1. THE RIGHTS OF MAN
(Traditional)
Michael O’Brien - Uilleann pipes
In March 1791 Thomas Paine’s Rights of Man was published.
A response to Burke’s Reflections on the French Revolution, it quickly became the bible of the revolution, and a best-seller in Ireland, where it sold in extraordinary numbers.
The ‘Declaration of the Rights of Man and of the Citizen’ was approved by the National Assembly of France on the 26th of August 1789.
In 1797 The Monaghan Militia were quartered in Belfast. In May of that year it was discovered that large numbers of them had been secretly recruited as United Irishmen.
Four soldiers were identified as ringleaders and sentenced to death : Daniel Gillan, Peter Carron and the brothers Owen and William McKenna. On the 17th of May the four men were brought to Blaris Moor and shot to death while kneeling upon their coffins, after which the regiment was marched past the bodies.
3. CROPPIES LIE DOWN
(Captain Ryan - 1798)
Sean Tyrrell - Voice & Guitar
It was for playing this piece on the pipes that the unfortunate William Johnson was murdered at Scullabogue along with over one hundred others. The song dates at least from 1798 when it appeared in Constitutional Songs, attributed to ‘the late gallant Captain Ryan’. This was possibly the officer killed during the arrest of Lord Edward Fitzgerald. The song was also issued on a ballad sheet in Dublin the same year.
The tune itself was considered a partisan piece, and in the spring of 1798 was a favourite item of the military and yeomanry. During the attack on Rathangan in May 1798, the rebels were urged by a local woman to kill an elderly man, Doctor Bagot, on the grounds that his children used to sing "Croppies Lie Down".
The expression "the Emerald Isle", denoting Ireland, is usually attributed to William Drennan. However it occurs in this song also, which was published in the same year, and possibly earlier, than Drennan’s piece.
4. McKENNA’S DREAM
(Traditional - 1850s)
Frank Harte - Voice
This song circulated on broadsides from the 1850s on and achieved immense popularity. Towards the end of the last century a Buncrana street-singer would regularly be hauled up before the Magistrate on a charge of "singing McKenna’s Dream".
The genre of aisling or dream poetry was well established in Irish language poetry when this piece appeared. Usually the narrator is visited in his dream by a beautiful female figure who promises to restore Ireland’s fortunes.
5. AN CROPPY LIE DOWN
(Traditional)
Éamon Ó Bróithe - Voice
This song is reprinted from Duanaire Déiseach, the anthology of songs from the Decies compiled by Nioclás Tóibín (the uncle of the famous singer of the same name).
The narrator of the song says that in the near future, when Spain and France come to the aid of Ireland the English will be defeated and he will no longer have to listen to the "Croppy Lie Down".
In the final verse he tells how Bonaparte has promised to come and scatter the enemy, after which everything will be wonderful and the only tune the women will be singing will be "Croppy Lie Down".
The song was set to the tune Amhrán na mBréag by Éamon Ó Bróithe, piper and singer.
6. NAPPER TANDY
(Traditional - Roche Collection)
Pat Ahern - Bouzouki / Guitar
Johnny McCarthy - Whistle / Fiddles
Con Ó Drisceoil - Accordion
This attractive tune is from Francis Roche’s 1927 collection, where it is classed as a "Redowa or Mazurka".
Napper Tandy was the secretary of the first Dublin Society of United Irishmen. He made his way to Hamburg after the failure of the rising but was captured there. Imprisoned for two years, he was released in 1801 on condition that he left Ireland. He went into exile in France where he died, at Bordeaux, in 1803.
7.FATHER MURPHY
(Traditional - 1798)
Jerry O’Reilly - Voice
This song is thought to be the original upon which P. J. McCall based his ballad "Boolavogue". While the latter piece was written one hundred years after the event, this song was in circulation within a couple of years of 1798
8. BAGENAL HARVEY’S FAREWELL
(Traditional)
Sean Garvey - Voice & Guitar
Beauchamp Bagenal Harvey, of Bargy Castle in the barony of Forth, was one of the main leaders of the United Irishmen in Wexford. He led the western army which attacked, but failed to take New Ross. After Vinegar Hill he and John Colclough went into hiding on the Saltee Islands, but were informed upon. Harvey was executed in Wexford town on the 28th of June, John Colclough on the following day.
The song is modelled on the Borders song "Derwentwater’s Farewell".
9. SLIABH NA mBAN
(Traditional - Early 19th C.)
