Chapter I: Follow a Star

Seosamh mac Cathmhaoil.

I follow a star
Burning deep in the blue,
A sign on the hills
Lit for me and for you!

Moon-red is the star,
Halo-winged like a rood,
Christ's heart in its heart set,
Streaming with blood.

Follow the gilly
Beyond to the west;
He leads where the Christ lies
On Mary's white breast.

King, priest, and prophet--
A child, and no more--
Adonai the Maker!
Come, let us adore.

_Translation by the author._

LULLABIES AND WORKING SONGS

NURSE'S SONG

Traditional.

Sleep, my child, my darling child, my lovely child, sleep!
The sea sleepeth on the green fields,
The moon sleepeth on the blue waters,
Sleep, my child, my darling child, my lovely child, sleep!

Sleep, my child!
The morning sleepeth upon a bed of roses,
The evening sleepeth on the tops of the dark hills;
Sleep, my child, my darling child, child of my heart's love, sleep!

Sleep, my child!
The winds sleep in the rocky caverns,
The stars sleep on their pillow of clouds,
Sleep, my child, my darling child, my little child, sleep!

Sleep, my child!
The mist sleepeth on the bosom of the valley,
The broad lake beneath the shade of the trees,
Sleep, my child, my darling child, my tender child, sleep!

Sleep, my child!
The flower sleeps, while the night-dew falls,
The wild birds sleep upon the mountains;
Sleep, my child, my darling child, my blessed child, sleep!

Sleep, my child!
The burning tear sleepeth upon the cheek of sorrow
But thy sleep is not the sleep of tears,
Sleep, my child, my darling child, child of my bosom, sleep!

Sleep, my child!
Sleep in quiet, sleep in joy, my darling,
May thy sleep be never the sleep of sorrow!
Sleep, my child, my darling child, my lovely child, sleep!

A SLEEP SONG

Traditional.

Deirín dé, Deirín dé!
The brown bittern speaks in the bog;
Deirín dé, Deirín dé!
The night-jar is abroad on the heath.

Deirín dé, Deirín dé!
Kine will go west at dawn of day;
Deirín dé, Deirín dé!
And my child will go to the pasture to mind them.

Deirín dé, Deirín dé!
Moon will rise and sun will set;
Deirín dé, Deirín dé!
Kine will come east at end of day.

Deirín dé, Deirín dé!
I will let my child go gathering blackberries,
Deirín dé, Deirín dé!
If he sleep softly till the ring of day!

P. H. PEARSE.

THE CRADLE OF GOLD

I'd rock my own sweet childie to rest
In a cradle of gold on the bough of the willow,
To the shoheen ho! of the Wind of the West
And the lulla lo! of the blue sea billow.
Sleep, baby dear!
Sleep without fear!
Mother is here beside your pillow.

I'd put my own sweet childie to float
In a silver boat on the beautiful river,
Where a shoheen! whisper the white cascades
And a lulla lo! the green flags shiver.
Sleep, baby dear!
Sleep without fear!
Mother is here with you for ever!

Shoheen ho! to the rise and fall
Of mother's bosom, 'tis sleep has bound you!
And oh, my child, what cosier nest
For rosier rest could love have found you?
Sleep, baby dear!
Sleep without fear!
Mother's two arms are close around you!

ALFRED PERCEVAL GRAVES.

RURAL SONG

I wish the shepherd's pet were mine,
I wish the shepherd's pet were mine,
I wish the shepherd's pet were mine,
The pretty white lamb in the clover.
And oh! I hail, I hail thee,
And oh! I hail, I hail thee,
The love of my heart for ever thou art,
Thou little pet of thy mother.

I wish that scores of kine were mine,
I wish that scores of kine were mine,
I wish that scores of kine were mine,
And Kathleen, the love of her mother.
And oh! I hail, I hail thee,
And oh! I hail, I hail thee,
The love of my heart for ever thou art,
Thou little pet of thy mother.

PLOUGHING SONG

TAILSMAN.

Goad her, and whip her, and drive,
The old woman's little brown mare,
Stand up on the plough, look alive,
And see if our dinner is there.

HEADSMAN.

The corn is a-reaping,
Goad her and whip her and drive.
The stooks are a-heaping,
Goad her and whip her and drive.
The corn is a-binding,
Goad her and whip her and drive.
In the mill it is grinding,
Goad her and whip her and drive.
We soon shall be feeding,
Goad her and whip her and drive.
For the flour is a-kneading,
Goad her and whip her and drive.
The bread is a-baking,
Goad her and whip her and drive.
Our dinner we are taking,--
She's the best little mare alive!

TAILSMAN.

Whistle and shout with zest!
The little brown mare is good!
Unyoke her, and give her a rest,
While we're stretching and getting our food.

A SPINNING-WHEEL DITTY

These verses, improvised to the hum of the wheel, are flung from girl to girl as they sit spinning. The references are purely personal, and the refrain, which is sung by all the spinners, has no special meaning.

FIRST GIRL.

Mallo lero, and eambo nero,
I crossed the wood as the day was dawning;
Mallo lero, and eambo nero.

SECOND GIRL.

Mallo lero, and eambo nero,
No doubt John O'Connell had had good warning!
Mallo lero, and eambo nero.

FIRST GIRL.

Mallo lero, and eambo nero,
Oh! John may go hang, it's not me he will catch!
Mallo lero, and eambo nero.

SECOND GIRL.

Mallo lero, and eambo nero,
You mannerless girl, he'll be more than your match!
Mallo lero, and eambo nero.

FIRST GIRL.

Mallo lero, and eambo nero,
Come, come now, leave off, or get me my own man!
Mallo lero, and eambo nero.

SECOND GIRL.

Mallo lero, and eambo nero,
Well, what do you think of Thomas O'Madigan?
Mallo lero, and eambo nero.

FIRST GIRL.

