back menu
Log in or Sign up

Song For Ireland

By De Danann


  1. The Arrival Of The Queen Of Sheba (In Galway)
  2. Hard Times
  3. Mulqueen’s
    Jim Coleman’s
    The Lobster
  4. The Turkey In The Straw
    The Smoky Chimney
  5. Live Not Where I Love
  6. The Hearty Boys Of Ballymoate
    Dan Collins’ Father’s
  7. Song For Ireland
  8. The Hawk
    Grant’s
    The Hawk
  9. The Chicken
  10. Charlie Harris
    The Burren
  11. Jenny Rocking The Cradle
  12. Barney From Killarney
    Up And Away

Twelve comments

1983, released as CD later.
The singer on this recording is Mary Black.

The Arrival Of The Queen Of Sheba (In Galway)

Frankie has stolen back this melody from G.F. Handel, the famous German which stayed some years in Dublin and stole there all these tunes from O‘Carolan and the like, rearranged it for an orchestra and called the result ’Barock music’………….

De Danann with Mary Black singing, Newcastle-upon-Tyne 1983

That concert was stunning. After an instrumental start, Mary came up to the mike, said something very brief and just launched into a glorious, anthemic, weepy song beginning “I went to church last Sunday/my love she passed me by..” at full throttle, with the band giving it everything, especially Martin o’ Connor on the accordeon. Similarly when she sang the ballad “Anachie Gordon”. The way she and the band do “Hard Times” on the album gives some idea, but really, as they say, you had to be there. The rendition of her other tracks on the album is more subdued, as I remember, as is the treatment of the two above-mentioned concert songs on her first solo album “Mary Black”.

TRACK 3 : Mulqueen’s Reels

I figured the second reel is Jim Coleman’s Reel.
Anyone have a clue about the title of the first and third reels of this medley?
F

TRACK 6: The Hearty Boys Of Ballymoate

The link seems to be corrupt - it leads to the index of new tunes:
the actual jig is here:
https://thesession.org/tunes/5808

but - does anyone knows the second jig in the set?
Sounds extremely familiar but can’t figure out the title.

Re: Song For Ireland

I have changed the title of the middle tune of track 3 to ‘Miss McGuinness’. This is the more common name and it will therefore connect through to the correct tune

Re: Song For Ireland

The tunes on track 8 have nothing to do with “The Belles of St Louis” tune. They are in fact “The Hawk” and “Grant’s”. After some debate I have decided to change the tune title to the correct ones.