DTStudy: Last Night I Had a Happy Dream

Subject: ADD: Grá-mo-chroí I'd like to see Old Ireland free
From: Joe Offer
Date: 09 Dec 21 - 06:33 PM

The song is #63 in Colm O'Lochlainn's Irish Street Ballads, "Gra-mo-chroi. I'd Like to See Old Ireland Free Once More" (1 text, 1 tune)

GRÁ-MO-CHROÍ, I'D LIKE TO SEE OLD IRELAND FREE ONCE MORE

Last night I had a happy dream
Though restless where I be.
I thought again brave Irishmen
Had set old Ireland free.
And how I got excited
When the cannons loud did roar.
It's Grá-mo-chroí I'd like to see
Old Ireland free once more.

Cold is the heart that does not love
Its own dear native land.
When her sons are far beyond the sea
All on a foreign strand.
By land or sea where'er they be
They love their fertile shore.
It's Grá-mo-chroí I'd like to see
Old Ireland free once more.

It's true we had brave Irishmen,
As everyone must own,
The Liberator, O'Connell, true,
Lord Edward and Wolfe Tone,
And also Robert Emmet, who
Till death did not give o'er.
It's Grá-mo-chroí I'd like to see
Old Ireland free once more.

Allen, Larkin, and O'Brien died
Their country to set free,
And see to-day brave Irishmen
Are struggling hard for thee.
Both day and night they'll always fight
Until death they'll ne'er give o'er,
It's Grá-mo-chroí I'd like to see
Old Ireland free once more.

We'll not forgot the former years,
They're kept in memory still,
Or the Wexford man of ninety-eight,
Who fought on Vinegar Hill;
With Father Murphy at their side,
And his green flag waving o'er.
It's Grá-mo-chroí I'd like to see
Old Ireland free once more.

Source: #63 in Colm O'Lochlainn's Irish Street Ballads, first published in 1939

I'll transcribe a tune later.

Subject: RE: DTStudy: Last Night I Had a Happy Dream
From: Joe Offer
Date: 09 Dec 21 - 05:41 PM

Here's a Website that has a handwritten transcript of a song called "The Boys of Wexford":

https://www.duchas.ie/en/cbes/5009023/4978417/5122531

THE BOYS OF WEXFORD

I
Last night I had a happy dream
Though restless I had been,
I dreamed, again, brave Irishmen
Had set old Ireland free.
And how I got excited
When the canons loud did roar.
Grá' machree I longed to see
Old Ireland free once more.

II
Cold is the heart that does not love
His own dear native land.
Her sons far off beyond the wave
Or on a foreign strand.
By land or sea where 'e'er they be
They love their native land.
Grá machree I long to see
Old Ireland free once more.

III
We'll not forgot the former year
That's dear to memory still,
The Wexford man of '98
That died on Vinegar Hill.
With Father Murphy by their side,
And the green flag waving o'er.
Grá Machree I long to see,
Old Ireland free once more.

IV
It's true we had brave Irishmen
And well the people knows
Our Liberator - Dan O'Connell
Lord Edward and Wolf Tone,
Alas! brave Robert Emmet,
Who till death would ne'er give o'er.
Grá Machree I long to see
Old Ireland free once more.

Collected by Michael Clavan, Carlanstown, County Westmeath, from his father, Peter Clavan, a 50-year-old farmer.

The date of collection is a little unclear - I think this page (click) is an indication the songs were collected by Michael from his father from January to December, 1938.

Subject: DTStudy: Last Night I Had a Happy Dream
From: Joe Offer
Date: 09 Dec 21 - 05:39 PM

This song seems to have a connection to Ed McCurdy's "Last Night I Had the Strangest Dream."

LAST NIGHT I HAD A HAPPY DREAM (DT Lyrics)

Last night I had a happy dream, though restless where I be
I dreamed again, brave Irishmen, had set old Ireland free
And how I got excited, when the cannons loud did roar
Oh Gra mo chree, I long to see, old Ireland free once more

Now we can't forget the former years, they're kept in memory still
Of the Wexford men of '98, who fought on Vinegar Hill
With Father Murphy at their side, and the green flag waving o'er
Oh Gra mo chree, I long to see, old Ireland free once more


"Last Night I Had a Happy Dream" was given a new
lease, when Ed McCurdy rewrote it as a peace song.

