The popular Irish song “Mary from Dungloe” was originally the work of a Donegal stonemason named Pádraig Mac Cumhaill, it first appeared in 1936. Today, it is considered part of the folk tradition in Ireland, with a similar style (more short and often longer). popular version) by Colm O’Laughlin. Both versions essentially tell the old story of love and heartbreak. Always popular in an Irish context …
Mary from Dungloe – la letra
Oh well then, sweet Donegal, the Rosses and Gweedore.
I am crossing the main ocean, where the foamy waves roar.
My heart breaks apart from you, where I spent many happy days
Goodbye to kind relationships, because I’m destined for Amerikay.
Oh my love is tall and handsome and his age is barely eighteen;
She far surpasses all the other maidens when she stumbles onto the green;
Her beautiful neck and shoulders are fairer than snow.
Until the day I die, I will never deny my Mary of Dungloe.
If I were home in sweet Dungloe, I would write a letter;
Kind thoughts would fill my chest for Mary, my delight;
It is in his father’s garden, the most beautiful violets grow.
And there I went to woo the maid, my Mary from Dungloe.
Ah so Mary, you are my heart’s delight, my pride, and you only care.
It was your cruel father who wouldn’t let me stay there.
But the absence makes the heart warm and when I’m in the main, what
the Lord protect my dear girl until I return.
And I wish I was in sweet Dungloe and sit on the grass
And next to me a bottle of wine and on my knees a girl.
I would order the best liquor and pay before I go.
And I would roll my Mary in my arms in the town of sweet Dungloe.
Mary de Dungloe – the story
In reality, this rather undescriptive story (the boy loves the girl, the girl loves the boy, the parents disagree, they all emigrate and die) has a historical background. Which, in itself, is basically the same story:
Paddy and Annie Gallagher, married since 1840, lived in Rosses, made their home in Lettercaugh, as farmers and merchants, achieving rural middle-class status. And raising a family with four children, Manus, Bridget, Annie (aka Nancy) and Mary. The youngest, Mary, was also known as the most beautiful girl in the area, she “stood out” (being quite tall and having nice clothes helped).
Mary accompanied her father to the summer fair in Dungloe in 1861, which was doubled as a kind of match-up event for single sins and daughter. There he met (after his father’s introduction) a young, rich man, originally from Gweedore, but lately residing in the United States. A man with enough money to support a wife and a home in Ireland. He became a frequent visitor and was welcomed into the Gallagher home. Actually, a wedding was planned for September, when things turned bad. Apparently, the neighbors had been spreading gossip about the young man, and everything was suspended.
Leaving the two young lovers heartbroken.
But since things did not change, the “returned emigrant” found living in the area unbearable … and returned to emigration once more. Whirlwind style … already on October 6, 1861, he left Ireland to return to the United States.
Having nothing to live for in the Rosses, Mary in turn corresponded with her brother Manus, who had been evicted in 1860, made his way to New Zealand and settled there quite successfully. So he also picked up sticks in no time … six months and a day after the summer fair, on December 5, 1861, he began his emigration journey to New Zealand, planning to meet his relatives there. And to start a new life. Which also happened quite quickly: on the emigrant ship she met a certain Dónal Egan and married him shortly after.
But even that was not for long, as after giving birth to a baby she died in four months, and her son survived only a few more months.
A story to warm up your cockles …
Mary de Dungloe – el Festival
The Emmet-Spiceland Ballad Group (one of the members was the respected Irish folk musician Donal Lunny) released a cover of “Mary from Dungloe” in the 1960s, and it actually reached # 1 on the Irish Singles Music Chart. on February 24, 1968 You can listen to it on YouTube if you dare …
Suddenly, Dungloe was on the map… and the »International Mary from Dungloe Festival« was born. A typically Irish music festival held at the end of July in Dungloe, somewhat similar to “The Rose of Tralee” (which, incidentally, is also based on a tragic love story enshrined in the song “The Rose of Tralee”). The festival also organizes a contest to find the contestant (feamle) who most embodies the “spirit of the festival”, then she is crowned and known as “Mary from Dungloe” for a year. Believe it or not, tens of thousands flock to this festival …
