical (The Literary Register, 1822), says: " Until within the last few years a private theatre was annually opened in Kilkenny under the management of Mr. Richard Power,! an accomplished and amiable gentle- man, at which, with other characters of consideration, Mr. Corry (Secretary to the Linen Hall) exhibited his very rare talents. The cause of charity was joined with elegant recreation, and extensive advantages resulted to the local charitable institutions. Other benefits also accrued to the inland city which was the scene of those periodical amusements. It became the rendezvous of the wealthy and fashionable from all parts of Ireland during the short theatrical seasons, and business of every kind thereby received a sprightly stimulus. My friend went on, adding some information and detached anecdote, which interested me not a little. It was at these Kilkenny theatricals that Miss O'Neillost her heart to Mr. Becher;| while the world consequently lost its first-rate actress. * Since the above was written the Editor has been informed, prefaced by the following communication to the Editor of that periodical : " The enclosed humorous song was (I imagine) never before printed; it was composed by a very witty but satirical genius, a Dr. MacDonnell, about the year 1757. He was an eminent physician, but lost almost his whole business by this song. " Yours, &c., "P L L Y." This statement is confirmed by a passage from the " Memoirs of Sir James Campbell," of Ardkinglas, pub- lished in 1832. "One of the members of the Medical Board (in Dublin)," says Sir James, or the writer of his memoirs, "was a very amiable young man, who prac- tised his profession in Limerick. He had lived very much with the regiment when quartered there ; but had fallen into disgrace with the fair sex, in consequence of a jeu cT esprit which he had been so indiscreet as to circu- late. Here are four lines by way of specimen : ' O what a sweet and pretty town Limerick is, "Where neither sly one, nor simkin, nor slattern is ; It would do your heart good, on the quay as they walk at eve, To see them so funny, so skittish, so talkative.' "The beauties of Limerick took the joke in such dudgeon, that the poor doctor was fain to make his escape in the night time, and never return. He settled afterwards, I think, in Chester, and did very well. By way of gloss to the stanza, I should have added, that a simkin is a person with a loose shambling gait," LOCAL SONGS. 229 Tune " My name is Molly Macky? c. O ! what a dainty, sweet, charming town Limerick is, Where neither sly nor slippery slim trick is ; For true generosity, honour, fidelity, Limerick's the town, ne'er doubt it I tell it you* Toll de roll, &c. Of smart pretty fellows in Limerick are numbers ; some, Who so modish are grown, that they think good sense cumbersome; And, lest they should seem to be queer or ridiculous, They affect not to value either God or old Nicholas. Toll de roll, &c. You neighbours of Ennis, of Kerry, and Gallaway,* Whose characters justly are taken by all away, Come hither among us, well make honest men of you, For, in every respect, one of us is worth ten of you. Toll de roll, &c. Though fame has given out our shopkeepers have a cant, And in selling their goods they charge us extravagant ; Yet I, the other day, heard an honest man swear it, That he never charged more than his conscience could bear it. Toll de roll, &c. * The old and vulgar pronunciation of Gal way. " All the way from Gallaway, early in the morning," is the burden of a popu- lar song descriptive of the march of the Ga'way Militia. In the London Gazette, No. 2598, Oct. 2 to 6, 1690, the Editor finds, "Two persons come from Gallaway confirm the former account," &c. 236 POPULAR SONGS OF IRELAND. Our wives behind counters, not saucy nor slatterns are ; For meekness, politeness, and goodness, they patterns are ; It would do your heart good, on the mall where they walk at eve, To see them so dressy, so flirtish, so talkative. Toll de roll, &c. GARRYOWEN, In English, " Owen's Garden," is a suburb of Limerick, for a copy of the very popular song respecting which the Editor is indebted to Lieut.- Colonel Sir Charles O'Donnell. Mr. Banim (the author of " The O'Hara Tales "), in a letter which appeared in the Literary Register^ a short- lived London weekly paper of the year 1822, says: " The celebrated Garry o wen forms part of the filthy suburbs of Limerick. The former character of its in- habitants is said to be well described in a verse of their own old song : ' In Garryowen we'll drink nut-brown ale, An' score de reckonin' on de nail ; No man for debt shall go to gaol From Garryowen in glory whu ! ' \a ;v//.] "Some years ago the Garryowen boys, headed by s young gentleman of respectable family, did what they listed in every department of heyday wilduess and devil- ment; they were the half-terror, half-admiration of the surrounding communities. But the present generation is, comparatively, a decayed and insignificant race, not LOCAL SONGS. 231 remarkable for any peculiar acts of daring ; while the old leader, to whom . I have alluded, is now a most respect- able quiet citizen, about sixty, famed for propriety and urbanity of demeanour, and at the head of one of the most thriving mercantile concerns in the town. My an* tiquary (Mr. Geoffrey Foote) pointed him out and in- troduced me to him, the other day, in the streets ; and I futilely sought, in the grave and generous expression of his features, in the even tone of his voice, and in the Quaker cut and coloured suit which he wore, for any characteristic of the former Georgie Robinson of an Irish Porteous mob. Neither age nor change of habits had altered the tall and muscular figure which, in the redo- lence and buoyancy of youth, must have been equal to any achievement of physical prowess." " Mr. Connell (the Johnny Connell of Garryowen) and Darby O'Brien (some versions have Harry, others Jerry O'Brien) were," writes Sir Charles O'Donnell to the Editor, in 1833, "two squireens in Limerick, and about the time the song was written, between the years 1770 and 1780, devil-may-care sort of fellows, who defied all authority. They were the sons of brewers ; the former is still alive, and has, or had, until very lately, a large brewery in Limerick." The feat mentioned in the last verse, of O'Brien having " leapt over the dock, In spite of judge and jury," (some versions run "In spite of all the soldiers"), although the Editor is unable to give the particulars of this occurrence, has many parallels in the history of the administration of justice in Ireland. Fitzgerald, in his Cork Remembrancer, chronicles that, in 1753, 2n POPULAR SONGS OF IRELAND. "Matthew Callaghane, aged 18 years, was capitally convicted in the City Court tm Tuesday, April 17, for the robbery of Captain Capel at Glanmire. As soon as he received sentence of death, he leaped out of the dock with his bolts on, made his escape out of court, but was retaken the same day, and hanged at the corner of Broad Lane on Wednesday, the 25th of April. The informer who discovered on him was so ill-treated by the mob (having one of his ears cut off), that his life was despaired of. Since this transaction happened," adds Fitzgerald, " the dock in the City Court has been made higher." Limerick is as notorious for its nocturnal irregula- rities as for its memorable sieges, many instances of which may be produced. Before the freaks of Johnny Connell, Mr. Hayes,* whose memory is recorded in the cathedral of that city as "DAN HAYES, AN HONEST MAN AND LOVER OF HIS COUNTRY," has thus described his departure from the scene of his juvenile excesses, under the title of " The Farewell." " Ye gentle virgins, set your hearts at ease, No more the town's disturbed with riotous Hayes ; No more in Barrack Street his sword he draws, Nor murders horses, nor bravades the laws ; No more inspired with 'rack he scours the streets To swear and play the devil with all he meets ; No more the windows clink with clattering stones, Nor dying pigs emit untimely groans ; The peaceful street, no more with clamour rings, Nor nightly fiddlers ply their sounding strings," c. * He died at Kensington on the 2oth of July, 1767, at the early age of thirty-four, it may be presumed, from the effects of dissipa- tion. By his will, he left his estates to aid the foundation of a hos- pital in Limerick, but his heirs successfully contested the bequest. LOCAL SONGS. 233 Previous to the midnight vagaries of " Buck Hayes,' 1 or " Count Hayes," as he was sometimes called, we find Dr. Smyth, the Bishop of Limerick, complaining by his letter of the 27th of October, 1710,* of similar wanton proceedings. "On the 1 2th of September, about one or two in the morning, several persons with musical instruments, who sang a song, which (I am informed by those who heard it most distinctly) was a very scandalous one. After- wards, I heard them repeat the words, ' confusion and damnation/ which, I suppose, was when they drank con- fusion and damnation to Dr. Sacheverel and all his ad- herents, and all of his principles, as I was informed they did by a gentleman, who says he opened his casement and heard them. They staid before my house a consider- able time, and (the same gentleman informed me, whose depositions are taken before the mayor and other jus- tices) drank other healths, among which was the health most profanely called ' The Litany Health/ wherein they prayed that plague, pestilence, and famine, &c., might fall on all (and among them particularly on all archbishops and bishops, &c., to the best of his remembrance, and as he verily believes) who should refuse to drink the glo- rious memory of King William. The former of these healths was likewise drank at one Alderman Higgins's, and neither of them drank at any other houses appears by depositions taken as before. The persons concerned in this (as appears upon oath) were Major Cheater, at that time commanding officer in chief of the garrison, Captain Plasto, Lieutenant Mason, Lieutenant Barkly, and Lieutenant Walsh, all belonging to Sir John Whit- * Autograph in the Editor's possession, with the depositions re ferred to : they were sold among the Southwell MSS. by auction at Messrs. Christies', in February, 1834. 234 POPULAR SONGS OF IRELAND. tingar's regiment, and Captain Blunt of Colonel Rooke's regiment. After this, on the 2ist of this month, about four, as I conceive, in the morning, I and my family were again disturbed by several persons who passed by my house, and made a strange unusual noise, by singing with feigned voices, and by beating with keys and tongs (as it appears on oath) on frying-pans, brass candlesticks, and such like instruments. Afterwards, on the 24th instant, about the same hour, I was startled out of my sleep (as I was each time before) by a hideous noise made at the corner of my house by the winding of horns, and the following of men, and the cry of a pack of dogs. I lay some considerable time in bed, in hopes they would soon have gone away, but finding they did not, I got out of my bed and opened my window, and stood there for some time in hopes of discovering who they were (for it was a moonshiny night), but could not. At length the dogs, in full cry (to the number, I believe, of twenty-three or twenty-four couple, or thereabouts) ran by my house, and in some time after returned again, and soon after in the same manner ran back again, making the same noise. After they had passed by my house the first time, I called to the centinel at my door, and asked him who those men were, and what they were doing ; who answered me that they were officers, who had got a fox and dragged him along, and sent the dogs after him. Who these per- sons were, who were guilty of the second and third riots, appears by the depositions taken before our justices of the peace. I cannot but observe that Major Cheater, with others of that regiment (as I think appears by my depositions), was always one; and in the second riot, was accompanied by Lieutenant Barkly. " The gentlemen who put the first great affront upon jne having owned their fault and asked my pardon I LOCAL SONGS. 235 should never have mentioned it to their prejudice, had it not been for the repeated indignity they have put upon me since ; which, if continued, will oblige me to remove sith my family out of town, till the gentlemen come to a better temper. " Beside these abuses which I have mentioned, I and my family have been frequently alarmed and awakened in the dead of night by soldiers (as they afterwards ap- peared to be), who feigned themselves to be spirits, some by stripping themselves naked, and others by putting on white garments, and throwing stones at the centinel at my door, and at other times by throwing stones on the slates of my house, which made an unusual noise when they were tumbling down ; and one night particularly the century was so much affrighted, and made such a noise, that I was obliged to rise out of my bed to encourage him, and to assure him they were no spirits. " All this having been done since the first abuse that was put on me, and never before having received any such abuses by any officers or soldiers since my first coming to this town, there having been always a good understanding betwixt us, and the officers of all former regiments having been at all times very obliging and courteous to me, which I think myself bound in justice to acknowledge; for these reasons I cannot but believe that these later outrages were the result of some resent- ments occasioned by the first abuse, and that the first abuse was occasioned by an opinion they conceived that my principles did not in all things agree with their own. (Signed) "Tno: LIMERICK." Speaking of the enjoyments of the people of Limerick at fair time or on festival days, Fitzgerald and MacGregor 236 POPULAR SONGS OF IRELAND. notice in their history, a fondness for music of the fiddle or bagpipe. "Amongst the airs selected upon these occasions, ' Patrick's Day/ and ' Garryowen,' always hold a distinguished place." Let Bacchus's sons be not dismayed, But join with me each jovial blade ; Come booze and sing, and lend your aid To help me with the chorus : Instead of Spa* we'll drink brown ale, And pay the reckoning on the nail,f No man for debt shall go to gaol From Garryowen in glory ! We are the boys that take delight in Smashing the Limerick lamps when lighting, { Through the streets like sporters fighting, And tearing all before us. Instead, &c. We'll break windows, we'll break doors, The watch knock down by threes and fours ; Then let the doctors work their cures, And tinker up our bruises. Instead, &c. * The Spa of Castle Connell, about six miles from Limerick, was in high repute at the period when this song was written. t "Circular tablets of metal in the Exchange, so called, nnd where it was customary to pay down the earnest money." SIR CHARLES O'DoNNELL. " Paying the reckoning on the nail," was a cant phrase for knocking a man on the head. "Nail him," being equivalent to "knock him down." "Lamps were first put up in the streets of Limerick at the sole expense of Alderman Thomas Rose, in 1696." FERRAR'S LOCAL SONGS. 237 We'll beat the bailiffs, out of fun, We'll make the mayor and sheriffs run ; We are the boys no man dares dun, If he regards a whole skin. Instead, &c. Our hearts, so stout, have got us fame, For soon 'tis known from whence we carne \ Where'er we go they dread the name Of Garryowen in glory. Instead, &c. Johnny Council's tall and straight, And in his limbs he is complete ; He'll pitch a bar of any weight, From Garryowen to Thomond Gate.* Instead, &c. Garryowen is gone to rack Since Johnny Connell went to Cork, Though Darby O'Brien leapt over the dock In spite of judge and jury. Instead, &c. * That is, from one side of Limerick to the other. In Fitzgerald and MacGregor's " History of Limerick," when noticing the customs and amusements of the lower orders, it is stated that the tradesmen formerly marched in grotesque procession on Midsummer-day, and that " the day generally ended in a terrible fight between the Garry- owen and Thomond Gate boys the tradesmen of the north and south suburbs." 