A selection of MP3 files of Seoirse's music through the years. All for free!
Beautiful live version here in David Downes’ rich orchestral treatment, augmented by traditional instruments, choirs and solo singers. It captures well the never-lagging appeal the song has had on singers, arrangers and audiences alike.
I hear my “mistake” in all of these arrangements, but wasn’t it a good mistake?
Composed by Trad. Arr. David Downes
Composed: 2016
Celtic Woman Ensemble
Download mp3 for freeAnother version of Dúlamán, with somewhat similar lyrics and a slightly different tune and metre (akin to Albert Fry’s take), was recorded by the band Altán on their Island Angel CD in 1993. This version of the song is described in the sleeve notes as “a children’s nonsense song.” It was sourced first from Clann Uí Churráin (Na Joe Jacks) of Machaire Gathláin, Gaoth Dobhair.
Composed by Trad, Arr. Altan
Composed: 1993
Mairéad Ní Mhaonaigh (vocals and fiddle),
Frankie Kennedy (flute/low whistle and backing vocals),
Mark Kelly (guitars and backing vocals),
Ciaran Curran (bouzouki), Ciaran Tourish (fiddle, whistle and backing vocals),
Dáithi Sproule (guitar and backing vocals),
Steve Cooney (bass),
Anna Ní Mhaonaigh (backing vocals).
A ‘níon mhín ó, sin anall na fir shúirí
A mháithair mhín ó, cuir na roithléan go dtí mé
Curfá:
Dúlamán na binne buí, dúlamán Gaelach
Dúlamán na farraige,‘s é b’fhearr a bhí in Éirinn
Tá cosa dubha dubailte ar an dúlamán gaelach
Tá dhá chluais mhaol ar an dúlamán gealach
Rachaimid go Doire leis an dúlamán gaelach
Is ceannóimid bróga daora ar an dúlamán gaelach
Bróga breaca dubha ar an dúlamán gaelach
Tá bearéad agus triús ar an dúlamán gaelach
Ó chuir mé scéala chuici, go gceannóinn cíor dí
‘S é’n scéal a chuir sí chugam, go raibh a ceann cíortha
Góide a thug na tíre thú? arsa an dúlamán gaelach
Ag súirí le do níon, arsa an dúlamán maorach
Ó cha bhfaigheann tú mo ‘níon, arsa an dúlamán gaelach
Bheul, fuadóidh mé liom í, arsa an dúlamán maorach
Albert Fry, the Belfast Troubadour, recorded a version in 1969 (the first commercial recording of the song) with just himself and guitar. Nothing on the LP indicates the source but Albert often got his songs from singers in Ranafast. It has a slightly different tune and metre from my own version and the words are quite different here and there.
Composed by Trad., arr Albert Fry
Composed: 1969
Albert Fry, voice and guitar
Download mp3 for free
Is cosúil Billy Buach leis an dúlamán Gaelach
Sronn ar a shúil agus drúcht ar a fhéasóg.
Curfá
Dúlamán na Beinne Buí, dúlamán Gaelach
Dúlamán na fairrge, ós é is fearr in Éirinn.
Tá mo iníon ag gabháil a pósadh ar an ógánach Gaelach
Gan stocaí, gan bhróga, gan aon sruth léine.
Chuir mé scéala chuici go gceannóinn teach mór dí
An scéal a chuir sí chugam go ndéanfadh bothóg uain í.
Chuir mé scéala chuici go gceannóinn long mhór dí
An scéal a chuir sí chugam go ndéanfadh báidín seoil í.
Chuir mé scéala chuici go gceannóinn ‘slipper shoes’ dí
An scéal a chuir sí chugam go ndéanfadh ‘button boots’ í.
Chuir mé scéala chuici go gceannóínn leaba ard dí
An scéal a chuir sí chugam nach luíodh sí ar na clárthaí.
Tá mo iníon ag gabháil a pósadh ar an ógánach Gaelach
Sronna ar a shúil agus drúcht ar a fhéasóg
A forgotten track from a forgotten album of many moons ago!
