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Journal of the Irish Folk Song Society, Volume 2, Issue 8, Page 13

Journal of the Irish Folk Song Society, Volume 2, Issue 8, Page 13
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periodical Publisher
Irish Folk Song Society
periodical Editor
[Periodical]
periodical Title
Journal of the Irish Folk Song Society
volume Number
2
issue Content
2425oftea stayed in farmhouses as well as inns. But the rural poets of the 17th and 18thcentury belonged essentially to the homes and hearts of the people. They oftenworked as farm labourers or errant. schoolmasters, and their compositions echo thehopes and loves and simple joys of country life.Arriving in Omagh on the evening of May 10th, we prepared for a picnic expe-dition to Benofreachan next morning. My sister, Miss Alice Milligan, who accom-panied me, was full of pleasant anticipations of revisiting a country she had not seensince her tenth year. At the same time she was anxious because no answer whateverhad come to the letter we had addressed to Eamon Tracey. However, we had onlygone in our car a little way beyond the picturesque chapel of Killyclogher, a couple ofmiles outside Omagh, and were turning our eyes to the boglands, when a cart rumbleddown the hifi pest us. In it were seated an elderly man and a woman comfortablyrolled up in big shawls, and seated on bundles of hay. He stared very hard at ourcar. Meantime my sister had caught sight of the name of Tracey painted on the cart,and called after them. He was, in fact, in the act of pulling up his horse at the footof the hill, and we dismounted and ran down to question him.These were no other than our singers, who had not received the letter in time toanswer owing to the fact that a postman did not visit them every day. They weredetermined, however, not to miss us, and rising early, had reached the outskirts ofOmagh by the time we were starting. Such enthusiasm promised well, and we toldthem it was on the whole better that they had come in, as with a piano at our disposalin the White Hart Hotel we could more easily note their music. So they went ontowards the town, whilst our driver took us by a longer round to see some of thefavourite haunts of our childhood. We reached Omagh a short time before our countryfriends, and enjoyed a chat about the old legends and stories of Mountfield. My sistersays that the story told by Eamon about Loch an Tarav at Mountfield resembled aWelsh folk-tale which she heard given by Professor Rhys at the Folk Lore section ofthe Pan-Celtic Congress in Edinburgh.COmfortably seated in our hotel parlour, we now enjoyed a regular recital oftraditionel music, rendered with great spirit and feeling. Anne Tracey and her brothersang, sometimes singly, sometimes together. Then, when the song was finished, ithad to be slowly repeated phrase by phrase, whilst I followed on the piano and thenjotted down the notes. Our singers patiently repeated every note and turn, their facesshowing the keenest expression of anxiety when I stumbled over difficult and elusivepassages. When at long last the old air was captured and replayed with a suitableaccompaniment, Eamons pleasure and triumph was very plainly visible as he exclaimed,You have got it now, as well as ever it can be got.A great ninny of the airs were slow and difficult, and not very distinctive incharaQter, so, with limited time at my disposal, I chose out those that were striking, atthe same time, as far as possible, trying to choose those which Mr. Morris had markedas interesting to him.Anne Tracey said that she had learned all these songs from the singing of hermother and grandmother. When she was a child there was no English spoken at allup in their country, but they were taught a scattering of it at school. She wasnever taught to read or write Irish. The teachers were now instructing the youngpeople to read and write Irish. Eamon told us that he had visited Ballinascreen onceto sing at a Gaelic concert. He sang three traditional songs on that occasion, and hadthe pleasure of hearing Mr. B. L. OMealy , of Belfast, playing on the Irish pipes.This was a great treat.It will be a surprise to many of our Ulster readers to know that such an extensivetreasury of native song has been preserved in the heart of the North, so we givethe list of songs taken down by Mr. Morris, who will doubtless publish them fullybefore long.1. MId bhan ni Chuillean n.2. A Shearlais Oig mhic Biogh Seamuis. (Oh, young Charles, son of King James!)3. Dolfainn deoch ghear da bfhuiginn i.4. An Bunan buidhe. (The Yellow Bittern.)5. Briseadh Eaohdhruim. (The Defeab of Aughrim.)6. Aithreachas Cathail Bhuidhe. (The Repentance of Yellow Charlie, a rural poet ofdissipated character.)7. Bean dubh an t-Sllibh. (The Dark Woman of the Mountain.)8. Na Poitairi. (The Poteen Makers.)9. Ingan a Chaiphtin. (The Captains Daughter: the story of her love and elopementwith a country boy.)10. Aisling a Daill Mhic Cuarta. (The Vision of blind McCourt, a famousNorthern poet.)ii. Bacach Mala. (A song about a bang-beggar, a soldier pensioner, hired to driveaway beggars.)12. Sleibhte Pheiin beg.13. Confheasgor foghmhair. (Dusk in Autumn.) An exquisite air.14. Mailigh mhodbmhar beg. (Handsome little Molly.)F
issue Number
8
page Number
13
periodical Author
[Periodical]
issue Publication Date
1967-01-01T00:00:00
allowedRoles
anonymous,guest,friend,member

Journal of the Irish Folk Song Society, Volume 2, Issue 8

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