Mallo lero, and eambo nero,
I hail him, and claim him, may we never be parted!
Mallo lero, and eambo nero.

SECOND GIRL.

Mallo lero, and eambo nero,
Go east or go west, may you still be true-hearted!
Mallo lero, and eambo nero.

THIRD GIRL.

Mallo lero, and eambo nero,
Go east and go west, and find me my love, too!
Mallo lero, and eambo nero.

FOURTH GIRL.

Mallo lero, and eambo nero,
There's Donall O'Flaherty, but I doubt will he take you!
Mallo lero, and eambo nero.

FIFTH GIRL.

Mallo lero, and eambo nero,
The man is too good, he'll be courting elsewhere!
Mallo lero, and eambo nero.

THIRD GIRL.

Mallo lero, and eambo nero,
There's no tree in the wood, but its equal is there!
Mallo lero, and eambo nero.

NOTES

NOTES

"The Colloquy of the Two Sages," edited by Dr. Whitley Stokes from the _Book of Leinster_, p. 186a, is one of the most archaic pieces in tone that have come down to us. It represents the discussion between an aged poet and a young aspirant as to the sources of poetic inspiration, and shows us that the gifts of the bard were highly regarded as the direct endowment of the gods. Original in _Rev. Celtique_, No. xxviii. As in the following poem, I have made use of the scribal glosses or explanations wherever they seemed to throw light upon the original.

"Amorgen sang." Professor John MacNeill has most kindly made a fresh collation of the manuscripts containing this obscure poem for my use. Parts, especially from line 20 onward, are doubtful. I have incorporated with the text such of the glosses as appear to make the meaning more intelligible, but the glosses themselves are mere scribes' guesses, often bad ones, at the sense of a text they did not understand. This poem, though ascribed to the earliest traditional poet of Ireland, is, Prof. MacNeill considers, rather pseudo-archaic, than of really great antiquity. The allusion to "Tetra's kine," which is explained in the gloss to mean "the fish of the sea," alludes to Tetra as Ruler of the Ocean; in the "Colloquy" we found him ruling in the assemblies of the dead. The connection between the ocean and the invisible world is constant in Irish tradition. The poem appears to be an assertion of the Druid's powers, preparatory to the incantation for good fishing which follows immediately in most manuscripts. The final lines are an inquiry into the origin of created things, matter on which the bard or Druid claimed superior enlightenment.

"The Song of Childbirth" and the succeeding "Greeting to the New-born Babe" are taken from the piece known as "The Birth of Conchobhar" (_Compert Conchobhar_), edited from Stowe MS. 992, by Prof. Kuno Meyer in _Rev. Celt._ vi. pp. 173-182.

"What is Love?" From the story called the "Wooing of Etain" (_Tochmarc Etaine_). Original in _Irische Texte_, i. p. 124.

"Summons to Cuchulain." From the "Sickbed of Cuchulain" (_Serglige Conculaind_). Original, _ibid._, p. 216. Overcome with fairy spells, the hero lies fast bound in heavy slumber; the song is an appeal to him to throw off the charm and to arise.

"Laegh's Description of Fairy-land." From the same story, _ibid._, p. 218. Laegh is Cuchulain's charioteer, who went into fairy-land instead of his master, and returns to extol its beauty.

"The Lamentation of Fand when she is about to leave Cuchulain." From the dramatic incident in the same story, in which Fand, Queen of Fairy-land, and Emer, Cuchulain's mortal wife, struggle for the affection of the hero, after Cuchulain's return from fairy-land. Each woman fully recognises the nobility of the other; and Fand's parting song, in which she restores him to Emer, is one of lofty renunciation.

"Midir's Call to Fairy-land." From the story called the "Wooing of Etain" (_Tochmarc Etaine_), _ibid._, p. 132.

"Song of the Fairies." From A. H. Leahy's _Heroic Romances of Ireland_ (D. Nutt, 1905), p. 29, taken from the same tale. Etain was wife of Eochad (pron. Yochee), King of Ireland, but Mider, King of Fairy-land, fell in love with her. He won an entry into the palace by playing chess with her husband, who demanded from Mider as the stake for which they played that the fairy hosts should clear away the rocks and stones from the plains of Meath, remove the rushes which made the land barren, build a causeway across the bog of Lamrach, and perform other services useful to his realm. The song is sung by the fairies while they are performing this heavy task. The final stake is won by Mider, who asks Etain as his prize.

"The Lamentation of Deirdre," when her husband and two sons had been slain by King Conchobhar. She recalls the happy days spent with her husband in Alba or Scotland, on Lough Etive, and compares it to her present misery in the house of the King. Original, _Irische Texte_, i. pp. 77-81. In all the above poems there are many difficult and obscure passages.

"Take my Tidings." A ninth century poem, edited and translated by Dr. Kuno Meyer in his _Four Songs of Summer and Winter_ (D. Nutt, 1903), and by Dr. Whitley Stokes in _Rev. Celt._ xx. p. 258. It is ascribed to Fionn in the commentary on the "Amra Coluim Cille." Mr. Graves' poem will be found in his _Irish Poems_, i. p. 1 (Maunsel & Co., Dublin).

"Second Winter Song." Text and translation in Dr. Kuno Meyer's _Four Songs of Summer and Winter_. A longer poem on similar lines is to be found in the tale called the "Hiding of the Hill of Howth," _Rev. Celt._ xi. p. 125, reprinted in his _Ancient Irish Poetry_ (Constable), p. 57; but in the former version the complaint of the lazy servant-lad is answered by a fine song in which Fionn praises the signs of coming spring in earth and air.

"In Praise of May." Original and translation published by Dr. K. Meyer from the tale called "The Boyish Exploits of Finn" in _Rev. Celt._ v. p. 195. It is said to have been composed by Fionn after he received inspiration by eating the "Salmon of Knowledge" at the River Boyne. Mr. Rolleston's poem is to be found in his _Sea-Spray_ (Maunsel, 1909).