I first heard this song on a radio programme in the early 1970s performed by a group of singers from Connemara during an oíche airneáil (social evening). The verses were taken up by various singers while the whole company joined in the chorus singing in unison. Songs of this kind belong to the medieval carole or round–dance tradition (a combination of singing and dancing) which the Normans were supposed to have brought into Ireland. Although the practice of dancing to them died out, songs continued to be made in the same mould as the carole (not to be confused with the much later Christmas Carol) for centuries afterwards.
Sive, the girl in the song, is being teased by the young men who, in a playful kind of way, discuss her dowry, or lack of it. Other suitors deliberate on their own wonderful skills, such as dancing, or ploughing. She’s not impressed…. until a fisherman offers to bring her to Galway City in his boat. The jig-tune which weaves its way through the song is another Connemara air – Cailleach an Airgid (The Hag with the Money).
The lightness of the musical arrangement was intended to be the antidote to the rather heavy folk-song arrangements of the 1970s & 80s.
“There is a crack in everything. That’s how the light gets in.” (Leonard Cohen)
Composed by Trad. Arr. Seoirse Ó Dochartaigh
Composed: 1988
Seoirse Ó Dochartaigh, lead vocals & harmony vocals; guitar & whistle,
Greg Scanlon, harmony vocals,
Colum Sands, pipe-drone.
Ó cailín beag óg mé, cailín beag macánta,
Nár chuala sibh trácht ar Shadhbh Ní Bhruinngheala,
Curfá:
Óra, ‘Shadhbh, ‘s a Shadhbh Ní Bhruinngheala,
A chuisle ‘s a stóirín, éal’ ‘gus imi’ liom.
Máistir báid mhóir mé ‘dhul ród na Gaillimhe,
D’fhliuchfainn trí fhód ‘s ní thógfainn aon fharraige,
Ó máistir báid mhóir mé is damhsóir cumasach,
Fear sluaiste is láí ar dhá cheann an iomaire.
Máistir báid mhóir go deo ní ghlacfad-sa
Nuair a thaganns an chóir is iondúil nach bhfanann sé.
Ní iarrfainn de spré le Sadhbh Ní Bhruinngheala
Ach Bail’ Inis Gé ‘s cead éalú ar choiníní.
Ní thógfainn go deo thú mur’ dté tú i dtrioblóid,
Gunna mór ‘fháil ‘s cead éalú ar choiníní.
Tá gúna breá nua ag Sadhbh Ní Bhruinngheala,
Cóitín beag donn gan ghabhal gan mhuinchille.
Nuair a thaganns lá breá is an ghaoth ón fharraige
Bhéarfa mé Sadhbh liom go Cuan na Gaillimhe.
Curfá:
Óra, ‘Shadhbh, ‘s a Shadhbh Ní Bhruinngheala
A chuisle ‘s a stóirín, éal’ ‘gus imi’ liom.
Óra, ‘Shadhbh, ‘s a Shadhbh Ní Bhruinngheala
A chuisle ‘s a stóirín, éal’ ‘gus imi’ liom.
Óra, ‘Shadhbh, ‘s a Shadhbh Ní Bhruinngheala
Comhairle do mháithrín, éal’ ‘gus imi’ liom.
This very old (1600s) Irish song from Ulster was collected and arranged by Seoirse Ó Dochartaigh and performed here with his six-piece band Dúlamán. The recording is from a live concert in the O’Reilly Hall in UCD in 1999, Dúlamán being perhaps at the height of their powers with a huge audience of several hundred people.
There is some confusion about the exact meaning of this song. Some say it’s about the unhappy political “marriage” between Ireland and England. Others say that it is a reaction against the growing materialism in Irish towns. Whatever way you look at it, the song is paean to the simple, pastoral way of life as it existed in times gone past.
At the outset, it’s the story of the plight of a young Irish country woman from the mountains who marries a rich tavern-owner from the mouth of the River Bann in County Derry. But she is far from happy there. From the window of her new, comfortable abode she looks out onto the mountains of Inishowen where she has spent many a quiet summer’s morning looking after her father’s calves.