Áine Uí Cheallaigh - Voice
On the 23rd of July 1798 a body of United Irishmen assembled on Sliabh na mBan mountain in Tipperary. Their plans were known and the deliberate lighting of a signal fire at an unexpected time caused great confusion. General Sir Charles Asgill marched from Kilkenny and attacked and dispersed the rebels.
The song is often attributed to Mícheál Óg Ó Longáin, the author of "Maidin Luan Chincíse"
10. A ’ 98 MARCH
(Traditional - 19th C.)
Johnny McCarthy - Flutes
Four Star Trio - Bodhrán
This tune was collected by P. J. McCall in 1884 from the lilting of Miss Ellen Newport of Rathangan, co. Wexford. It was subsequently published in the Feis Ceoil Collection of Irish Airs.
11. HENRY JOY McCRACKEN
(P. J. McCall - 1890s)
Tim Lyons - Voice
This song, attributed to P.J. McCall by Colm Ó Lochlainn and to William Drennan by Patrick Galvin, was written on the model of an older ballad, a love song, which had been published around 1810.
Henry Joy McCracken (Joy was his mother’s surname) led the Antrim United Irishmen during their brief rising on the 7th of June. After the defeat of his forces he went into hiding on the Cave Hill outside Belfast while plans were made to obtain his escape and passage to America. MacArt’s Fort, on the Cave Hill, was the spot where in June 1795 McCracken, Wolfe Tone, Thomas Russell and others made their famous vow ‘never to desist in their efforts until they had subverted the authority of England over their country’. The Ellis mentioned in the song may be the Captain Ellis who commanded a troop of infantry and dragoons during the fighting in Antrim. Niblock was a yeoman who had once bought muslins from McCracken, who was a cotton manufacturer. He recognised and arrested the rebel leader as he walked from Greencastle towards Carrickfergus on the 8th of July, hoping to make his escape.
12. RODY McCORLEY
(Traditional - Early 19th C.)
Róisín White - Voice
Roddy McCorley was a Presbyterian from Duneane. He took part in the Battle of Antrim and went into hiding after it. After a year in hiding he was betrayed, tried in Ballymena and hanged in Toome on Good Friday 1799. There is another song on the same subject, written by Ethna Carbery in the 1890s. This song is an older ballad, probably composed in or soon after 1799.
13. FAITHLESS BONY
or
The Croppies’ Complaint
(William Ball - 1798)
Barry Gleeson - Voice
Mick Willis- Keyboards
This song was written in 1798 by William Ball, a Dublin loyalist. It is a humorous or satirical commentary on Napoleon’s departure for Egypt when the United Irishmen hoped, and the Government feared, that his new fleet was destined for Ireland.
It is contained in a manuscript collection of pieces composed by William Ball in 1798, which is now in the National Library of Ireland. The tune here is that indicated in the manuscript, "Oh Dear, What Can The Matter Be?"
14. THE COW THAT ATE THE PIPER
(Traditional - Early 19th C.)
Terry Timmins - Voice
Colm Ó Lochlainn included this entertaining piece in his second collection of ballads. His text was from a broadside by the Dublin printer Brereton, and Ó Lochlainn dates it to around 1815.
The hero of the song appears to have been somewhat mobile. Rathangan, Glencree and Glenealy are by no means adjacent to each other. Rathangan was attacked by the rebels on the 26th of May.
15. THE CROPPIES' MARCH / REPEAL OF THE UNION
(Traditional)
Johnny McCarthy - Flute / Fiddle
Con Ó Drisceoil - Accordion
Pat Ahern - Bouzouki / Guitar
Francis O’Neill prints two versions of the first tune in his Waifs & Strays of Gaelic Melody. This is his own version, the other one being from piper Patsy Tuohey.
There are several tunes carrying the second name - this one may be considered a representative. A jig, it comes from the playing of piper Dinny Delaney of Ballinasloe who was born in 1841 and died in 1919.
In a note of the meaning of the word ‘croppy’ O’Neill says "The term Croppy grew from the custom of the English and Scotch reformers in 1795, who cut their hair short. The same custom was adopted by the reformers in Ireland; and hence all those who wore their hair short were denominated Croppies, and were the marked objects of government vengeance. In truth, clipped hair constituted secondary evidence of treason, and was sufficient to cause the arrest and ill treatment of any person daring enough to adopt it."
16. LITTLE JIMMY MURPHY
(Traditional - 1820s)
Luke Cheevers - Voice
This unusual piece appeared in the Journal of the Irish Folk Song Society in 1913. The note to the song says that it was heard by the informant being sung by a street-singer in Liverpool in 1830. Only verses 1, 4 and 5 are in the Journal. Verses 2 and 3 here are recent additions by Like Cheevers.
