"The Waxies' Dargle" is a traditional

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 ...

folk song about two

Dublin Dublin (; , or ) is the capital and largest city of Ireland. On a bay at the mouth of the River Liffey, it is in the province of Leinster, bordered on the south by the Dublin Mountains, a part of the Wicklow Mountains range. At the 2016 c ...

"aul' wans" (older ladies/mothers) discussing how to find money to go on an excursion. It is named after an annual outing to

Ringsend Ringsend () is a southside inner suburb of Dublin, Ireland. It is located on the south bank of the River Liffey and east of the River Dodder, about two kilometres east of the city centre. It is the southern terminus of the East Link Toll ...

, near

city, by Dublin cobblers (waxies). It originated as a 19th-century children's song and is now a popular

pub song In English popular culture, the "traditional" pub songs typified by the Cockney " knees up" mostly come from the classics of the music hall, along with numbers from film, the stage and other forms of popular music. The tradition is continued in t ...

Ireland Ireland ( ; ga, Éire ; Ulster Scots dialect, Ulster-Scots: ) is an island in the Atlantic Ocean, North Atlantic Ocean, in Northwestern Europe, north-western Europe. It is separated from Great Britain to its east by the North Channel (Grea ...

Origin of “The Waxies’ Dargle”

In the 19th century, during the Summer, the gentry of Dublin would travel out to Bray and

Enniskerry Enniskerry (historically ''Annaskerry'', from ) is a village in County Wicklow, Ireland. The population was 1,889 at the 2016 census. Location The village is situated on the Glencullen River in the foothills of the Wicklow Mountains in the ea ...

with their entourages and have picnics on the banks of the

River Dargle The River Dargle () is a river that flows from the Wicklow Mountains in Ireland to the Irish Sea. It forms Powerscourt Waterfall, receives the Glencree and Glencullen Rivers, and later the Glenmunder Stream / County Brook, and the Swan River ...

. The Dargle was a popular holiday resort, and the name in Dublin slang became synonymous with "holiday resort". The shoe-makers and repairers in Dublin were known as waxies because they used wax to waterproof and preserve the thread they used in stitching the shoes.

Easter Easter,Traditional names for the feast in English are "Easter Day", as in the '' Book of Common Prayer''; "Easter Sunday", used by James Ussher''The Whole Works of the Most Rev. James Ussher, Volume 4'') and Samuel Pepys''The Diary of Samuel ...

and

Whitsun Whitsun (also Whitsunday or Whit Sunday) is the name used in Britain, and other countries among Anglicans and Methodists, for the Christian High Holy Day of Pentecost. It is the seventh Sunday after Easter, which commemorates the descent of the ...

were their principal holidays, Monday being the excursion for men and Tuesday for women. The original Waxies' Dargle was said to be part of

Donnybrook Fair Donnybrook Fair was a fair that was held in Donnybrook, Dublin, from the 13th century until the 1850s. It has given its name to an Irish jig, a chain of food stores, a broadsheet ballad, and is a slang term for a brawl or riot. History In the ...

, but because of riotous behaviour, this fair closed in 1855. In any case, the waxies' excursions did not go all the way to Bray, but only went as far as Irishtown which is located between

and Sandymount. In imitation of the gentry, they called their outing the Waxies' Dargle. They drove out from the city to Ringsend on flat drays, ten or a dozen to each vehicle. It cost two pence per car-load and the usual cry of the driver was "Tuppence, an' up with yeh!". Those who wanted a more comfortable ride could take a

jaunting car A jaunting car is a light two-wheeled carriage for a single horse, with a seat in front for the driver. In its most common form with seats for two or four persons placed back to back, with the foot-boards projecting over the wheels and the typical ...

from D'Olier Street for threepence. Their destination was a favourite resort for Dubliners, a grass-covered triangle near the seafront at Irishtown. On Summer evenings fiddlers, flautists and melodeon players played dance music (sets, half-sets and reels) until midnight. There was a roaring trade in porter, cockles and mussels and "treacle Billy". On Bank holidays there were boxing contests. There is an engraved stone, marking the location of the Waxies' Dargle "picnic" site near Gleesons Pub in Irishtown. Robert Gogan describes how the "Waxies' Dargle" focuses on working-class Dublin. The places referenced are in areas frequented by the poor. Monto was an area around Montgomery Street, a notorious red-light district near the centre of Dublin.