Composed by Trad. arranged and adapted by Seoirse Ó Dochartaigh
Composed: 1993
Seoirse Ó Dochartaigh, lead vocals and guitar, Steáfán Hannigan, percussion, Aodh Mac Ruairí, vocal harmony, Heather Innes, vocal harmony, Tony Hunter, percussion, Seán McKay, keyboards
Download mp3 for free1.
‘S iad mo chuid gamhna, na gamhna geala
Itheann siad a’ féar is chan ólann siad a’ bainne
Téigheann siad anonn is anall ar a’ Bhanna
Is ní fearr leobhtha an tráigh acu ná lán-a-mara.
curfá:
hÍm, bím bó! ‘siad mo ghrá-sa na gamhna!
hUm bum bó! ‘siad mo bhrón-sa na gamhna!
Maille-liú, maille leo! ‘siad mo chrá-sa na gamhna!
Maidin chiúin sa tsamhradh gan na gamhna ‘gam le seoladh
2.
Is beag mo dhúil i gcupaí ná i gcártaí
Fuinneogaí gloine ‘gus rúmaí bána
Ba mhíle b’fhearr liom a bheith i gcró beag sa tsamhradh
Poll a bheith ar a’scraith is mé ag coimhéad ar na gamhna
3.
Bheirim mo mhallacht do tsagart a phós mé
‘s an tarna mallacht don bhaile bhuí mhór seo
Chan ag cur maoil ar chártaí a chleacht mé ‘dtús m’óige
Ach ag rince ar a’ tamhnaigh ‘gus na gamhna a sheoladh.
4.
Tiocfaidh an geimhreadh is greadfaidh an t-earrach
Is séidfear an sneachta go domhain ins na gleannta
Tiocfaidh éag ar an eallach is feannfar na gamhna
Is a charaid mo chléibh’ ná cur spéis ar bith iontu
The song relates the adventures of an 18th-century rake, footloose and fancy-free on the back roads of Co. Kerry, who stops at a cottage looking for lodgings for the night. The old wizened woman who answers the door turns him away but then a younger woman inside the house intervenes on his behalf and he is brought in. But it’s a scam. He gets a roasting in the middle of the night but leaves with some pleasant memories as a consolation prize.
For a traditional song, probably dating from the 18th century, it has a modern-day ring to it, hence the treatment.
Arranged and adapted by Seoirse Ó Dochartaigh with a newly-composed refrain and considerable adjustment of Munster usage to Ulster usage in the text.
The recording is from a live concert in the O’Reilly Hall in UCD in 1999.
Composed by Trad. Arr. and adapted by Seoirse Ó Dochartaigh with a newly-composed refrain
Composed: 1997
Seoirse Ó Dochartaigh, lead vocals and guitar, Steáfán Hannigan, percussion, Aodh Mac Ruairí, vocal harmony, Heather Innes, vocal harmony, Tony Hunter, percussion, Seán McKay, keyboards.
Download mp3 for free1.
D’éirigh ariamh liomsa imeacht ó mo mhuintir
Agus taisteal domh síos cois Féile
Mar shíl mé dá n-insinn go minic idir dhaoine
Go bhfaighfinnse luach mo cheird’ ann.
2.
Ag taisteal na slí domh-sa, casadh chun tí mé
Agus d’iarr mé cead suí go séimh ann
D’fhreagair gan mhoill mé an tseanbhean chríonna
Agus dúirt nach raibh slí aici d’éinne.
3.
Labhair an bhrídeach leis an mhnaoi chríonna
“Nach bhfuil i do chroí aon daonnacht?
Rábaire an tsaoil mhóir a chur amach san oíche
Ag taisteal na slí is é ina aonar.”
4.
“Mura bhfuil tuí agat nó leaba go luíodh sé ‘r
Tabhair cead suí istigh féin dó”
Mo hata a scaoil mé de mhullach mo chinn
Agus ghabh mé léi míle buíochas.
