The Good Ship Kangaroo was learned
from the singing of the late Mrs. Elizabeth Cronin of Macroom, Co.
Cork. In the penultimate verse, 'hottentot' probably means opium.
You Rambling Boys of Pleasure was learned from the singing
of Len Graham and the late Joe Holmes from Co. Antrim, and also
from Ian Stevenson of Derry, to whom many thanks . This is the song
that was half remembered by W.B Yeats and rewritten by him as '
Down by the Sally Gardens'.
The Rambling Sailor was collected in the North of Ireland
by Sam Henry and is obviously Scottish in origin. Once again a fatal
fascination for beggars brings ultimate reward to the farmer's daughter
(how did they do it?). An unlikely tale, this, but we like the colonel
- come- beggar's cunning in the third verse where he feigns interest
in the serving girl, presumably to convince that he wasn't going
to try and get off with his daughter.
The Pursuit of Farmer Michael Hayes was learned from several
sources; Christy heard versions of it sung by John Lyons, Tom Lenihan,
and an unborn singer on Donnacha O' Dulaing's 'Highways and Byways'.
He received written versions from Mike Flynn and Seamus MacMathuna
and there's another in Zimmerman's Songs of Irish Rebellion (figgis,
Dublin). The air of that song were not to our taste but we were
glad that the air fitted Michael Hayes so well.
Matt and Liam have been playing for ten or fifteen years , and of
the tunes are from the mainstream of their repertoire. The version
played here of the well - known jig Brian O' Lynn was learned
from the fiddle playing of Bobby Casey. Two of the reels, The
Lady on the Island and The Gatehouse Maid, were popularised
by the great Sligo fiddlers of the forties, Michael Coleman and
Paddy Kiloran. Callaghan's is a reel that comes from the
Kerry fiddle tradition and was much played by the late Denis Murphy.
The Virginia and Lucky in Love (an unusual version
) were learned from the playing of the late Willie Clancy, whom
Matt and Liam hold in very high regard. Both knew him personally
and played with him, and much of Matt's flute style derives from
piping techniques. The Virginia is also found in Pat Mitchell's
The Dance of Willie Clancy.