Info: Curragh of Kildare

Subject: RE: Lyr Req: Curragh of Killdaire
From: Gulliver
Date: 30 Aug 08 - 09:15 PM

Never did see the point of some of these stupid parodies...

Subject: RE: Lyr Req: Curragh of Killdaire
From: Wizzle
Date: 30 Aug 08 - 10:00 PM

I would love to find the music for this song, my parents are from Kildare, my mother from Newbridge and my father from Killina by the Canalnot far from Robertstown

Subject: RE: Lyr Req: Curragh of Killdaire
From: MartinRyan
Date: 31 Aug 08 - 03:57 PM

Just to tidy up: apart from the familiar sense of coracle/boat, discussed earlier, the word "currach", in Irish, also means "marsh" - which is, I imagine, the sense from which the placename is derived. It's a bit less damp there nowadays, of course - normally!

Regards

Subject: RE: Lyr Req: Curragh of Killdaire
From: GUEST,Shortgrass
Date: 31 Aug 08 - 04:54 PM

Wow this has been going a while. First of all as to the song. Although it has been hijacked as a Kildare song it is my understanding that the song is Scottish in origin. It tells of a woman who laments for her true love who is serving on the Curragh with the British Forces in the 19th century.
The word Curragh I have heard refers to a plain or heathland. The Curragh has often been referred to as "The Plains of Kildare". It is in fact a glacial plain formed many years ago during the ice age. It has always been associated with horse racing and military activities. The Curragh Military Camp is said to be the oldest continuously occupied camp either in the British Isles or Europe. It also many ancient raths most notably the Gibbott Rath close to the west of the Camp. There is still evidence of a road called "The Race of the Black Pig" which seemingly was an ancient thoroughfare.
Having been raised close to and spent 32 years working on the Curragh I hope these little snippets of information will be of interest to someone.

Subject: RE: Lyr Req: Curragh of Killdaire
From: MartinRyan
Date: 31 Aug 08 - 05:14 PM

GUESTShortgrass

Yep - the original song appears to be Scottish OK.

The root word appears to be "corrach", as we would now spell it. Dineen, the older standard dictionary gives its meaning as:

a morass, a marsh, a bog, a turf bog; a level low-lying plain.

That second sense applies to the our Curragh, of course.

Regards
p.s. He gives currach as an alternative spelling.

Subject: RE: Curragh of Kildare
From: RTim
Date: 27 Apr 10 - 08:09 AM

Here is another version, which Frank Purslow published in his Foggy Dew book of songs from Hampshire & Dorset in 1974 (Page 96)

Tim Radford

THE WINTERS GONE & PAST
(Sources in Dorset - Jo. Vincent - Wareham
& Mr. Russell - Upway, plus bits from Broadsides)

The winter's gone and past,
and the summer's come at last,
And the small birds are on every tree,
And many a heart is glad, but my poor heart is sad,
Since my true love has been absent from me.

I should not think it strange,
the wide world for to range
In hoping for to find my heart's delight
But now in Cupid's chains I'm obliged to remain
And in sorrow I must spend my whole life.

I will dress myself in black,
With a fringe all around my neck,
Gold rings all on my fingers I will wear,
Then straightway I'll repair to the county of Kildare,
And some tidings I may hear of my dear.

My love is like the sun in the pleasant month of June
That do always prove constant and true
But hers is like the moon that do wender up & down
And in every month it is new.

---

[Here's my transcription from Purslow's Foggy Dew book, page 96 - Joe Offer]

THE WINTER'S GONE AND PAST
(Sources in Dorset - Jo. Vincent - Wareham
& Mr. Russell - Upway, plus bits from Broadsides)

The winter's gone and past,
Pleasant summer's come at last,
And the small birds sing on ev-er-y green tree,
There is many a heart is glad, Oh! but my poor heart is sad,
Since my true love has gone absent from me.

I should not think it strange,
The wide world for to range,
In hoping for to find my heart's delight;
But now in Cupid's chains I'm obliged for to remain
And in sorrow I must spend my whole life.

I will dress myself in black,
With a fringe all round my neck,
Gold rings all on my fingers I will wear,
Then straightway I'll repair to the county of Kildare,
And some tidings I may hear of my dear.

My love is like the sun in the pleasant month of June,
That do always prove constant and true;
But his is like the moon that do wender up and down,
And in every month it is new.