"The Isle of Arran." The Arran here spoken of is the Scottish island of that name. The Fianna were accustomed to spend part of the autumn and winter hunting in that island. The poem occurs in the long Ossianic tract called "The Colloquy of the Ancients," published by Standish Hayes O'Grady in _Silva Gadelica_ (Williams and Norgate, 1892). Text, p. 102; translation, p. 109.

"The Parting of Goll with his Wife." From _Duanaire Finn_, edited by Prof. John MacNeill (Irish Texts Soc, vii., 1908), pp. 23 and 121. Goll was leader of the Connaught Fians and was opposed to Fionn, the chief of the Leinster warriors. He is described as a man of lofty disposition and great valour. In this poem he is standing, driven to bay by his enemies, on a bare rocky promontory, his wife only beside him, cut off from all hope of escape. Few poems relating to Goll remain in Ireland, but a good many survive in the Western Highlands of Scotland.

"Youth and Age." _Ibid._, pp. 80 and 194. It is Oisín (Ossian) who here laments his departed youth.

"Chill Winter." From the "Colloquy of the Ancients," _Silva Gadelica_, text, p. 172; translation, p. 192.

"The Sleep-song of Grainne." From _Duanaire Finn_, pp. 85 and 198. Dermot, who has carried off Grainne, the wife of Fionn, is lying down to rest in the forest, when Grainne hears the approach of their pursuers. She sings over him this passionate lullaby, in which the restless activities and foreboding terrors of the animal world are aptly used to heighten the sense of their own danger.

"The slaying of Conbeg, Fionn's beloved hound." Original in _Gaelic Journal_, ix. No. 104, Feb. 1899, p. 328; the poem occurs in the "Colloquy of the Ancients," where the readings are slightly different (_Silva Gadelica_, text, p. 143).

"The Fairies' Lullaby." Original in _Waifs and Strays of Celtic Tradition_, Argyleshire Series, No. iv. (David Nutt, 1891). It was collected in Argyleshire by John Gregorson Campbell.

"The Lay of the Forest Trees." Original in _Silva Gadelica_, i. p. 245; trans., ii. p. 278. This curious poem, which contains much folklore regarding forest-trees, arose out of the gathering of wood for a fire in the open air, by a servant or "Man of Smoke," as he is called. He accidentally threw upon it a block around which woodbine had twined. This called forth a protest from the onlookers, who declared that the burning of the woodbine would certainly bring ill-luck.

"St. Patrick's Breastplate." See Dr. Kuno Meyer's _Ancient Irish Poetry_ (Constable), pp. 25-7. Original in Stokes' and Strachan's _Thesaurus Palaeohibernicus_, ii. p. 354. Probably eighth century.

"Patrick's Blessing on Munster," ninth century. Original in Dr. Whitley Stokes' _Tripartite Life of St. Patrick_, p. 216; literal translation in Dr. Kuno Meyer's _Ancient Irish Poetry_, p. 29. The present poetic rendering, kindly contributed to my book by Mr. A. P. Graves, has not hitherto been published.

"Columcille's Farewell to Aran." See Dr. Douglas Hyde's _Three Sorrows of Story-telling_ (T. Fisher Unwin, 1895), pp. 146-8.

"Columba in Iona." Printed in William Skene's _Celtic Scotland_, ii. p. 92, from an Irish manuscript in the Burgundian Library, Brussels. It bears the ascription "Columcille fecit," and was transcribed and translated by O'Curry for Dr. Todd. Many poems are ascribed to the Saint, but the language of most of them is later than his time.

"Hymn to the Dawn." From _Silva Gadelica_, by Standish Hayes O'Grady (Williams & Norgate); original, vol. i. p. 56; literal trans., ii. p. 59. The hymn was composed by St. Cellach on the morning on which he was slain by his old friends and fellow-students, who had been bought over to destroy him.

"The Song of Manchan the Hermit." Original in _Ériu_, i. p. 39. A ninth century poem, with translation by Dr. Kuno Meyer.

"A Prayer." Original and literal translation by Miss Mary E. Byrne in _Ériu_, ii., Part i. p. 89.

"The Loves of Liadan and Curithir." This touching poem illustrates the tyrannical use sometimes made of their authority by the monks of the ancient Irish Church. St. Cummine, who was the confessor or "soul-friend" of the lovers, seems to have been a hard and censorious man. He lived in the first half of the seventh century. The poem, as we have it, is of the ninth century. Edited with translation by Dr. Kuno Meyer (D. Nutt, 1902). The love song has been reprinted in his _Ancient Irish Poetry_.

"The Lay of Prince Marvan." This song takes the form of a colloquy between Marvan, who had left his royal station to adopt a hermit life, and his brother King Guaire of Connaught (_d._ 662). Guaire, visiting him in his retirement, inquires why he prefers to sleep in a hut rather than in the comfort of a kingly palace; in reply Marvan bursts forth into a song in praise of his retired woodland life. Original in _King and Hermit_, edited by Dr. Kuno Meyer (D. Nutt, 1901); translation reprinted in _Ancient Irish Poetry_, p. 47.

"The Song of Crede." Text and translation in _Ériu_, ii. p. 15; its editor, Dr. Kuno Meyer, ascribes it to the tenth century. I have to thank Mr. A. P. Graves for most kindly giving me permission to use his unpublished poem.

"The Student and his Cat," eighth or ninth century. Written on the margin of a codex of St. Paul's Epistles, in the monastery of Carinthia. Original and translation in Stokes' and Strachan's _Thesaurus Palaeohibernicus_, ii. p. 293.

"Song of the Seven Archangels." Original in _Ériu_, ii., Part i. pp. 92-4, with literal translation by Thomas P. O'Nowlan. Mr. Ernest Rhys' poetical version, kindly contributed by him to this book, has not hitherto been published.

