Lyr Add: Barnagh Hill (from Andy Irvine)

Subject: Lyr Add: BARNAGH HILL (from Andy Irvine)
From: GUEST,Donal
Date: 17 Nov 03 - 08:57 AM

I would very much appreciate some help with the placenames in this song. It is a transcription of Andy Irvine's version and I can't find the lyrics in any of the usual places.
Thanks in advance,
Don.


Oh do my eyes deceive me, or is it all a dream,
The Golden Vale of Limerick in it's coat of verdant green.
A rarer sight was never seen, nor surely never will,
All the Golden Vale of Limerick, you can view from Barnagh Hill.

When standing on the summit, of that ancient place around,
You can view each town and city, far better than a map.
Newcastle West before me lies, ? Street and Waylen's/Whelan's Mill,
You can view them all from Curtin's ?, at the top of Barnagh Hill.

You can view the river Shannon, and the hills far off in Clare,
Rathkeale, Croagh, and Patrickswell, and lovely sweet Adare.
Askeaton, Ardagh, Abbeyfeale, Ashford and Charleville,
You can view them all from Curtin's ?, at the top of Barnagh Hill.

To the right is Ballingarry, 'tis the chief town of the plain,
Where oft the lord of ? the stately deer has slain.
Where heroic men in days of yore, they showed their power and skill,
Let my burial place be Monagale at the foot of Barnagh Hill

Subject: RE: Lyr Req: Help,please: Barnagh/Barna Hill
From: GUEST,Martin Ryan
Date: 17 Nov 03 - 09:04 AM

Goat Street, Phelan's Mill and Curtin's Lawn.

Regards

Subject: RE: Lyr Req: Help,please: Barnagh/Barna Hill
From: GUEST,Martin Ryan
Date: 17 Nov 03 - 09:47 AM

... And "Monagea", in the last line, I think.

Regards

Subject: RE: Lyr Req: Help,please: Barnagh/Barna Hill
From: GUEST,Donal
Date: 17 Nov 03 - 07:41 PM

Martin,
          Thank-you very much.
                                             Don.

Subject: RE: Lyr Add: Barnagh Hill (from Andy Irvine)
From: GUEST,Tom
Date: 02 Jul 10 - 12:43 PM

Donal, are you still looking for info on the place names?

Subject: RE: Lyr Add: Barnagh Hill (from Andy Irvine)
From: GUEST,^&*
Date: 02 Jul 10 - 01:02 PM

Hi GUEST,Tom

Donal is still around alright - so please add anything you think might be of interest.

Subject: Lyr Add: BARNAGH HILL
From: Jim Dixon
Date: 09 Jul 10 - 09:28 PM

The lyrics can be found in West Limerick Roots: The Laurence Curtin Family of Knockbrack, County Limerick, Ireland by Paul Joseph Curtin (Austin, Tex.: P. J. Curtin, ©1995).

This book is classified as "snippet view" only by Google Books, but I was able to use some hocus-pocus to hack all the words. Unfortunately, I couldn't identify the author, although that information might be in the book (I suspect it's somebody named Curtin).


BARNAGH HILL

Oh! do my eyes deceive me, or is it but a dream,
The Golden Vale of Limerick with its coat of verdant green,
A rarer sight was never seen or never will again [sic],
It's that Golden Vale of Limerick you can view from Barnagh Hill.

When standing on the summit of that ancient Danish Rock,
You can view each town and city, far better than a map,
Newcastle West before me lies, Goats' Street and Whelan's Mill,
You can view them all from Curtin's Lawn, at the top of Barnagh Hill.

You can view the River Shannon and the hills far off in Clare,
Rathkeale, Croagh and Patrickswell and lovely sweet Adare.
Askeaton, Ardagh, Abbeyfeale, Ashford and Charleville,
You can view them all from Curtin's Lawn, at the top of Barnagh Hill.

To the right is Ballingarry, 'tis the chief town of the plain,
Where oft the Lord of Desmond, the stately deer did [sic] slain,
Where heroic men in days of yore, they showed their power and skill,
And my burial place is Monagea, at the foot of Barnagh Hill.

Subject: RE: Lyr Add: Barnagh Hill (from Andy Irvine)
From: GUEST,^&*
Date: 10 Jul 10 - 11:08 AM

Just back from the Willy Clancy Week in Miltown Malbay - where, coincidentally, I heard this song (for the first time) during one of the marathon song/recitation sessions in Marrinan's Bar.

Subject: RE: Lyr Add: Barnagh Hill (from Andy Irvine)
From: Joe Offer
Date: 01 Mar 21 - 03:49 PM

Have we decided on the name of the songwriter?

Subject: RE: Lyr Add: Barnagh Hill (from Andy Irvine)
From: ShlomoC
Date: 01 Mar 21 - 04:01 PM

It's not mentioned in the thread, but the tune associated with it is "the Valley of Knockanure".

Subject: RE: Lyr Add: Barnagh Hill (from Andy Irvine)
From: GUEST,#
Date: 01 Mar 21 - 04:46 PM

The song was also recorded as Barna Hill--same lyrics, different spelling:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ij5tmme12TQ

I found the following

" “Barna Hill” is a song describing the view from Barna Hill in Limerick, which Irvine first heard sung by an old man in 1963 at a Fleadh Cheoil in Newcastlewest, County Limerick. '

That is from

https://andyirvinelyrics.wordpress.com/2014/02/13/barna-hill/


That said, I doubt the author's name will be located all that easily.

Subject: RE: Lyr Add: Barnagh Hill (from Andy Irvine)
From: GUEST,Pat Sugrue
Date: 13 Aug 21 - 03:26 PM

This song was written by T.D Shanahan who was born in Monagea
The last place mentioned in the song. His birth place was about two
miles from Barna hill.