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05 Aug 99 - 12:01 PM (#102562) Subject: Lyr Add: THE FENIANS OF CAHIRCIVEEN From: Wolfgang John in Brisbane, this one is for you, for all the lyrics and tunes you added. You haven't asked for it, but it's from Kerry and this way I help you to add another (well, not very good) song from Kerry. I know it from the singing of the Johnstons, on their 'The Barley Corn' LP and their 'Ye Jacobites by Name' LP (identical LPs except for the name). THE FENIANS OF CAHIRCIVEEN I am a bold Fenian from Cahirciveen, That late took my gun for to fight for the green; O'er mountains and woodlands I wandered along Now I leave it alone and commence up my song. We marched to Kells station that lies near the strand Where the sea rushes in with wild waves to the land; And then you may say we had courage go leor When Kells station was taken by the boys of Filemore. We were proud of our country, and our heroes so brave, And we spurned the false counsel that's given by the slave, Who would sell his own country for comfort and gold, Who would spy on his brothers the Fenians so bold. But the warm hand of friendship forever is seen In the soldiers of Ireland, who fight for the green, Who scorn, 'fore the tyrants their heads to bend low, Who strike dumb with terror the false Saxon foe. We spurned all their jails, and their turnkeys as well, As to turncoat informers, we'd sure give them hell, For we feared neither jail not the scaffold on high, And we'd sworn for ould Ireland to conquer or die; As to buckshot and powder, we'd plenty in store, And in deep, secret places, munitions go leor, There were no men more feared by the troops of the Queen, Then the bold hearted Fenians of Cahirciveen. We were loved by young women, both buxom and strong, In their red-flannel petticoats singing a song, In their shawls and their bodices neatly arrayed, With their beautiful forms so correctly displayed, Who would stir any man to great exploits of fame, To win for Ould Ireland a true honoured name, To fight for their honour before any Queen, Like the truehearted Fenians of Cahirciveen. We marched all along and our guns we did load We then met a policeman, on horseback he rode We asked him to surrender but the answer was 'No', And a ball from young Conway soon levelled him low, Away we marched on and our guns did reload We met Father Meegan and for him low we bowed, He gave us his blessing saying 'God be your friend In the battle of Freedom on which you are bent.' Come shoulder your arms, come march and obey, But alas! We were beaten all on the next day Our plans were found out by some dirty old spy And on Captain Moriarty they did cast an eye. Moriarty came in on the mail car next day To lead all our brave boys to join in the fray, To our greatest surprise he was marched into jail, Which left us in sorrow our loss to bewail. 'Gainst their grape shot and cannon we fought to the last, 'Spite their bayonets and red coats we stuck to our mast, Tho' the peelers may march with their battering ram, For their batons and law, sure we don't give a damn! And their bailiffs may come, hedged around by cold steel, But one charge from our boys would make traitor heads reel, For the cleanest of fighters that ever were seen, Were the truehearted Fenians of Cahirciveen. Then it's off thro' the mountains we all took our course, Our stomachs being slack and we had but bad clothes, We were in a number about sixty strong, Surrounded by red coats for something went wrong, Then hurrah for the Fenians of Cahirciveen, No bolder nor braver in Erin was seen; No soldiers more true to the banner of green Than the truehearted Fenians of Cahirciveen. The Johnstons' notes to this song: 'A sketchy and rather incomplete account of an abortive local uprising against the occupying British forces in Cahirciveen in West Kerry. The rather incongruous reason why the Redcoats triumphed was because „something went wrong". We heard this song by the well-known Ceolteoiri Cualann singer Sean O Se.' I guess, the events described are from the last century and the song probably too. Does someone have more information (which event, writer)? Wolfgang ^^ |
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18 Feb 00 - 08:53 AM (#180637) Subject: RE: Lyr Add: The Fenians of Cahirciveen From: Wolfgang I refresh this in an attempt of fishing again for responses to my questions above. Wolfgang |
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18 Feb 00 - 10:52 AM (#180688) Subject: RE: Lyr Add: The Fenians of Cahirciveen From: InOBU Dear Wolfgang I used to love hearing Sean O Se, back in the days, in Dingle, in the seventies. He used to do a little waltz step as he sang,I will send a note to friends in Dingle, and hopefully we may get some responce. All the best Larry |
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18 Feb 00 - 11:43 AM (#180724) Subject: RE: Lyr Add: The Fenians of Cahirciveen From: Wolfgang I'm patient, Larry, thanks for trying. Wolfgang |
