| If collecting and editing the Irish songs and airs contained in the little volume entitled Ruínn na Smól, which was published by Messrs. Browne and Nolan in 1913, I became acquainted with many beautiful airs and versions of airs which are known and sung in the Irish-speaking districts of Cork, Waterford, and Kerry. It occurred to me that I would be rendering a valuable service to the cause of Irish music if I could bring the knowledge of these bits of traditional music home to those who do not understand Irish sufficiently well to sing an Irish song. With that object in view I have tried to select suitable Anglo-Irish songs to match the traditional airs wrhich have been taken down from living Irish singers. Another thought guided me in this compilation. In looking through other published collections of Irish music with songs, I was forcibly struck by the fact that we have a large number of most beautiful songs which have never been wedded to Irish airs. I have matched several gongs of this class with airs. In addition, I have collected into this volume a number of beautiful songs with their airs which are scattered in various collections. Promoters of Concerts and Feiseana, teachers and pupils and singers alike, will thus have at hand a cheap and accessible collection of songs that breathe the true spirit of Irish nationality and Irish home-life and Irish sentiment.
I have to say in reference to the airs here found that I have jealously excluded from their number all modern compositions. I have admitted nothing to these pages but genuine old traditional Irish airs. I calculate that tkere are in this volume about forty-five old traditional airs, taken down from [iv] living singers, which are here linked to Anglo-Irish songs and ballads for the first time. Other traditional airs which I have used are taken from Petrie and Joyce. A few were given to me by Mr. McCall.
As to the songs — I have aimed at selecting those which have in them the true national ring. We want in the Ireland of to-day an antidote to the spirit of Anglicisation which is abroad. I know no more effective barrier against the encroachment of that spirit, next to the Irish Language and Irish Song, than the general singing at concerts and gatherings of good Anglo-Irish ballads and songs. The music hall and concert room may be made a very powerful agency in de-nationalising and even in debasing our people. From a national and moral point of view what effect can empty, vulgar, mawkishly sentimental songs have ? And such songs are only toe often heard at our so-called Irish Concerts. Or the song whose lewd allusions are thinly veiled ? Or the songs that ignore and deliberately eschew the glories and noble deeds and sacrifices of our past heroes — what effect can such songs as these have on Irish youth ? It has been truly said that in a nation’s ballads we find the history of its struggles and progress and triumph. A nation’s habits, too, and its traditions and recollections are enshrined in its ballads. The wandering bards and minstrels became the keepers of the records of the nation; and hence they were hunted down by the oppressors.
A well-known collector of Irish ballads claims for Ireland as high a rank in ballad literature as that of any other nation. In this collection which I now give to the public, Irish men and women will find songs which are all racy of the soil.
There are nearly two hundred songs in the twelve penny numbers of this collection. I would remark that of these I have here set to old Irish airs nearly a hundred songs which are not found wedded to music in any collection that I know. Of the remainder about thirty-five were written for certain airs by their authors, but in these cases mention only of the [v] air was made. The airs themselves were not given. The words and airs have never appeared together until now. There are a dozen additional songs which I found already wedded to airs, but these airs I have not adopted; I have changed them for others. One reason that weighed with me for doing so was that I found in some cases that the songs were sung by the people to the airs which I have here selected, Kickham’s beautiful song, “She lived beside the Anner,” is one such.
Another remark I would like to make is this. I have excluded all hackneyed songs and songs which can otherwise be easily got, such as Moore’s. Of his I have put in about half a dozen which are looked upon as the most popular. My entire selection has been guided by the principle which may be expressed in the words of Gavan Duffy in his Ballad Poetry: “The ordinary effect of native poetry is to cherish love of home and homely associations, which, elevated and spiritualized, becomes love of country.”
The love of home and country; the struggles, the sacrifices, and the glories of the past; the purity of Irish love, as expressed in the sentimental songs of our ballad writers — these things will, I feel, be found worthily reflected in the pages of this collection.
