Irish Songs and Ballads Trivia Quiz

Answer: O'Donnell Abu

This song was written by Michael Joseph McCann. It is about Red Hugh O'Donnell (1573 - 1602), one of the leaders of a revolt against English rule in the 1590's. After the Irish were defeated at the Battle of Kinsale, O'Donnell fled to Spain, where he died in 1602, probably of poison.

This song should have been Ireland's national anthem; however, when a vote was taken in 1926, it finished second to the lackluster "A Soldier's Song." The word "Abu" means "to the victory."

Answer: Johnson's Motor Car

"He had orders from our captain to assemble at Dunbar/But how were we to get there without a motor car?"
This amusing song tells the story of how IRA men hijack an English doctor's automobile to carry out an operation during the Irish War of Independence.

Answer: The Rose of Tralee

This lovely tune is often used by Irish tenors to show off their vocal range.

Answer: Red Is the Rose

"Red is the rose that in yonder garden grows/Fair is the Lily of the Valley/Clear is the water that flows from the Boyne/But my love is fairer than any."
Possibly the most beautiful of all Irish love songs.

Answer: The Limerick Rake

A song translated from the Gaelic. One of my favorite songs; I especially like the verse that begins: "There's some say I'm foolish, but more say I'm wise/Being fond of all women I think is no crime/For the son of King David had ten hundred wives/And his wisdom was highly regarded."

Answer: Boolavogue

In 1798, three separate rebellions broke out in Ireland. The most famous was in County Wexford, where one of the leaders was John Murphy, a Catholic priest. At first successful, the rebellion was crushed at the Battle of Vinegar Hill, on June 21, 1798. Father Murphy was captured by the English and hanged on July 2, 1798 at Tullow.

The English then cut off his head and put it on spike, and burned his body in a barrel of tar.

Answer: The Men of the West

On August 22, 1798 a French army of 1100 men under the command of General Humbert landed in Ireland. Aided by local rebels, the French won a number of victories against larger English forces, but were eventually forced to surrender to Lord Cornwallis on September 8, 1798.

The English allowed the French troops to surrender, but inflicted unspeakable atrocities on the Irish. A very good novel by the late Thomas Flanagan, "The Year of the French", describes events of this important period of Irish history.

Answer: Henry Joy McCracken

This song celebrates another hero of 1798. Henry Joy McCracken was a Protestant and a member of the United Irishmen. He was a principal leader of the Irish forces at the Battle of Antrim. The Irish were defeated, and McCracken was captured and hanged by the English in Belfast on July 17, 1798. He showed great courage as he mounted the scaffold.

Answer: Roddy McCorley

Like McCracken, McCorley was a Protestant who fought at the Battle of Antrim. He was supposedly a very brave and handsome man. In the book "Angela's Ashes", Frank McCourt mentions that this was one of his father's favorite songs.

Answer: Molly Malone

Thought I'd throw in an easy one.

Answer: The Foggy Dew

This is one of the most famous songs about the Easter Rebellion of 1916.
"But to and fro in my dreams I go/And I kneel and pray for you/For slavery fled, O Glorious Dead/When you fell in the foggy dew."

Answer: The Ould Orange Flute

With so many "rebel" songs already mentioned, it's only fair to include at least one Protestant ditty. This song tells of an Orangeman who converts to Catholicism, but his flute will not.
" 'Kick the Pope' or 'Boyne Water'it gladly would sound/But not one Papist squeak in that flute could be found."

Answer: Eileen Aroon

This beautiful love song was written by a 14th century poet, Carol O'Daly; it was translated into English by Gerald Griffin. It is a
lovely song in either Irish or English.

Answer: Sean South from Garryowen

Sean South was an IRA man from Limerick who was killed leading a raid on a Royal Ulster Constabulary outpost in Brookeborough, Co. Fermanagh, on New Year's Eve, 1956. The tune to this song is the same as that of "Roddy McCorley", which was mentioned in Question 9.

