Annotation:Follow My Love to Carlow
X:1 T:Follow My Love to Carlow M:C L:1/8 R:Reel S:Rev. Luke Donnellan – “Oriel Songs and Dances", S:Journal of the County Louth Archaeological Society (vol. II, No. 2, 1909; No. 68) Z:AK/Fiddler’s Companion K:Amix cAAB cABG|EGDG EGAB|cAAB cABG|Addc dfed:|| f2 fd (3efe ed|cded cAAg|f2 fd (3efe fg|afge d2 de| f2 fd (3efe ed|cded cAAG|Addc defg|afge dfed||
FOLLOW MY LOVE TO CARLOW. AKA and see "Bank of Ireland (1) (The)," "Follow Me Down to Carlow (4)," "Last Day in Ireland (The)." Irish, Reel. A Mixolydian. Standard tuning (fiddle). AAB. The reel was collected in the Slieve Gullion region of south County Armagh by the biography:Rev. Luke Donnellan (1878-1952), a rector at Dromintee, who published a collection of over 100 tunes, mostly reels, in 1909 in an article entitled "Oriel Songs and Dances" in The Journal of the County Louth Archaeological Society (vol. II, No. 2)[1]. Oriel or wikipedia:Airgíalla (now Oirialla), and Anglicizations, Oriel, Uriel, Orgiall, or Orgialla, was the name of an ancient Irish federation or kingdom largely in what is now the County Armagh, in the north of Ireland. Donnellan was enthusiastic about P.W. Joyce's then recently published Old Irish Music and Songs (1909), but found Irish music rather rare in his area.
The old people of Dromintee will tell you of the number and the skill of musicians who used to come to [nearby] Forkhill fair. I was told there used to be as many as thirty playing at it. They display an extensive knowledge of the names of songs and dance tunes, but cannot sing them. The reel known as “Black Haired Lass (2) (The)” No. 66 inf., seems to have been a great favourite with everyone. These facts point to a vanishing and disappearing musical culture.
Forkhill Fair, held on Michaelmas Day (Sept. 29th) was once the great horse and cattle fair, and festival of the area (St. Michael is the patron saint of horsemen).
The title "Follow My Love to Carlow" was included in the tune list of piper Philip Goodman (c. 1831-1908), Carrickmacross, Ireland, who is variously described as "the last professional and traditional piper in Farney, Louth", and also recorded as having been from Donaghmoyne, County Monaghan (all of which are places from the same area, and contiguous to the Donnellan's Oriel region). Carlow is the county town of County Carlow, in the south-east of Ireland.
Researcher Conor Ward finds the tune a version of "Bank of Ireland (1) (The)."
- ↑ Donnellan researcher Gerry O'Connor came to believe the ms. is not the work of the curate but rather was originally compiled by an unknown but able fiddler over the course of a playing lifetime, probably in the late 19th century. The ms. later came into the possession of Donnellan, who was also a fiddler.