In making up this collection I have selected gems from our best song and ballad writers of the last and present century. Here is a list of names : Allingham; Banim; Barry, M. J.; Boyle, John; Browne, Frances; Callanan; “Carroll Malone”; Casey (”Leo”); Collins, Wm.; Davis, F.; Davis, Th.; Doheny; Bowling, Jer. J.; Duffy; “Eva”; “Fermoy”; Furlong, T.; Griffin; Hogan, M.; Joyce, Robt. D.; Keegan; Kickham; Lane, Denny; Locke, John; Lover; MacCarthy, D. F.; McGee, T. D.; McKeown; Magennis; Moore; Murphy, M. J.; O’Donovan Rossa; Ogle; Petrie; “Prout, Father”; Rooney, William; Scanlan, Ml.; Sullivan, T. D.; “Tiny”; Waller; Walsh; E.; Walsh, John. The collection will show that there is no dying out of the poetic spirit and the art [vi] of song and ballad writing in Ireland. The following names of living writers will bear out further this remark: Sigerson, Dr. — clare et venerabile nomen; McCall, P. J., and Fahy, Frank — our two raciest song-writers; O’Higgins, Brian, and Kehoe, P. — our youngest song-writers. All these are represented in this collection. They show that Ireland can still produce men who sing worthily of their land, whether in strains joyful, sad, or humorous.
I acknowledge with gratitude my indebtedness to the following for permission to use songs or music : Mrs. W. Allingham, Dr. Sigerson, P. J. McCall, Frank Fahy, Arthur Griffith, Dr. G. Joyce, Alfred P. Graves, P. Kehoe, Brian O’Higgins, Messrs. Whelan & Son, and, in a very special way, I am indebted to Miss Annie O’Reilly, of Macroom, for valuable help in supplying me with some exquisite airs. Jeremiah O’Connor, of Cork, gave me several fine versions of old airs.
There are in this volume perhaps about a dozen songs which were written by anonymous authors. They arc productions of considerable literary merit, whilst some of them rank highly from a literary point of view. For this reason I was anxious to identify the writers. Up to the time of going to press I had not been able to do so, but since then I have succeeded in identifying a few of them as follows;—-
John Boyle is the author of the two songs signed “ Mylo” and “ Pontiac.” He Was born in King’s Co. in 1822, went to America in 1842, and died in New York, in January, 1885.
The writer who signed herself “Tiny” (p. 116), was Mrs. Mary C. F. Munster, wife of Alfred M. Munster, Danish Consul for Ireland. She was daughter of Richard Monck of Banagher, Kings Co. She was born in 1835 and died in 1892 at Holywood, near Belfast. I p.m indebted to D. J. Donoghue’s Lives of Irish Poets for the information here given.
In reference to the Ballad en p. 184 to which I have given the title “A Fenian Ballad,” I have it on very good authority — those who knew the author personally — that the writer of it [vi] was O’Donovan Rossa, the famous Fenian chief. I was hoping to get the missing lines of the last verse, but I have failed to do so,
The song on p. 192 is sung to the air af the previous song. The song on p. 46 is sung to Ike air found on p. 44. I have to say that there is no transition from one key to another in any song of the collection. This remark is necessary inasmuch as I have heard that some teachers have taken grace notes in the music for marks of transition.
I venture to hope that the songs here collected will be widely known and sung. As Dr. Sigerson remarks, in an encouraging letter with which he favoured me, the singing and whistling and lilting of those beautiful old airs will be like voices from Ui^ TIA ti-0$.
This collection of songs was first published in 12 penny numbers. These penny numbers are no longer issued as such, owing to increased cost of paper, labour, and accounting Henceforth the “ Songs of the Gael,” of which there are four series, can only be had in book form. The Editor claims the song known as “The Exile of Erin” as the work of an Irish poet, Reynolds. It will be found in the Second Series of this collection. A pamphlet has been issued proving Reynolds’ title to the song, and disproving that of Thomas Campbell. Its title is “ The Exile of Erin,” published by Fallon Bros. |