Answer: The Patriot Game

"It banishes fear with the speed of a flame/And makes us all part of the patriot game." This song honors the memory of Fergal O'Hanlon, a 16-year-old IRA volunteer killed in the same raid as Sean South (see Question 14). It was written by Dominic Behan, and set to the haunting air "The Merry Month of May." Like his more famous brother, Brendan Behan, Dominic was a playwright and songwriter. Check out his album, "Cosmopolitan Man."

Answer: Sweet Carnlough Bay

A beautiful ballad. Carnlough Bay is in County Antrim.

Answer: Courtin' in the Kitchen

This humorous song tells the story of a young apprentice invited to an amorous rendezvous by a scullery maid. When her master returns home suddenly, his plans are dashed. "She swore I robbed the house, in spite of all her screechin'/And I got six months hard for my courtin' in the kitchen."

Answer: Clare's Dragoons

Following the Treaty of Limerick in 1691, many thousands of Irishmen, known as the "Wild Geese", left their homes and took service in armies on the Continent. Some of the most famous served in the Irish Brigades of the French Army. In 1745, during the War of the Austrian
Succession, a famous charge led by Clare's Dragoons smashed the English lines and won a great victory for the French. This is a splendid marching song.

Answer: The Jackets Green

This song by Michael Scanlan tells the story of a young girl whose sweetheart is killed at the siege of Garryowen during the wars between James II and William III. "When William stormed with shot and shell/At the walls of Garryowen/Twas in the breech my Donal fell/And he sleeps 'neath the Treaty Stone/That breach the foeman never crossed/While he swung his broadsword keen/And I do not weep my Donal dead/For he fell in his Jacket Green."

Answer: Galway Bay

Another old standard. There is also a parody which goes: "Maybe someday I'll go back again to Ireland/If my dear old wife would only pass away/She's nearly got my heart broke with her naggin'/Faith, she's got a mouth as big as Galway Bay."

Answer: Kevin Barry

Kevin Barry was an 18-year-old student who took part in an attack on a truckload of British soldiers on June 1, 1920. Six soldiers were killed in the attack. Barry was captured and tried by a military court. On November 1, 1920 he was tortured by British soldiers in an attempt to make him turn "informer." He refused and was hanged.

His execution was widely resented because there was no evidence he had fired any of the fatal shots. His bravery soon made him a popular martyr for the cause of Irish freedom.

Answer: Bold Captain Freeny

James Freeny (d. 1788) was a famous Irish highwayman. In this song he thinks he has stumbled upon a rich victim, but discovers him to be a tailor: "Your filthy gold I do disdain/I give you back your purse again/I'll rob no tailor while I can/I would ten times rather rob a man." I don't know why he had such a dislike for that profession. Captain Freeny appears as a minor character in the movie "Barry Lyndon", and, of course, in the book of the same title.

Answer: Van Diemen's Land

Van Diemen's Land is the old name for Tasmania, a large island which is part of Australia. Many Irish criminals and political prisoners were transported there in the 1800's. Poaching was considered a very serious crime in the 19th century, probably because its "victims" were the wealthy gentry and aristocracy.

It is hard to believe that less than 150 years ago a man could be imprisoned or even hanged for shooting a rabbit or pheasant. The men in this song were transported for 14 years.

Answer: The Wearing of the Green

The best known version of this song was written by Dion Boucicault, who, despite his French-sounding name, was a born Irishman. Usually sung to the same tune as "The Rising of the Moon." I can find no historical evidence that any law ever forbade anyone to wear the color green or grow shamrocks.

It probably has its origin in the Rebellion of 1798, when some rebels wore green cockades on their hats.

Answer: Skibereen

This song tells of a poor family being evicted from its home by a cruel landloard. Such scenes were common in mid-19th century Ireland. Landowners could make more money raising sheep and cattle than they could by leasing their property, so they seized upon any excuse to evict their tenants, often enlisting the help of the police and military.