238 POPULAR SONGS OF IRELAND. THE COUNTY OF LIMERICK BUCK-HUNT, From a manuscript copy, most obligingly procured for the Editor by Miss Crumpe. In Fitzgerald and Mac- Gregor's "History of Limerick" (vol. ii. Appendix, p. 50), it is stated that the popular song of "By your leave, Larry Grogan," was made on Edward Croker, Esq., of Rawleighstown, high sheriff of the county in 1 735> "by the l ate Pierce Creagh of Dangan, Esq." Mr. Grogan is traditionally said to have composed a song upon the vagaries of a disappointed suitor of Miss Alicia Croker, which became exceedingly popular ; * she was the high sheriffs second sister, f and is the Miss Croker mentioned in the fifth verse of the following song: " Let no nice sir despise the hapless dame, Because recording ballads chant her name." No doubt all the beautiful lasses toasted in that verse were celebrated belles. Who Miss Cherry Singleton and Miss Sally Curry were, the Editor is unable to determine. " Ally Croker " married Charles Langley, Esq., of Lisnar- nock, county of Kilkenny, and died at an advanced age, without children to inherit their mother's charms, which only live in song. A sampler, worked by the hands of the fair Alice, was carefully preserved at Ballydavid, a seat of the Baker family, in the county of Tipperary, and hung in an old oak frame, over the fireplace of the dining- room a venerated relic. * See Boswell's " Johnson," vii. 84, Murray's IO vol. ed. ; Hone's "Every-day Book," col. 1641; Nichols' " Collection of Poems," &c. t His eldest sister had married John Dillon, Esq., of Quarter- town in the county of Cork. LOCAL SONGS. 239 Miss Bligh was the eldest sister of the first Earl of Darnley. Her second brother, who was an officer of dragoons, had married, about the period that the song was written, the sister of William Bury, Esq., of Shannon Grove, in the county of Limerick ; she subsequently (in 1748) became the wife of Thomas Le Hunte, Esq., M.P. for Wexford, and died in 1772, without issue. Miss Prittie, whose sister Mr. Croker had married, was the eldest daughter of Henry Prittie, Esq., of Kilboy, county of Tipperary, and married, in 1736, Sir Richard Meade, Bart., M.P. for Kinsale. Their son was created Earl of Clanwilliam. She afterwards married the Right Honourable Sir Henry Cavendish, Bart., and died in 1779. Miss Persse was of a Galway family ; but it is not in the Editor's power to add any particulars respecting this " subject for verse." By your leave, Larry Grogan,* Enough has been spoken ; 'Tis time to give over your sonnet, your sonnet, f Come listen to mine, 'Tis far better than thine, Though not half the time was spent on, spent on it. * A celebrated amateur piper, of the family of Grogan of Johns- town Castle, in the county of Wexford. t In the early part of the last century commonly used for song, or ballad. For instance, in an imitation of the famous ballad of 1 'Molly Mogg" " Now if Curl will print me this wnnet, To a volume my verses shall swell ; And a fig for what Dennis says on it, He cannot find fault with LepelL" $43 POPULAR SOXGS OF IRELAND. Oh ! 'tis of a buck slain In this very campaign : To let him live longer 'twere pity, 'twere pity ; For fat and for haunches, For head and for branches, Exceeding the mayor of a city, a city. A council assembled (Who'd think but he trembled ?), Of lads of good spirit, well mounted, well mounted ; Each with whip and with cap on, And spurs made at Ripon,* To the number of twenty were counted, were counted. Off, a score, we went bounding, Sweet horns were sounding, Each youth filled the air with a whoop and a halloo ; Dubourg,f were he there, Such sweet music to hear, Would leave his Cremona, and follow, and follow. * Or Rippon, in Yorkshire. " Rippon spurs were formerly very famous. ' Why, there's an angel, if my spurs Be not right Rippon' BEN JONSON'S Staple of N., i. 3. ' Whip me with wire, headed with rowels of Sharp Rippon spurs 'The Wits Old Play, viii. p. 501. "Ray has a local proverb 'As true steel as Rippon rowels ;' with this note subjoined : ' It is said of trusty persons, men of mettle, faithful in their employments. Rippon, in this county, is a town famous for the best spurs of England, whose rowels may be enforced to strike through a shilling, and will break sooner than bow.' p. 263. Fuller has the same saying and explanation. A modern account of Rippon says, that ' when James I. went there, in 1617, he was presented by the corporation with a gilt bow, and a pair of spurs ; the latter article cost $. It is said, also, that this manufacture is now neglected there.' " NARES'S Glossary. t A celebrated performer on the violin, whose skill in the exe- LOCAL SO A OS. 241 Knockaderk and Knockaney,* And hills twice as many, Saw us fly o'er their stone walls, and hedges, and ditches. He skimmed o'er the grounds, But to baffle our hounds Was ne'er yet in any buck's breeches, buck's breeches. Four hours he held out Most surprisingly stout, Till at length to his fate he submitted, submitted j His throat being cut up, The poor culprit put up, To the place whence he came was remitted, remitted. A place most enchanting, Where nothing was wanting That poor hungry huntsman could wish, sir, could wish, sir. Though our number was there, Yet of delicate fare For every man was a dish, sir, a dish, sir. cution of Irish melodies is thus alluded to in Lawrence White's 4 * Dissertation on Italian and Irish Music," 1742 : " Dub g improves them in our days, And never from the subject strays ; Nor by extravagance perplexed "Will let them wander from the text.'* Dubourg was a pupil of Geminiani, and, in 1/28, was appointed Master and Composer of the State Music in Ireland. He died in London in 1767. Some interesting particulars of Dubourg are to be found in a very curious and amusing little volume, entitled "The Violin," recently published by his grandson, Mr. George Dubourg ; whose preface, whimsically enough, commences with the assertion, that " Mankind may be divided into two classes those who play the violin, and those who do not.' * Two high hills, about twelve miles south-east of the city of Limerick. 242 POPULAR SONGS OF IRELAND. We fell-to with fury, Like a long-famished jury, Nor stayed we for grace to our dinner, our dinner ; The butler a-sweating, The knives all a- whetting, The edge of each stomach was keener, was keener. Oh ! the bumpers went round, With an elegant sound, Chink, chink, like sweet bells, went the glasses, the glasses. We drank Queen and King, And each other fine thing, Then bumpered the beautiful lasses, sweet lasses. There was Singleton (Cherry), And sweet Sally Curry, Miss Croker, Miss Bligh, and Miss Prittie, Miss Prittie ; With lovely Miss Persse, That subject for verse, Who shall ne'er be forgot in my ditty, my ditty. With a great many more, From fifteen to a score ; Oh ! had you but seen them together, together, Such charms you'd discover, You'd pity the lover, And look on St. James's a feather, a feather. Long prosper this county, And high sheriffs bounty, Where thus we indulge, and make merry, make merry; For, jovial as we are, We'll puff away all care, To poor busy Robin, and Fleury, and Fleury.* * Sir Robert Walpole and the Cardinal Fleury were, at this period, respectively the Prime Ministers of England and France. LOCAL SONGS. 343 DEAR MALLOW, ADIEU ! The following song, entitled "The Farewell, a Pas- toral Ballad in imitation of Shenstone," is copied from a quarto volume, published in Dublin in 1772, called " The Shamrock, or Hibernian Cresses, a collection of poems, songs, epigrams, &c., Latin as well as English, the original production of Ireland. To which are sub- joined, Thoughts on the prevailing System of School Education respecting Young Ladies, as well as Gentlemen, with practical Proposals for a Reformation. By Samuel Whyte, Principal of the English Grammar School." Whyte, whose memory is embalmed in a sonnet ad- dressed to him by his pupil, Thomas Moore, ruled for above fifty years, a noisy mansion in Grafton Street, Dublin. " He was," observes another of his distinguished pupils,* "formed by Nature for a schoolmaster ; indeed, he seemed to consider it the highest office of which man was capable, and himself fittest of all the world to sustain it. His temper was admirable, his habits and pursuits almost those of the children he taught ; a pun, or a story of the most innocent or powerless kind, gave him the utmost delight, and, seated among the grandchildren of those he had first taught, he was little else than an object of their worship. Next to a school, in his estimate, stood a theatre ; and his pupils were all taught to declaim in the style of Mossop, Barry, and Sheridan, the friends and associates of his youth. This had, I doubt not, a very powerful influence upon the tone of Irish rhetoric, for most of those who were prominent at the bar or in the pulpit had passed under his tuition. It was delightful to * Manuscript Autobiography of the late Sir Hardinge Giffard, Chief Justice of Ceylon. *44'- POPULAR SONGS OF IRELAND. see the old man presiding at one of his public examina- tions. It was a jubilee time to him. A large company, and that not a very disinterested audience, attended to observe the rivalry for prizes, which were, with no small policy, awarded by temporary judges, friends from the University, whose character gave weight to their decisions, while their presence imposed solemnity on the scene. Poor Sam Whyte ! * Who ruled o'er children was himself a child,' at least in worldly matters ; but he was neither wasteful nor intemperate, and if he grew not wealthy, neither was he poor. He died since I left Ireland, and must have been above fourscore years of age." * In 1750, Dr. Smith thus describes Mallow, which was then a very fashionable watering-place : " Not far from the Castle is a fine spring, of moderately tepid water, which bursts out of the bottom of a great limestone rock, and approaches the nearest, in all its qualities, to the hot- well waters of Bristol, of any that has been discovered in this kingdom. Here is generally a resort of good com- pany during the summer months, both for pleasure and the benefit of drinking the waters. Near the Spa there are pleasant walks, agreeably planted, and on each side are canals and cascades, for the amusement and exercise of the company, who have music on these walks. There is also a long room, where assemblies are held for dancing, card-playing, &c. Adjoining to the well is a kind of grotto, on which the following lines were wrote, and printed in the public papers, when it was first erected : * Joint work of judgment, fancy, taste, and art, Nature's wild wondrous rival's counterpart ; * "Mr. Samuel Whyte died in Dublin, 4th of October, l8ll, aged seventy- eight." Annual Register, LOCAL SONGS. 245 By avarice opposed, by envy blamed, By bounty built, to future ages famed, Live long ; by time, by malice undestroyed, By avarice or by envy unen joyed.' "The town being well situated, the country about it pleasant, and the company agreeable, it hath obtained among some the name of the Irish Bath." The Ulster Miscellany ', printed in 1753, contains "A Poern on the Hot Wells at Mallow/' p. 294; and also " A new Ballad on the Hot Wells at Mallow," p. 342. The former, after commending " this healing fountain," which " far more virtues hath, Than those of Bristol, or her sister Bath," thus concludes : " Attend, ye lovers, while the muse records The charming pleasures which the place affords : Here stands a wood bedeckt with summer's pride, There the Blackwater rowls his dusky tide ; Here a canal of waters, deep and clear, Whose spouting cascades please the eye and ear, While on the pebble- walks fresh air you breathe, Trees nod above, and fishes swim beneath. Music, in consort, from a side retreat, Gives life to all, and makes the scene complete ; At night a gay assembly and a ball, Murphy's sweet harp, and dancing closes all." The ballad mentioned very glibly runs on in praise of the springs of Mallow, according to this fashion, to the air of "Ballyspellen:" " All you that are Both lean and bare, With scarce an ounce of tallow, To make your flesh Look plump and fresh, Come, drink the springs a.t Mallo\v J 246 POPULAR SONGS OF IRELAMD. For all that you Are bound to do Is just to gape and swallow ; You'll find by that You'll rowl in fat, Most gloriously at Mallow I Or, if love's pain Disturbs your brain, And makes your reason shallow, To shake it off, Gulp down enough Of our hot springs at Mallow ! " Notwithstanding this advice, the author of the " Adieu to Mallow," instead of there shaking off "love's pain," seems to have become so fascinated by the charms of Susan, or Mary, or Bess, that if the words of man are to be believed, one of these damsels should have had an early opportunity of considering whether she would like to " cry ballow, To lull and keep Pier babe asleep Beside the springs of Mallow ! " Oh, Mallow, dear Mallow, adieu ! How oft have I walked by thy spring, While the trees were yet dropping with dew, Ere the lark his shrill matin did sing. How often at noon have I strayed, By the streamlet that winds through thy vale ; How oft, at still eve, on thy mead, The soft breeze have I joyed to inhale. O'er thy green hills, high-bosomed in wood, O'er thy sweetly diversified ground, How oft, as my walk I pursued, Have I gazed in wild transport around I LOCAL SONGS. 247 Invoking the powers that preside O'er the stream, o'er the grove, o'er the hill, With their presence my fancy to guide, With their fire my rapt bosom to fill. On a rock hanging over the flood, Through the wild glen meandering slow, Half-frighted, how oft have I stood, To pore on the mirror below. To see, in the heart of the wave, The glen, and the rock, and the sky, How bright the reflection it gave, How pleased, how delighted was I. At the foot of an elm, or a lime, How oft have I stretched me along, Enchanted with Collins's rhyme, Or Akenside's rapture of song ! How oft, too, as accident led, Through the churchyard path's fear-stirring ground, Busy fancy has called up the dead, To glide in dread visions around. These sweet walks, this soft quiet, and all Those blameless, those rational joys, Must I quit for the buzz of the hall, For dissonance, wrangling, and noise; For the city's dull uniform scene, Where jobbing, and party, and strife, Dissipation, and languor, and pain, Fill up the whole circle of life. " The language which flows from the heart," In Susan, in Mary, and Bess, How exchanged for the polish of art, Smooth nonsense and empty address ! POPULAR SONGS OF IRELAND. For painting, which Nature bestows On the village-maid's innocent cheek, 'Mid the birthnight's fantastical rows, How lost were the labour to seek ! Yet oft shall fond memory anew, Present each loved scene to my eye, And with painful enjoyment, review The delights that too hastily fly ; Through all the sweet landscape around, Not a stream, not a rock, nor a tree, Not a field-flower nor shrub shall be found, Unmarked or unhonoured by me. And ye, my companions so dear, What words my deep anguish can tell ? Receive from a witness this tear, How it pains me to bid you farewell. Ye, too, for I read in your eyes The emotions that swell at your heart, Ye have not yet learned to disguise, " Ye are sorry to see me depart." Sweet seat of contentment and ease, Where Rest her still Sabbath may keep, Where all may live just as they please, Eat, drink, read, laugh, saunter, or sleep; The next spring may new-brighten thy scene, And thy leaves and thy blossoms restore : But bring the loved circle again, Or the landscape will charm me no more. Sweet commerce of unison minds, A treasure how rarely possessed ; How seldom, through life, the heart finds The joy that gives worth to the rest. LOCAL SONGS. 249 But hark ! 'tis the chaise at the door, My mare is already in view; Alas ! I have time for no more, Oh, Mallow, dear Mallow, adieu I THE RAKES OF MALLOW. So were the young men of that fashionable water-drinking town proverbially called ; and a set of " pretty pickles " they were, if the song, descriptive of their mode of life, here recorded after the most delicate oral testimony, is not very much over-coloured. Air" Sandy lent the Man his MulL" Beauing, belleing, dancing, drinking, Breaking windows, damning, sinking,* Ever raking, never thinking, Live the rakes of Mallow. Spending faster than it comes, Beating waiters, bailiffs, duns, Bacchus's true begotten sons, Live the rakes of Mallow. One time naught but claret drinking, Then like politicians thinking To raise the sinking funds when sinking, Live the rakes of Mallow. When at home with dadda dying, Still for Mallow water crying ; But where there's good claret plying Live the rakes of Mallow. * Cursing extravagantly ; 'i.e., " damning you to hell, and sinking you lower." 250 POPULAR SONGS OF IRELAND. Living short but merry lives ; Going where the devil drives ; Having sweethearts, but no wives, Live the rakes of Mallow. Racking tenants, stewards teasing, Swiftly spending, slowly raising, Wishing to spend all their days in Raking as at Mallow. Then to end this raking life They get sober, take a wife, Ever after live in strife, And wish again for Mallow. DARLING NEDDEEN. "Neddeen," says Mr. Weld, " is the principal place of trade on the Kenmare river.