"Saints of Four Seasons." Original in _Ériu_, i., Part ii. pp. 226-7, with translation by Miss Mary E. Byrne. Mr. P. J. McCall's poetical version is printed in his _Irish Fireside Songs_ (M. H. Gill, Dublin, 1911).

"The Feathered Hermit." Original printed by Dr. K. Meyer in _Gaelic Journal_, iv., No. 40, February 1892, from a marginal note on Harl. MS. 5280 (Brit. Mus.).

"An Aphorism." _Ibid._; also from a marginal note.

"The Blackbird." Marginal note from a copy of Priscian in the monastery of St. Gall in Switzerland. Original in Stokes' and Strachan's _Thesaurus Palaeohibernicus_, p. 290.

"Deus Meus." Printed by Dr. Whitley Stokes in the _Calendar of Aengus_, clxxxv. It is found written on the margin of the _Leabhar Breac_, facs., p. 101, and is there ascribed to Maelisu ua Brolcan (_d._ 1086). Dr. George Sigerson's poetical rendering will be found in his _Bards of the Gael and Gall_ (T. Fisher Unwin, 1897), p. 193.

"The Soul's Desire." Original and literal translation by Dr. Kuno Meyer in the _Gaelic Journal_, vol. v., No. 6, 1894, p. 95. Though printed from comparatively late copies, the hymn gives the impression of being ancient.

"Song of the Sea." Original and literal translation by Dr. Kuno Meyer in _Otia Merseiana_ (Liverpool), ii. p. 76. It is ascribed to the poet Ruman, who died 707, but the editor believes it to be of the eleventh century.

"Lament of the Old Woman of Beare." From Dr. Kuno Meyer's text and translation in _Otia Merseiana_, i. p. 119 ff. It has since been reprinted in the author's _Selections from Early Irish Poetry_, pp. 88-91. The editor would put the poem down to the late tenth century.

"Gormliath's Lament for Nial Black-knee." From the Scottish _Book of the Dean of Lismore_, edited by Rev. Thos. M'Lauchlan.

"The Mother's Lament." First printed by Rev. Edmund Hogan in his _Latin Lives of the Irish Saints_ (Todd Lectures, V., 1894); see also _Gaelic Journal_, iv. p. 89, and Kuno Meyer's _Ancient Irish Poetry_, p. 42. Eleventh century? Mr. Graves has kindly given me permission to use his excellent unpublished version.

"Consecration." Original from the _Book of the Dean of Lismore_, a collection of poems made in the Western Islands about 1512 by Sir James McGregor, Dean of Lismore, Argyleshire, p. 121. It contains many Irish poems. This and the two following poems are ascribed to Murdoch O'Daly, called "Muredach Albanach," or Murdoch the Scot, on account of his long residence in that country. He is styled "Bard of Erin and Alba." He was a Connaught poet, who ended a stormy career by retiring to the Irish monastery of Knockmoy. It is probable that these religious poems, if not actually written by him, were composed about his period.

"Teach me, O Trinity," _ibid._, p. 123.

"The Shaving of Murdoch," _ibid._, p. 158 _note_, from a translation made by Standish H. O'Grady. This curious poem refers to the tonsuring of the bard and his contemporary Connaught chieftain, Cathal of the Red Hand, when they entered the monastery of Knockmoy together. In Scotland Murdoch is remembered as the first of the Macvurrachs, bards to the Macdonalds of Clanranald. He lived 1180-1225, and Cathal of the Red Hand, 1184-1225.

"Eileen Aroon." Original in Hardimen, i. p. 264; it should be compared with the version, _ibid_., p. 211. The present is the oldest form. Carol O'Daly, who composed it, was an accomplished Connaught gentleman, whose desire to marry Eileen Kavanagh was frustrated by her friends. He fled the country, but returned, disguised as a harper, on the eve of her marriage to another suitor, and entered the guest-chamber. He poured out this impassioned appeal with such good effect, that Eileen fled with him that night. The last lines are a welcome to her in response to her avowal of love. The air is very ancient; in Scotland it is known as "Robin Adair."

* * * * *

"The Downfall of the Gael." Original in Hardiman's _Irish Minstrelsy_, ii. p. 102. O'Gnive, bard of the O'Neills of Clandaboy, accompanied Shane O'Neill to London in 1562, on the occasion of that chief's visit to Queen Elizabeth. The poem is a lament over the condition of Ireland and the inaction of the chiefs. Sir Samuel Ferguson's rendering will be found in _Lays of the Western Gael_ (Sealy, Bryers & Walker, 1888), p. 136.

* * * * *

"Address to Brian O'Rourke of the Bulwarks" (_na murtha_), a poem of seventy quatrains from Egerton MS. iii., art. 85. Dr. Standish Hayes O'Grady has given specimens of this poem in his valuable _Catalogue of Irish MSS. in the British Museum_, pp. 412-20. Another poem addressed to the same chief will be found in Hardiman, ii. pp. 266-305, by John mac Torna O'Mulchonaire. The writer of the present poem, Teigue O'Higgin, called Teigue "Dall," _i.e._ the Blind, on account of his blindness, is one of the best of all the tribal poets of Ireland. He was poet to the chiefs of Co. Sligo, but he came to an untimely end on account of a satire made by him on the O'Haras, who had ill-used him, some time before 1617. In the poem we give, he endeavours to arouse Brian to action, and calls on him to unite the clans against England, a challenge which O'Rourke did not fail to obey. It is a good sample of much bardic poetry of the period.

