> Dave Swarbrick > Songs > Lord Inchiquin
> Martin Carthy > Songs > Lord Inchiquin

Lord Inchiquin

[ Roud - ; Turlough O’Carolan]

Al O’Donnell played the tune of Lord Inchiquin on his eponymous 1972 Trailer album Al O’Donnell. He noted:

Composed by the last of the Irish Bard Harpists, O’Carolan.

Dave Swarbrick recorded Lord Inchiquin for the first time in 1977 for his solo album Swarbrick 2. He and Simon Nicol often played it in a set together with The Young Black Cow, e.g. on the live albums In the Club (1982) Close to the Wind (1984) and Another Fine Mess (recorded 1984, published 2002).

Martin Carthy and Dave Swarbrick played a set consisting of the three tunes Bride’s March From Unst, True Lover’s Lament, and Lord Inchiquin on their 2006 album Straws in the Wind. Carthy commented in the sleeve notes:

There are the clearest echoes of the beautiful Jean Ritchie family song Nottamun Town in When I Was a Little Boy. They’re called “songs of lies” and are a very old idea—an idea assumed with huge effect by Bob Dylan in his epic Hard Rain’s Gonna Fall. It’s from just about as far north as you can get in Scotland without drowning and the singer, John Stickle from Baltasound on Unst in the Shetlands, who sang may beautiful and unusual songs for Patrick Shuldham-Shaw, was also possessed of a wonderful repertoire of fiddle tunes. Among them was Bride’s March From Unst which Dave learned in Shetland from a mouth organ playing Customs Man at the end of just about the most eventful journey any gigging musician could ever have dreamed of. Ask him sometime. But do make yourself comfy won’t you: it takes a long time to tell. John Stickle actually had two Bride’s Marches in his repertoire and he called this one Da Bride’s a Bonnie Thing. Here it’s followed by a retreat march The True Lover’s Lament and the O’Carolan tune Lord Inchiquin which is a particular favourite of Dave’s. Mine too.