* It is a very small town, and though we have observed some new houses, has, on the whole, an appearance of decay." Neddeen is now generally known as Kenmare, and the authorship of the song respecting its attractions is already attributed to Mr. Wood, the gentleman mentioned at pages 1 8 and 144. The Banimian style of writing the words as vulgarly sounded, in which this and the songs at these pages originally appeared, together with the rich store of traditionary knowledge displayed, and the love of local allusion, leave no doubt upon the subject, unless indeed the Editor has suffered himself to be carried away by circumstantial evidence, as he has reason to believe he * An arm of the sea, west of Bantry Bay. LOCAL SONGS. 251 did, when giving judgment upon the authorship of the " Boys of Kilkenny." The song now republished there can be no question, from the mention of the Marquess of Lansdowne's visit to the south of Ireland in company with Mr. Moore, was written in 1823. It was originally printed in a Cork scurrilous publication, called The Freeholder (August 30, 1823), with the subsequent introductory letter: "MR. BOIL,* I am toul the Marquis o' Lansdown is gone down to Neddeen, and as I heard that Tommy Moor was gone off to Klarney to write about the Lakes, I think that a hint about Neddeen mite make him write about that too. I wish he'd buil a poem on the follow founda- tion; an' as I'm tould the Marquis manes to build a new town, I could give a plan for that too. The above may serve for a dedication for both, from your humble servant to comman, " JACK GRAUMMACHREE." This visit of Mr. Moore to Ireland was followed by the appearance, in the ensuing year, of the ninth number of the " Irish Melodies," perhaps the most Irish part of that national work, as well as the one most identified with the author. Of the twelve songs which it contains, nine have reference to local feelings or traditions, or to cir- cumstances which arose out of the poet's tour. Thus, " Sweet Innisfallen," and "Twas one of those dreams," obviously allude to Mr. Moore's visit to Killarney ; and "In yonder valley there dwelt alone," is said to have originated in an anecdote connected with O'Sullivan's cascade. The song commencing, " By the Feal's wave benighted," is founded on a romantic anecdote in the * Mr* Boyle, the editor. 2$2 POPULAR SONGS OF IRELAND. history of the Geraldines. These four songs fairly belong to the county of Kerry. Then, descriptive of a glance at a map of Ireland, preparatory to the tour, we find, " Fairest, put on a while," in a note on which, by-the-by the Skellig rocks, mentioned, at p. 123, as off the coast of Kerry, are confounded with the Saltees, which are in the barony of Forth, off the coast of Wexford. On meeting with a party of old friends in Dublin, " And doth not a meeting like this." On Irish politics, "As van- quished Erin wept beside," &c. ; and, " Quick, we have but a second," is just the song that might have been suggested by a pleasant travelling party being hurried off from an agreeable meeting. The horn of the mail-coach guard, or the voice of some equally urgent personage, is absolutely ringing in the ear. Tune " The Sprig of Shilklah? As Thady Mac Murtough O'Shaughnessy, oge, T'other day was industriously mending a brogue, On a neat little hill that they call Drumcusheen, His sole, and his welt, and his cord was so strong, That, soon waxing warm, he lilted a song; He bellowed as loud as his lungs they could bawl ; Oh ! bad cess to the tanners, I'll leather them all, But I'll first sing the praises of darling Neddeen I On the face of this earth 'tis the most curous place, I swears black and blue, by the nose on my face, Tis the sweetest of any that ever was seen ; Och ! it's there you will see both the hedgehog and whale, And the latter continually flapping his tail, Just to raise up a breeze for the fowls of the air, As the eagle, the jackass, or gosling so fair, While they sing round the cabins of darling Neddeen ! LOCAL SONGS. 253 There stone houses all, are weather-slated with mud, And the praties, and women, and whisky is good, And the latter small hardware, they call it poteen. Small blame to them keeping no lamps there at night, Because of the girls, whose eyes shows them light ; You may talk of your lamps, that is all lit with gas, Och ! give me the black eye of a sweet Colleen das, Such as light up the cabins in darling Neddeen ! There the geese run about through the most of the street, Ready roasted, inviting the people they meet To eat, lord an' squire, cobbogue an' spalpeen ; From the cows they gets whisky, the ganders give milk, An* their best woollen blankets is all made of silk ; Their purty young girls, they never grows old, And the sun never set there last winter, I'm told, But stay'd lighting the pipes of the boys of Neddeen ! Oh ! if I kept singing till this time next year/ Not a half of the beautiful beauties you'd hear, From the Skelligs down west, to the great Noersheen ; There the sea's great broad bottom is covered with grass, Where many a young mermaid's seen washing her glass, An* great elephant teeth are turned up in the bogs, Some charmed into sawdust, some changed into logs, Or converted to tooth-picks in darling Neddeen ! Long life to the Marquis, I'm glad he's gone down To his own little city a far sweeter town Than Bandon, Dunmanway, or Ballyporeen. Long life to his honour, till after he's dead May nothing that's teazing e'er run in his head ; May he give to each tenant a long building lease ; May their praties, an' butter, an' childer increase, Till Dublin looks smaller than darling Neddeen ! POPULAR SONGS OF IRELAND. THE TOWN OF PASSAGE. No less than three songs upon the town of Passage, which is situated between Cork and its Cove, are here t given to illustrate the manner in which popular lyrics are imitated and sometimes amalgamated. As to the authorship of No. L, there can be no doubt ; Mr. Simon Quin, stimulated by the discomforts of a drowsy landlady and her lively lodgings, having, in the concluding verse, saved the Editor the risk of con- jecture. This song was introduced, with considerable effect, upon the London stage by the late Mr. Charles Connor, in Lord Glengall's very amusing farce of the " Irish Tutor ; " the fourth verse, especially, never failing to produce a burst of laughter and applause. Of the author of No. II., it may be said as of Junius, " Stat nominis umbra? It is, however, evidently from the fourth line of the second verse, a subsequent com- position to No. I. In what manner the Rev. Francis Mahony, under the nom de guerre of Father Prout, has combined the songs Nos. I. and II., the reader can judge from the version of " The town of Passage," No. III. Its reverend author, or rather concocter, has described it as " manifestly an imitation of that unrivalled dithyramb, * The Groves of Blarney,' with a little of its humour, and all its absurdity." Notes are appended to such local matters as appear to require explanation. No. L The town of Passage is neat and spacious, All situated upon the sea ; LOCAL SOXGS. 255 The ships a-floating, and the youths a-boating, With their cotton coats on each summer's day. Tis there you'd see both night and morning, The men-of-war, with fresh flowing sails ; The bould lieutenants, and the tars so jolly, All steering for Cork in a hackney chaise. 'Tis there's a stature drawn after nature, A leaping from the mud upon the dry land ; A lion or a leopard, or some fierce creature, With a Reading-made-easy all in his hand.* There's a rendezvous house for each bould hero For to take on, whose heart beats high ; The colours a-drooping, and the children's rockets All pinned across it, hanging out to dry. 'Tis there's a Strand too, that's decked with oar- weeds, And tender gob- stones t and mussel-shells ; And there's skeehories,J and what still more is, A comely fresh-flowing water rill. 'Tis there the ladies, when break of day is, And tender lovers, do often pelt ; Some a-airing and some a-bathing, All mother naked to enjoy their health. And there's a ferry-boat that's quite convenient, Where man and horse do take a ride ; 'Tis there in clover you may pass over To Carrigaloe on the other side. * The figure-head of an old ship, f* Round pebbles. % Hawthorn berries. A village on the Great Island, opposite Passage, between which places there is a ferry. S56 POPULAR SONGS OF IRELAND. There may be seen, oh ! the sweet Marino,* With its trees so green O ! and fruit so red ; Brave White Point, and right forenent it The Giant's Stairs, and sweet Horse's Head.f There's a house of lodgings at one Molly Bowen's, Where often goes in one Simon Quin ; Oh ! 'tis there without a coat on, you'd hear her grope on The door to open, to let him in. Then straight up stairs one pair of windows, With but the slates betwixt him and the sky ; Oh, 'tis there till morning, the fleas all swarming, Do keep him warm in where he does lie. No. II. Oh, Passage town is of great renown, For we go down in our buggies there On a Sunday morning, all danger scorning, To get a corning J at sweet Passage fair. Oh, 'tis there you'd see the steamboats sporting Upon Lough Mahon, all so fair to view; Bold Captain O'Brien, || with his colours flying, And he a-vieing with the Waterloo.^ * The seat of Savage French, Esq., on the Great Island. t White Point, the Giant's Stairs, and Horse's Head, are remark- able objects not far from Passage. % "The town is much frequented during the summer by the in- habitants of Cork, for the benefit of salt-water bathing." MR. SHAW MASON'S Surveys of Ireland, vol. iii. 1819. A fine sheet of water between the point on which Blackrock Castle stands and the town of Passage. || The well-known commander of a steamboat which plied bet ween. Cork and Cove. IT A rival steamboat. LOCAL SONGS. 257 'There's a patent slipping, and dock for shipping, And whale-boats skipping upon the tide ; There ships galore is,* and Cove before uSj With " Carrigaloe on the other side." 'Tis there's the hulk that's well stored with convicts, Who were never upon decks till they went to sea ; They'll ne*er touch dry land, nor rocky island, Until they spy land at sweet Botany Bay. Here's success to this foreign station, Where American ships without horses ride, And Portugueses! from every nation Comes in rotation upon the tide. But not forgetting Haulbowline Island, That was constructed by Mrs. Deane : Herself's the lady that has stowed the water To supply the vessels upon the main.J * "The principal trade carried on in the town is the repairing of vessels, of which a good number in the year come thither for that pur- pose* Timber ships from Sweden, and the northern powers, always stop and unload at Passage, and many merchant ships belonging to Cork also take in their cargoes and discharge there." MR. SHAW MASON'S Surveys of Ireland, vol. iii. 1819. fr '* Passage, whose chief trade comes from the ships that ride before it. We counted sixteen then at anchor, among which were seven Portuguese, that were taking in beef, tallow, and hides. "- Tour by Two English Gentlemen thrvugh Ireland, published in 1748. % The late Mrs. Deane, the mother of Sir Thomas Deane, was a woman of extraordinary energy of character. She took an active part in the superintendence of the naval works which were constructed upon Haulbowline Island, in Cork Harbour, between the years 1816 and 1822, at the cost of nearly ;2OO,ooo. The tank alluded to above is divided into six compartments, each one hundred feet long, twenty- seven feet and a half wide, and eight feet in depth, which are each capable of containing 176,000 gallons : the entire, consequently, holds 1,056,000 gallons of water. I 258 POPULAR SONGS OF IRELAND. And these bold sons of Neptune, I mean the boatmen, Will ferry you over from Cove to Spike ; * And outside the harbour are fishers sporting, Watching a nibble from a sprat or pike ; While their wives and daughters, from no danger shrinking, All night and morning they rove about The mud and sand-banks, for the periwinkle, The shrimp and cockle, when the tide is out No. IIL The town of Passage Is both large and spacious, And situated Upon the say ; 'Tis nate and dacent, And quite adjacent, To come from Cork On a summer's day. There you may slip in, To take a dipping ? Forenent the shipping, That at anchor ride ; Or in a wherry, Cross o'er the ferry, To "Carrigaloe, On the other side." * l ' From Cove the harbour's mouth seems closed by the island called Spike, lying opposite the entrance, so that this harbour is not unlike the fine description given by Virgil, in his first ^Eneid, of a beautiful port. 'Est in secessu longo locus ; insula portum Efficit objectu laterum,' & c -" SMITH'S Cork. LOCAL SONGS. 259 Mud cabins swarm in This place so charming. With sailors' garments Hung out to dry ; And each abode is Snug and commodious, With pigs melodious, In their straw-built sty Tis there the turf is, And lots of Murphies,* Dead sprats and herrings, And oyster-shells ; Nor any lack, oh ! Of good tobacco, Though what is smuggled By far excels. There are ships from Cadiz, And from Barbadoes, But the leading trade is In whisky-punch ; And you may go in Where one Molly Bowen Keeps a nate hotel For a quiet lunch. But land or deck on, You may safely reckon, Whatsoever country You come hither from, On an invitation To a jollification With a parish priest, That's called " Father Tom." f * A popular name for potatoes. f The reverend concocter of this song, who would palm it upon I 2 260 POPULAR SONGS OF IRELAND. Of ships there's one fixt For lodging convicts, A floating "stone jug" Of amazing bulk ; The hake and salmon, Playing at bagammon,* Swim for divarsion All round this hulk ; There "Saxon" jailers Keep brave repailers, Who soon with sailors Must anchor weigh j From th' em'rald island, Ne'er to see dry land, Until they spy land In sweet Bot'ny Bay, THE FAIR MAID OF PASSAGE, From a manuscript in the autograph of the late Mi; Millikin. The Editor has received a copy of this song from Mr. Edward Quin, between which and the Version now given, the only material variation occurs in the first lines. According to Mr, Quin, they are " My dear Molly Mogg, You're soft as a bog." Barry the painter, observes, on the mention of " Father Tom," "This cannot possibly refer (without a flagrant anachronism) to the present incumbent, the Rev. Thomas England, P.P., known to the literary world by a Li r e of the celebrated friar, Arthur O'Leary, chaplain to a club which Curran, Yelverton, Earls Moira, Charlemont, &c. &c., established in 1780, under the designation of ' the monks of the screw.'" * See page 141., LOCAL SONGS. 26 r In a note (1838) he adds, "I assure you, from my own recollection, the song is known in my family upwards of thirty-five years. I have no doubt that it originated in Cork, though I do not know its author." Oh, fair maid of Passage, As plump as a sassage, And as mild as a kitten, Those eyes in your face !-~ Yerrah ! pity my case, For poor Dermuid is smitten ! Far softer nor silk, And more white than new milk Oh, your lily-white hand is ; Your lips red as cherries, And your eyes like blackberries, And you're straight as a wand is. Your talk is so quare^ And your sweet curly hair Is as black as the devil ; And your breath is as sweet, too, As any potato, Or orange from Seville. When dressed in her bodice She trips like a goddess, So nimble, so frisky, One kiss from her cheek, 'Tis so soft and so sleek, That 'twould warm me like whisky. So I sobs and I pine, And I grunts like a swine, Because you're so cruel ; a<5 2 POPULAR SONGS OF IRELAND. No rest can I take, All asleep or awake, But I dreams of my jewel. Your hate, then, give over, Nor Dermuid, your lover,, So cruelly handle ; Or, faith, Dermuid must die, Like a pig in a sty, Or the snuff of a candle* THE ENTRENCHMENT OF ROSS. The ballad on the entrenchment of New Ross, in 1265, which is here given as a specimen of ancient local song, was first printed in the " Archaeologia," vol. xxii., having been communicated to the Society of Antiquaries in 1829 by Sir Frederic Madden, with the following introductory observations : u Among the Harleian MSS. in the British Museum, is preserved a highly curious volume, written at the com- mencement of the fourteenth century, containing a mis- cellaneous collection of pieces in verse and prose, appa- rently the production of an Irish ecclesiastic, and chiefly of a satirical description. Most of these pieces are in English or Latin ; and there is great reason to conclude that they are from the pen of Friar Michael Kyldare,* who is expressly named as the author of a ballad, fol. 10, and who is erroneously assigned by Ritson, in his * Bibliographia Poetica/ to the fifteenth, instead of the * In Bishop Tanner's " Bibiiotheca Britannico-Hibernica" (a dic- tionary of all the English and Irish authors previous to the seven- teenth century) this article occurs: " Kildare [Michael] monachus vel frater Mendicans, scripsit Anglice carmen plum. Pr. ' Sweet Jesu hend and fre.' M. S. Norwic. More, 784." ED. LOCAL SONGS. 