"The Waxies' Dargle" is a traditional Irish

folk song Folk music is a music genre that includes #Traditional folk music, traditional folk music and the Contemporary folk music, contemporary genre that evolved from the former during the 20th-century folk revival. Some types of folk music may be ca ...

about two

Dublin Dublin is the capital and largest city of Republic of Ireland, Ireland. Situated on Dublin Bay at the mouth of the River Liffey, it is in the Provinces of Ireland, province of Leinster, and is bordered on the south by the Dublin Mountains, pa ...

"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 (Dublin), southside inner suburb of Dublin, Republic of Ireland, 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 sou ...

, near

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

Ireland Ireland (, ; ; Ulster Scots dialect, Ulster-Scots: ) is an island in the North Atlantic Ocean, in Northwestern Europe. Geopolitically, the island is divided between the Republic of Ireland (officially Names of the Irish state, named Irelan ...

Origin of “The Waxies’ Dargle”

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

Bray Bray may refer to: Places France * Bray, Eure, in the Eure ''département'' * Bray, Saône-et-Loire, in the Saône-et-Loire ''département'' * Bray-Dunes, in the Nord ''département'' * Bray-en-Val, in the Loiret ''département'' * Bray-et-Lû ...

and

Enniskerry Enniskerry (historically ''Annaskerry'', from ) is a village in County Wicklow, Ireland. The population was 2,008 at the 2022 census. Location The village is situated on the Glencullen River in the foothills of the Wicklow Mountains in the ...

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 shoemakers 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, also called Pascha ( Aramaic: פַּסְחָא , ''paskha''; Greek: πάσχα, ''páskha'') or Resurrection Sunday, is a Christian festival and cultural holiday commemorating the resurrection of Jesus from the dead, described in t ...

and

Whitsun Whitsun (also Whitsunday or Whit Sunday) is the name used in Britain, and other countries among Anglicans and Methodists, for the Christian holy day of Pentecost. It falls on the seventh Sunday after Easter and commemorates the descent of the H ...

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

and

Sandymount Sandymount () is a coastal suburb in the Dublin 4 district on the Southside, Dublin, Southside of Dublin in Ireland. Etymology An early name for the area was Scal'd Hill or Scald Hill.

. 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 from

D'Olier Street D'Olier Street ( ; ) is a street in the southern city-centre of Dublin, the capital of Ireland. It and Westmoreland Street are two broad streets whose northern ends meet at the southern end of O'Connell Bridge over the River Liffey. Its sout ...

for three pennies. 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 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 inferior. Monto was an area around Montgomery Street, a notorious red-light district near the centre of Dublin.

Capel Street Capel Street ( ) is a predominantly commercial street in Dublin, Ireland, laid out in the 17th century by Humphrey Jervis. History Capel Street takes its name from the nearby chapel of St Mary's Abbey (from the Latin Capella – Chapel) altho ...

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)" 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 Nelson's Pillar (also known as the Nelson Pillar or simply the Pillar) was a large granite column capped by a statue of Horatio Nelson, built in the centre of what was then Sackville Street (later renamed O'Connell Street) in Dublin, Ireland. ...

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 t ...

" and " The Rare Old Mountain Dew". 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 ( ; ; 22 October 1928 – 3 August 1989) was an Irish writer, songwriter and singer from Dublin who wrote in Irish and English. He was a socialist and an Irish republican. Born into the literary Behan family, he was one of the mo ...

and

Ewan MacColl James Henry Miller (25 January 1915 – 22 October 1989), better known by his stage name Ewan MacColl, was a British folk singer-songwriter, folk song collector, labour activist and actor. Born in England to Scottish parents, he is known as o ...

on ''The Singing Streets'' in 1958 * Sweeney's Men 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 are an English Celtic punk band founded in King's Cross, London, in 1982, by Shane MacGowan, Spider Stacy and Jem Finer. Originally named Pogue Mahone—an anglicisation of the Irish language, Irish phrase :wikt:póg mo thóin, ''p� ...

on their 1984 album ''

Red Roses for Me ''Red Roses for Me'' is the debut studio album by the London-based band the Pogues, released on 15 October 1984. It was produced by Stan Brennan, who had managed the Nipple Erectors/The Nips and Rocks Off Records shop in London. Overview ''Re ...

'' * Four to the Bar on their 1994 live album '' Craic on the Road'' * 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 (music), band formed in Belgrade in 1992 which plays Folk music of Ireland, Irish folk music combined with Rock music, rock elements. Despite their uncharacteristic genre in their home country, the band has been ...

on the 1996 live album ''

Muzičke Paralele ''Muzičke paralele'' (trans. ''Musical Parallels'') is the live album released by Serbian Irish folk music, Irish folk/Celtic rock band Orthodox Celts and Serbian Andean music band Pachamama. The album was recorded on the bands' concert in Novi S ...

'' * So-Ranna on their 2006 self-titled E.P. * Dr Strangely Strange 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 Songs about Dublin (city) * https://m.soundcloud.com/daymeeyen/the-waxies-dargle So-Ranna play their version of The Waxies Dargle, live on WDAR FM, Dublin