@Irish @rebel
filename[ LASTNIT2
BL

---

And here's the Traditional Ballad Index entry for this song:

Gra-mo-chroi. I'd Like to See Old Ireland Free Once More

DESCRIPTION: "Last night I had a happy dream ... I thought again brave Irishmen Had set old Ireland free." Some modern heroes are named and Father Murphy and the Wexford men of ninety-eight. "It's Gra-mo-chroi, I'd like to see old Ireland free once more"
AUTHOR: unknown
EARLIEST DATE: 1912 (OLochlainn-IrishStreetBallads)
KEYWORDS: rebellion dream Ireland nonballad patriotic
HISTORICAL REFERENCES:
1775-1847 - Life of Daniel O'Connell
1778 - Birth of Robert Emmet
1796 - A French fleet (carrying, among others, Wolfe Tone) sets out for Ireland
May 26, 1798 - Beginning of the Wexford rebellion
May 27, 1798 - The Wexford rebels under Father John Murphy defeat the North Cork militia
June 5, 1798 - The Wexford rebels attack the small garrison (about 1400 men, many militia) at New Ross, but are repelled
June 21, 1798 - The rebel stronghold a Vinegar Hill is taken, and the Wexford rebellion effectively ended
1803 - Robert Emmet attempts a new rebellion. The revolt is quickly crushed, and Emmet eventually hanged
Nov 24, 1867 - Hanging of the Manchester Martyrs; this year also marked the failed Fenian rising
FOUND IN: Ireland
REFERENCES (1 citation):
OLochlainn-IrishStreetBallads 63, "Gra-mo-chroi. I'd Like to See Old Ireland Free Once More" (1 text, 1 tune)
ST OLoc063 (Partial)
Roud #5204
BROADSIDES:
Margaret Barry, "Gra Machree" (on IRMBarry-Fairs)
CROSS-REFERENCES:
cf. "Daniel O'Connell (I)" (subject: Daniel O'Connell) and references there
NOTES [242 words]: This song mentions many heroes of Irish freedom, most of whom are the heroes of other songs:
For (Daniel) O'Connell, see "Daniel O'Connell (I)" and "Daniel O'Connell (II)."
For Lord Edward (Fitzgerald), the sort-of-leader of the 1798 United Irishmen, see the notes to "The Green Above the Red."
For Wolfe Tone, the Irish Protestant who helped organize the failed invasion of 1796, see especially "The Shan Van Voght."
For Robert Emmet, the rebel against the post-1798 Union, see among others "Bold Robert Emmet, "Emmet's Death," "Emmet's Farewell to His Sweetheart," and "My Emmet's No More."
For Father Murphy and his role in the 1798 rebellion, plus the Battle of Vinegar Hill, see the notes to "Father Murphy (I)" and the references there; also "Sweet County Wexford."
"Allen, Larkin, and O'Brien" were the "Manchester Martyrs," for whom see especially "The Smashing of the Van (I)."
If the song dates from the time of the Manchester Martyrs, I would note the existence of a roughly contemporary song, "Slave's Dream," beginning, "I had a dream, a happy dream, I dreamed that I was free" (Wolf-AmericanSongSheets, pp.142-143). I know of no connection, but the use a lot of common words.
According to William H. A. Williams, 'Twas Only an Irishman's Dream, University of Illinois Press, 1996, p. 34, "machree" (used in some of the alternate song titles) is a popular word in Irish song because it comes from Irish Gaelic "mo chroí," "my heart." - RBW
Last updated in version 5.2
File: OLoc063

---

Go to the Ballad Search form
Go to the Ballad Index Song List

Go to the Ballad Index Instructions
Go to the Ballad Index Bibliography or Discography

The Ballad Index Copyright 2021 by Robert B. Waltz and David G. Engle.