263 beginning of the preceding century. But towards the close of this MS. (which, from the folios having been strangely misplaced, is very difficult to follow in the order of contents), occurs an extremely interesting poem, written in the ancient or Norman-French language, con- tributing in a remarkable degree to throw illustration on the early topography and history of the town of New Ross in Ireland. "The poem in question is thus described in the Harleian Catalogue, No. 913, Art. 43, * Rithmus foe- ture *ville de Rosse, being a French poem upon the quarrel which happened there, between Sir Morice .... and Sir Wauter .... A.D. 1265.' This is not a very accurate description, since the object of the writer (who was an eye-witness, and therefore of undoubted authority) was not to relate a quarrel between two anonymous knights, but to give a detailed and highly interesting narrative of the erection of the walls and fortifications of the town of .Ross ; occasioned by the dread felt by the inhabitants, lest the unprotected and open situation of the place might cause them to suffer from a feud then raging with violence between two powerful barons." "These barons," according to Sir Frederic Madden, tc were Maurice FiUmaurice,* the chief of the Geraldine faction, and Walter de Burgo or Bourke, Earl of Ulster, whose deadly wars, as Sir James Ware writes, under the year 1264, 'wrought bloodshed and troubles throughout the realm of Ireland.* " The Editor, however, is inclined to think, that who- ever the Sir Maurice mentioned may have been, and he probably was a Fitzgerald, the Sir Walter was not a De Burgo, but a Le Poer, or Power, not improbably the father of the Walter le Power, who is chronicled by Holinshed, in 1302, as having "wasted a great part of * He died in New Ross in 1286. COLLINS'S Peerage. ED. -a$4 POPULAR SONGS OF IRELAND. Mounster, burning manie farmes and places in that countrie." Stanihurst's account of the entrenchment of New Ross, as given in Holinshed, is exceedingly minute. " Rosse," he writes, is "an haven towne in Mounster, not far from Waterford, which seemeth to have beene in ancient time a towne of great port. Whereof sundrie and probable conjectures are given, as well by the old ditches that are now a mile distant from the wals of Rosse, betweene which wals and ditches, the reliks of the ancient wals, gates, and towers, placed betweene both, are yet to be seene. The towne is build ed in a barren soile, and planted among a crue of naughtie and prolling neigh- bours. And in old time when it flourished, albeit the towne were sufficientlie peopled, yet as long as it was not compassed with wals, they were formed with watch and ward, to keep it from the greedie snatching of the Irish enimies. With whome as they were generallie molested, so the privat cousening of one pezzant on a sudden incensed them to inviron their towne with strong and substantiall wals. "There repaired one of the Irish to this towne on horssebacke, and espieng a peece of cloth on a mer- chant's stall, tooke hold thereof, and bet the cloth to the lowest price he could. As the merchant and he stood dodging one with the other in cheaping the ware, the horsseman considering that he was well mounted, and that the merchant and he had growne to a price, made wise as though he would have drawne to his purse to have defraied the monie. The cloth in the meane while being tucked up and placed before him, he gave the spur to his horsse and ran awaie with the cloth, being not imbard from his posting pase, by reason the towne was not perclosed either with ditch or wall. The townesmen being pinched at the heart that one rascal in such LOCAL SONGS. 265 scornefull wise should give them the slampaine, not so much weieng the slendernesse of the losse, as the shamefulnesse of the foile, they put their heads togither, consulting how to prevent either the sudden rushing, or the post-haste flieng of anie such adventurous rakehell hereafter. " In which consultation a famous Dido, a chast widow, a politike dame, a bountifull gentlewoman, called Rose, who, representing in sinceritie of life the sweetnesse of that hearbe whose name she bare, unfolded the devise, how anie such future mischance should be prevented, and withall opened hir coffers liberallie to have it furthered; two good properties in a councellor. Hir devise was, that the towne should incontinentlie be inclosed with wals, and therewithal! promised to dis- charge the charges, so that they would not sticke to find out labourers. The devise of this worthie matrone being wise, and the offer liberall, the townesmen agreed to follow the one, and to put their helping hands to the atchiving of the other. The wcrke was begun, which, thorough the multitude of hands, seemed light. For the whole towne was assembled, tag and rag, cut and long taile ; none exempted, but such as were bed-red and impotent. Some were tasked to delve, others appointed with mattocks to dig, diverse allotted to the unheaping of rubbish, manie bestowed to the cariage of stones, sundrie occupied in tempering of morter, the better sort busied in overseering the workmen, ech one according to his vocation imploied, as though the civitie of Carthage were afresh in building, as it is featlie versified by the golden poet Virgil, and neatlie Englished by Master Doctor Phaer. " But to returne from Dido of Carthage to Rose of Rosse, and her worke. The labourers were so manie, the worke, by reason of round and excheker pair/:ent 5 so 266 POPULAR SONGS OF IRELAND. well applied, the quarrie of faire marble so neere at hand (for they affirme that out of the trenches and ditches hard by their rampiers the stones were had ; and all that plot is so stonie, that the foundation is an hard rocke) that these wals with diverse brave turrets were suddenlie mounted, and in manner sooner finished, than to the Irish enimies notified; which I wisse was no small corsie to them. These wals in circuit are equall to London wals. It hath three gorgeous gates Bishop his gate on the east side, Algate on the east-south-east side, and Southgate on the south part. This towne was no more famoused for these wals, than for a notable woodden bridge that stretched from the towne unto the other side of the water, which must have beene by reason- able surveie twelve score [ ], if not more. Diverse of the poales, logs, and stakes, with which the bridge was underpropt, sticke to this daie in the water. A man would here suppose, that so flourishing a towne, so firmelie builded, so substantiate walled, so well peopled, so plentiouslie with thriftie artificers stored, would not have fallen to anie sudden decaie." * Stanihurst, whose account was published in 1586, adds, " The wals stand to this daie, a few streets and houses in the towne, no small parcel thereof is turned to orchards and gardens. The greater part of the towne is steepe and steaming upward. Their church is called Christ's Church, in the north side whereof is placed a monument, called * the King of Denmarke, his toome ; ' whereby conjecture may rise that the Danes were founders of that church. This Rosse is called Rosse Nova, or Rosse Ponti, by reason of their bridge." * Dormer, a lawyer, is enumerated by Stanihurst among the authors of Ireland as a scholar of Oxford, born in Ross, who wrote in ballad royal, " The Decaie of Rosse," LOCAL SONGS. 267 In addition to what Sir Frederic Madden has said respecting the manuscript in which the ballad on the entrenchment of New Ross occurs, an attempt to trace its history may not be unsatisfactory. That a frisr named Michael of Kildare was the writer, is not only tolerably certain from the passage alluded to by Sir Frederic Madden, which is the closing verse of a religigus song, viz. - * ' This sang wrozt a frere, Jhesu Crist be is secure, Loverd bring him to the tour, Frere Michel Kyldare ;" but from a satire in Latin, at p. 26 v, which commences, " Ego, Michael Bernardi." The manuscript consists of 64 leaves of vellum, 12 mo size, and is written in a good hand, and embellished with initial letters in colours. On folio 25, a paragraph commences "Anno domini, m. ccc. viij. xx a . die Feb.," which is the identical year when the song on the death of Sir Piers de Birmingham, printed by Ritson, in his " Collection of Ancient Songs," from this manuscript, appears to have been composed.* From * " Sith Gabriel gan grete Ure ledi mari swete That Godde wold in hir lizte A thousand aer hit isse Thre hundred ful i wisse And over zeris eizte. 1308 Than of the eizt zere Tak twies ten ifere That wol be xx u fulle , ) 1268 date of event, Apan the xx clai Of Averil bifor Mai So deth us gan to pulle/ 1000 300 268 POPULAR SONGS OF IRELAND. this coincidence, the year 1308 may be fairly assigned as the date of this manuscript. Various notices respect- ing it at different periods, enable us to trace its history with some degree of accuracy. On the suppression or dissolution of the monastery in which the volume had been preserved, it came into the possession of a George Wyse, as is evident from the following entry, in the writing of Elizabeth's time, on the back of the second folio : " Iste Liber pertinet ad me GEORGIO WYSE." The comparison of the autograph of George Wyse, who was bailiff of Waterford in 1566, and mayor of that city in 1571, which is extant in the State Paper Office, leaves little doubt as to the identity of this individual. The Wyse family, it may be observed, were distinguished for their literary taste. Stanihurst, speaking of them, remarks, that " of this surname there flourished sundrie learned gentlemen. There liveth," he adds, " one Wise, in Waterford, that rnaketh [verse ?] verie well in the English ; " and he particularly mentions " Andrew Wise, a toward youth and a good versifyer." To the same family were granted various ecclesiastical possessions in Ireland. Sir William Wyse, the ancestor of the late member for Waterford, and possibly the father of the above-mentioned George, had a grant of the Abbey of St. John, near that city, i5th November, 1536. However this manuscript may have come into the hands of a member of the Wyse family, it seems to have continued, if not in their possession, at least in the same locality; as, in the reign of James I., it is noticed as " The Book of Ross or Waterford : " see No. 418 of the Lansdowne MSS. in the British Museum, a collection made by Sir James Ware, which contains transcripts of LOCAL SONGS. 269 Several pieces from it, where the following note occurs upon the copy of the song already mentioned respecting the death of Sir Piers de Birmingham : " Out of a smale olde book in parchm*, called the book of Rosse or Waterford. Feb. 1608." The Editor is not aware of any further notice by which the history of this interesting manuscript can be traced, until the appearance of the " Catalogus Manuscriptum Anglise et Hiberniae," printed in 1697, where it is men- tioned as in the library of More, Bishop of Norwich* That this little collection of monkish rhymes should have escaped the fanaticism of the Commonwealth, proves either how highly it was prized, or that its escape was almost miraculous, and therefore baffles sober conjecture. But having been transferred to the library of Bishop More, a few years after that in which it is registered as being in his possession, the English poem which this manuscript contains on Cokaygne, was printed in the " Thesaurus " of Dr. Hickes, from a manuscript lent to him by Bishop Tanner. A careful comparison of the poem on** Cokaygne, as printed by Hickes, with the copy in " The Book of Ross or Waterford " (the only early copy now known to exist in manuscript), can leave no question that the original of Hickes was derived from the copy in the British Museum. And, as no such manuscript is to be found in the public library of the University of Cambridge, where More's manuscripts were deposited after his death, and also as the contents in the Catalogue of 1697 agree with those of the Harleian MS. No. 913, there can be little doubt that the MS. "Book of Ross or Waterford," as Sir James Ware's copyist calls it, had been lent by More to Tannen and that not having been returned before the death of the former prelate, or from some other cause, it had afterwards 270 POPULAR SONGS OF IRELAND. passed into the library of the Earl of Oxford. The cir- cumstance, hitherto unexplained, of this manuscript being mentioned, at nearly the same period, as in the possession of several persons, has led to the supposition that two, or even three, copies of it were in existence. At the time that " The Book of Ross or Waterford " came into the Harleian Library, it certainly was in a very tattered condition, and some of the leaves wanting. At present (as already noticed by Sir Frederic Madden) many of the leaves are transposed, the order of the pieces does not coincide strictly with that in More's Catalogue, and two or three articles have evidently been lost. Among the transcripts made for Sir James Ware (Lansdowne MSS. 418), the following tantallizing note is an evidence of the loss of an Anglo-Irish ballad of some interest at least to any one engaged in the investigation of the history of Irish Song : "There is in this book a longe discourse in meter putting the youth of Waterford in mind of harme taken by the povers,* and wishing them to beware for the time to come ; I have written out the first staffe only ' Young men of Waterford,' " &c. And it would seem from the transcript that the copyist was deterred from proceeding, by the difficulty he expe- rienced in reading his original. " The Book of Ross or * Upon this the compiler of the Lansdowne Catalogue (who was the late Mr. Douce, justly esteemed in his day for superior accuracy and antiquarian knowledge) observes : " The Povers seem to mean the paupers or rabble," in perfect ignorance that the Poers or Powers were the clan alluded to. Mr. Lemon, of the State Paper Office, lias queried, whether the common expression of |{ By the powers," does not refer to the warlike strength of the Poer family, er faction, becoming proverbial. LOCAL SONGS. 271 Waterford" being now known as the Harleian MSS. No. 913, it may save the inquisitive Irish reader some trouble by stating that its contents are of a very miscella- neous character. Most of the articles in it are, as numis. matists say, "unique and unpublished j " but the only poems which have any direct reference to Ireland, beside the Anglo-Norman ballad on " The Entrenchment of New Ross,' 5 are the song on the death of Sir Piers de Bir- mingham, already mentioned as printed by Ritson, and a satirical lyric, in which the conduct of the monks of various orders, and the nuns of St. Mary's house, is severely handled, as well as the mode of dealing then practised, and, it is to be feared, but since little amended, by the merchants, tailors, shoemakers, tanners, potters, bakers, brewers, hucksters, and wool-combers. Both the latter songs are in English, There is also the following scrap in Anglo- Norman [fol. 15. v.], entitled " Pr overbid comitis Desmonie" the history or point of which is not very evident beyond an ingenious play upon words " Soule su simple e saunz solas, Seignury me somount sojorner, Si suppris sei de moune solas, Sages se deit soul solacer. Soule ne solai sojorner, No solein estre de petit solas, Sovereyn se est de se solacer, Que se sent soule e saunz solas. " To return to the ballad on "The Entrenchment of New Ross." It appears evident from it that the inhabi- tants feared that, in the war between two powerful barons, they should be exposed to insult and reprisal from the Irish who were engaged in the quarrel. At this period the middle of the thirteenth century it should be borne in mind, that town and country were two distinct states, 272 POPULAR SONGS OF IRELAND. under entirely different governments. The towns were republics, under the protection of the king ; the country was under the despotic government of a whole tribe of tyrants, and under no protection whatever. The cor- porate towns, therefore, walled themselves, in order to be able to preserve their neutrality in the wars of the district which surrounded them. This, which was the case in England, must have been still more necessary in a country like Ireland, where the townsmen were English, and the countrymen chiefly Irish. The whole tenor of this very remarkable song shows that it was written when the fosse was nearly finished, but before the walls were begun. The fosse, or ditch, was always the first part of such undertakings ; therefore, in the translation, where, for the sake of rhyme, or from any other cause, the word " wall " is used, it must be under- stood as meaning the fosse, or preparatory step towards the building of the wall ; and in the passage where the word " rampart " occurs, it is intended to express the ground above the fosse. Indeed, the passage is not unlike the one in " Hudibras," descriptive of the entrenchments formed by the citizens of London in 1642, upon the alarm that it was the intention of the royal army to attack the metropolis : " March'd rank and file, with drum and ensign, T'entrench the city for defence in ; Raised rampiers with their own soft hands To put the enemy to stands ; From ladies down to oyster wenches, Laboured like pioneers in trenches ; Fall'n to their pick-axes and tools, And helped the men to dig like moles." The burgesses of New Ross, however, as far as the song goes, laboured not in building the wall, but in digging LOCAL SONGS. 