Padraic Colum – Irish Rebel Poet

Padraic Colum (Columb) was born on 8th December, 1881, in a Longford workhouse where his father was employed. He was the eldest of seven siblings and when his father moved to the USA in 1889, having lost his job, to take part in the Colorado Gold Rush, Padraic and his family remained in Ireland. His […]

Dessie O’Halloran – Say You Love Me (Irish Trad)

Ireland has produced many great musicians over the years. Some are internationally recognised. Most are not. There are a lot of musical entertainers on Erin’s Green Isle who are household names in Ireland and few other places. One of these is Dessie O’Halloran, a singer and musician from the tiny island of Inisbofin (Island of […]

Fairport Convention – She Moved Through The Fair (Folk)

This magical Irish folk song is of unknown origin, but with its earliest incarnations to be found in Tír Chonaill. It has a melody said by some to have Oriental influences, but this may be coincidental. It tells of a young man who speaks of his fiance with awe as she travels through places in […]

Altan – Maggie’s Pancakes (Irish Traditional)

Here’s a hit from the maestros of Irish music, Altan, from beautiful Tír Chonaill. This version of Maggie’s Pancakes is sure to get your feet tapping, probably enough to wear out the soles on your shoes. Altan are an Irish institution still encouraging audiences to kick up their heels after decades of success. Their longevity […]

Long Balconies – A Lazarus Soul (Irish Folk)

Here’s a wonderful piece of street rhyme from working class Dublin band, A Lazarus Soul, relatively new to the wider music scene. The emotive lyrics speak of life in the tenement flats of inner city Dublin before they were demolished in an ongoing program of gentrification. Rose-tinted spectacles are all-too commonplace, and its certain that […]

A Rainy Night In Soho – Steo Wall (Hiberno-Irish Folk)

Recently, a poll was launched by RTE, the broadcaster for the Irish Free State, to find the ‘nation’s’ favourite folk song. Rebel Voice is unsure if the 1.8 million Irish people in the Occupied Six Counties (OSC) are considered part of the ‘nation’ by the Blueshirts who command RTE as insidious moves are underway to […]

The Foggy Dew – Daoirí Farrell (Irish Rebel Song)

“As back through the glen I rode again And my heart with me fell sore For I parted then with valiant men Whom I never shall see ‘more But to and fro in my dreams I go And I kneel and pray for you For slavery fled a glorious dead When you fell in the […]

Luke Kelly – School Days Over (Working Class Ballad)

This is a beautifully poignant song about the terrible way many children were deprived of the chance to enjoy their youthful innocence. It speaks of the young boys who were sent down the mines from a very young age. Many boys were, perhaps, enthused with the idea of joining their fathers, and uncles and older […]

An Irishman’s Diary – Day 1

The fur-faced dog was there again today, staring at me, it’s slobbering tongue hanging out the side of its mouth. It just stands there, challenging me. Eyeballing me. It looks dangerous. I’ve heard Yorkies can be brutal if they get a hold of your balls, but if I drop-kicked this one the neighbours would be […]

Luke Kelly – The Galway Races (Rousing Irish Ballad)

Here is an Irish ballad to get your spirits soaring. It speaks of the famous horse races at Galway that begin on the last Monday of July each year.  It’s there that fortunes are lost and few if any ever made. There are fine ladies galore and drinkers and thinkers and stinkers and creeps. There […]