The Keepers of the Flame
(Air: The Bantry Girl’s Lament)
Author: Dave Barron
The Oral Tradition was central to how our Irish Culture was passed from one generation to the next. The stories, songs and poems that illustrated our Way of Life and our Cultural beliefs were repeated at social events, heard, modified and passed from one generation to the next. The local Rambling House sessions were a key element of that Oral Tradition.
Sadly, the OT is now under threat from our modern social media. Our modern culture is shaped by influences that emanate from places, known and unknown, across the world; the values of our ancestors are diluted or dissolved. The moral framework that shaped and supported our Irish way of life is under serious threat.
Now more than ever we need the Culture Framework and those who keep it alive.
The song reflects on that Oral Tradition and its importance. It particularly remembers Eddie MacDonald of Clonmore, County Carlow, who successfully promoted and maintained the Rambling House tradition. Ar dheis Dé go raibh Eddie.
Long, long ago ancestral lore was passed on orally;
The spark to light the Cultural Fire was lit in family
And local neighbours and the clan, all warmed to that same Flame
And so all came to act the same, all Keepers of the Flame.
Ár gcultúr úr, ó ghlúin go glúin, trí Coimeádaí ár scéal.
That Cultural Fire, fanned into flame, became our Irish Way,
So strong it burned Norse and Norman adopted Irish ways;
Seanchaí and Bard, they were the stars who tended to the Flame;
They told the stories of our race, the Keepers of the Flame.
Ár gcultúr úr, ó ghlúin go glúin, trí Coimeádaí ár scéal.
Queen Liza knew the part they played, how Bards maintained the Flame;
Her empire tried to quench our Flame, to their eternal shame;
But by fireside on Rambling Nights our Culture still was safe:
The singers and the Fear an Tigh, all Keepers of the Flame.
Ár gcultúr úr, ó ghlúin go glúin, trí Coimeádaí ár scéal.
How can we keep the Flame today, with new technology?
The button we press will answer all quests, from AI to Zoology;
But AI and facts need more than that: they need a cultural frame:
We need to maintain our Cultural Flame and the Keepers of the Flame.
Ár gcultúr úr, ó ghlúin go glúin, trí Coimeádaí ár scéal.
In old Clonmore lived such a man, McDonald was his name;
He aimed to keep the Fire aflame, not glory and not fame;
There Eddie Mac and his Rambling House all kept the Fire aflame,
Now Eddie’s gone, he’s joined the throng, the Keepers of the Flame.
Yes, Eddie’s passed to Heaven’s host of Keepers of the Flame.
A Civil War Lament
Author: Tom Williams, Taghmon
The meadow grass has not been mown and the headland’s overgrown
And from the woods of Gurteencrin the pheasant cock has lately flown.
The soft red apples lie despoiled, on my mother’s orchard ground,
And Autumn’s sun, its short day done, casts shadows all around.
The old folk tend the pastures now for the young men have all gone
To fight with grief for their belief, ‘twas a bitter feud and long;
My brother, with his Thompson gun, faced me across the moor
And against God’s will, I shot to kill, my sorrow will endure.
The crossroads where the dancing feet sent echoes down the lane
Are empty now, and many a brow is creased with grief and pain.
Oh, who will cross the wide divide, and take my brother’s hand?
Oh, who was with him when he died near Slaney’s shifting sand?
How can we heal the broken rifts that separate us now,
For friend fought friend until the end, can we smile again, and how
Can hate and fear of yesteryear diminish in our minds?
Oh, the Civil War was a cruel war to break the ties that bind.
But the ash tree lives, and its seedlings give a hope to boy and man,
And the GAA once more held sway in the fields where the hurlers ran;
And the verdant spring a hope did bring, and the fields were tilled again,
And the carefree sounds from the sporting grounds came echoing down the lane.
The song was passed from the Wexford singer, Paddy Berry, to Tony Malone
In Winter Dawn
Author: Dave Barron
Singer: Dave Barron
The words try to give a modern purpose to the beautiful old air of the Wexford (Enniscorthy) carol. We have turned a deeply spiritual and ancient experience of mid-winter rebirth and renewal into a commercial and selfish practice. We need to reflect and renew our spiritual focus, respect God and Creation, and respect our neighbours all over the world: that is Christ’s the WAY, LOGOS, and the WORD of the LORD.
In winter dawn in years long gone
Our forefathers adored the sun,
Druids offered gifts to golden Fionn
So crops might grow and male babes come.
Then Patrick came and changed our ways;
Replaced the gods of older days.
He fanned a fire up high on Slane
That showed, for evermore, the Way.
CHORUS
Come to us Lord, this holy night,
And help us all to see the Light,
To find a right and simple life
Free from stress, and strain, and strife.