273 the fosse ; and, while they rested on Sunday, the ladies carried stones, and placed them alongside of the fosse, to be ready to build the wall when the entrenchment was completed. And thence these fair dames go and talk of building one of the gates themselves. After Sunday the burgesses again resumed their digging at the fosse, which was twenty feet in depth, and, according to the words of the ballad, so soon as it shall be completed will be a league in length. It is, therefore, to be presumed that the fosse was not quite completed when the song now given was composed by some merry minstrel of the place on the day noted at the conclusion, and it was perhaps sung at the corporation dinner after their work. In Sir Richard Musgrave's " History of the Irish Rebellion of 1798," a plan of the town of New Ross may be found (which plan was. the Editor believes, sketched for Sir Richard, by Miss Mary Ann Tottenham). In this plan the town appears inclosed by a wall, defended by towers, to which the following names are attached : " North Gate/ 1 "Maiden Tower," " Market Gate," " Bun- nion Gate," "Weaver's Tower," "Brogue Makers' Tower," " Three Bullet Gate " (where Lord Mountjoy was killed in the attack on New Ross, in 1798), " Mary's Tower," and " The Priory, or South Gate." Upon the line. " E od floites e taburs," Sir Frederic Madden remarks, in the " Archaeologia," " The flute is mentioned as a musical instrument in the romances of Alexander, Dolopathos, and several others of the thirteenth and fourteenth centuries. In a curious poem of Guillaume de Machault, a writer of the fourteenth cen- tury, among other instruments pf music, is noticed ' La 274 POPULAR SONGS OF IRELAND. flauste brehaignej on which Roquefort remarks, ' Cetcit probablement une flute chapetre.' But may we not inter- pret this the Irish flute, in contradistinction to the flute traversiere, or German flute? Walker, in his ' Historical Memoirs of the Irish Bards,' p. 90, has stated that no record exists to prove the use of the flute among the ancient Irish; but at the same time owns it highly probable this instru- ment was known to them, particularly from the length of some of the notes in the early Irish melodies appearing calculated rather for the flute than the harp.'* It only remains for the Editor to add, that the transla- tion of the curious ballad to which these observations are prefixed, was made, at his request, by Mrs. George Mac- lean, in 1831. In the playful letter which accompanied her translation, she (L. E. L.) observes, " I am not quite sure that I perfectly understand the line " Qe ja ne li leireit vilein fere," which Mr. Madden, in his communication to your society, is pleased to slur, by saying, ' after paying a compliment to these heroines, in the usual style of such compliments, and therefore not worth repeating/ &c. Now, I doubt whether any compliment ever paid to a woman was utterly thrown away ; and, in the belief that some fair dame of the pre- sent day may like to see that the ladies of old were flat- tered much the same as now, I have ventured to turn the compliment." I have a whim to speak in verse, If you will list what I rehearse, For an unheeded tale, I wisse, Not worth a clove of garlic is. Please you, then, to understand, 'Tis of a town in Ireland, LOCAL SONGS. 175 For its size the one most fair That I know of anywhere. But the town had cause of dread In the feud two barons spread ; Sir Maurice and Sir Walter see, Here their names shall written be ; Also that fair city's name Ross they then did call the same. [FoL 64.] Rithmus faclure Ville de Rosse. Talent me prent de rimaunceir, S'il vous plet de escoteir ; Kar parole qe n'est o'ie, Ne vaut pas un aillie. Pur ce vous prie d'escoter, Si me oies ben aiicer De une vile en Ireland, La plus bele de sa grand Qe je sache en nule tere. Mes poure avoint de un gerre, Qe fu par entre deus barouns, Vei-ci escrit amdeus lur nuns Sire Morice e Sire Wauter. Le noun de la vile voil nomer, Ros le devez apeler ; C'est le novel pont de Ros : Ce fu lur poure ke ne furent clos. A lur conseil un joure alerent, E tot la commune ens enterent ; Lur conseil pristerent en tele maner, Qe .i. mure de morter e de* pere Voilent enture la vile feire, Qe poure avoint de eel ge6*e. A la chandeler commencerent, De mercher la fosse y alerent^ Coment le mure dut aler. Aleint liz prodoms rnercher, * De is repeated in the MS. by an error of the scribe. 276 POPULAR SONGS OF IRELAND. 7 Tis the new bridge-town of Ross, Which no walls did then inclose ; It therefore feared a stranger's blows. Commons both, and leading men, Gathered in the council then, What for safety to devise, In shortest time and lowest price : 'Twas that round the town be thrown Walls of mortar and of stone. For this war filled them with fear ; Much they dreaded broil so near. Candlemas, it was the day* They began to delve in clay, Marking out a fosse, to show Where the future wall should go. E avoint !e mure merche ; Pur overors unt tost mande, Fol. 64^.3 Cent ou plus chescun jour I vont overer od grand honur. Les burgeis entur la fosse alerent. E gent lowis poi espleiterent ; E a- lure conseil re-alerent. E un purveans purparlerent, Ke unkes tele purveance Ne fu en Engleter, ne en France. E lendemain en firent crier, E tot la commune ensembler ; La purveance fu la mustre, E tot la commune ben paie. Une protlome sus leva, La purveans i mustra, * Candlemas-day is the 2nd of February. It is proverbially the commencement of spring. " On Candlemas-day Throw candle and candlestick away." LOCAL SONGS. 277 Soon 'twas traced, and then were hired Workmen ; all, the task desired. More than a hundred workmen ply, Daily, 'neath the townsmen's eye; Yet small advance these fellows made, Though to labour they were paid. So the council met again ; Such a law as they pass'd then ! Such a law might not be found, Nor on French nor English ground. Next day a summons, read aloud, Gathered, speedily, a crowd ; When the law proclaimed they hear, Twas received with many a cheer. Then a good man did advance, And explained the ordinance, If Ke le Lundi tot primers Irrunt a la fosse le vineters, Mercers, marchans, e drapers, Ensemblement od lez vineters, Del oure de prime de ke mine sonee Dussent overer au fossee. Et si si fiint ens mult bonement, I vont overir od bele gent, Mil e plus, pur voir vous die, I vont overir chescun lundi, beles baners e grantz honurs, E od floites e taburs. E ausi tost cum noune soune. 1 vont al ostel li prodome ; Lure baners y vont devant. La jevene gent haut chantant, Par tot la vile karoler, One grant joi vount laborer. E les prestes quan [t] ont chant Si vont overir au fosse, 278 POPULAR SONGS OF IRELAND, Vintners, drapers, merchants, all Were to labour at the wall, From the early morning time, Till the day was in its prime. . More than a thousand men, I say, Went to the goodly work each day. Monday, they began their labours, Gay, with banners, flutes, and tabors; Soon as the noon-hour was come, These good people hastened home, With their banners proudly borne. Then the youth advanced in turn, And the town, they made it ring, With their merry carolling ; Singing loud, and full of mirth, Away they go to shovel earth. E travellen t mut durement, Plus qe ne funt autre gent. Kar i sunt jevenez e vilyse's, E grans c forts ben sojornes. Le mariners kant al ostel sunt, En bele maner au fosse vount, Lure baner en vete devont, La nef dedens est depoint. E apres la baner vont suent DC Bien vi. cenz de bel gent ; E si fusent tuz alouteus, Tuz le nefs e bateus, xiv. Plus i averent de xi. cens, Sachez pur veir, du bone gens. IT Le Mardi prochien suant apers, I vont taillurs e parmters. Tenturers, fulrurs, e celers, Bele gent sunt de lur mesters, I vont overir cum dit devant ; Mes ne sunt tant de gent, LOCAL SONGS. 279 And the priests, when Mass was chanted,* In the fosse they dug and panted ; Quicker, harder, worked each brother, Harder, far, than any other ; For both old and young did feel Great and strong, with holy zeal. Mariners came next, and they Pass'd along in fair array, With their banner borne before, Which a painted vessel bore. Full six hundred were they then j But full eleven hundred men Would have gathered by the wall, If they had attended all. Tuesday came, coat-makers, f tailors, Fullers, cloth-dyers, and " sellers ;"J cccc. Mes bien sunt iiij. cens, Sachez pur veir, de bele gens. [Fol. 6i<5.] Le Mekirdi prochein suant. I vont autre maner de gent, Cordivvaners, tannors, macecrers, Mult i a de bens bachelers ; * The preceding "hora piima," or, as it is translated, the "early morning time," means the break of day; and the "hora nona," three o'clock in the afternoon. The priests went to work after vespers, which began at four o'clock P.M. t Parmtiers means faiseurs d 1 habits, what we call habit-makers, which, up to a recent time, appears to have been a distinct trade, by tailors still calling themselves "tailors and habit-makers/' % Saddlers, from the French, selle, a saddle. The word frequently occurs in Spenser : " What mighty warrior that mote be, Who rode in golden sett, with single speare." Faery Queen, II. iii, 12; 2 8o POPULAR SONGS OF IRELAND. Right good hands, these jolly blades, Were they counted at their trades. Away they worked like those before, Though the others numbered more ; Scarce four hundred did they stand, But they were a worthy band, Wednesday, following, down there came Other bands, who worked the same ; Butchers, cord wainers, and tanners, Bearing each their separate banners, Painted as might appertain To their craft, and, 'mid the train, Many a brave bachelor ; ' Small and great, when numbered o'er, Singing as they worked their song, Just three hundred were they strong. Thursday came, the fishermen And the hucksters followed then, Who sell corn and fish : they bear Divers banners, for they were Lur baners en sunt depeint Si com a lur master apeint. ccc. CCC. sunt, si cum je quit, Qe cue grant e oue petit, E hautement vont karoler, Ausi com funt li primer. IT Le Judi vont li pescurs, E lez regraturs trestuz, Qe ble vendunt e poissuns ; Divers sunt lur gonfanuns. Bien y vont en icel jour, cccc. CCCC. od grant honur. E karolent e chantent haut, Com le primers par devant, LOCAL SONGS. 281 Full four hundred ; and the crowd Carolled and sung aloud ; And the wainwrights, they came too- They were only thirty-two ; A single banner went before, Which a fish and platter bore,* But on Saturday the stir Of blacksmith, mason, carpenter, Hundreds three with fifty told, Many were they, true and bold ; And they toiled with main and might, Needful knew they 'twas, and right. Then on Sunday there came down All the dames of that brave town ; Know, good labourers were they, But their numbers none may say. Lez waynpayns vont ausi Meimes en icel Judi, Apres les altres vont derer, E par devant ount bele baner- Le esquele e le peissun par dedens En lur baner est depeins. Jssi vont ens au fossee, XXXIJ. sunt pur verite. Le parti . . s vont le Vendredi, * Friday's 'work is , not translated, as there ccc.d. Bien sunt ccc. e demy. [Fol. 55.] Lur baners en sunt devant, Al orle de fosse en estant. Lez carpenters vont le Samadi, E fevers e masuns autresi ; Mult bele gent sunt je voirs plevi ccc .d. Ben sunt ccc. e demy, E tuz vont overir od bon corage,- Sachez de ce en funt qe sage. *& Le Demainge les dames i vont, Sachez d,e veirea bqn gvere i funt is no Mean ing * 'the trade. 282 POPULAR SONGS OF IRELAND. On the ramparts there were thrown, By their fair hands, many a stone ; Who had there a gazer been, Many a beauty might have seen. Many a scarlet mantle too, Or of green or russet hue ; Many a fair cloak had they, And robes dight with colours gay. In all lands where I have been, Such fair dames working I've not seen. He who had to choose the power, Had been born in lucky hour. Many a banner was displayed,, While the work the ladies aid ; When their gentle hands had done Piling up rude heaps of stone, Numerus non est. Le nombre ne sai de cert nomer, Nule horn vivant ne les puit center. Totz la pere i vont Jeter, E hors de fosse a porter ; Ki qe la fut pur esgarder, Meint bele dame y put il veer, Memt mantel de escarlet, E de verd e de burnet, E meint bone roket bien ridee, Meint blank fen ben colour^e ; Ke unkes en tere ou je ai est, Tantz bele dames ne vi en fossae, Mult fu cil en bon ure nde, Ke purreit choiser a sa volunt^. Meint bele baner lur sunt devaut, Tant cum sunt la pere portant ; [Fol. 55^.3 E quant out la pere aporte'e, Tant cum plest a volume*, Entur la fosse vont chanter, qe en vile volen[t] eutrsr. LOCAL SONGS. 283 Then they walked the fosse along, Singing sweet a cheerful song ; And returning to the town, All these rich dames there sat down : Where, with mirth, and wine, and song, Passed the pleasant hours along. Then they said a gate they'd make, Called the Ladies', for their sake, And their prison there should be ; Whoso entered, straightway he Should forego his liberty. Lucky doom I ween is his, Who a lady's prisoner is ; Light the fetters are to wear Of a lady kind and fair : But of them enough is said, Turn we to the fosse instead. Twenty feet that fosse is deep, And a league in length doth creep. E quant en la vile sunt entres, Les richez dames sunt ensembles, E juent et beivent e karolent, E de bons enveisurus en parolent, E chescun & autre en comfort, E dient qe ferunt un port, La Port de Dames avera a noune ; E la en ferunt lur prisune. E qi en lur prisun est entre, De tut n'en avera sa volunt^, II ne di pas pur nule blame, Bon serreit estre en prisun de dame ; Kar bone dame est deboner, Qe ja ne li leireit vilein fere, De dames ore me voil lesser, E du fosse plus en parler. 284 POPULAR SONGS OF IRELAND. When the noble work is done, Watchmen then there needeth none ; All may sleep in peace and quiet, Without fear of evil riot. Fifty thousand might attack, And yet turn them bootless back. Warlike stores there are enough, Bold assailant to rebuff. We have hauberks many a one, Savage, gargon, haubergeon ; Doublets too, and coats of mail, Yew-bows good, withouten fail In no city have I seen So many good glaives, I ween. Cross-bows hanging on the wall, Arrows too to shoot withal ; Le fosse est xx pees parftmt, E une lue de vei teint ben de Tung. Al cure qe serra tot parfeit, Ja n'avera mester dre aver gayte, Mes dormir puunt surement ; Ja n'averunt gard de male gent. Me ke venissent xl mile, Ja n'en entrunt dedens la vil. [FoL 56.] Kar ens unt acez de garnesuns, Meint blanc auberk, e aubersuns, Meint parpunt, e meint aketun, E meint savage garsun, E mult de bon arblasters, E de arc de main mult bons archers, Qe unkes en vile ou je ai est4e Ne vi tant de bone glenne, Ne tant arblastes au pareis pendre, Ne tant de quarels despendre ; E chescun oustel plein de maces, E bonez escuz e tolfaces. LOCAL SONGS. 285 Every house is full ot maces, And good shields and talevaces.* Cross-bow men when numbered o'er, Are three hundred and three score ; And three hundred archers show, Ready with a gallant bow ; And three thousand men advance, Armed with battle-axe and lance ; Above a hundred knights, who wield Arms aye ready for the field. I warrant you the town's prepared 'Gainst all enemies to guard, Here I deem it meet to say, No desire for war have they, Bein sunt garnis, je vous plevis, Pur bien defendre de lur enemis. Qe arblaster, vus di pur vers, ccc[lxiij.J CCC. sunt Ixiij. Ke a lur mostresun furent contez, E en loure rol sunt arollez. xij. E de autres archers xii. cens, Sachez pur veir, de bon gens. III. E de autre part furent iij mile O lances, e od haches de membles la vile. c . iiij. E gens a chival C. e quater, Bien furent armes pur combater. Me je vous die tot, sanz faille, Ens ne desirent nule bataile, Mes lur vile voleint garder, De maveis gen 1 ", a lur pover. * The talevace was a large wooden shield, particularly used by the Scotch and Irish, as would appear. See Ducange, in vv. Talavac'ms and Tavolacius. Sir Frederic Madden's note is " See Roquefort, v. Talevas, and notes and glossary to the ' Romance of Havelok, 1 v. 2320." 