* * * * *

"Ode to the Maguire," by Eochadh O'Hosey or Hussey, the last bard of the Maguires, whose strongly fortified castle still frowns upon the waters of the Upper and Lower Lochs Erne, at Enniskillen, Co. Fermanagh. His young chief, Hugh Maguire, had marched into Munster in the depth of the winter of 1599-1600, with 2500 foot and 200 horse on a warlike foray; the bard, sitting at home in Fermanagh, bewails the hardships which he feels sure the chief and his followers are enduring in the open camps during the winter's weather. A fine copy of this poem is found in the O'Gara manuscript in the Royal Irish Academy, Dublin, of which Egerton III is a copy (and see O'Grady's _Catalogue_, p. 451).

* * * * *

"A Lament for the Princes of Tyrone and Tyrconnel," by the family bard, Red Owen Mac Ward, in the form of an address of comfort to O'Donnell's sister, Nuala, who is supposed to be weeping over her brother's grave in Rome, where he had taken refuge after his flight from Ireland. He lies buried, beside Hugh O'Neill, in the Church of San Pietro Montario, on the Janiculum. The bard imagines the clans of the North of Ireland gathering to bewail the dead and share Nuala's grief. Though Mangan's broken metre imparts a fervour and fire to the original, he adds nothing to its slow monotonous impressiveness. For original see Egerton III, Art. 48 (Brit. Mus.), and translation of extracts in O'Grady's _Catalogue_, pp. 371-3. Mangan's version has been often reprinted.

* * * * *

"Co. Mayo." There are many versions of this favourite song. That given here is said to have been composed by a bard named Thomas Flavell, a native of Bophin on the Western Seaboard. Hardiman gives the Irish of this song, i. p. 337; and also another version by David O'Murchadh, or Murphy, _ibid._, pp. 229-33. Flavell was a poor dependent on the fourth Earl of Mayo, and lived about the middle of the seventeenth century. For a different song of the same name, see Dr. Hyde's _Poems of Raftery_, p. 96.

* * * * *

"The Flower of Nut-brown Maids" is the oldest of the numerous songs written to the air "Uileacán Dubh O." This poem dates from the seventeenth century, and it is said to be an invitation addressed by one of the unfortunate landowners, driven out of Ulster during the plantation of James I, to his lady, to follow him to Leitrim. It seems to refer to a time of famine, and is, like many other love-songs, in the form of a colloquy. Original in Hardiman, i. p. 258.

* * * * *

"Roisín Dubh," from the original in O'Daly's _Poets and Poetry of Munster_, where two versions are given. It is the poem on which Mangan founded his "Dark Rosaleen." The poem is an address to Ireland, veiled as a woman. Hardiman gives some quatrains in vol. i. pp. 254-61.

* * * * *

"The Fair Hills of Éire" is one of several sets of words attached to the tender old air "Uileacán Dubh O," or "Oh, the heavy lamentation." One, rendered familiar in Dr. Samuel Ferguson's version, beginning, "A plenteous place is Ireland for hospitable cheer," is said to have been written by an Irish student in one of the colleges of France probably early in the seventeenth century, when most of the promising Irish youths went abroad for their education. The version here given in Dr. Sigerson's fine rendering was written by Donnchad Ruadh MacNamara about 1730. It has also been rendered into English by Mangan. For the original, see _Poems by Donnchadh Ruadh MacNamara_, edited by Tomás O'Flanngháile (1897). Dr. George Sigerson's poem will be found in his _Bards of the Gael and Gall_ (T. Fisher Unwin, 1897), p. 245.

* * * * *

"Love's Despair" (_ibid._, p. 339). This touching poem was written by a young farmer of Cork who, near the time of his marriage, had gone into the city to buy the wedding-dress for his betrothed. On his way back he heard that she had been married to another man. In despair he flung his presents into the fire. His reason gave way, and he roamed the country henceforth, ever singing the cruelty of Mary and his own misfortunes. His story was well known in Co. Waterford, where he lived a great part of his life. Original in _Gaelic Journal_, vol. iii., 1887, p. 22.

The literal translation of the second stanza runs as follows:--

"No one knows my case, or how I may find life,
But only the woman who has made me ill;
My cure is not on sea or shore, nor in herb or skill of hand,
My cure is only in the Flower of Youth.
I know not hen from cuckoo, I know not heat from cold,
At no time do I know my friends;
I know not night from day,--but my heart would know its love,
Should she come in time to save me."

* * * * *

"The Cruiskeen Lawn." Dr. Sigerson's version (_ibid._, p. 258), here reproduced, shows that this popular air, better known in connection with O'Keeffe's rollicking drinking song, was also used as a Jacobite political poem. The chorus and name of the air, _i.e._ "The little full jug," show that its true intent is bacchanalian. We find this chorus, like many others, attached to songs of different significance. Petrie, in his collection of _Ancient Irish Music_, p. 37, attaches it to a verse of a lullaby:--

"My love is upon the river,
And he rocking from wave to wave;
A tree without foliage over his head--
And what does my Love want a-straying there?"

(see also _Gaelic Journal_, viii., 1898, p. 224).

* * * * *

"Eamonn an Chnuic" or "Ned of the Hill" is founded on the history of a famous outlaw named Edmund O'Ryan, born in Shanbohy, Co. Tipperary, late in the seventeenth century. His father possessed considerable property in his native county, but his wild career led to his outlawry. The piercing note of the words and of the air of the same name is typical of much of the poetry of the period. "Ned of the Hill" lies buried near Fáill an Chluig in the barony of Kilnemanagh, Co. Tipperary. Some versions give several other verses, of a different character. It is a love-song as given by Hardiman, "A chúil áluinn deas," i. p. 268, and by Mangan in his _Poets and Poetry of Munster_, p. 264. The literal translation here printed is from Mr. P. H. Pearse's contributions in the _Irish Review_, Dublin (November 1911), p. 437. Mr. Pearse says, "'Eamonn an Chnuic' is commonly looked upon as a love-song, but I feel sure that to its shaper and to those who first heard it, the figure of the outlaw, driven by rain-storm and bullet-storm and beating against the closed door, mystically symbolised the lonely cause of Ireland."

