"Gartan Mother's Lullaby" is an old Irish song and poem written by
Herbert Hughes and
Seosamh Mac Cathmhaoil
Joseph Campbell (15 July 1879 – 6 June 1944) was an Irish poet and lyricist. He wrote under the Gaelic form of his name Seosamh Mac Cathmhaoil (also Seosamh MacCathmhaoil) Campbell being a common anglicization of the old Irish name MacCa ...
, first published in ''Songs of Uladh
lster' in 1904.
Hughes collected the traditional melody in Donegal the previous year and Campbell wrote the lyrics. The song is a lullaby by a mother, from the parish of
Gartan in County Donegal. The song refers to a number of figures in Irish mythology, places in Ireland and words in the Irish language.
Pronunciation
*''Aoibheall'', (pronounced "''ee-val''") commonly known as Aoibhinn the Beautiful, is the queen of the Northern Fairies.
*''The Green Man'', (or ''Fear Glas'' in
Irish) it is said if you see him in the morning, "no ill follows"; but if at night, death or some other terrible misfortune will surely overtake you. He is sometimes called ''Fear Liath'', or the Grey Man.
*''Siabhra'', is a generic term for an Irish fairy of any kind. In ancient writings the
Tuatha de Danann, or little magicians of the Pagan Irish, were called "siabhra" without distinction.
*''Tearmann'', Irish for
Termon, a village near Gartan in
Donegal Donegal may refer to:
County Donegal, Ireland
* County Donegal, a county in the Republic of Ireland, part of the province of Ulster
* Donegal (town), a town in County Donegal in Ulster, Ireland
* Donegal Bay, an inlet in the northwest of Ireland b ...
.
*''Leanbhan'', is an old
Irish word for ''little child''. (leanbh is Irish for child +án leanbhán is its diminutive.)
Recordings
*2016 -
UCD Choral Scholars covered on the album "Invisible Stars"
*2016 -
Lisa Cuthbert Lisa or LISA may refer to:
People
People with the mononym
* Lisa Lisa (born 1967), American actress and lead singer of the Cult Jam
* Lisa (Japanese musician, born 1974), stylized "LISA", Japanese singer and producer
* Lisa Komine (born 1978), ...
covered on the album ''Paramour''
*2011 -
Screaming Orphans covered on the album ''The Jacket's Green''
*2011 -
Deirdre Shannon covered on the album ''Anamcheol''
*2010 -
Peter Roberts covered on the album ''
Love and the Ferryman
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''
*2010 -
Fionnuala Sherry
Fionnuala Sherry (born 20 September 1962) is an Irish violinist and vocalist.
Together with Norwegian musician Rolf Løvland, she makes up the Celtic-Nordic group Secret Garden, which won the Eurovision Song Contest 1995 with the predominantly ...
covered on the album ''
Songs From Before
A song is a musical composition intended to be performed by the human voice. This is often done at melody, distinct and fixed pitches (melodies) using patterns of sound and silence. Songs contain various song form, forms, such as those includ ...
''
*2007 -
Tracey Rose Brown covered on the album " Songs In The Mist"
*2006 -
Órla Fallon, covered on the album ''
The Water Is Wide''
*2002 -
Spiral Dance, covered on the album ''Notes of Being''
*2002 -
Kerstin Blodig, covered on the album ''Valivann''
*2000 -
Meryl Streep, recorded for the album ''For Our Children: 10th Anniversary''
*1992 -
Kim Robertson, recorded for the album ''Tender Shepherd''
*1991 -
Paddy Reilly, on his album ''The Gold and Silver Days''
*1977 -
Alba, on their album "
Alba"
*1972 -
The Dubliners, on their album ''
Double Dubliners
''Double Dubliners'' is The Dubliners' ninth studio album. It is also known as ''Alive and Well'', the title it was released under on the Polydor labeIt's the Dubliners site for the album A standout track here is a recitation by Ronnie Drew of ...
''
*1969 -
The Corries, appears on their album ''Strings and Things''
*1963 -
The Ian Campbell Folk Group
The Ian Campbell Folk Group were one of the most popular and respected folk groups of the British folk revival of the 1960s. The group made many appearances on radio, television, and at national and international venues and festivals. They per ...
, appears on their album ''This Is The Ian Campbell Folk Group!''
*1959 -
Deirdre O'Callaghan
Deirdre ( , Irish: ; sga, Derdriu ) is the foremost tragic heroine in Irish legend and probably its best-known figure in modern times. She is known by the epithet "Deirdre of the Sorrows" (). Her story is part of the Ulster Cycle, the best-know ...
, appears on their album ''Folk Songs From Erin''
*1958 -
Mary O'Hara
Mary O'Hara (born 12 May 1935) is an Irish soprano and harpist from County Sligo. She gained attention on both sides of the Atlantic in the late 1950s and early 1960s. Her recordings of that period influenced a generation of Irish female singer ...
, appears on their album ''Songs Of Ireland''
References
The Guardian, Poem of the week: The Gartan Mother’s Lullaby by Joseph Campbell, Carol Rumens, Mon 18 Jan 2016
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Lullabies
Irish songs
Irish poems
Irish folk songs
1904 songs