Brian's wee little finds

1 song in English which makes specific reference to the Irish Diaspora
1 song in English which makes specific reference to a specific place (town, village, parish, or geological formation) in Ireland
Shamrock Shore

Ye brave young sons of Erin's isle
I hope you will attend a while
To the wrongs of dear old Ireland I'm going to relate
'Twas black and cursed was the day
That our Parliament was taken away
And all our grief and suffering commences from that day
Our hearty sons and daughters fair
To other countries must repair
And leave their native lands behind in sorrow to deplore
For to seek employment they must roam
Far far away from their native home
From that sore oppressed island that they call the Shamrock Shore

Now Ireland is with plenty blessed
But the people they are sore oppressed
All by those cursed tyrants we are forced for to obey
Some haughty landlords for to please
Our houses and our lands they'll seize
To put fifty farms into one and take us all away
Regardless of the widow's cries
The mother's tears and the orphan's sighs
In thousands we are driven from home which grieves our hearts full sore
We are fraught by famine and disease
We emigrated across the seas
From that sore oppressed island that they call the Shamrock Shore

Our sustenance is taken away
Our tithes and taxes for to pay
To support that law-protected church to which they do adhere
And our Irish gentry, well you know
To other countries they do go
And the money from all Ireland is squandered here and there
But if those squires would stay at home
And not to other countries roam
But to build mills and factories here to employ the labouring core
For if we had trade and commerce fair
To me no nation could compare
To that sore oppressed island that they call the Shamrock Shore

John Bull he boasts and he laughs with scorn
And he says that Irish man is born
To be always discontented for at home he cannot agree
But we'll banish discord from our land
And in harmony like brothers stand
To demand the rights of Ireland let us all united be!
Our Parliament and College Green
For to assemble 'twill be seen
And happy days in Erin's isle we soon will have once more
Then dear old Ireland soon will be
A great and glorious country
And peace and blessings soon will smile all 'round the Shamrock Shore!

1 song in Irish with English translation

AIR FÀIL A LAIL Ò

Air fàil a lail ò, horò, air fàil a lail é
Air fàil a lail ò, horò, air fàil a lail é
Air fàil a lail ò, horò, air fàil a lail é
Fail i, fail ò, horò, air fail a lail é

A' bhuachaille bhàin mas aill leat labhairt air thùs
Gur a leat-sa gun dàil mo làmh ma thig thu le mùirn
Gur truagh mar a tha nach do thàrladh mise agus tu
Ann an eilean gun tràigh, gun ràmh gun choite, gun stiùir

Ma théid thu air sàil, a ghriadh bi gini 'ad' phòc'
Is òl mo dheoch-slàint'gach àit an suidh thu mun bhòrd
L d'chride geal, aotrom, éibhneach, aighearrach òg
Gur toigh leam am beul o'm bìnn a thigeadh an ceòl

Gur toigh leam an deud 's am beul nach labhradh le sgràing
Bhi sinnte ri m' thaobh, a ghaoil nan tigeadh tu ann
Mur bhiodh luchd nam breug bha m'eudail is mise gun taing
Le òrdugh na cléir le chéile 'n ceangal gu lann

Nach robh mis' is thu am beinn no monadh no sliabh
No air an traigh bhàn an àite nach robh duine riamh
Seachd oidhche, seachd là, gun tàmh gun chadal gun bhiadh
Ach thus' a bhi 'ghràidh 's do làmh gheal tharam gu fial.

AIR FÀIL A LAIL Ò

Air fàil a lail ò, horò, air fàil a lail é
Air fàil a lail ò, horò, air fàil a lail é
Air fàil a lail ò, horò, air fàil a lail é
Fail i, fail ò, horò air fail a lail é

Oh, fair-haired cow-herd, if it is your desire to be first to speak:
My hand is yours if you come to me with joy.
It is sad that being together is not our destiny,
On an isle with no shore, without boat or rudder or oar.

If you go to sea, my dear, there will be a guinea in your pocket,
And drink to my health each place that you sit at the table.
With your pure, glad and joyful heart,
I desire the mouth from which comes forth the music.

I so like the mouth, the tooth that would not with rancor speak,
Lying beside me, my darling, if only you'd come:
Were not the gossipers there my dear I'd give thanks,
With order of clergy our binding together forever.

Would that you and I, on mountain, on moor or on heath,
Or on the white beach in a place where no one e'er was
Seven nights, seven days, without respite, without sleep without food
But just you and I my dear, and your arm's protection around me.

1 song in English which makes specific reference to the Irish Diaspora

DEAR OLD DONEGAL

It seems like only yesterday, I sailed from out of Cork.
A stranger from old Erin's isle, I landed in New York.
There wasn't a soul to greet me there, a stranger on the shore,
But Irish luck was with me there, and riches came galore.

And now I'm going back again to dear old Erin's isle.
My friends will meet me on the pier and greet me with a smile.
Their faces, sure, I've almost forgot. I've been so long away,
But my mother will introduce them all and this to me will say:

CHO: "Shake hands with your Uncle Mike, me boy,
and here is your sister Kate,
And there's the girl you used to swing
down on the garden gate.
Shake hands with all of the neighbors,
and kiss the colleens all.
You're as welcome as the flowers in May
To dear old Donegal."

They'll give the party when I go home.
They'll come from near and far.
They'll line the road for miles and miles
with Irish jaunting cars.
The spirits will flow and we'll be gay,
we'll fill our hearts with joy.
The piper will play an Irish reel to greet the Yankee boy.

The dancers will reel the whole night long. Such fun as never seen.
The lads will be decked in corduroy, the colleens wearin' green.
There'll be thousands that I never saw, I've been so long away,
But my mother will introduce them all and this, to me, will say:

1 recipe for a traditional Irish dish; recipe may not include any ingredients not available in rural settings

Irish Potato Soup

2 Ib Potatoes
1 Large Onion
2 oz Butter
2 pints Vegetable Stock
1/2 pint Milk
1 tablesp Chives or Parsley
Nutmeg
pinch of Salt & Pepper
1 tsp Cornflour

Peel and cut potatoes in quarters and finely slice the onions. Melt butter in a sausepan and add the Potatoes and Onions, cover and simmer for 10 mins (don't brown veg). Add the Stock, Salt & Pepper and Nutmeg, Stir. Cover and bring to the boil stirring continuously. Reduce heat and simmer for 30 mins, until vegetables are soft, stir occasionally. Remove from heat and put through a sieve, and return to the saucepan. Stir in the milk and cornflour and bring to the boil, stir continuously. Remove from the heat, serve with a sprinkling of chives or parsley.