* * * * *

"O Druimin donn dileas," an early Jacobite song, sometimes supposed to apply to Prince James Charles Edward, but more probably to Ireland itself under the symbolic name of the "Beloved white-backed dun cow." Original in Hardiman, ii. p. 145. See also in Petrie's _Ancient Music of Ireland_, p. 116, a translation by O'Curry.

* * * * *

"Do you remember that night?" Original in Petrie's _Ancient Music of Ireland_, p. 142. He says it was written down for him by O'Curry. The account given by him of its origin does not seem to suit the words.

* * * * *

"The Exile's Song." Original in _Gaelic Journal_, vol. vi., No. 7, 1895, p. 108. Composed by an emigrant named M'Ambrois (Mac Cambridge), and taken down from James M'Auley of Glengariff and James M'Naughten of Cushendall.

* * * * *

"The Fisherman's Keen." From Crofton Croker's _The Keen in the South of Ireland_ (Percy Society, 1844), p. 77. It was communicated to Mr. Croker by Mr. Maurice O'Connell. A literal translation, taken down from the lips of Mrs. Harrington, a professional "keener" of Co. Cork, is given in the same author's _Researches in the South of Ireland_. Unfortunately the original Irish is not preserved by him, nor is the name of the lady given who, he tells us, wrote the poetical rendering.

* * * * *

"The Boatman's Hymn." Taken from Sir Samuel Ferguson's _Lays of the Western Gael_, 1888, pp. 162-3. Original in Hardiman, ii. p. 383.

"Keen on Art O'Leary" by his wife. Original published in Mrs. Morgan J. O'Connell's _The Last Colonel of the Irish Brigade_ (Kegan Paul, 1892), vol. ii., Appendix A., and reprinted with some corrections in the _Gaelic Journal_ (vol. vii., Old Series, No. 74, May 1896), p. 18. Some corrections and additions are made in the following number (June 1896). Crofton Croker, in his _Keens of the South of Ireland_, tells us that he endeavoured to recover this dirge but without success. It is a true example of the spontaneous "keen," with its short broken lines, containing in quick, natural succession, appeals, reminiscences, laments; moving backwards and forwards as the irregular promptings of grief and affection dictate without form or premeditation. It is, however, lifted into the sphere of fine poetry by its exceeding simplicity, and by the passion of grief expressed in its lines.

The circumstances in which the poem had its origin are particularly tragic. Art O'Leary had been an officer in the Hungarian service, but he returned to Ireland, where he had a considerable property in Co. Cork, and where his handsome person and distinguished manners made him very popular. He married, against the wish of her parents, Eileen of the Raven Locks, as she was called from her dark hair, a daughter of Daniel O'Connell of Derrynane, grandfather of "the Liberator." The popularity of Art O'Leary excited the jealousy of a neighbour, a Mr. Morris, whose horse had been beaten in a race by O'Leary's beautiful mare. Taking advantage of the Penal Laws, which did not permit a Catholic to possess a horse valued at more than £5, he demanded the mare from Capt. O'Leary for this sum. O'Leary refused, saying that he "would surrender his mare only with his life." A local magistrate immediately proclaimed him an outlaw; soldiers were sent to lie in wait for him as he was returning home at night, and he was shot through the heart near Carrig-a-nimmy, in May 1773. His wife was informed of her husband's death by the return of the mare without its rider. It was many years before his body was even allowed to be buried in consecrated ground. Morris was tried for the murder, but acquitted; he was soon after shot in his house by Arthur's brother. Art O'Leary's grave is to be seen in the nave of Kilcrea Abbey, Co. Cork; the inscription states that he was only twenty-six years of age when he died.

* * * * *

"Prologue to 'The Midnight Court'" (_Cuirt an Mheadhon Oidhche_), by Bryan Merryman. The long satire of which we give the Prologue has been published by Mr. Richard Foley (Riscard O Foghludha) (Hodges, Figgis & Co.).

* * * * *

"Hymn to the Virgin Mary." Original in _The Poems of Egan O'Rahilly_ (1st ed., Irish Texts Society, vol. iii., 1900), p. 290. The author, Conchubhar or Conor O'Riordan was a native of Co. Cork, where he taught the classics and other subjects to the youths of his district. He wrote, about the same time as Gray, a "Meditation in a Country Churchyard," to which this very beautiful address to the Virgin forms the Epilogue or "Binding" (_ceangal_ as it is called in Irish). The whole poem is included in the appendix to Rev. P. S. Dinneen's edition of O'Rahilly's poems.

* * * * *

"Christmas Hymn." Original in Dr. Douglas Hyde's _Religious Songs of Connacht_ (T. Fisher Unwin, 1906), vol. ii. pp. 224-6; from an old North of Ireland manuscript.

* * * * *

"O Mary of Graces." _Ibid._, p. 161. Taken down by Miss Agnes O'Farrelly from a lad in the Aran Islands, Co. Galway.

* * * * *

"The Cattle-shed." Original in _Timthirid Chroidhe neamhtha Iosa_ or _The Messenger_ (published by Gill & Son, Dublin), p. 90. The following nine poems and fragments are from the same publication, vol. i., Parts 1-4.

* * * * *

"The White Paternoster." _Ibid._, p. 58. The two versions of this favourite charm here given, of which the second is translated from the original in a Kerry journal, _An Lochran_ (October 1900), should be compared with the copies printed by Dr. D. Hyde in his _Religious Songs_, vol. i. pp. 362-70.

"A Night Prayer." This fragment and the eleven succeeding prayers were taken down in Irish among the Decies of Co. Waterford by Rev. M. Sheenan, D.Ph., and have been published by him in his _Cnó Cóilleadh Craobhaighe_ (Gill & Son, Dublin, 1907).

