Annotation:Ned of the Hill (1)

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NED OF THE HILL [1] (Eamonn/Eadmun an cnuic). AKA - "Edmund of the Hill," "Yemon O knock." AKA and see "As a Beam O'er the Waters," "Col O'Gara," "Eamonn a' Chnuich (1)," "Young Man's Dream (The)." Irish, Slow Air (3/4 or 6/8 time). G Major/E Minor. Standard tuning (fiddle). AB (O'Neill, Roche): AABB (O'Farrell, Shields/Goodman). An Irish ballad of the period 1698-1704 written in memory of Edmond (O')Ryan, of Knockmeill Castle, Co. Tipperary, who was an outlaw under King William. Edmond, or Ned, was the scion of an old aristocratic Irish family, the O'Ryans of Kilnelongurty, County Tipperary, who "was forced to become a Rapparee, and to do a man's part in spoiling the spoiler" (Flood, 1906). Fighting against the Williamite forces, O'Ryan "took to the hills" after the capitulation of Limerick, and was murdered in one of the first years 18th century by one Dwyer for the reward of 200 Pounds set by the English for his head. He is buried in Curraheen, near Hollyford. The air itself dates from the close of the 16th century (though the first printed version appeared in 1729), according to Flood, and it underwent various modifications between the years 1600 and 1760 appearing under many titles, including "The Young Man's Dream" and a Scotch variant, "I Dreamed I Lay," with words by Robert Burns published in Johnson's Scots Musical Museum, 1788) . Another early printing of the melody appears in the appendix to Walker's Historical Memoirs of the Irish Bards (1786).

Source for notated version: a manuscript collection dated 1861 by the Anglican cleric and piper James Goodman (1828-1896), who collected primarily in County Cork [Shields].

Printed sources: P.M. Haverty (One Hundred Irish Airs vol. 3), 1859; No. 299, p. 148. O'Farrell (National Irish Music for the Union Pipes), 1804; p. 21. O'Neill (Music of Ireland: 1850 Melodies), 1979; No. 133, p. 24. Roche (Collection of Traditional Irish Music, vol. 1), 1912; No. 1, p. 7. Shields (Tunes of the Munster Pipers), 1998; No. 34, p. 16.

Recorded sources: Plant Life Records PLR017, "The Tannahill Weavers" (1979). Shanachie Records, "Cathie Ryan" (1997).

See also listing at:
Alan Ng's Irishtune.info [1]
Jane Keefer's Folk Music Index: An Index to Recorded Sources [2]
See the Wikipedia entry on the song [3]
Hear the song on youtube.com [4] [5]

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