By Bernd Biege
Ireland Travel Expert, about.com
[post_ads_2]The popular Irish song "Mary from Dungloe" was originally the work of a Donegal stonemason called Pádraig Mac Cumhaill, it first appeared in 1936. Today, it is regarded as part of the folk tradition in Ireland, with a similar (shorter and often more popular) version coming from Colm O'Laughlin. Both versions are essentially telling the old story of love and heartbreak. Always popular in an Irish context ...
Mary from Dungloe - the Lyrics
Oh, then fare ye well, sweet Donegal, the Rosses and Gweedore.
I'm crossing the main ocean, where the foaming billows roar.
It breaks my heart from you to part, where I spent many happy days
Farewell to kind relations, for I'm bound for Amerikay.
I'm crossing the main ocean, where the foaming billows roar.
It breaks my heart from you to part, where I spent many happy days
Farewell to kind relations, for I'm bound for Amerikay.
Oh, my love is tall and handsome and her age is scarce eighteen;
She far exceeds all other fair maids when she trips over the green;
Her lovely neck and shoulders are fairer than the snow.
Till the day I die I'll ne'er deny my Mary from Dungloe.
She far exceeds all other fair maids when she trips over the green;
Her lovely neck and shoulders are fairer than the snow.
Till the day I die I'll ne'er deny my Mary from Dungloe.
If I was at home in sweet Dungloe a letter I would write;
Kind thoughts would fill my bosom for Mary my delight;
'Tis in her father's garden, the fairest violets grow
And t'was there I came to court the maid, my Mary from Dungloe.
Kind thoughts would fill my bosom for Mary my delight;
'Tis in her father's garden, the fairest violets grow
And t'was there I came to court the maid, my Mary from Dungloe.
Ah then, Mary, you're my heart's delight my pride and only care,
It was your cruel father would not let me stay there.
But absence makes the heart grow fond and when I'm o'er the main
May the Lord protect my darling girl till I return again.
It was your cruel father would not let me stay there.
But absence makes the heart grow fond and when I'm o'er the main
May the Lord protect my darling girl till I return again.
And I wish I was in sweet Dungloe and seated on the grass
And by my side a bottle of wine and on my knee a lass.
I'd call for liquor of the best and I'd pay before I would go
And I'd roll my Mary in my arms in the town of sweet Dungloe.
And by my side a bottle of wine and on my knee a lass.
I'd call for liquor of the best and I'd pay before I would go
And I'd roll my Mary in my arms in the town of sweet Dungloe.
Mary from Dungloe - the History[post_ads_2]
Actually,
this rather non-descript story (boy loves girl, girl loves boy, parents
disagree, everybody emigrates, and dies) claims a historical
background.
Which, in itself, is basically the same story:
Paddy and Annie Gallagher, married since 1840, lived in the Rosses,
setting up home in Lettercaugh - as farmers and shopkeepers, achieving a
rural middle-class status. And raising a family with four children,
Manus, Bridget, Annie (also known as Nancy), and Mary. The youngest,
Mary, was also known as the most beautiful girl in the area, she "stood
out" (being quite tall and having good clothes helped).
[post_ads]Mary accompanied her father to the summer fair in Dungloe in
1861, which doubled up as a sort of matchmaking event for unmarried sins
and daughter. There she met (upon the introduction of her father) a
young man, wealthy, originally from Gweedore, but lately residing in the
USA. A man with enough money to provide for a wife and home in Ireland.
He became a frequent visitor and was welcome in the Gallagher
household. A wedding was actually planned for September - when things
went sour. Apparently neighbours had been spreading gossip about the
young man, and everything was called off. Leaving the two young lovers
heartbroken.
But as things did not change, the "returned emigrant" found live
in the area unbearable ... and turned to emigration once more. Whirlwind
style ... already on October 6th, 1861, he left Ireland for the USA
again.
Having nothing left to live for in the Rosses, Mary in turn
corresponded with her brother Manus, who had been evicted in 1860, made
his way to New Zealand, and settled there quite successfully. So she
upped sticks as well in a short time ... six months and a day after the
summer fair, on December 5th, 1861, she started her emigration journey
to New Zealand, planning to join her relatives there. And to begin a new
life. Which also happened quite quickly - on the emigrant ship she met a
certain Dónal Egan, marrying him soon after. But even that was not for
long, as after giving birth to a baby boy she died within four months,
with her son surviving only a few months more.
A story to warm your cockles ...
Mary from Dungloe - the Festival[post_ads_2]
The Emmet-Spiceland Ballad Group (one of the members was respected Irish folk musician Donal Lunny)
released a version of "Mary from Dungloe" in the 1960s, and this
actually reached number 1 in the Irish singles music chart on the
February 24th, 1968. You can listen to it on YouTube if you dare ...
Suddenly, Dungloe was on the map ... and the "Mary from Dungloe International Festival", was born. A typically Irish music festival held at the end of July in Dungloe - somewhat similar to "The Rose of Tralee" (which, incidentally, is also based on a tragic love story enshrined in the song "The Rose of Tralee").
The festival also runs a pageant to find the (feamle) contestant that
most embodies the "spirit of the festival", she then is crowned and
known as "Mary from Dungloe" for a year. Believe it or not, tens of
thousands flock to this festival ...