* * * * *

"The Man who Stands Stiff." From Dr. D. Hyde's _Religious Songs of Connacht_, vol. i. p. 101, taken down from the mouth of Martin Rua O'Gillarna (in English, Red Martin Forde) of Lisaniska, Co. Galway. He spoke no English. This poem is a sample of much of the popular religious poetry dealing with the approach of death and the danger of continuing in evil courses.

* * * * *

"Charm for a Sprain." This and the succeeding charms are taken from Lady Wilde's _Legends, Charms, and Cures of Ireland_ (Chatto & Windus). It is unfortunate that Lady Wilde does not give either her originals or her authorities.

* * * * *

"Before the sun rose at yesterdawn." Original in Walsh's _Irish Popular Songs_, 2nd ed. (Gill & Son, Dublin), p. 146. Edward Walsh, who translated into English verse a great number of Irish popular songs, lived between the years 1805-50.

* * * * *

"The Blackthorn." One of those favourite old songs of which there are many versions, and verses in one that are not in another. Like many another Irish song, it seems to be a colloquy between a maid and her lover, and it is often difficult to tell if it is the lad or the girl who is speaking. My version is the one printed in Miss Borthwick's _Ceól Sidhe_, ii. p. 18 (an excellent collection of old Irish songs), with two verses added from the version in Dr. D. Hyde's _Love-Songs of Connacht_ (T. Fisher Unwin, 1893), p. 30. The poem is sad and troubled. Dr. Hyde says, "There was an old woman in it, long ago, who used to sing it to me, and she never came to the verse--

'Although the rowen-berry tree is high, &c.,'

that she used not to shed tears from her eye." We can well believe it. Hardiman (i. p. 234) has published a different version, and Miss Brooke another in her _Reliques_ (1816), p. 306.

* * * * *

"Pastheen Finn," or "Fair little Child." Original in Hardiman's _Irish Minstrelsy_, i. p. 217. Dr. Hyde gives a quite different version in his _Love-Songs_, p. 65. We find the _curfa_ or chorus attached to different songs. Sir Samuel Ferguson's version will be found in his _Lays of the Western Gael_ (Sealy, Bryers, Dublin, 1888), p. 152. Hardiman considers that it is an address to the son of James II, under a secret name.

* * * * *

"She." Original in Miss Brooke's _Reliques of Irish Poetry_, p. 232.

* * * * *

"Hopeless Love." Given as an example of an old Irish metre called _Dibide baise fri toin_, but this poem was not actually written in this metre.

* * * * *

"Would God I were." Original in Hardiman, i. p. 344. Mrs. Hinkson's setting of the Irish words will be found in her _Irish Love-Songs_ (T. Fisher Unwin, Cameo Series, 1892).

* * * * *

"Branch of the sweet and early rose." William Drennan, M.D. (_b._ 1754), died in Belfast in 1820.

* * * * *

"'Tis a Pity." Original in _Cláirseach na n-Gaedhil_, Part ii., 1902 (Gaelic League Publications). _Ceól-sídhe_ (p. 92) gives a different version. There are several other verses.

* * * * *

"The Yellow Bittern" (_An bunán buidhe_). Original in _Cláirseach na n-Gaedhil_, Part v., and _Ceól-sídhe_, p. 12. This translation appeared in the _Irish Review_, Dublin, November 1911.

* * * * *

"Have you been at Carrack?" Original in Mangan's _Poets and Poetry of Munster_ (J. Duffy), p. 344. Walsh thinks it is a song from the South of Ireland.

* * * * *

"Cashel of Munster." There are various versions of this popular song, set to its air "Clár bog déil." One used by Walsh was, he tells us, given to him by a lady of Co. Clare. Ferguson's version is taken from Hardiman, i. p. 238.

* * * * *

"The Snowy-breasted Pearl." Original in Petrie's _Ancient Music of Ireland_, p. 11. Petrie was born in Dublin in 1789 and died in 1866.

* * * * *

"The Dark Maid of the Valley" (_Bean dubh an Gleanna_). There are two versions and airs of this name. The original of Mr. P. J. McCall's poem is to be found in Miss Brooke's _Reliques_, p. 319. His own rendering was published in his _Irish Nóinins_ (Sealy, Bryers & Walker, 1894), p. 59.

* * * * *

"The Coolun." Original in Hardiman, i. p. 250. Two other versions will be found in Dr. Hyde's _Love-Songs of Connacht_ (1893), pp. 71-3. One of these beginning, "A honey mist on a day of frost, in a dark oak wood" is very tender and sweet. Its air is among the most beautiful that Ireland has produced. The "Coolun" was a lock of hair which, having been forbidden by statute, it became a mark of national sentiment to adopt. It was usually worn by youths, but in these poems the address is to a woman.

* * * * *

"Ceann dubh dileas," or the "Beloved Dark Head." Original in Hardiman, i. p. 262. Dr. Hyde gives an additional verse in his _Love-Songs_. Burns claimed the air for Scotland, and Corri published it under the name of "Oran Gaoil," but it is undoubtedly Irish.

* * * * *

"Ringleted Youth of my Love." From Dr. Hyde's _Love-Songs of Connacht_ (T. Fisher Unwin, 1893), p. 40.

* * * * *

"I shall not die for you." Original, _ibid._. p. 138.

* * * * *

"Donall Oge." This pathetic song and the one following it, "The Grief of a Girl's Heart," seem to be portions of one long song, to the original nucleus of which quatrains have been added from time to time. Six stanzas were published by Dr. Hyde in his _Love-Songs_ (pp. 4-6) under the title, "If I were to go West"; it would seem that his "Breed Astore" (p. 76) may also be a portion of the same poem. Mr. P. H. Pearse, who published several other stanzas under the title of "Donall Oge," or "Young Donall," in the _Irish Review_ of August 1911, tells us that he wrote it down from the words of Denis Dorgan of Carrignavar, Co. Cork. The Irish will be found printed in his and Mr. Tadhg O'Donoghue's _An t-Aithriseóir_ (Gaelic League, 1902), p. 7. In all these versions there are some stanzas alike and some different to the others. We have printed nearly the whole of them here under the two titles of "Donall Oge" and "The Grief of a Girl's Heart." Both are full of the most heartrending expression of loss and loneliness. Lady Gregory, in her _Poets and Dreamers_, published a literal translation of the latter poem.