Subject: RE: Lyr Req: Curragh of Kildare
From: Joe Offer
Date: 02 Jun 11 - 02:03 PM

Here's a YouTube recording of The Curragh of Kildare sung by Emmett Spiceland that you might enjoy.

-Joe-

Subject: RE: Origins: Curragh of Kildare
From: Dave MacKenzie
Date: 02 Jun 11 - 02:54 PM

According to Christy Moore, he found the Burns setting, and added an Irish chorus, then stooped singing it when he found out that it may not have been original to Burns.

Subject: RE: Origins: Curragh of Kildare
From: Dave MacKenzie
Date: 02 Jun 11 - 03:20 PM

I think he tells about changing 'The Winter it is Past' into 'The Curragh of Kildare' in "One Voice" (2000).

Subject: RE: Origins: Curragh of Kildare
From: Jim McLean
Date: 02 Jun 11 - 03:49 PM

A wee bit of research would have shown Christy that although the song appeared in Johnson Scots Museum, William Stenhouse, in his notes on the Museum points out that no one knew who the author was and that the meoldy (strongly associated with the C of K was already printed by James Oswald (1711 - 1769) in his Caledonian Pocket Companion. It is a bit more 'floral' than the Museum melody but Oswald was a fiddle player of great ability and he embellished the basic melody.

Subject: RE: Origins: Curragh of Kildare
From: meself
Date: 02 Jun 11 - 04:43 PM

Just out of curiosity: why would CM have stopped singing it "when he found out that it may not have been original to Burns"?

Subject: RE: Origins: Curragh of Kildare
From: Dave MacKenzie
Date: 02 Jun 11 - 04:56 PM

Christy explains in his book. There's a copy in Woking Public Library, which is over 200 miles from where I live.

Subject: RE: Origins: Curragh of Kildare
From: meself
Date: 02 Jun 11 - 05:01 PM

And well over 2000 miles from where I live. I guess I will just have to remain forever baffled.

Subject: RE: Origins: Curragh of Kildare
From: MartinRyan
Date: 02 Jun 11 - 05:10 PM

According to Christy Moore, he found the Burns setting, and added an Irish chorus, then stooped singing it when he found out that it may not have been original to Burns.

Not quite. He basically says that, in the early 1960's, he found a version in the PW Joyce collection, adapted it with Donal Lunny (including cobbling the chorus from two fragments of verses), swapped it to Mick Maloney for The Bleacher Lassies of Kelvinhaugh (which is how The Johnstons ended up recording it) - and then discovered the Burns ascription. At the end of the page (probably in final proof) he mentions that there is "some doubt" about Robbie Burns' authorship. Nothing to suggest he stopped singing it for that reason.

Regards

Subject: RE: Origins: Curragh of Kildare
From: Dave MacKenzie
Date: 02 Jun 11 - 05:10 PM

There are some copies on Amazon.

Subject: RE: Origins: Curragh of Kildare
From: meself
Date: 02 Jun 11 - 05:37 PM

No doubt.

(Thanks MartinRyan.)

Subject: Lyr Add: Curragh of Kildare
From: Joe Offer
Date: 23 Mar 20 - 10:20 PM

Heard this at a song circle tonight. Can anybody tell me about it?

CURRAGH OF KILDARE

The winter has passed
And the summer's come at last
The small birds are singing in the trees
Their little hearts are glad
Ah, but mine is very sad
For my true love is far away from me

The ribbons I'll wear
And I'll comb back my hair
And gallants I bring I will appear
And straight I will go there
To the Curragh of Kildare
For it's there that I'll find tidings of my dear

All you who are in love
Aye and cannot it remove
I pity the pain you do endure
For experience lets me know
That your hearts are filled of woe
It's a woe that no mortal man can cure

The rose upon the briar
And the water's running clear
Brings joy to the linnet and the bee
Their little hearts are blessed
And but mine can know no rest
For my true love is far away from me

Winter has passed
And the summer's come at last
The small birds are singing in the trees
Their little hearts are glad
Ah, but mine is very sad
For my true love is far away from me

Source: https://lyrics.fandom.com/wiki/Bert_Jansch:Curragh_Of_Kildare

Subject: RE: Lyr Add: Curragh of Kildare
From: Steve Shaw
Date: 23 Mar 20 - 10:24 PM

Christy.

Subject: RE: Lyr Add: Curragh of Kildare
From: Reinhard
Date: 23 Mar 20 - 11:38 PM

Origins: Curragh of Kildare/The Winter It Is Past