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18 Feb 00 - 01:35 PM (#180795) Subject: RE: Lyr Add: The Fenians of Cahirciveen From: Martin _Ryan Wolfgang What was the air? Smacks of the "Galbally Farmer" or thereabouts. I don't know the song - but will try to check when I get a chance, Regards |
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18 Feb 00 - 04:23 PM (#180873) Subject: RE: Lyr Add: The Fenians of Cahirciveen From: Jon Freeman Martin, I have put a midi that should be close enough at http://members.tripod.co.uk/jonbanjo/fenians.mid Jon |
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19 Feb 00 - 04:39 PM (#181305) Subject: RE: Lyr Add: The Fenians of Cahirciveen From: Martin _Ryan Thanks Jon - I'll have a listen when I get a chance Regards |
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19 Feb 00 - 06:25 PM (#181344) Subject: RE: Lyr Add: The Fenians of Cahirciveen From: McGrath of Harlow I wonder if this song might have been the germ of Percy French's "Shlathery's Mounted Fut":
"We'll cross the ditch" our leaders cried, "an take the foe in flank,"
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06 Mar 00 - 05:27 AM (#190281) Subject: RE: Lyr Add: The Fenians of Cahirciveen From: Martin _Ryan I was talking to Tim Dennehy, a fine singer originally from Cahirciveen. He says the song is still sung occasionally. Anoather contact says the air is "The Felons of our land" - to which it certainly seems to fit, Must check ouit that midi... Regards |
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07 Mar 00 - 04:19 AM (#191009) Subject: RE: Lyr Add: The Fenians of Cahirciveen From: Wolfgang Jon's midi is the tune I know from the Johnstons. Wolfgang |
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25 Apr 03 - 07:43 AM (#939828) Subject: Tune Add:THE FENIANS OF CAHIRCIVEEN From: GUEST,Jon MMario has reported that the midi I gave has gone. Here is the abc: X:1 T:The Fenians of Carhirciveen S:The Johnstons - "Ye Jacobites By Name" Z: Jon Freeman M:3/4 Q:1/4=160 K:C z4CD|E2E2E2|D2G2G2|D2C2B,2|C4 w:I* am a bold Fen-ian from Ca-hir-civ-een GA|_B2B2B2|A2G2F2|G2c2B2|c4 w:That* late took my gun for to fight for the Green GA|_B2B2B2|A2G2G2|c2E2E2|D4 w:O-ver moun-tains and wood-lands I wan-dered a-long CD|E2E2E2|D2G2G2|D2C2B,2|C4z2|] w:Now I'll leave it a-lone and com-mence on my song Wolfgang, where did you find the longer version you gave? The one on "Ye Jacobites By Name" does not have your verses 2-4 or 7 and there are some differences in words. |
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25 Apr 03 - 09:13 AM (#939875) Subject: RE: Lyr Add: The Fenians of Cahirciveen From: MMario Thank you Jon! |
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25 Apr 03 - 10:46 AM (#939940) Subject: RE: Lyr Add: The Fenians of Cahirciveen From: GUEST Wolfgang, you asked "which event". According to this page, there was a rising in Cahirciveen in February 1867. Maybe that's the one. |
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25 Apr 03 - 02:10 PM (#940102) Subject: RE: Lyr Add: The Fenians of Cahirciveen From: ard mhacha I have The Johnstons singing this song, sorry Martin I don`t think the air is close to The Felons of our land. And Larry Sean O` Se is still to be seen in, Come west along the road, a great programme that has been repeated a few time on RTE. Ard Mhacha. |
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26 Apr 03 - 03:37 AM (#940537) Subject: RE: Lyr Add: The Fenians of Cahirciveen From: Big Tim Yes, the song is about the Fenian rising in the Iveragh Peninsula, Kerry, in February 1867. The earliest trace of it that I could find was in a Herbert Hughes songbook in 1936 but I'd uess that it's a lot older than that. If memory serves, Hughes was living in Cahersiven (not Caherciveen) at the time. He died the following year. The rebels, estimated at around 500, captured the coastguard station at Kells. After that the rebellion fell apart for as a later Kerry republican said "the Iveragh men rose but they rose alone". John O'Neil Goulding (1841-79) was one of those transported to Australia as a result. There will be a photo of his grave included in MY BOOK ON IRISH SONGS which is being published in Belfast very soon. The photo was taken by OZ Mudcatter Bob Bolton and generously given to me by him! Another transported was teenager John Keegan Casey, the original "Galtee Mountain Boy". |
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26 Apr 03 - 03:50 AM (#940540) Subject: RE: Lyr Add: The Fenians of Cahirciveen From: Big Tim Sorry, that should read John Sarsfield Casey, John Keegan Casey. John Keegan Casey (1846-70) was of course the composer of "Maire my Girl" and "The Rising of the Moon". |
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29 Apr 03 - 04:32 AM (#942558) Subject: RE: Lyr Add: The Fenians of Cahirciveen From: Wolfgang Thanks GUEST and Big Tim for the background information. Much appreciated. Jon, from memory I'd say I took it from the Walton's publ. booklet The tri coloured ribbon. I'll have a look and post again if I have to correct my recollection. Wolfgang |