* * * * *

"Death the Comrade." Original in Dr. Hyde's _Religious Songs_, ii. pp. 288-90.

* * * * *

"Muirneen of the Fair Hair." Original in Dr. Hyde's _Love-Songs_, pp. 10-12. _Cf._ another Munster version on p. 16, and one given by Hardiman, i. p. 354.

* * * * *

"The Red Man's Wife." A popular theme on which there are many variations. We give two, the originals of both being taken from Dr. Hyde's _Love-Songs_, pp. 92 and 94. The first is a Galway version, the second from Co. Meath. The latter was first printed in the _Oban Times_. Yet another version is given in Dr. Hyde's edition of _Raftery's Poems_, p. 210.

* * * * *

"My Grief on the Sea." Original in Dr. Hyde's _Love-Songs_. It was taken down by him from an old woman named Biddy Cusruaidh or Crummy, living in the midst of a bog in Co. Roscommon.

* * * * *

"Oró Mhór, a Mhóirín." Original in Petrie's _Ancient Music of Ireland_, p. 120. It was obtained by him from Teigue MacMahon, a peasant of Co. Clare. Mr. P. J. McCall's poem was printed in his _Pulse of the Bards_ (Gill & Son, 1904), p. 50. * * * * *

"The Little Yellow Road." Original taken down by Prof. John MacNeill in Co. Mayo in July 1894, and printed by him in the _Gaelic Journal_ for that year (vol. v., No. 6), p. 91. There are several versions of _An Bóithrín buidhe_; see for another, Petrie's _Ancient Music_, p. 24. Mr. Campbell's translation, kindly contributed to this collection, has not been published before.

* * * * *

"Reproach to the Pipe" (_Másladh an Phíopa_). The original, taken down in Galway, will be found in the _Gaelic Journal_ (vol. vi., No. 5), p. 73.

* * * * *

"Modereen Rue." Mrs. Tynan-Hinkson's poem is not a direct translation, but a spirited free version of the favourite Gaelic song of this name; it was published in _The Wind in the Trees_ (Grant Richards, 1898), p. 98.

* * * * *

"The Stars Stand Up" (_Táid na realta 'n-a seasadh ar an aer_). Original in _Ceól-sídhe_, Part iv., p. 50, among other places. I have altered the last four lines.

* * * * *

"The Love Smart." Original in Dr. Hyde's _Love-Songs_, p. 22.

* * * * *

"Well for Thee." Original, _ibid._, p. 130.

* * * * *

"I am Raftery the Poet." From Dr. Hyde's edition of _Raftery's Poems_ (H. M. Gill & Son, Dublin, 1903), p. 40.

* * * * *

"Dust hath closed Helen's eye." Original, _ibid._, p. 330. Mr. W. B. Yeats has slightly worked over Lady Gregory's rendering. Mary Hynes, who "died of fever before the famine," has left a tradition of beauty behind her in her own country. "She was the finest thing that was ever shaped," said an old fiddler who remembered her well. Baoile laoi (Ballylee) is a little village of some half-dozen houses in the barony of Kiltartan. Lady Gregory's beautiful rendering was published in an article by Mr. W. B. Yeats in _The Dome_, New Series, vol. iv. p. 161.

"The Shining Posy" or "Mary Stanton," _ibid._, p. 320. We must remember that poor Raftery, who praises so warmly the beauty of women, saw them only with the eyes of his imagination, for he was blind. His verses seem to have been impromptu compositions. The classical allusions are very characteristic of the wandering bards, who liked to show off their acquaintance with the heroes of bygone ages.

* * * * *

"Love is a Mortal Disease" (_Is claoidhte an galar an grádh_). Original in _Smoílín na Rann_, a collection of Connaught songs made by Mr. Fionan McCollum, "Finghin na Leamhna" (Gaelic League, 1908).

* * * * *

"I am watching my young calves sucking." This and the two following poems, "The Narrow Road" and "Forsaken," are translated from Dr. Douglas Hyde's little collection of original Irish songs called _Ubhla de'n Chraoibh_, or _Apples of the Bough_ (Gill & Son, Dublin).

* * * * *

"I Follow a Star." Translated by Seosamh mac Cathmhaoil (James Campbell) from his own Irish poem, and published by him in _The Gilly of Christ_ (Maunsell & Co., Dublin).

* * * * *

"Nurse's Song." Published by Mr. Alfred M. Williams in his _The Poets and Poetry of Ireland_ (Houghton, Mifflin and Co., Boston and New York). The song is traditional, and its author is unknown.

* * * * *

"A Sleep Song." Original in _Gaelic Journal_, May 1911, p. 141. The song was partly taken down from Mr. McAuley Lynch in West Cork, and partly recollected from childhood by Mr. P. H. Pearse, the translator.

* * * * *

"The Cradle of Gold." From Mr. Alfred P. Graves' _Irish Poems_, ii. p. 117 (Maunsel & Co.). Original in Petrie's _Ancient Music of Ireland_, p. 146. "Rural Song." Original in Petrie's _Ancient Music of Ireland_, p. 43. Joyce's _Irish Music_ gives some extra stanzas.

* * * * *

"Ploughing Song." Original, _ibid._, p. 30.

* * * * *

"A Spinning-wheel Ditty." _Ibid._, p. 85.

THE END

Printed by BALLANTYNE, HANSON & CO.
at Paul's Work, Edinburgh

Transcriber's notes:

Inconsistent use of accents across text, titles and poems in the original has been retained.