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Lough Erne Shore

[ Roud 3476 ; Ballad Index TSF115 ; Mudcat 19864 ; trad.]

Paddy Tunney from Co Fermanagh sang the love song Lough Erne Shore in 1962 on his Folk-Legacy album of Irish traditional ballads, The Man of Songs. An earlier field recording made by Peter Kennedy and Sean O’Boyle on 18 July 1952 (BBC recording 17538) was included in 2014 on the Topic anthology of traditional songs, airs and dance music in Ulster, The Flax in Bloom (The Voice of the People Volume 27). Probably Sean O’Boyle noted on the first album:

This song, in subject, manner and expression has all the atmosphere of the Gaelic Aisling or Vision Poem. In the classical Aisling, the poet represents himself as wandering alone, either at twilight or, more usually, in the early morning, when suddenly there appears in his sight a most beautiful maiden (an speir-bhean; the woman from heaven). Her physical characteristics are stereotyped—long curling ringleted golden hair, skin white as snow, cheeks rosy red, etc. The poet generally questions her as to her origin, suggesting that she is one of the goddesses of Greek, Roman or Irish mythology, but she usually identifies herself as one of the Sidhe (Fairy Host) or as some personification of Ireland. When she has delivered herself of some apocalyptic message, she disappears from the poet’s sight. A complete description of this type of Gaelic poetry, with an account of its principal exponents can be read in The Hidden Ireland by Daniel Corkery (Dublin, 1941).

Lough Erne Shore contains many of these poetic conventions, and is quite possibly the work of one of Fermanagh’s hedge-school masters. These hedge-school masters, proscribed by the law forbidding the education of the Irish, were well versed in Latin, Greek and Irish, but knew English only imperfectly. They often composed songs in English—always to Irish airs—in which they made free use of Latin and Greek mythology. Note the reference in this song to the Greek Sun-god, Phoebus. To the best of my knowledge, this song has never been published in ballad-sheet or any other form. I first heard it from Paddy Tunney.

Paul Brady sang Lough Erne Shore on Andy Irvine’s and his 1976 Mulligan album, Andy Irvine Paul Brady.

Cathal McConnell sang Edmund on Lough Erne’s Shore in 1978 as the title track of his Topic album On Lough Erne’s Shore and he sang this with The Boys of the Lough as Lough Erne in 1983 on their Topic album Open Road. They noted:

Cathal grew up alongside Lough Erne, which runs the length of Co. Fermanagh. He remembers this song from the singing of Paddy Tunney, the great Co. Fermanagh singer, who recorded it in the 1950s. The flowery style of the lyrics, with reference to Greek mythology, belongs to the 18^th-century hedge school tradition.

CrossCurrent sang Lough Erne Shore on their 2005 album Momentum, and their band member Damien O’Kane returned to it in 2010 on his solo album on Pure Records, Summer Hill.

Maggie Boyle sang Lough Erne Shore in 2008 on Sketch’s eponymous album Sketch.

Old Blind Dogs sang Lough Erne Shore in 2010 on their Compass album Wherever Yet May Be.

The Voice Squad sang Lough Erne Shore on their 2014 CD Concerning of Three Young Men where they noted:

A song from Paddy Tunney which he refers to in his publication The Stone Fiddle where he relates that this song came directly from the hedge-school-master poets. We heard this song also from the singing of Paul Brady.

Niall Hanna sang Lough Erne Shore on his 2017 CD Autumn Winds.

Lyrics

Paddy Tunney sings Lough Erne Shore

One morning as I went a-fowling Bright Phoebus adorned the plain;
’Twas down by the banks of Lough Erne I met with this wonderful dame;
Her voice was so sweet and so pleasing, these beautiful notes she did sing;
The innocent fowl of the forest their love unto her they did bring.

It being the first time I met her, my heart it did leap with surprise;
I thought that she could be no mortal, but an angel who fell from the skies.
Her hair it resembled gold tresses, her skin was as white as the snow
And her cheeks were as red as the roses that bloom around Lough Erne Shore.

When I found that my love was eloping, these words unto her I did say:
“O take me to your habitation, for cupid has led me astray
And had I the lamp of great Alladin, his rings and his jewels that’s more,
I would part with them all for to gain you and live upon Lough Erne Shore.”

The Voice Squad sing Lough Erne Shore

One morning as I went a-fowling bright Phoebus adorned the plain,
It was down by the shades of Lough Erne I met with this wonderful dame.
Her voice was so sweet and so pleasing, these beautiful notes she did sing
And the innocent fowl of the forest their love unto her they did bring.

It being the first time I met her, my heart it did leap with surprise.
I thought that she could be no mortal but an angels that fell from the skies.
Her hair it resembled gold tresses, her skin was as white as the snow
And her cheeks were as red as the roses that bloom around Lough Erne shore.

When I found that my love was eloping these words unto her I did say,
“Oh take me to your habitation for cupid has led me astray,
Forever I’ll keep the commandments; they say that it is the best plan
Fair maids who do yield to men’s pleasures the Scriptures do say they are wrong.

“Oh Mary don’t accuse me of weakness, for treachery I do disown.
I will make you a lady of splendour if with me this night you come home.
Oh if I had the lamp of great Aladdin, his rings and his genie, what’s more,
I would part with them all for to win you and live around Lough Erne shore.”