Capel Street Capel Street is a street in Dublin, Ireland. On 20 May 2022, it was made traffic-free, following a campaign by people who wanted to improve the quality of life on the street. It is now the longest traffic-free street in Dublin. History Capel ...

is on the north side of the city and was renowned for its pawnbroking shops, a few of which remain to this day. The Waxies' Dargle is also mentioned in another Dublin folk song, "

Monto (Take Her Up to Monto) "Monto (Take Her Up To Monto)" is an Irish folk song, written in 1958 by George Desmond Hodnett, music critic of the ''Irish Times'', and popularised by the Dubliners. Frank Harte was also known to sing the song. Lyrics Well, if you've got a wi ...

", written by George Desmond Hodnett. The Waxies' Dargle is referenced in the Aeolus episode of the novel ''Ulysses'' by James Joyce. The character Myles Crawford refers to the two old ladies on top of Nelson's pillar as being "Out for the waxies' Dargle".

The air

The air to which the song is sung is that of "Brighton Camp" (a reel in G Major), which is also used for "

The Girl I Left Behind "The Girl I Left Behind", also known as "The Girl I Left Behind Me", is an English folk song dating back to the Elizabethan era. It is said to have been played when soldiers left for war or a naval vessel set sail. According to other sources th ...

" and "

The Rare Old Mountain Dew "The Rare Old Mountain Dew" is an Irish folk song dating from 1882. History "The Mountain Dew" was a song about poitín (Irish moonshine) with lyrics by New York musical theater great Edward Harrigan and music credited to Harrigan's orchestra lea ...

". The earliest known version of the melody was printed about 1810 in Hime's ''Pocket Book for the German Flute or Violin'' (Dublin), vol. 3, p. 67, under the title ''The Girl I Left Behind Me'' (in the National Library of Ireland, Dublin).James J. Fuld, 3rd. ed. 1985, ''The Book of World-Famous Music Classical, Popular and Folk'', pp. 242-244, Dover Pub

Recordings

Dominic Behan Dominic Behan ( ; ga, Doiminic Ó Beacháin; 22 October 1928 – 3 August 1989) was an Irish songwriter, singer, short story writer, novelist and playwright who wrote in Irish and English. He was also a socialist and an Irish republican. Born i ...

and Ewan MacColl on ''The Singing Streets'' in 1958 *

Sweeney's Men Sweeney's Men was an Irish traditional band. They emerged from the mid-1960s Irish roots revival, along with groups such as The Dubliners and the Clancy Brothers. The founding line-up in May 1966 was Johnny Moynihan, Andy Irvine and "Galway ...

as a single released in 1968 * Mucky Duck Bush Band on their 1980 album "At Last The Mucky Duck" * The FerryBoat Musicians on their self-titled album in 1984, re-released on CD in 2008 *

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" ...

on their 1984 album '' Red Roses for Me'' * Four to the Bar on their 1994 live album ''

Craic on the Road ''Craic on the Road: Live at Sam Maguire's'' was the first full-length album by Four to the Bar, released in 1994. Track listing #I'll Tell Me Ma (Traditional) #Waxie's Dargle/The Rare Old Mountain Dew (Traditional) # My Love's in Germany (Tra ...

'' * Young Dubliners on their 2005 album ''Real World'' * Tom Donovan on ''A Taste of Ireland: Pub Songs'' *

Orthodox Celts Orthodox Celts is a Serbian band formed in Belgrade in 1992 which plays Irish folk music combined with rock elements. Despite their uncharacteristic genre in their home country, the band is one of the top acts of the Serbian rock scene and has ...

on the 1996 live album '' Muzičke paralele''. * So-Ranna on their 2006 self-titled E.P. *

Dr Strangely Strange Dr. Strangely Strange are an Irish experimental folk group, formed in Dublin in 1967 by Tim Booth (born 6 September 1943, County Kildare, Ireland), vocals and guitar, and Ivan Pawle (born 17 August 1943, England), bass and keyboards. Career Aft ...

referenced as part of "Donnybrook Fair" on their 1969 album '' Kip of the Serenes'' * Los Stompers on their 1998 live album ''Mezzy on Stage'' * Marc Gunn on his 2009 album ''Happy Songs of Death'' * Joe Hurley for the 2008 film '' I Sell the Dead'' * The Skels on their 1999 album ''Stoney Road''

References

External links

The Gourds Play "The Waxies' Dargle" 3/16/2012
Traditional ballads Irish folk songs The Pogues songs * https://m.soundcloud.com/daymeeyen/the-waxies-dargle So-Ranna play their version of The Waxies Dargle, live on WDAR FM, Dublin