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30 Apr 03 - 11:17 AM (#943571) Subject: RE: Lyr Add: The Fenians of Cahirciveen From: Wolfgang Yes, the long version comes from Walton's booklet (1966) titled The Tri coloured ribbon. More readily accessible (and still in print the last time I looked) is the identical version in Walton's New Treasury of Irish Songs and Ballads. Wolfgang |
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30 Apr 03 - 11:18 AM (#943573) Subject: RE: Lyr Add: The Fenians of Cahirciveen From: Wolfgang For the last booklet add: 'Part 1' Wolfgang |
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30 Apr 03 - 12:40 PM (#943645) Subject: RE: Lyr Add: The Fenians of Cahirciveen From: GUEST,Jon Thanks Wolfgang and Big Tim for the earlier information. |
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30 Dec 05 - 04:23 PM (#1637596) Subject: RE: Lyr Add: The Fenians of Cahirciveen From: GUEST,Michael Ruddy Wolfgang Cahirciveen is a town in count Kerry Ireland and the birthplace of the "Great Liberator" Daniel O'Connell. In 1858 two men, John O'Mahony living in New York and James Stephens in Ireland, formed societies, one in US and one in Ireland, based on physical force Irish nationalism. In the US they called themselves the Fenian Brotherhood and operated relatively in the open. In Ireland they were called the Irish Revolutionary Brotherhood (IRB) and were a secret oath-bound society. The movement grew in Ireland and became infused with money collected in the US towards the end of the Civil War (1865). The British in Ireland got antsy about the possibilities of an insurrection and arrested Stephens which put a crimp in a planned 1866 rising. Irish-American military men who had fought in the US Civil War and who had been members of the Fenian Brotherhood infiltrated Ireland assumed command of the IRB and called for a rising on February 12, 1867, then for some reason postponed the rising for a few weeks. The IRB men in Cahirciveen did not get the message and took over the police barracks in which they found the message that that had postponed the rising. An officer named Captain Mortimer Moriarity was sent to Kerry to lead the risng but was captured and taken to jail somewhere near Cahirciveen. I have not found out much more about the Cahirciveen 'battle' but you can contact me if you have questions on Fenian or IRB activities. Mike mpruddy@bellsouth.net |
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08 Jan 06 - 08:56 AM (#1644025) Subject: RE: Lyr Add: The Fenians of Cahirciveen From: Wolfgang Mike, thanks for that bit of a background. I did know about the Fenians in general, but not about those in Cahirciveen. I love to read about the historical background to songs. Wolfgang |
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17 Jan 07 - 06:32 AM (#1939233) Subject: RE: Lyr Add: The Fenians of Cahirciveen From: Keith A of Hertford "go lear" appeares twice in the above verses. Should be galore? |
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17 Jan 07 - 06:34 AM (#1939238) Subject: RE: Lyr Add: The Fenians of Cahirciveen From: Scrump Yes, it appears to be an anagram! (Maybe a typo, I often transpose letters by mistake). "Galore" is correct. |
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17 Jan 07 - 06:41 AM (#1939246) Subject: RE: Lyr Add: The Fenians of Cahirciveen From: GUEST,Martin Ryan "go leor" is the Irish (Gaeilge) expression for "in plenty". While it is often anglicised as "galore" , this usually results in a change insound. In its Kerry home,it is pretty certain that a singer would use the Irish pronunciation! Regards p.s. Its not so easy to reproduce that pronuncition in the sort of crude phonetics we're used to around here! |
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17 Jan 07 - 06:43 AM (#1939248) Subject: RE: Lyr Add: The Fenians of Cahirciveen From: Wolfgang No, Keith. It is a bit of Gaelic in the middle of an English verse. "Go leor" (not: lear) is correct here. Yes, Keith. It is (roughly) pronounced "galore" and it means "galore" so you can read it as "galore" if you want. Wolfgang |
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17 Jan 07 - 06:48 AM (#1939253) Subject: RE: Lyr Add: The Fenians of Cahirciveen From: Scrump Oops! Sorry folks, I was wrong. (Before I get abused by indignant Gaels!) |
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17 Jan 07 - 06:48 AM (#1939254) Subject: RE: Lyr Add: The Fenians of Cahirciveen From: GUEST,Martin Ryan Yes Wolfgang! Spanish speakers can get very close to the Irish by making the l of galore into an "ll" Regards |
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05 Feb 12 - 12:19 PM (#3302550) Subject: RE: Lyr Add: The Fenians of Cahirciveen From: GUEST X:1 T:The Fenians of Carhirciveen S:The Johnstons - "Ye Jacobites By Name" Z: Jon Freeman M:3/4 Q:1/4=160 K:C z4CD|E2E2E2|D2G2G2|D2C2B,2|C4 w:I* am a bold Fen-ian from Ca-hir-civ-een GA|_B2B2B2|A2G2F2|G2c2B2|c4 w:That* late took my gun for to fight for the Green GA|_B2B2B2|A2G2G2|c2E2E2|D4 w:O-ver moun-tains and wood-lands I wan-dered a-long CD|E2E2E2|D2G2G2|D2C2B,2|C4z2|] w:Now I'll leave it a-lone and com-mence on my song |