"Galway Bay" is the name of at least two different songs. The first, "(My Own Dear) Galway Bay", is traditionally more popular and known in the

Galway Bay Galway Bay (Irish: ''Loch Lurgain'' or ''Cuan na Gaillimhe'') is a bay on the west coast of Ireland, between County Galway in the province of Connacht to the north and the Burren in County Clare in the province of Munster to the south; Galwa ...

area. The second song is more popular outside Ireland.

"(My Own Dear) Galway Bay"

This song is known alternatively as "Galway Bay", "My Own Dear Galway Bay", or "The Old Galway Bay". It was composed in London by Frank A. Fahy (1854–1935), a native of Kinvara, Co. Galway, on the shores of Galway Bay. It was originally written to air of "Skibbereen". One of the most renowned recordings of the later version was by the

Irish Irish may refer to: Common meanings * Someone or something of, from, or related to: ** Ireland, an island situated off the north-western coast of continental Europe ***Éire, Irish language name for the isle ** Northern Ireland, a constituent unit ...

singer

Dolores Keane Dolores Keane (born 26 September 1953) is an Irish folk singer and occasional actress. She was a founding member of the group De Dannan and has since embarked on a solo career. Background Keane was born in a small village called Sylane (near ...

"Galway Bay"

A separate song was written by Dr.

Arthur Colahan Arthur Nicholas Whistler Colahan (12 August 1884 – 15 September 1952) was an Ireland, Irish medical doctor, British Army officer and songwriter. Career Born Nicholas Arthur Colohan at Alexandra Terrace, Enniskillen, County Fermanagh, Irel ...

Leicester Leicester ( ) is a city status in the United Kingdom, city, Unitary authorities of England, unitary authority and the county town of Leicestershire in the East Midlands of England. It is the largest settlement in the East Midlands. The city l ...

in 1947 and popularised by

Bing Crosby Harry Lillis "Bing" Crosby Jr. (May 3, 1903 – October 14, 1977) was an American singer, musician and actor. The first multimedia star, he was one of the most popular and influential musical artists of the 20th century worldwide. He was a ...

. Crosby recorded the song with

Victor Young Albert Victor Young (August 8, 1899– November 10, 1956)"Victor Young, Composer, Dies of Heart Attack", ''Oakland Tribune'', November 12, 1956. was an American composer, arranger, violinist and conductor. Biography Young is commonly said to ...

and his Orchestra on 27 November 1947, and changed some of the lyrics so as to be less political. It became a huge hit around the world with Irish emigrants, and reached the No. 3 position in the Billboard charts in the U.S. Crosby recorded the song again in 1966 for a television show broadcast the following year. The tracks were recorded in Dublin, and later commercially issued on the album '' A Little Bit of Irish''. Crosby also included the song in his 50th anniversary concert at the London Palladium, which was recorded and issued on a double album. In 1948, "Galway Bay" spent 22 consecutive weeks at No. 1 on the UK's sheet music sales chart, with multiple cover versions available at the time. Unusually, it entered the chart at No. 1, and spent a total of 39 weeks on the listings. The contemporary recordings available during this period were by: *

Denis Martin Denis Martin (1920 – October 1988) was a Northern Irish singer, actor and theatre producer active in the 1940s to 1980s. Martin won the All-Ireland tenor competition at Feis Ceoil in 1944, He then moved to England where he performed as a sing ...

* Robert Wilson * Bing Crosby * The Sentimentalists presented by

Billy Cotton William Edward Cotton (6 May 1899 – 25 March 1969) as Billy Cotton was an English band leader and entertainer, one of the few whose orchestras survived the British dance band era. Cotton is now mainly remembered as a 1950s and 1960s radio a ...

* Anne Shelton with The Wardour Singers * Bill Johnson * Jack Simpson and his Sextet (vocal by Dave Kydd) * Michael O'Duffy with Duncan Morrison (piano) * Joseph McNally *

Josef Locke Joseph McLaughlin (23 March 1917 – 15 October 1999), known professionally as Josef Locke, was an Irish tenor. He was successful in the United Kingdom and Ireland in the 1940s and 1950s. Background Born in Derry, Ireland, he was the son of a ...

Joe Loss Sir Joshua Alexander "Joe" Loss (22 June 1909 – 6 June 1990) was a British dance band leader and musician who founded his own eponymous orchestra. Life Loss was born in Spitalfields, London, the youngest of four children. His parents, Israe ...

and his Orchestra (vocal by The Lhon D'Hoo Male Choir)

Ruby Murray Ruby Florence Murray (29 March 1935 – 17 December 1996) was a Northern Irish singer. One of the most popular singers in the British Isles in the 1950s, she scored ten hits in the UK Singles Chart between 1954 and 1959. She also made pop chart ...

later included the song on her album ''When Irish Eyes Are Smiling'' (1955). The copyright of "Galway Bay" is held by

Box and Cox Publications Box and Cox Publications, known as Box & Cox, was a music publisher who had offices at number 7, Denmark Street. Their greatest hit was "I've Got a Lovely Bunch of Coconuts "I've Got a Lovely Bunch of Coconuts" is a novelty song composed in 1944 ...

of London. A humorous version was created by

The Clancy Brothers The Clancy Brothers were an influential Irish folk music group that developed initially as a part of the American folk music revival. Most popular during the 1960s, they were famed for their Aran jumper sweaters and are widely credited with popu ...

and

Tommy Makem Thomas Makem (4 November 1932 – 1 August 2007) was an internationally celebrated Irish folk musician, artist, poet and storyteller. He was best known as a member of the Clancy Brothers and Tommy Makem. He played the long-necked 5-string banjo ...

. A notable reference to Colahan's song is made in

The Pogues The Pogues were an English or Anglo-Irish Celtic punk band fronted by Shane MacGowan and others, founded in Kings Cross, London in 1982, as "Pogue Mahone" – the anglicisation of the Irish Gaelic ''póg mo thóin'', meaning "kiss my arse". T ...

' "

Fairytale of New York "Fairytale of New York" is a song written by Jem Finer and Shane MacGowan and recorded by their London-based band the Pogues, featuring singer-songwriter Kirsty MacColl on vocals. The song is an Irish folk-style ballad and was written as a due ...

Chloë Agnew Chloë Alexandra Adele Emily Agnew (born 1989) is an Irish singer and songwriter, best known for being an original and former member of the Celtic music group Celtic Woman. Early life and career Agnew was born to Irish entertainer Adele " ...

Celtic Woman Celtic Woman is an all-female Irish musical ensemble conceived and created by David Kavanagh, Sharon Browne and David Downes, a former musical director of the Irish stage show ''Riverdance.'' In 2004, Downes recruited five Irish female music ...

also covered the song in the group's show ''Songs from the Heart'', while

Philip Noone Philip, also Phillip, is a male given name, derived from the Greek (''Philippos'', lit. "horse-loving" or "fond of horses"), from a compound of (''philos'', "dear", "loved", "loving") and (''hippos'', "horse"). Prominent Philips who popularize ...

released a more modern version as a single in 2019.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Galway Bay (Song) 1947 songs Irish folk songs Music in Galway (city) Songs about Ireland