17. THE DOWNFALL OF PARIS
(Traditional)
Michael O’Brien - Uilleann Pipes
The success of the revolutionaries in France was a great source of inspiration to the United Irishmen, and a highly politicised Irish population watched events in France with great interest.
This tune is derived from the "Ça Ira", a song popular among the Paris radicals.
The chorus of "Ça Ira" goes
Ah ça ira, ça ira, ça ira,
Les aristocrates à la lanterne,
Ah ça ira, ça ira, ça ira,
Les aristocrates on les pendra
The Bastille was taken by the revolutionaries on the 14th of July 1789, and King Louis XVI was executed on the 21st of January 1793. Either event might be commemorated by this piece.
THE PERFORMERS
Mick O’Brien is a member of the famous O‘Brien musical family from Dublin. He is very highly regarded among pipers and has recorded extensively in his own right.
Jim McFarland is from Derry and is currently in exile in co. Meath. This is the first commercial recording of Jim singing.
Sean Tyrrell is a native of Galway, and now lives at New Quay in the Burren. He has recorded extensively, including his fine solo CD "Cry of a Dreamer", and has a new CD currently in preparation.
Frank Harte lives in Chapelizod, Dublin and is one of Ireland’s foremost traditional singers, with a list of recordings too numerous to mention. He has recently recorded a CD of 1798 songs.
Éamon Ó Bróithe, a Dublin man living in Galway, is a well known authority on eighteenth century Gaelic poetry, and is also an excellent piper.
The Four Star Trio consists of Con "Fada" Ó Drisceoil from Skibbereen on accordion, Johnny "The Jumper" McCarthy, a native of Cork city on flute, whistle and fiddle, and Pat "Herring" Ahern on guitar and bouzouki. They have recently released their first CD "The Square Triangle" on the Craft Recordings label.
Jerry O’Reilly. a Dubliner, is known thoughout Ireland as a singer and as a set-dance teacher and caller. He helps to run both the Góilín Traditional Singers Club and the Brooks Academy set-dance group, of which he was one of the founders.
Sean Garvey is from Caherciveen in co. Kerry and now resides in Dublin. Sean regularly features at some excellent music sessions around the city, particularly at The Cobblestone in Smithfield on Thursday nights. He will shortly release a solo CD.
Áine Uí Cheallaigh is a native of Belfast but draws here musical traditions from her mother Pauline Nic Craith, a native of An Rinn in co. Waterford where Áine now lives. She has been recorded extensively and is regarded as one of Ireland’s foremost traditional singers. She is a past winner of the Corn Uí Riada, the premier sean-nós singing competition in Ireland. Her solo CD "Idir Dhá Chomhairle" was released in 1997.
Tim Lyons is from Newmarket, co. Cork and now lives in co. Galway. He travels extensively to the various singing festivals throughout Ireland and Britain. He is also a noted accordion player and has made several recordings.
Róisín White is from Kilkeel in co. Down and now lives in co. Armagh. She is one of the leading exponents of the Ulster style of traditional singing and is a regular contributor to singing festivals at home and abroad. Róisín has previously released a cassette recording entitled "The First of my Rambles".
Barry Gleeson is a native of Artane in Dublin, and is one of the cornerstones of the Góilín Traditional Singers Club. He is a song-writer as well as a singer and has recently released an excellent CD called "Path Across the Ocean".
Mick Willis is a Corkman living in Dublin and has accompanied most of the best musicians and singers in the country. He is also a fiddle player and singer.
Terry Timmins is a Dublinman and is one of the finest of the younger wave of singers. He has performed extensively at home and abroad, but this is his first commercial recording.
Luke Cheevers is a Ringsend man exiled to the north side of the city. He is one of the organisers of the the Góilín Traditional Singers Club and is a regular performer at singing festivals all over Ireland and Britain.
This music was recorded in the Irish Traditional Music Archive,
Merrion Square, Dublin 2.
Engineer : Glenn Comiskey
Produced by : Jerry O’Reilly & Terry Moylan
Tracks 6, 10 and 15, The Four Star Trio, were recorded in
Secret Garden Studios, Cork.
Engineer : Johnny Campbell
Produced by : The Four Star Trio
Thanks to :
The performers, Kay & Anne, Nicholas Carolan & the ITMA,
Glenn Comiskey, Johnny Campbell & Pascale Gaudry.