236 POPULAR SONGS OF IRELAND. But to keep their city free, Blamed of no man can they be. When the wall is carried round, None in Ireland will be found Bold enough to dare to fight Let a foeman come in sight, If the city horn twice sound, Every burgess will be found Eager in the warlike labour, Striving to outdo his neighbour^ God give them the victory ! Say amen for charity, In no other isle is known Such a hospitable town \ Joyously the people greet Every stranger in their street. [Fol. 56^.3 Nule home de ce ne lez dut blamer Qe lur vile voleint fermer, Qe quant la vile serra ferine, E le mure tot virone, N'ad Ires en Irland si hardi, Qi 1'oserent asailler, je vus plevi, Qe kant unt j. corne ij. feez corne"e ; Tantost la commune est ensemblee, E as armes vont tost corant ; Chescun a envie pur aler devant, Tant sunt corajus e hardi Pur eus venger de lur enemi. Deu lur doint si en venger ! E la vile & honur garde r ; Qe deus en seit de tot paie ; E tuz diez amen pur charite. Kar ce est la plus franch vile Qe seit en certein ne en yle ; E tot horn estrange est ben venu, E de grant joi est resceii, LOCAL SONGS. 287 Free is he to sell and buy, And sustain no tax thereby. Town and people once again I commend to God. Amen. E chater e vendre en pute ben, Qe nul horn ne li demandra reen. A deu la vile je command, E tous qe dedens sunt habitand. Amen, amen, amen. Cefuftt ran delincarnacion nostre Seigmir> m.ecjxv. SHANDRUM BOGGOON. Boggoon is the Irish for bacon. Stanihurst quotes the fragment of a song that probably was popular in Ireland in the reign of Elizabeth ; according to which, " He is not a king that weareth saten. But he is a king that eateth bacon." Shandrum (in English, the old hill) is the seat of William Allen, Esq., near Charleville, in the county of Cork a gentleman no less remarkable for his hospitality than Shandrum is for the excellence of the bacon produced there. The author of the song in praise of Shandmm boggoon is Mr. Edward Quin, also the writer of another popular song called "Bobety Dawly," and the brother of Mr. Simon Quin, whose " Town of Passage " may be found at p. 254. Both the brothers have long since abandoned their coquetry with the Irish Muse for the more sub- stantial employment of English coach-building, which Mr. Edward Quin successfully carries on in London, 288 POPULAR SONGS OF IRELAND. Blackrock Castle, and the Baths, mentioned in th second verse, are prominent objects on the south shore of the river Lee, along which the New Wall, a stone embank- ment, extends for more than a mile from Cork. Mount Prospect race-course is distant about four miles from " the beautiful city." On the circumstance alluded to in the third verse, it is only necessary to state that the ingenious fancy of the Irish ballad publishers produces annually, or sometimes more frequently, a marvellous story of the appearance of the evil one, with various minute particulars of his dining, supping, or spending the evening in the company of some individual; and which stories, adorned with a fearful woodcut, being duly printed, sell and circulate, to the no small profit of the publishers, advantage of the vendors, and terror of all true believers therein. Air" The Black Joke." To Goddesses, Graces, the Lakes of Killarney, To " Bobety Dawly," to Passage, to Blarney, Some folks have attempted their lays to attune ; But the subject on which these few lines are compose' Was never yet chanted in verse or in prose. The reason is plain no praise did it need ; If you ever should taste it, you'd swear it, indeed : What I mean now, an' please you, is Shandrum boggoon. Of old greedy Midas a strange story's told, That, whatever he'd touch, it would turn into gold. Were that attribute mine, I would barter it soon For the gift that, whatever I'd touch, I'd at ease Convert to the substance or form that I'd please : LOCAL SONGS. 289 Oh! I'd touch Blackrock Castle, the Baths and New Wall, Mount Prospect race-course, the racers and all, And I'd turn them at once into Shandrum boggooa If you credit report, about this time last year His terrific highness the Devil did appear, And dined with one Martin, who lives in Johnstown* 'Tis said in that place he has chosen to dwell, Perhaps somewhere near us. Lord save us ! 'tis well That they've got no boggoon ; by my soul, 'twould require A host of the clargy to banish the squire, If he e'er set his eyes upon Shandrum boggoon. Since in praise of boggoon I've the honour to start, Indulge me, for once, in a wish of my heart And this wish shall be mine till I'm laid in the tomb : May the inmates of Shandrum, encircling that board, Enjoy every comfort this world can afford Have always a plenty, and should we go there, A heart to divide it, and never worse fare Than a ham, flitch, or gammon of Shandrum boggoon. SHANNON'S FLOWERY BANKS. The music of this song was by Mr. Carter, a member of the choir of Cloyne, who also composed the beautiful and well-known melody of " O, Nannie, wilt thou gang with me?" The Shannon, and its banks, have been long a favourite locality with Irish poets. Among the K 290 POPULAR SONGS OF IRELAND. popular broadsides now lying before the Editor, are songs entitled "The Shannon Side," "Lovely Jane of the Shannon Side," "Shannon's Cottage Maid," &c. ; and in a very small book among the Sloane MSS. (No. 3514),* may be found, "The Shannon's Praise," wherein, after other matters, it is stated, that " For sixty miles and more, the swelling sea Comes rouling up its streams twice every day, Where vessels of great burden safely ride, And swiftly saile, assisted by the tyde ; And if that craggy, steep, confounded rock, Near Killaloe, were, by good fortune, broak Up to its very head, from raging sea, Yon vessels of great burden might convey : Which winding voyage, if you rightly count, To twice a hundred miles it will amount. Some rivers are for their great bridges praised, And for the many arches on them raised ; The Thems has nineteen arches, and no more, Portumney nineteen, and, besides, a score, Which shews the Shannon doth widely exceed The Thems, the Clyde, and the dividing Tweed." Lord Macartney, when embarking, in 1781, for his government at Madras, thus addressed this noble river : " Raptured, I try the strain, Great king of floods ! to hail thy new-born reign, Which breaks from darkness like the rise of day, And gives the promise of imperial sway ! Already Commerce spreads her ample stores, Pours Afric's riches on lerne's shores ; * This manuscript is chiefly in the Irish character. The following notes occur in it: "Written in Ireland Nov br y e 17, 1713." "Mr. John Scanlan to Mr. Dennis Connor, Traly." Also, " Sep r Y e 4 th , 1727." Some of the initial letters are rather grotesque. LOCAL SONGS. 291 Brings either India's treasures to her view, Brazilian gold, and silver of Peru ! Bids wondering navies on thy billows ride, Rolls the world's wealth, O Shannon, to thy tide ! " The view of Tarbert, given in Milton's " Seats of the Nobility and Gentry of Ireland," engraved after a picture by Wheatley, refers to the embarkation of Lord Macartney from the seat of Edward Leslie, Esq., afterwards Sir Edward Leslie, Bart, and the projected railroad may realize his lordship's anticipations of the Shannon. In summer when the leaves were green, And blossoms decked each tree, Young Teddy then declared his love His artless loVe, to me. On Shannon's flowery banks we sat, And there he told his tale ; " Oh, Patty ! softest of thy sex, Oh, let fond love prevail ! " Ah ! well-a-day, you see me pine In sorrow and despair, Yet heed me not. Then let me die, And end my grief and care," " Ah, no, dear youth," I softly said, " Such love demands my thanks ; And here I vow eternal truth On Shannon's flowery banks." And then we vowed eternal truth On Shannon's flowery banks ; And there we gathered sweetest flowers, And played such artless pranks. K 2 292 POPULAR SONGS OF IRELAND, But woe is me, the press gang came And forced my Ned away, Just when we named next morning fair To be our wedding-day. " My love," he cried, " they force me hence, But still my heart is thine ; All peace be yours, my gentle Pat, While war and toil are mine \ With riches I'll return to thee." I sobbed out words of thanks, And then we vowed eternal truth On Shannon's flowery banks. And then we vowed eternal truth On Shannon's flowery banks, And then I saw him sail away And join the hostile ranks. From morn to eve, full twelve dull months, His absence sad I mourned ; Then peace was made, the ship came back, But Teddy ne'er returned. His beauteous face and manly form Have won a nobler fair ; My Teddy's false, and I forlorn Must die in sad despair. Ye gentle maidens, see me laid, While you stand round in ranks ; And plant a willow o'er my head On Shannon's flowery banks. LOCAL SONGS. 293 THE MAYOR OF WATERFORD'S LETTER. The manuscript volume from which the two following ancient ballads respecting Waterford are transcribed, is in the State Paper Office. It appears to be the collection of some laborious antiquary about the latter end of the reign of Elizabeth, and consists of nearly nine hundred pages, many of which are pasted over with apparently unarranged scraps and memoranda, chiefly relative to the history and legends of the South of Ireland. This volume, which was bound in the time of Charles II., and bears the royal impress, is lettered on the back, " INSTRUCTIONS/' merely because the first article in it is a copy of instructions from Edward VI. to Sir Anthony St. Leger, Lord Deputy, and others, for the better govern- ment of Ireland.* " Ballad royal," or rhyme royal, was the name given to the measure in which the ballads or songs about Waterford are written ; and it will be seen that they arc in strict accordance with the rules laid down by George Gascoigne, in " Certain Notes of Instruction concerning the making of Verse or Rhyme in English," attached to " The princelye Pleasures at the Courte of Kenelwoorth ; that is to say, the copies of all such verses, proses, or poeticall inventions, and other devices of pleasure, as were then devised and presented by sundry gentlemen before the Queene's Majestic, in the year 1575." u Rythme royall is a verse of tenne syllables, and tenne such verses make a staffe, whereof the first and * Since this was written (1829), the volume above described has been taken to pieces, in order that its contents may be classified iu the general arrangement of State Papers now in progress. The account of it, however, is retained, as in some degree connected with the histoiy and preservation of these curious songs. 294 POPULAR SONGS OF IRELAND. tldrde lines do aunswer (acrosse) in like terminations and rime ; the second, fourth, and fifth, do likewise answere eche other in terminations ; and the two last do combine and shut up the sentence. This hath beene called rithme royall, and surely it is a royall kind of verse, serving but for grave discourses." These specimens of Waterford rhyme royal have been evidently composed about the years 1487 and 1545- The following very curious prose introduction, pre- served with the manuscript copy from whence the ballad designated by the Editor " The Mayor of Waterford's Letter/' and now for the first time printed, is transcribed, and with which copy it is contemporary, details the cir- cumstances so minutely wherein the letter, or rather the metrical version of it, originated, that nothing is left for the Editor to observe ; except that, upon the suppression of the Rebellion, against the progress of which the to^n of Waterford took so decided a part, Sir Richard Edge- combe was sent over to Ireland.* " Lambert, a boy, crowned at ] To the great discredit of Dublin King of England, [ foolish men, then held for &c. An*. Henric. 7. 3. j wise, it is remembered, and the posteritie is to take notice of the foolery, that one Lambert, a boy, an organ-maker's sonne, was crowned at Dublin Kinge of England and Lord of Ireland, in the third yere of Henry the 7. The circumstances may not be forgotten. The Erie of Kildare, then governor of the realme, with the asi stance of all the lordes spirituall and temporall, and commons, of the north part of Ireland, assembled in the Castell of Dublin, crowned the same * The particulars of his visit, as is conjectured, written by himself, are printed in Harris's " Hibernica," No. III. LOCAL SONGS. 395 boy,* and proclaymed him as aforesaid. The crowne they took off the head of the image of our Lady of Damascus,! and clapt it on the boye's head.J The maior of Dublin tooke the boye in his armes, caried him about the citie in procession with great triumph, the clergie goinge before ; the Erie of Kildare, then governor ; * Cox say* t According to"L c J owned in Christ Church Dublin - the Virgin Mary in St. ftfar^f crown was taken from lh statue of les Dames. The identical statue is'sf&J? the Church of St. Mary the one preserved in the New Church of thVv!^ 11 in existence, and friar Street, Dublin. At the time of the Reformation^- in White- is supposed, was consigned to the flames. "One half of it ie . lt: actually burnt but it was the moiety which to a saint is perhaps not absolutely indispensable, and which, at least when placed in a niche, is not much missed ; the other half was carried by some devout or friendly hand to a neighbouring inn yard, where, with the face buried in the ground, and the hollow trunk appearing uppermost, it was appropriated, for concealment and safety, to the ignoble purpose of a hog-trough ! " However accurate the foregoing statement may be which is given with a print of the statue in that curious and interesting work, The Dublin Penny Journal it is too much for the most credulous to believe, that " within the last few years the ancient silver crown, with which it was adorned, was taken from the Virgin's head, sold for its intrinsic value as old plate, and melted down.'* An editorial note, however, states, after doubting that it was the identical crown used at the coronation of Lambert Simnel, that "the crown itself we have often seen exposed for sale in the window of the jeweller to whom it was sold. It was a double- arched crown, such as appears on the coins of Henry the Seventh, and on his only ; a circumstance which marked with exact precision the age of the statue which it had adorned" % The ceremony was rendered somewhat more solemn by a sermon, which was preached on the occasion by John Payne, who had been a Dominican friar, and was consecrated Bishop of Meath in 1483. "He turned," says Harris, "with the tide, and un. preached what he had preached before in favour of the mock prince." 396, POPULAR SONGS OF IRELAND. Walter, Archbishop of Dublin, lord chaunceler, the nobilitie, counsell, and citizens of the said citie, follow- inge him as their kinge : unto whome, also, all the partes of Ireland yelded obedience. Shortly after the said Erie, as tutor and protector of the said kinge, wrote to John Butler, maior of Waterford, and to all the citizens, a straight charge and severe commaund upon their dutv -' allegianc to be well prepared, and J"^^J^ jflj-;^ receave their yonge kinge and^-J ^ ^ ^ h[s forces they possiblie^ MounstCT| wherc he and his voiage untoj^ ~ ake Qrder in affaires of great i mportance c \lRinge his crowne and dignitie. The maior of Water- ford, discretly takinge the gayne of some small tyme to conferre with his bretherne, answered, ' I will send him answere by one of myne owne men ; ' and so sent him away. " Within fewe dayes, with thadvice of his bretherne, he framed him an answere as followeth : * All loialty and subjection to our soveraigne lord, Henry the 7, kinge of England and lord of Ireland, and health to your honorable person. With thadvice of my bretherne, havinge weyed in the ballance of loyalty your imperiall and peremptorie comaund, with one consent, and beinge directed by them that are experienced, well scene in the lawes of both realmes, and are not to seeke much in roiall affaires con- cerninge the tyme, this is that we have to say : that he, \\hosever he be, taking upon him the imperiall crowne or name to be kynge of England, and is crowned in Dublin by a subject, Therle of Kyldare, and inhabitants of the citie of Dublin, havinge no right thereunto ; the citie of Waterford accepteth and demeth such a one, and all such as imbrace and further such a coronation and pro- clamation made in Dublin, to be rude enemyes, LOCAL SONGS. 