5.
Nuair a bhí am dhul a luí ann d’ordaigh siad síos mé
Go seomra beag galánta aolmhar
Ina raibh leaba chlúimh mhíne faoi bhratacha líne
‘Gus cuilteanna ar dhroim a chéile.
6.
Ba ghearr san oíche go dtáinig taobh liom
An ainnir ‘gus í ina léine;
Ba bhlasta is ba chaoin mar a ghlac mé comaoin
Agus geallaim gur shín sí taobh liom.
7.
‘Feadh tamaill ‘na dhiaidh seo a chaith muid an oíche
Mise is mo mhaoin, ag pléaracht
(Is) nuair nach raibh mé á fáscadh le mo chroí isteach
Ba bhlasta mar d’inis mé scéal di.
8.
Gheall mé gach ní dí, culaith bhreá shíoda
Ó mhullach a cinn go féar glas
Siopa branda go mbeadh beath-uisce is fíon ann
Siúicrí milse agus tae ann.
9.
Ba ghearr san oíche go dtáinig fear a ‘tí isteach
‘S lena bhata mór draighin a phléasc mé
“A rábaire an tsaoil mhóir, nach bhfuil eagla an dlí ort
Agus tú a bheith sínte taobh léi!”
10.
Tusa, óró, a bhrídeach, tar anseo ‘níos chugam
Is ná himigh ón áit seo, a chladhaire,
Go gcuirfidh mé rópa ort is go dtiocfaidh na péas ort
Is caithfidh m’níon tú a dhaoradh.”
A pastoral love-song. A beautiful young woman wandering alone on a hillside late one evening is, apparently, lamenting the straying of her herd of calves. She meets a young man who pledges to sort everything out for her down to the last detail, including a cosy little hollow under the shade of a fragrant tree where they might spend the night together. She regrets her actions the next morning and wonders what her parents might say or do. The young man is a bit dismissive and not at all reassuring.
The recording is from a live concert in the O’Reilly Hall in UCD in 1999.
Composed by Trad. Arr. Seoirse Ó Dochartaigh
Composed: 1997
Seoirse Ó Dochartaigh, lead vocals, Steáfán Hannigan, flute, whistle, Aodh Mac Ruairí, vocal harmony, Heather Innes, vocal harmony, Tony Hunter, percussion, Seán McKay, keyboards.
Download mp3 for free1.
Tráthnóinín déanach ar thaobh an ghleanna,
‘S mé ‘seoladh na ngamhna faoin bhfásach,
Sea dhearcas taobh liom an spéirbhean chailce
Chiúntais bhanúil náireach;
D’fhiosríos féin go séimh den ainnir,
An éinn’ í thar lear do tharla;
“Ag lorg na ngamhna ‘s ea d’fhágas an baile
‘Gus ceann ní bhfaighead go lá ‘cu”.
2.
Tá crainnín cumhra i lúib na coille
Is ragham araon go lá ann
Mar a mbeidh ceol na n-éan dár síor-chur a chodladh
Is gheobhaimid na gamhna amárach;
Gheobham cead saor ó mhaoraibh na coille
Féar a thabhairt go lá dhóibh
‘S le fáinne an lae beam araon ‘nár seasamh
Ag seoladh na ngamhna faoin bhfásach.
3.
“Dá mbeadh a fhios ag mo mhámaí is dá mbeadh a fhios ag
mo dheadaí
Mise ‘gus tusa a bheith in éineacht
Fiche buile de mhaide a thabharfaí domh ar maidin
Is a Dhia, cad a dhéanfaimís an lá sin?”
“Fóill, fóill, a chailín, ní mise a dhéin dada ort
Ach a’ rud a dhéanadh cheanna le mo mháithrín
Seo barr mo chúig méar duit, a ghrá agus a chumainn,
‘S a chéad searc mo chúig chéad slán leat”.
