I haven't seen any English words for An Maidrín Rua that I thought were simple and clear enough for young children (especially a whole group of them), so I've put together some verses below, which beg, borrow & plain invent. I think my version will probably "sing" more easily in a classroom.

You could just do the words of the title in Irish and leave the rest in English. Phonetically, "Maidrín Rua" seems to have acquired some filler-syllables and sounds like: MOD uh REE na rooa, with "rua" elided into one syllable (rather like the word "hour"). It's easy and repetitive, so should be pretty quick for kids to pick up. Best of luck! Bonnie


AN MAIDRÍN RUA

As I came walking over the hill
I saw a young fox eating
Hiding in the bush with his fine red brush
And the tops of his two ears peeping

   Chorus*

Good morning, Fox
Good morning, Sir
So merrily came his greeting
I said You'll pay
This very day
For that fine fat goose you're eating

You stole my ducks
You stole my cocks
You stole my four hens laying
Now try your greed
On my fastest steed
And my hunting hounds a-baying

Tally ho, on the run
Tally ho, on the run
Tally ho my boys, we'll find him
But the little red fox is gone from the rocks
And he leaves them far behind him

*Chorus:
Maidrín rua, rua
Maidrín rua
Maidrín rua, none bolder
Little Red Fox, a-creeping through the rocks
With a fat goose o'er his shoulder