297 traitors, and rebells, to the right prince and kinge of England.' " Therle myghtely stormed at this answer, and in his rage comaunded the poore messenger presently to be hanged in Hoggin Greene,* adjoyninge to the citie; wherewith Walter, Archbishop of Dublin, then Lord Chaunceler of Ireland, and others of the counsail, were not a little displeased. Imediatly the said Erie sent an herald in his coate of armes to Waterford, whome John Butler, maior, espied beyond the river, and caused a boate to ferry him over to understand his pleasure. The herald beinge come to the key, offred to land ; the maior com- manded he shold not sett foote on shore, but deliver his message out of the boate, and that favor he wold shew him in regard of his coate, and for Therle of Kyi- dare's sake, who, contrary to the lawe of armes, had hanged his messenger. " The harold, though at the first amazed, yet gatheringe breath, and fearinge hard mesure because of th'execution of the maior's messenger, drew his sword, commanded the mariners to putt of the shore, and, if they wold not be directed by him, he wold runne them through. All for that tyme beinge effected to his content, he turned him to the maior and citizens, and said, l Therle of Kyldare, tutor and governor to the kinge, with the con- sent of his majestye's counsail, straightly comaundeth the maior of the citie of Waterford, and the inhabitantes of the same, upon payne of hanginge at their dores, that they forthwith proclaime, or cause the kinge lately crowned at Dublin to be proclaymed, in their citie, Kinge of England and Lord of Ireland, and with all expedition to be in a redyness to goe with him into his province of Mounster upon speciall service. F Jo-\Yj College Green, Dubliji. 298 POPULAR SONGS OF IRELAND. " Whereunto the maior, of himself (being a man of bold spirit and good corage) gave answere, ' Goe tell them that sent thee hither, that I will not suffer thy foote to come ashore, that I will not yeld unto their directions, and that I will save them a great labor that they shall not needs to come to our dores ; for I (by the grace of God), with the citizens of Waterford and ayde of our neighbors, faithfull subjects to the crowne and dignitie of England, and the true and lawfull kinge of the same, beinge lord of Ireland, will meet them xxx myles of, and answere them with the sword of true loialty and subjec- tion ; and thou, herald, get out of our sight/ Forthwith the maior and his bretherne sent messengers to all the Butlers and Brenys,* and the townes of Carrek, Clone- mell, Callan, Kilkenny, Fitherth, Gawran, Bala mac kanden, Rosse in Wexford, that they and their followers wold receave entertaynement of the citie of Waterford in defence of the most noble Prince Henry 7, the true kinge of England and lord of Ireland, against a counter- feit kinge and his adherents lately crowned at Dublin. The Butlers, with their followers, returned answere that they, at a day and place appointed, with sufficient armes, colors displaid, and at their owne charges, with the ad- venture of their lives, wold meete them with v hundred horse and a thousand foote, and further if need required. The Brenys offred all kyndnes, together with the townes heretofore mentioned. "When of all sides great thundrings passed, comen people in feare doubtinge what effect this course might take, and armes redy, the wynd blew a fayre gale from the east, and brought the forces and power of Kinge Henry 7 from England, some landinge at Scerrese, some * Walsh or Welsh, as often called Brenagh or Briton, LOCAL SONGS. 299 at Clontarf, and some others at Dalkey, and the places nere Dublin ; which daunted the counterfeit kinge, Therle of Kyldare, and all their complices, cooled their stornaks, and quailed the hautye mynd of rebellious hartes; so that their attempt against Waterford was frustrat ; and the counterfeit kinge, with his Erie tutor, Walter, Archbishop of Dublin, and many others, wer taken prisoners, and carried to the towr of London to receave reward con- digne, their desert. " Duringe this pagent, not daringe send messenger to Therle of Kyldare, the citie wrote to Walter, Archbishop of Dublin, in English ryme as followeth : * O tliou most noble pastour, chosen by God, Walter, Archbishop of Dublin.' " In consequence of the conduct of the citizens of Waterford on this occasion, King Henry VII. addressed a letter to them, a copy of which may be found in Dr. Smith's " History of Waterford;" it is dated from War- wick the 2oth of October (1487), and in the subsequent May a new charter was granted to the city. Sir Richard Edgecombe arrived in the port of Waterford on the morn- ing of the 3oth of June, 1488; "and the same day, at afternoon, two boats came from the citty of Waterford, and brought the seyd Sir Richard to the citty, and ther the mayor and worshipful men of the same honourably receaved hym, and the maior lodgid the seyd Sir Richard in his own house, and made him right herty cheer." After breakfasting with the mayor on the ist of July, Sir Richard Edgecombe embarked for Dublin; and it does not seem improbable that the mayor's metrical letter was sung before Sir Richard, upon the occasion of his public entertainment by the city of Waterford. The State Paper Office manuscript is entitled 300 POPULAR SONGS OF IRELAND. " A Copie of Letter sent by the Maior and Inhabitants of the Citie of Waterford unto Walter, Archbishop of the Citie of Dublin, the Maior and Citizens of the same, in the tyme of their Rebellion." O thou most noble pastour, chosen by God, Walter, Archbishop of Dublin, Elect by th'Apostle, bearing the rodd Of perfect lief, and also of doctrine, To rule thy people by true discipline > And if by custom men used a cryme, Thou shouldest correct them from tyme to tyme. To thee we recommend us right humblie, And to all our masters of that citie ; Our neighbours of Dublin right hartelie, That be to us bound of old amide, And we to them knitt both in one unitie, Which restes with us by their seale and writing, Not for a tyme, but perpetuall enduring. Our old progenitours kept well the same Undefiled, without disseveraunce, Following there truth and right noble fame, As men of worth, with true perseveraunce ; Wherefore all men said of their governaunce The cities of Dublin and Waterford, As true brethern, loveth in one accord. The noble citizens of that faire citie Newberry, Wonder, Burnell and Crampe, Bennett and Ledelawe * God, of his pitie, * The names enumerated, with the exception of Lede'awe, who probably was the town clerk or official secretary, appear as mayors of Dublin between the years 1434 and 1466. Thomas Newberry LOCAL SOA 7 GS. 30! Rest their soules on the celestiall sea, With all the sequele * of their affinitie ; And of that noble man, Thomas Fitz Symon,t In whose tyme Dublin was a noble town. Theis noble men, by grace and victorie, Fortune inclyned her wheele to them so, Their enemies to them did alwayes applie ; They had no resistance where they should go ; All theis, and other laudable actes mo, I Theis worthie men purchased so by grace, That all men loved them in everie place. O Dublin ! Dublin I where be the jurours, Thy noble men of aureat glorie ? They be all passed by processe of yeeres ; was mayor of Dublin in 1438, 47, 51, 52, 58, 62, 63; and Sir Thomas Newberry in 1464. Nicholas Wonder (Harris, in his " His. tory of Dublin," writes the name Woder) was mayor in 1434, 39, 41, 43, 44, 45, and 46 ; Nicholas Wonder, jun., in 1448 ; and Sir Nicholas Wonder in 1453. Sir Robert Burnell was mayor in 1450, 54, 59, and 6l. William Crampe was bailiff of Dublin, 1448 and 50, and mayor in 1466 ; and John Bennett was mayor in 1449 and I457- * Relations ; from sequax> a follower. It very frequently occurs in the letters of Henry VHIth's time. "To O'Connor and his sequele," " The sequel of M' William," &c. Mr. LEMON. f Bailiff of Dublin in 1469, and mayor in 1475 anc ^ 1476. A common abbreviation of more ; so common, that, in the public version of the Bible, it was continued so late as the edition of 1717 (Oxon. ), and perhaps later. " The children of Israel are mo and mightier than we." Exod. i. 9. The black-letter quarto of 1584 has, in the same passage, "greater and mightier than we." At the same time, mo and more were both used ; and it does not appear why one or the other was preferred in any particular passage except when it favoured a rhyme. 302 POPULAR SONGS OF IRELAND. So is their renowme, worship, and victorie. Alas ! therefore, thow maist be right sorie. For thow hast made a plaine degression From thy true leageance unto rebellion. The old amitie betwixt thee and us Is now late broken of thy parte onely ; Our men by thee weere taken right merveilous, Their goods spoiled without remedie : And albeit so, wee were not guiltie Of anie thing contrarie to good intent, Thou hadst our good without anie judgment. O ye citizens of that faire citie 1 Your progenitours, of blessed memorie, Were not endurate by no perversitie Against their king ; but they right humbly Obeied, as subjects, well and trulie : They gave no singuler opinion Against their king, for none occasion. Your citie, then in well * and prosperitie, Prospered and floured of all manner thinge Of worth, manhode, and all felicitie, That in all landes rumour did springe. O fie, false Fortune ! with thy sugred flattring, Thy peereles play turneth oft to shame ; The end is woe that first begon with game. Her mutable wheele, she changed, alas ! To you, that by long contynuaunce Have rebelled against the king's grace. * Well-being, or weal. LOCAL SONGS. 303 Though Fortune have lead you unto that mischaunce, We mervaile greatlie of your perseveraunce ; For the doctor saieth it is naturall to synne, But diabolike to persevere therein. Knowledge your king ; for you shall understand That Henry vij th is king, by grace, Of England and Fraunce, and lord of Ireland, And by just title have taken his place, His crowne, and scepter, with joy and solace ; And of his title ye may read a parte, Which is not fayned by logicke nor by art* Moeses had of God, by commaundement, If a man died without issue male His lands should, by lyniall discent, Descend to daughters, his heires generall ; For fault of issue, his heires colaterall Should have the same. Ye may read this story Of Sulphact his daughters in the booke of Numery,* 17. Which was a figure of Christe's inheritaunce, Descended to him by his mother Mary ; So that he, without doubt or variaunce, As man incarnat, I saie fynallie ; And, as Scripture have it in memorie, He was borne of the Virgin in Bethliem, And, by her, true king of Hierusalem. * The passage referred to appears to be the 27th chapter of Num- bers, from the 1st to the nth verse, where God states to Moses the law of inheritance, in consequence of his bringing before the Almighty the case of the daughters of Zelophehad. Quare ; Will some of the older versions of the Bible give a different arrangement of the chapters ? 304 POPULAR SONGS OF IRELAND. The actes of Christ, as saieth the Scripture, Is fynallie for man's instruction ; That wee his steppes should follow by nature; That everie man, without devision, By perfect law without conclusion, Might be a king and have a monarchy By his mother, as Christ had by Mary. The figure and law is kept in generall ; For the more perfeict among all other princes Of Christe's faith, and in especiall In England, stabled with all sikernes,* As we shall shew you by divers chronicles, And passed the tyme of man's memorie, How, by a woman, descended that monarchy. King Henry the First, after the last conquest, He passed his traunce without issue male. Then entred King Stephen, at the request Of the lordes spirituall and temporal!, And raigned xix th yeeres, as telleth the tale. He was this first Henry his sister's sonn, And hereby had the title of his crowne. And after him Henry, called Fitz Empres, The second Henry named by writing ; He was sonne to Maud, as I can devise, Daughter of the first Henry without leasing,! And by her title he married as a king Many yeeres, as telleth the story, And was a prince of noble memory. * Sureness certainty. t Lying. It occurs in the Psalms iv. 2. Shakspeare, Spenser, Prior, and Gay have used this word, LOCAL SONGS. 305 When he accomplished his yeeres of nature, His issue raigned King of England, And sithen * that tyme have born the scepter, Having the governance of all that land From sonne to sonne, ye shall understand ; Till Edward the iiij th most noble of fame, Had the monarchic, and bare thereof the name. Stephen and Henry were not of England ; They both were strangers, of the realme of Fraunce ; Stephen, by title, as I understand, Was Earle of Bloyes by his enheritaunce. This Henry t had under his governaunce Th'Earldome of Angeoi ; who list to looke, Shall find the same in the chronicle booke. This fourth King Edward his title and right Descended to him first by a woman, The Duke's daughter of Clarence she hight,J Duke Leonell, called a noble man ; His daughter Philippa, of whom began This Edwarde's title of England and Fraunce, And by her occupied as her enheritaunce. Here may you see noble authorities, And first of Christ, which was made incarnate, Whom he descended by many degrees * From the Saxon siththan, a common expression of the time, as well as sith and sithence, for since, in the sense of because. t Duke of Normandy and Aquitaine, and Earl of Anjou. % A participle of the Anglo-Saxon verb hatan, to call ; used in a very peculiar way for some of the passive tenses, without the addition of the auxiliary am or was, or their several persons. " Full carefully he kept them day and night In fairest fields, and Astrophel he hight* 3 o6 POPULAR SONGS OF IRELAND. Of that glorious Virgin immaculate ; In his genelogie you maie read it algat,* Whom he was king, by liniall discent By his mother, without anie argument. Theis three princes that we spake of before, Raigned in England, to everie intent Trulie obeied ; we can saie no more. The lordes and commons, by their whole assent, Were to them right humble and obedient. This president sheweth that th'eir female In England shall succeed for fault of the male. By this processe unfayned we may shew That Stephen and Henry, before tyme of mind, By both their mothers, as is well knowne, Were kings of England we can find ; And also by Scripture Christ was betymde Of Hierusalem king, and of Juda : So was the fourth Edward by the Philippa. Which title is fallen to our soveraigne ladie, Queene Elizabeth,! his eldest daughter liniall; To her is com all the whole monarchic, For the fourth Edward had no issue male. The crowne, therefore, and scepter imperiall, Both she must have without division, For of a monarchic byj no particion. * Put, on account of the thyme, for algates by all means. f* After the murder of Edward V. and the Duke of York, this Elizabeth, who was the eldest of the seven daughters of Edward IV., was the heir-presumptive ; but her right was set aside by the usurpation of Richard III. and the victory of Henry VII., whom she afterwards married, by which marriage his otherwise weak title to the crown was set at rest. $ By is not unfrequently used for be, in old MSS. LOCAL SONGS. 307 It is so that by Divine purveyaunce, King Henry the VII th , our soveraigne lord, And Queene Elizabeth, to God his pleasure ; Ben maried both by amiable accord, Why should we speake more of this matter a word ? He is our true king without variance, And to him by right we should owe our legeaunce. Fortune on him have cast her lott and chaunce, That he by God is onely provided Of England to have the soveraigne governaunce ; And of the people chosen and elected, By grace in battaile he have obteyned ; The auncient right of the Brittons also, Is cast on him with titles manie mo. First we saie that, by Gode's provision, This noble prince came by this his sceptor; Second, by the common election Of the lordes and commons, he was made sure j The queene's title, by fortune's adventure, He have theis three ; the fourth by victorie ; And the fifth by the old Brittaine storie.* Our holie father the Pope, our pastour, Of his certaine science and mere motion,f Have written to all them that beare chardge and cure, By his bull papall,J without exception, Affirming theis titles, with sbarpe execution * Qiuzre : Any of Merlin's Prophecies, or the History of Britain generally ? t This line is a literal translation from the technical phrase in all bulls, royal grants, &c., " Certa scientid et mero motu ; " now ren- dered, " of our certain knowledge and mere motion." The bull may probably be found either in Rymer or the Bul- larium. 