A poet/harper has been visiting his loved one this particular day, but her mother, all the while, has been thinking of an effective way of getting him out of the house. We can’t really tell from the song the reason why the old woman disapproves of him so much, but she asks him to twist a straw rope [a “súgán”]. As he twists away towards the door, she tells him to continue twisting outside the house. When he is at a safe distance, the old woman jumps up, closes the door in his face and bolts it firmly. She then throws his harp out the window!
One of the most beautiful and poetic songs in the Irish Language.
Arrangement: Seoirse Ó Dochartaigh (with a little help from Johann Sebastian Bach!)
The recording is from a live concert in the O’Reilly Hall in UCD in 1999.
Composed by Trad. Arr. Seoirse Ó Dochartaigh
Composed: 1997
Seoirse Ó Dochartaigh, lead vocals and guitar, Steáfán Hannigan, percussion, Aodh Mac Ruairí, vocal harmony, Heather Innes, vocal harmony, Tony Hunter, percussion, Seán McKay, keyboards.
Download mp3 for free1.
A Rí na bhFeart cad a chas insan dúthaigh seo mé ?
Níos mó cailín deas a gheobhainn im’ dhuthaigín beag féin
Nó gur casadh mé isteach mar a raibh searc agus grá geal mo chléibh’
‘S chuir an tseanbhean amach mé ag casadh an tsúgáinín féir.
Curfá:- Má bhíonn tú liom bí liom, a stóirín mo chroí
Má bhíonn tú liom, bí liom os comhair an tsaoil
Má bhíonn tú liom, bí liom, gach orlach ded’ shlí.
‘Sé mo lom go fann nach liom Dé Domhnaigh thú mar mhnaoi.
2.
Tá mo cheann-sa liath le bliain is ní le críonnacht é
Is ní bheathaíonn na bréithre na bráithre pé sa domhan scéal é;
Is táim-se ‘d’ dhiaidh le bliain ‘s gan fáil agam ort féin,
‘S gur gheall le fia mé ‘r shliabh go mbeadh gáire con ‘na dhiaidh!
3.
Ó, threabhfainn, d’fhuirsfinn is chuirfinn síol insa chré,
Sheolfainn na gamhna ar a‘ talamh is fearr le a bhfaighfidís féar
Is chuirfinn crú fén each is mire shiúil riamh ar féar
‘S ní éalódh bean le fear nach ndéanfadh sin féin.
A young man meets Mary in a wood. It’s by pre-arrangement. She’s beautifully adorned wearing a tight scarlet dress with buckles of gold on it. The man takes her to a heathery hill where they spend the night but in the morning she sits in tears, this “flower among young women”. But their relationship is doomed.
One misty night in despair he takes out his little dagger. Mary’s heart’s blood he spills, right down to the laces of her shoes. He throws off his cloak, his stockings and his boots, drops her body in the river and disappears into the mist. Her ghost comes to him an hour before the dawn and lays a cold kiss upon him saying “You’ll soon be lying in a room of loneliness and a white sheet wrapped around you. The pangs of hell are all before you, young man!”
The recording is from a live concert in the O’Reilly Hall in UCD in 1999.
Composed by Trad. Arr. Seoirse Ó Dochartaigh
Composed: 1997
Seoirse Ó Dochartaigh, lead vocals, Aodh Mac Ruairí, vocal harmony, Heather Innes, vocal harmony.
Download mp3 for free1.
Casadh orm sa choill í, mo chuid den tsaol ‘s mo stór,
Bhí gúna dearg teannta uirthi ‘gus búclaí buí den ór
Thug me liom fan fhraoch í is chaith mé léi an oíche
Nó gur fhág mé ag gol sa chúinniú í, plúr na mban óg.
2.
“A’ dtiocfaidh tú a’ bhaint aitinne liom, a phlúr na mban óg?”
“Thiocfainn is a cheangail leat, a ógánaigh óig,
Rachainn féin chun Aifrinn leat is chan le grá do m’anam sin
Ach a gheall ar a bheith ag amharc ort, a ógánaigh óig”.
