Foreword

This collection of songs, poems and anecdotes has been put together in an attempt

to popularise Duhallow’s long and proud tradition of music and song. The Barony

of Duhallow and its immediate environs has produced some of the country’s finest

poets and musicians. The art of song writing in the traditional form has survived

right into the 21st century. People like John Philpott Curran, Edward Holland,

Edward Walsh, Dan Sheahan, Ned Buckley, Bill Cody and Bill Flynn, to name but

a few, have kept the ancient bardic tradition alive.

A broad and general cross section of songs and poems has been put together in this

collection. Much of what is contained in this book has been published before. The

Aubane and The Duhallow Historical Societies, amongst others, have published

and continue to publish material about our area. They are owed a great debt by the

people of Duhallow and beyond for their amazing work and scholarship over the

past thirty years or so. Many fine poems, songs and stories would be no longer

available were it not for their great work and interest in our local culture.

The main objective of this project is to try and represent as wide a mixture of

material as possible from within the Duhallow song tradition. There is cross over

with some of our neighbouring Baronies, as is only to be expected, and songs like

John Twiss of Castleisland, The Bold Thady Quill, The Plains of Drishane are

included because of their Duhallow connection. There are also some poems and

songs, for example, Dan Sheahan’s The Red Rum of Bundy and Tom Billy’s

version of The Grenadier of France which are not about Duhallow but are popular

in the region and/or have been written by Duhallow people.

There are hundreds of songs in the tradition. Some have come in from bordering

areas, more from other provinces, even other countries. Many of our popular songs

have been composed by local writers. It is hoped that by publishing a mixem-

gatherem, for want of a better expression, of some of the existing material, that a

general collection or database of material will be put together in the future. This is

a call to all those interested people who have songs and poems hidden away in

biscuit boxes or in old song books or in their minds to make the material available

for future generations to enjoy. Songs and poems provide a great record and

provide a wonderful means of learning more about our heritage and inheritance

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A number of poems have been included which are very suited to song. Why not

try and make songs out of these poems? When Walsh and Holland et al were

writing their poetry they had melodies in mind therefore it is well within the

tradition and is in good keeping with it. Punctuation in the texts of the material has

been purposely kept to a minimum and the musical notation simplified to suit the

typical singer. A number of essays have been included to try and time-frame or

contextualise some of the ballads. Words in bold italic contained throughout the

text indicate glossary words, references and/or hyperlinks in most cases.

In researching and collecting the material for this Miscellany, the most striking

feature was the willingness and general delight of people to share their poems and

songs. These people are responsible for maintaining the tradition and are ensuring

the tradition’s vibrancy. There are many poets and songwriters whose material is

not included in this collection. Hopefully in the future a dedicated archive,

database, library or whatever one might like to call it, which chronicles Duhallow’s

music, song, poetry and prose, will be available in our area for all to enjoy. We owe

it to those who kept the flag flying and the tradition alive. To successfully travel the

future we have to understand the past.

In the autumn of 2006 applications were submitted to The Cork County Council

Arts Office, The Heritage Council Publication Grants Scheme, The Arts Council of

Ireland Deis Scheme and IRD Duhallow, for funding for this project. It was

suggested to publish a collection of 50/75 songs/poems from the Duhallow area

and record some examples on a music CD. The main objectives of the project were

to encourage people to sing songs from their own area and to compose new songs

and give song-life to existing poems from the region. The publication would be

made available to all the local schools, national archives and local libraries and

where possible engage the facilities of local printers, producers, research and

recording facilities. Profits arising from the project would go towards the running

costs of a commemorative festival to be held in Kanturk to commemorate the work

and vision of An Cumann Gaelach, Plearacha Ceann Tuirc, Feile Ceann Tuirc, the

musicians and supporters of The Stage at Knocknacolon and all those responsible

for keeping the tradition alive in Duhallow, especially in times when traditional

culture was not fashionable.

The proposal succeeded in securing funding from the Arts Council Deis Scheme

and IRD Duhallow and was awarded a7,000 and a3,000 respectively from these

two agencies.

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This project has been a very rewarding experience for me personally. I’ve made

many new friends and renewed friendship with many more. Sadly, two people,

namely Bill Flynn, Barley Hill and Kathleen Murphy, Dysert, whom I got to know

and became friends with, have passed on. Their genuine hospitality and willingness

to help the project was truly inspirational. Their encouragement is very

representative of the great spirit of Duhallow. I would like to dedicate this book to

them.

Tim Browne

Summer 2007