3o8 POPULAR SONGS of IRELAND. Against all persons that will make debate Upon King Henry the VII th , his royall estate. And have given, also, plaine indulgence To everie man by his said letters, That commeth in aide, or maketh defence For his noble king and his said titles ; Which bull, with full diligent busines, Is dulie executed by terrible censures, By all true curates that beareth cures. O thow archbushop and metropolitan, The chief lampe of pastorall dignitie Of all this land, for thow in vertue began, If thow be cause of this perversitie That late is fallen against all equitie, We know it not ; but certaine we can saie, Thou keepest silence, and saidst not once nay. A man that beareth an ordinarie chardge, If anie person greevouslie offendeth, And the cryme notorious, she* should at large Punishe the man till he were amended, But now an errour is well defended ; And as well by you as others in conclusion, For all ye be of one opinion. Ye may see, by common experience, What vengeance God have shewd in your country, By murther, slaughter, and great pestilence ; The fruits dearer than they were wont to be, And manie of your men drowned in the sea. Theis are not without cause after our intent, But we be not privie to Code's judgement. * Qutzre, Virtue? LOCAL SONGS. 309 What is he that have read in cronicle, In old stories, or in anie writing, Or in the volume of the Holie Bible, So rude a matter and so strange a thinge, As a boy in Dublin to be made a kinge ; And to receave therein his unction, The solemyne act of his coronation ? O by what law, custom e, or libertie, May a king of England be made in Ireland ? There is no man that have such aucthoritie, For there was no such act made in this land Till now right late, as we understand. O fie false land, full of rebellion, And with all men had in great dirision ! God ! where was the prudence of reason Of you that have your whole common assent, That a boy, an organ-maker his sonne, Should be made a king of England, and regent, To whom as yett all ye ben obedient ? To your dishonour and evill fame, An horrible slaunder and great shame. It is great pitie that ye be deceaved By a false priest,* that this matter began ; And that ye his child as a prince receaved A boy, a ladd, an organ-maker his sonn, Which is now kept in the Tower of London ;f His keepers there, to all men declaring, " This is of Dublin the first crowned king." { * Sir Richard Symon. t Sent to the Tower in June, 1487, after the battle of Stoke.-~.SV* Rapin, Cox, &c. T The sarcasm here is very good : " Now you shall see the won- derful lion." MR. LEMON. 310 POPULAR SONGS OF IRELAND. And it is strang and great pittie That thow, reverend father and pastour, Sithen thow hast of that noble citie The chardge, and beareth of all them cure, That they ben suffred so long to endure In their great errour, which is understand By all the people of everie land. And as it is written in the Gospell, Thou shouldest shew the light of true doctrine, It should not be hid under a bushell ; No love nor feare should thee undermyne : But now wee see that all true discipline, For feare or love of mightie estates, Is put a part by all prelates. The Pope's censures ben greevous and sore, But they be not taken with you in credence ; They ben despised dailie, more and more. Ye know that in open audience, Solemplie they have ben executed with reverence ; Therefore religious we thinke, and reguler, That singeth masse with you ben irreguler. It is tyme for you to be reconciled, Of this matter now we will end ; Ye have ben to long from trouth exiled, The tyme is now come for you to amend, A convenable tyme is to you sent j The tyme of Lent, the mirrour of mercy, For all them that will reverse their folie. Retourne ones, and forsake this folie, If anie there be revolved in your mynd ; Correct yourself, amend it shortlie, LOCAL SONGS. 311 And to your soveraigne lord be not unkind : The people tongues no man can bind. In such cases they saie, now and then, The best clearkes be not the wysest men. O Ireland, Ireland ! by what conclusion Is thy mirrour of beutie eclipsed all ? By rnurder, slaughter, and great rebellion, Thy fertill bondes have had great fall, Thy stynge of venyme, as bitter as gall. Fortune have cast on thee so her chaunce, That alwaies thow must stand in variaunce. Reverend father, and our masters all, Wee make to you our protestation, Not to offend one, nor you in generall ; But for to represse your great rebellion We send to you this our conclusion ; Hereby heartalie praying you that you applie ; For your rather * dealing we be right sorie. Thinke not in us no malice or envie, For of your honour we would be right faine,t And of your reproche we be full sorie ; We pray to God that we may once againe Your old worship, trouth, and manhood attaine ; So that ye please God and the kinge, And eftsones J to keape you from all ill dealing. * Earlier ; the comparative of the Saxon rathe. Early, soon ; rather is still used in the sense of sooner. t Glad. Immediately ; soon after ; from the Saxon eft, after. It occurs frequently in Spenser ; in whose time, however, it was beginning to be obsolete, 312 POPULAR SONGS OF IRELAND. Take the matter and leave the dittie,) , , t ^. ' Y quoth James Rice. For Us a cause of great pittie, J Take no disdaine, 1 You to refraine, And to be plaine Ye may be faine So to attains to your soveraigne lord. - with him to accord. His grace againe, JOHN BUTLER, Maior of Waterford. Finis. JAMES RICE. WM. LYNCOLLE. THE PRAISE OF WATERFORD, " The citie of Waterford," says that " learned gentle- man, Maister Richard Stanihurst," as the old chronicler, Holinshed, styles him, " hath continued to the crowne of England so loiall, that it is not found registred since the conquest to have beene distained with the smallest spot, or dusked with the least freckle of treason; notwith- standing the sundrie assaults of traitorous attempts : and, therefore, the citie's armes are deckt with this golden word, Intacta manet : a posie as well to be hartilie followed, as greatlie admired of all true and loiall townes." The motto of "Urbs intacto manet Waterfordia," which forms the burden of the following verses, was con- ferred on the city, with other honours, by Henry VII., for the conduct of the mayor and citizens against Perkin Warbeck. The date of this composition is satisfactorily fixed, by the twentieth and twenty-second verses, to be about 1545. In the former, Henry Vlllth's present to LOCAL SONGS. 3'3 the city of Waterford of a sworH or justice in 1523, is spoken of as " latelv ~ ilC '> " and in the latter > the term > " our tr--* i i jnant king " (which would scarcely be Applied to Edward VI.), must have been written subse- quent to 1541, when Henry assumed the title of King of Ireland* This ballad was first printed in Mr. Ryland's " History of Waterford" (1824), but without the foot-notes here added in italics, which occur in the margin of the original manuscript, and are important illustrations of it. A care- ful collation with the manuscript will account for the differences which exist between Ryland's reading and the one now given. It would, perhaps, be going too far to ascribe the authorship to Patrick Strong, from his name appearing at the commencement, although the knowledge displayed on civic affairs may warrant the conjecture. Mr. Ryland, who gives a list of no less than thirty charters which were granted to Waterford, remarks : " Of these valuable documents, the only one of which even the corporation of Waterford has any knowledge, is the charter of Charles I., under which the city is at present governed ; all other documents prior to 1680 were destroyed by fire, and no steps have since been taken to supply their places." The marginal annotation of "anno 16* Eliz. 1573, the city had sheriffs," which occurs upon the second and third verses, appears to be a subsequent and unconnected memorandum; but it deserves notice, as correcting the errors in the list of civic officers given by Dr. Smith and Mr. Ryland in their respective histories of Waterford. Smith (p. 158) places the first city sheriffs in 1568, and Ryland (p. 406) iu 1575, although the latter specially * Incorrectly printed 24 by RylancU 3H POPULAR SONGS OF IRELAND. tells us (p. 219) whai r , r f ec tly accords with the note upon the ballad, that by the St ^ nrl charter granted by Elizabeth in "1573, the office of shenw, tva ^ t created," Patrick Strong, Towne Clerke of Waterford, tempore Henry 8. God of his goodnes, praysed that he be, For the daylie increase of thy good fame ; O pleasant Waterford, thow loyall cytie, That five hundred yeres receavest thy name Er the later conquest unto thee came ; In Ireland deservest to be peereless Quia tu semper intacta manes. Therefore Henry the Second, that noble kinge, Knowinge thy prowes and true allegiance, Assygned thy franchess and metes,* namyng All thy great port, with each appurtenaunce, Commanding his son theyne honor to advance, With gifts most speciall for thy good ease Quia tu semper intacta manes. John/ 1 do meane the first-named lord, Elected governour to rule all Irland, For thine amorous truth and loyall accord ; * Boundaries. In compliance with a precept of Henry II., a charter was granted to Waterford by John, in the seventh year of his reign, dated at Malbridge, 3rd of July. Among the extracts from it given by Dr. Smith, is the following: " Civibus nostris civitatis nostrse Waterford, infra muros dictce civitatis manentibus totam civitatem nostram de Waterford cum omnibus pertinentiis ; et quod prsedicti cives et eorum hseredes et successores in perpetuum habeant mefas suas. Sicut probatse fuere per sacramentum fidelium hominum (viz.) duodecim de ipsa civitate et duodecim extra per praeceptnm regis Henrici patris nostri," tec. LOCAL SONGS. 315 In the first seysed of all this land, > Then thy charters large,* he did command, Of his bounteous grace the for to please Quia tu semper intacta manes. Cn To the was granted that every shipp 5 Entring thy port, so wyde and large, 9 Only in thy presence for great worshipp, 2. Ever thereafter shoul lade and discharge, ^ And no where eles, no vessel nor barge, By thy charters noble it doth expresse % Quia tu semper intacta manes. * And of thy sadge citizence chose thow must A provost f yerely, thy people for to guyde ; That by aucthorytie whem hym lyst, Saff conduct may give to lands wyde, To encrease thine honer att every tyde By this noble king that knew nathlesse J Quia tu semper intacta manes. Then Henry, his son, affirmyng the same, Granted thy fee-fearme for a yearly rent ; And of each shipp to encrease thy fame, That enter shall with wyne thy port so potent ; The prysadge || of them this he did consent, Thyne honour to conserve without dystresse Quia tu semper intacta manes. * In addition to the charter above quoted, John granted another to Waterford, dated at Dublin, 8th of November, in the ninth year of his reign. f A provost in Johrfs tyme. % Not the less ; nevertheless. Henry ///, || Prize Wines. 3i6 POPULAR SONGS OF IRELAND. And Edward the First a maiour to the did grant, His son confyrmed the same in every case ; Edward the Third,* of tryumph most abundante, Granted that all plees, by speciale grace, In thee shalbe tried, and in no other place, For ease of thy people and great prowes Quia tu semper intacta manes, The staple t estatute assigned he had by name, Unto the by grant, with gyftes many moe ; Kilkenye and Casshell ought to obey the same ; Weixford and Rosse, Donegarvon allso, And each other townes adjoynynge thereto, Within the sayd bound, this for thyne ease Quia tu semper intacta manes. This king first by Rosse falsly seduct, To make her a grawnt contrary to his will ; Then att thy request of new he did product All thy noble grantes and hirs did he spill, The law did assent, for he knew by skill Of thy true love and service nott rechelesse + Quia tu semper intacta manes. Richard the Second, of his abundance, Confyrmed the same, and in the took place, Trusting thy fydelytie and true allegiance, Which always shall continue and never deface ; And Henry the Fourth followeth his trace, Thy grantes knytting to put the in presse Quia tu semper intacta manes. * Edward 1 'II. anno 45 [1371]. t Statute Staple. $ Written also retcliless and wreakless. Careless, negligent, pro- perly reckless ; a compound of reck, from the Saxon recan ; whence, also, our word reckon. LOCAL SONGS. 317 The lusty Henry that conquered France, In the did creat by his grantes royall, All offycers nedeful the to advance ; In honour and ease, with aucthoritie speciall, Excluding others to kepe thee from fall, And by high parliament did geve release Quia tu semper intacta manes. Henry * the Holly, that borne was in Wyndsore, Collected thy charters, then unyting in one Every poynt dystinctly that kinges before Did grant unto the, for like I know none ; Confirmyng thy loyalltye and true subjeccion, From the said conquest that never did cease Quia tu semper intacta manes. Then Edward f the Strong the same did know, Of which he was glad then for thyne ease ; Comencing of newe thy grants to shewe, And the same regranted the for to pleas, Enlarging thy libertye thyne honour to increase, Called the his chamber of legiance peerles - Quia tu semper intacta manes. Submytt art thow under his J proteccion, Agaynst all wronges the for to save ; Nott giving thyne honour in oblivyon, A sword of justice to the he gave ; Thyne equytie knowen and thy good lawe, With other large grantes the for to please Quia tu semper intacta manes. * Henry VI. anno 9 [143]- t Edward IV. anno 10 [1470]. $ Edward IV. gave the sworde. 3i 8 POPULAR SONGS OF IRELAND. Henry * the Valiant, famous of memorye, Well did he know by true experyence, Thy great fydelytie in tyme of victory e, When Lambart was crowned by false advertence, And Parkin, allso, with no lesse reverens, Then only of this land thow were empresse Quia tu semper intacta manes. Thy prowess, therefore, and renowme so prudent, His grace remembring, exempted thy port From pondadge and subsedy, by letters patentes ; That thereby all strangers should gladly er resort, For thy true legeance, to thy comfort, And thy people in quietnes to redresse Quia tu semper intacta manes. And of thy gaole the full delyverance,f To the he gave with execucion ; Thy church with anuall rent he did advance ; Thine honour, allso, with retribucion, Confyrming thy grants from resumpcion, In his highe parliament, fur thyue increase Quia tu semper intacta manes. And his noble son, Henry the Tryumphant, Beholding thy virtue in eache degree ; Of his gracious favour most abundant All grantes affirmed, granted unto the By his progenytours, noble and free : Under his great seale it doth expresse Quia tu semper intacta manes. * Henry VII. anno 3 [1487]. t Anno n [I495]- LOCAL SONGS. 319 His bounteous grace revolving in mynde Thine old fydelytie and perfect allegiaunce, Affirmed in the of duty and kynde, Without wemb or spott and dyceaveraunce, Accepted had newe thy perse veraunce, With hearts infallible that always shall cease Quia tu semper intacta manes. And to the, Waterford,* in special token Of his princely favour, he lately sent The sword of justice, of which is spoken ; No less honour than worthy is the present, The gyft well followed his gracious intent, To comfort them that find faultlesse Quia tu semper intacta manes. And tryumph, gladnes, and great honour, Thy cityzence all with humble obedyence, On Easter day, att a convenyent houre, In their best manner, with good observance, Hath this receaved, with letters in affirmance, To have them in proteccion, both more and lesse Quia tu semper intacta manes. O joyful tyme ! O day and feast most pleasant ! In which thy people illumyned was With loyalltye true, and love ardeante; Adverting thy swete favor and great grace Of our tryurnphant king to our sollace, Avoyding all dowbt sytt f he know nathelesse $ Quia tu semper intacta manes. * A second sworde, anno 15 [1523]. t Since. $ Nevertheless, 330 POPULAR SONGS OF IRELAND. O citizence all, this knott surely ye kyntt In fast allegiance, your name to conserve, And your ancestours hath, and nott permytt Your famous loyaltye sclander deserve By corrupt matters, but truly observe Your princes will from it, do nott dygresse - Quia tu semper intacta manes. Now God, we pray, that three art in one, Preserve his high grace in royal estate > And kepe this cytie from dyvysyon, In true allegiaunce, without debate ; And our hartes in the same to sociate, Then Waterford true shall never decrease Quam diu vere intacta manes. PRINTED BY BALLANTYNK, HANSON AND CO. LONDON ANii EDINUURUH AN OVERDUE- ==- -7,'40 (6936s) GENERAL LIBRARY -U.C. BERKELEY 285455 V-.'** UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA tlBRARY