And ever since on Christmas night
We celebrate that dawn of Light
When God, to guide to what is right,
Sent us His Son, the infant Christ.
CHORUS
But now once more we need God’s help
To save us from the gods of wealth.
We feast and spend to great excess,
Neglecting our poor spirit’s health.
CHORUS
So every year at Christmas time
Let’s celebrate with Bread and Wine
To keep God’s Word all white and bright,
And light the darkness of our night.
The Turning of the Year
Author: Dave Barron
Singer: Dave Barron
The Christian festival of Christmas was transposed on the ancient Celtic festival that marked the turning of the year at the time of the winter solstice. Both festivals were marked by religious ceremonies and by family celebrations and feasting. It was and is a time for hope and joy, for families and for building and storing memories for future reflection.
The traditional air was used for the carol Christmas Day is Come (Caitriona O’Leary; another title for the melody is The Little Brown Mallet.
Christmas time is here, the turning of the year;
We celebrate with feasting and with hope for the new year,
Chorus:
And all enjoy the season, the turning of the year;
Each home is full of happiness and all are of good cheer.
Chorus
The young folk journey home from places far and wide;
Parents cry with joy to see them coming for Yuletide.
Chorus
The old folks tell their stories of Christmas long ago
With simple gifts for simpler times: memories of pure gold.
Chorus
The children hush to bed and wait for morning light,
Rushing down to see what came in the magic of the night.
Chorus
All bond with the feasting; Good food and drink and more;
The old folk then doze, dreaming of Christmases of yore.
Chorus
And all distill their feelings to store in memory
Storing thoughts for years to come of how it used to be.
The happy thoughts will buffer the sadness yet to come,
Of family ties and family joys at the time of the rising sun.
Chorus
Chorus
Where Santa lives
Author : Dave Barron
Singer: Dave Barron
The melody of this carol is taken from a Caitriona O;Leary version of a medieval carol from Wexford: An Angel This Bright Midnight.
My friends spoke in the schoolyard
When we went out to play;
The story that I then heard
Soon filled me with dismay.
I wrote a note to Santa
And asked Him to explain.
The answer came back quickly
And calmed my troubled brain.
CHORUS
And all who care and love me
Were quick to comfort me:
Where Santa’s people love and care
That’s where Santa will be.
My parents then spoke to me
And cleared the mystery:
Where Santa’s people love and care
That’s where Santa will be.
CHORUS
My Nano* came and kissed me
And she explained to me
Family Care and family love
At Santa’s Christmas tree.
CHORUS
My Dado** came and hugged me
And eased my worries free,
Told of Santa long ago
And how it used to be.
CHORUS
So now I know for certain
What Santa means to me:
Love and Care for everyone
And a loving family.
CHORUS
Nano* = Grandmother
Dado** = Grandfather
Dear Old Bagenalstown
Author: Christy Kane and Davy Dwyer
Singer: Davy Dwyer
Davy looks forward to returning to his native place, after a life of wandering the woirld
Sweet River Burrin
Author: Danny Browne
Singer: Danny Browne
Danny traces the path and some sights from the burrin's source to its entry into the Barrow.
Old Dancing Board
Author: Martin Power
Air: Arthur McBride
Martin remembers the simple joys of long ago, when people gathered at the old dancing board in Rossmore for sessions of music, dance and song.
Carlow The Fairest of All
Author: Luke Morrissey
Singer: Luke Morrissey
Luke takes us for a ramble around the county, praising its virtues
Lament for the Curlew
Author: Dave Barron
Air: The Star of the County Down (slow version)
The song laments the extermination of nature, symbolised by the Curlew, by the actions of mankind.
LAMENT FOR THE CURLEW
I hear no more the haunting cry
Of the curlew’s lonesome call
In the darkness of the night time sky
Somewhere above my hall.
CHORUS
She’s fallen victim, with her kind,
To mankind’s greed for MORE.
When all is gone, it’s then we’ll find
ENOUGH is more than MORE.
Where once she called out to her mate,
In bogs by Barrow’s shore,
The empty sky is now her fate;
The bogs are there no more.
CHORUS
The bogs she shared with cock and teal
Are drained to make more crops;
Now there's only one great field:
No cover, gorse, or copse.
CHORUS
The mountain marsh where once she roamed
With woodcock, snipe and hare
Now grows only Pine tree groves.
Dry ground beneath is bare.
CHORUS
We've taken much of Flora now
From Nature's treasure trove:
The Fauna soon will follow now,
Then we'll be next to go.
CHORUS
We've fallen victim with our kind
To our kind's greed for more;
When all is gone it's then we'll find
ENOUGH is MORE than MORE.