The Moorlough Shore (
Roud 2742) is a
traditional Irish love song.
Synopsis
A young man praises the beauties of the countryside and the girl he has fallen in love with. She refuses his advances on the ground that she already loves a sailor. She will wait for her true love for seven years. In frustration the boy leaves his childhood home and sails away, still praising the girl he loves that lives by the
Moorlough Shore. The song is set in
Strabane
Strabane ( ; ) is a town in County Tyrone, Northern Ireland.
Strabane had a population of 13,172 at the 2011 Census. It lies on the east bank of the River Foyle. It is roughly midway from Omagh, Derry and Letterkenny. The River Foyle marks ...
, and local names and places along the
River Mourne are mentioned.
Released versions
The earliest version is a broadside in the
Bodleian Library
The Bodleian Library () is the main research library of the University of Oxford, and is one of the oldest libraries in Europe. It derives its name from its founder, Sir Thomas Bodley. With over 13 million printed items, it is the second- ...
, dated 1886. The song is discussed in the "
Journal of the Irish folk Song Society
A journal, from the Old French ''journal'' (meaning "daily"), may refer to:
* Bullet journal, a method of personal organization
* Diary, a record of what happened over the course of a day or other period
*Daybook, also known as a general journal ...
" in 1905 and 1911. In the 1940s
Helen Hartness Flanders found a version in
Vermont.
There are notable recordings by:
* "
John McGettigan
John is a common English name and surname:
* John (given name)
* John (surname)
John may also refer to:
New Testament
Works
* Gospel of John, a title often shortened to John
* First Epistle of John, often shortened to 1 John
* Seco ...
& his Irish Minstrels" on a single released in the 1930s in the USA
*
Paddy Tunney on the album ''Man of Songs'' (1963)
*
Peta Webb
Peta or PETA may refer to:
Acronym
* Pembela Tanah Air, a militia established by the occupying Japanese in Indonesia in 1943
* People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals, an American animal rights organization
* People Eating Tasty Animals, a ...
on the album ''I Have Wandered in Exile'' (1973)
*
Stan Rogers
Stanley Allison Rogers (November 29, 1949 – June 2, 1983) was a Canadian folk musician and songwriter.
Rogers was noted for his rich, baritone voice and his traditional-sounding songs which were frequently inspired by Canadian history and th ...
on the album ''
Fogarty's Cove
''Fogarty's Cove'' is a 1977 folk music album by Stan Rogers.
The CD was one of several Stan Rogers albums reissued in 2011 by Borealis Records
Borealis Records is a Canadian record label, founded in 1996 by four Canadian musicians. It is not ...
'' (1976)
*
The Boys of the Lough on the album ''Regrouped'' (1980)
*
Yorkshire Garland on the album ''The Twiddley-Men Tapes'' (1983)
*
Dolores Keane on the album ''Lion in a Cage'' (1989)
*
Caroline Lavelle
Caroline Lavelle is an English singer-songwriter and cellist who has created three solo albums and contributed vocals, music, and production help to many other artists and bands.
Career
Lavelle studied at the Royal College of Music in London. ...
on the album ''Spirit'' (1995)
*
Patrick Street on the album ''Corner Boys'' (1996)
*
Susan McKeown
Susan McKeown (born February 6, 1967) is an Irish folk singer, songwriter, arranger and producer.
Early years
Susan McKeown was born on February 6, 1967 in Terenure, Dublin, Ireland. She briefly attended the Municipal College of Music, Chatham ...
on the album ''
Lowlands'' (2000)
*
Sinéad O'Connor
Shuhada Sadaqat (born Sinéad Marie Bernadette O'Connor on 8 December 1966; ) is an Irish singer-songwriter. Her debut album, ''The Lion and the Cobra'', was released in 1987 and charted internationally. Her second album, ''I Do Not Want What ...
on the album ''
Sean-Nós Nua'' (2002)
*
Karine Polwart on the compilation album ''Fishing Music I'' (2003)
*
Emm Gryner on the album ''Songs of Love and Death'' (2005)
*
The Corrs on the album ''
Home
A home, or domicile, is a space used as a permanent or semi-permanent residence for one or many humans, and sometimes various companion animals. It is a fully or semi sheltered space and can have both interior and exterior aspects to it. H ...
'' (2005)
Other versions
After the
Easter Rising
The Easter Rising ( ga, Éirí Amach na Cásca), also known as the Easter Rebellion, was an armed insurrection in Ireland during Easter Week in April 1916. The Rising was launched by Irish republicans against British rule in Ireland with the a ...
in Ireland, the parish priest Canon Charles O’Neil wrote the lyrics for the well known political song
''Foggy Dew'' to this air.
William Butler Yeats' poem ''
Down by the Salley Gardens
"Down by the Salley Gardens" (''Irish: Gort na Saileán'') is a poem by William Butler Yeats published in ''The Wanderings of Oisin and Other Poems'' in 1889.
History
Yeats indicated in a note that it was "an attempt to reconstruct an old song f ...
'' has been set to the same melody by
Herbert Hughes.
See also
*
List of folk songs by Roud number (Nº 2742)
*
The Mountains of Mourne
References
External links
''Banks of the Moorlough Shore'' Lyrics
{{DEFAULTSORT:Moorlough Shore, The
Irish folk songs
Year of song unknown