3.
“A’ dtiocfaidh tú chun teampaill liom, a ógánaigh óig?”
“Cad é bheadh muid a dhéanamh ann, a phlúr na mbán óg?”
“Bheadh muid ag éisteacht le cantaireacht na ministéirí Gallda
Nó go gcríochnódh muid an cleamhnas ann, a phlúr na mban óg”.
4.
Tharraing mé amach mo scian bheag, mo chreach ‘s mo mhíle brón
Is lig mé fuil a croí léi go hiallach a bróg
Chaith mé domh mo chlóca, mo stocaí is mo bhróga
Is d’éalaigh mé sa cheobhrán ó Mháire Ní Mhaoileoin
5.
Tháinig sí ar cuairt chugam uair roimh an lá
Is leag sí béilín fuair orm is chuir sí orm lámh
“Éirigh suas, a bhuachaill! Is mithid duit ‘bheith ag gluaiseacht
Tá an tóir anois anuas ort fá bhás a’ chailín óig”.
6.
“Tiocfaidh an bás ar cuairt agat uair roimh an lá
Is cuirfidh sé cúntas crua ort fa chuairt a dtug tú ar mhná
Beidh tú ‘do luí i seomra uaigneach is braithlín gheal anuas ort
Is beidh piantaí géara ifrinn romhat, a ógánaigh óig!”
A young wayward priest has fallen in love with a certain Mary from the town of Ballyhaunis, in the County of Mayo, and his mother, in no uncertain terms advises him to “get outa town”. The song charters the dilemma that the man has found himself in. In the first verse we see him heading down to the ships in melancholy mood, the alluring mackerel sky above only adding to his distraught. He then reflects on the beautiful Mary herself: lips curved like ripples on the sea and cheeks as red as rowan berries. “Why can’t we elope together in some little wind-filled sailing ship?” In the final verse he is imagining that she is there by his side sailing off with him to “the land of ships” where heartbreak and sickness are unheard of. Go luck with that.
Seoirse composed the music for the additional chorus.
Composed by Trad. Arr. and adapted by Seoirse Ó Dochartaigh with a newly-composed refrain
Composed: 1997
Seoirse Ó Dochartaigh, lead vocals and guitar, Steáfán Hannigan, percussion, Aodh Mac Ruairí, vocal harmony, Heather Innes, vocal harmony, Mike Cosgrave, keyboards and guitar
Download mp3 for freecurfá: Béal Átha hAmhnais, Máire Bhéal Átha hAmhnais
Béal Átha hAmhnais, Máire Bhéal Átha hAmhnais.
1.
Ar a ghabháil ‘na’ chuain domh is mé bhí go huaibhreach
Tinn lag buartha i m’intinn,
Bhí mé ‘féachaint uaim ar an spéir aduaidh
‘S é ag éalú uaim ‘na trealltaí
Ach faraoir géar gear ‘s mé an ceann gan chéill
Nár ghlac mé comhairle mo mhaithrín féin
‘S gur dhúirt sí liom fríd chomhrá ghrinn
Go Béal Átha hAmhnais ná triall ann.
2.
Ach ba mhór ‘thug mé grá do mo cailín bán
An lá breá i gcúl an gharraí
‘S do do bhéilín tláth mar chúr na trá
‘S go ghruaidh chomh dearg leis na caorthainn
Chuir mé mo lámh ar a cúm, ‘s bhí mo chroí lán gruaim
Ag ceiliúr caoin na n-éanlaith
‘S nach trua gan mise ag éaló leat
Faoi rópaí ‘s seoltaí séidte.
3.
Orú, a chuid ‘s a rún dá ngluaisfeá ar siúl
Go tír na long as Éirinn
Níl tuirse croí nó tinneas cinn
Nach leighisfí ann gan amhras
Nó ba tú mo rogha inniu is inné
Agus coinnigh agat féin ón bhás mé
Is gan grásta Dé ní mhairfidh mé
Ar an tsráid seo i mBéal Átha hAmhnais.