Oh DANNY BOY HISTORY
Malachy McCourt, author of Danny Boy: The Legend of the Beloved
English Ballad, claims there is evidence that the original tune was written by
a blind Irish harpist named Rory Dall O'Cahan1. Blind Rory, a descendant of the
ruling O'Cahan clan, was a composer who lived sometime between 1560 and 1660 and
who was well-known for his purths, or harp tunes, the best known of which is
'Tabhair Dom do Lámh', or 'Give Me Your Hand'. He honoured the Highland gentry
whose homes he frequented with his compositions, and according to the writings
of one Arthur O'Neill, it was in one such house on the island of Skye that
Blind Rory died, leaving his harp and tuning key.
According to legend, the confiscation of the O'Cahan lands in the
early 1600s enraged Blind Rory, whose people had lived on those lands for
generations. It drove him to write a deeply moving tune of pain and passion
called 'O'Cahan's Lament'. There are some who claim that a sort of supernatural
intervention occurred: that Blind Rory, who was drunk one night, had staggered
along the riverside and collapsed, where he reportedly heard fairies playing a
haunting melody on his harp. Once he was sufficiently sober and confident that
he could play back the music, he returned to his castle to serenade his guests
with the first rendition of the air that would be transcribed some 250 years
later.
Blind Rory's haunting tune would be brought down to the 19th Century
by another blind harper called Denis O'Hampsey, a feat made possible by
O'Hampsey's life spanning three centuries: he was born at the end of the 17th
Century, and died at the beginning of the 19th at the ripe old age of 112.
O'Hampsey, who hailed from Roe Valley, was born in Craigmore2 in 16953, and
lost his eyesight at the age of three when he contracted smallpox. Having
discovered his musical muse at an early age, O'Hampsey studied with Bridget
O'Cahan, who was purportedly related to Blind Rory4. It was said that O'Hampsey
inherited a sizeable repertoire including 'O'Cahan's Lament', which he would
introduce in Ireland and Scotland during his travels.
It was in Ireland that Denis O'Hampsey crossed roads with Edward
Bunting (1773-1843), who would later be hailed as the pioneer collector of harp
music. O'Hampsey was one of ten harpers invited to attend a harp festival in
Belfast in 1792, and Bunting, whose job it was to write down the tunes played
at the festival, in an attempt to revive and continue the tradition of ancient
Irish music, was particularly attracted to O'Hampsey's traditional harp
technique. Immediately after the festival, the young Edward Bunting embarked on
a journey to the farthest reaches of Ireland in search of traditional airs. Not
surprisingly, his travels began on Denis O'Hampsey's doorstep in Magiligan
where he obtained several tunes for later inclusion in his three volumes of The
Ancient Music of Ireland (published in 1796, 1809 and 1840).
@Hell’s Fire Club According to at least one
source, their activities included mock religious ceremonies and partaking in meals containing
dishes like "Holy Ghost Pie", "Breast of Venus", and
"Devil's Loin", while drinking "Hell-fire punch".[5][18] Members of the Club supposedly came to meetings dressed
as characters from the Bible.[18]
In the late 1960’s during renovation the then owners
had many complaints from builders that they were experiencing apparitions
including spectral figures and a ghostly black cat with piercing red eyes.
HELLFIRE CLUB
There were several Hellfire Clubs throughout Britain and
Ireland. Members were of Libertine persuasion and indulged in drinking,
debauchery and occult practices including ritual sacrifice. The Dublin
branch of this illustrious cadre was established by Richard Parsons, the 1st Earl
of Rosse and James Worsdale, a portrait artist and chancer.
Parsons was a Libertine and
founder of the sacred sect of Dionysus. He was also twice elected
Grandmaster of the Irish Freemasons. Worsdale on the other hand, had
little to offer in pedigree and relied on his personality and own liberal
approach to life to move in the most exclusive circles, his only real legacy
being his portrait, ‘The Hellfire Club, Dublin, hanging in the National Gallery
of Ireland.
Here, as with all of the clubs,
as well as identical practices and the mascot of a black cat, there were
traditions to be upheld. The Hellfire gents would toast the Devil with a
potent punch known as scaltheen, a heady mix of whiskey and rancid butter,
whilst leaving an empty seat at the table for his arrival.
One famous tale tells of a stranger
entering the club and joining the men for a game of cards. When
retrieving a fallen card, a startled club member saw the guest had cloven
hooves – on recognition the dark stranger vanished in flames.
This story is identical to the
one from the infamous Loftus Hall in Wexford, however it seems more than
coincidence as the family had property on Montpelier Hill also.
There were reports of murder
and animal sacrifice, including that of a black cat who was exorcised by a
priest and a demon was seen fleeing. Further tales abounded of a member,
Simon Luttrell who allegedly sold his soul to the Devil in order to clear his
debts, to be collected in seven years. The Devil arrived at the Lodge to
collect his bounty, however the resourceful Luttrell diverted the attention of
his soul reaper and escaped for many more years.
During this period in the
club’s history, a horrendous fire took hold during a meeting and several lives
were lost.
The exact cause of the fire is
unknown, yet claims have been made of everything from a footman accidentally
spilling a flammable drink to the deliberate act of the members due to a
non-renewal of lease.
Either way, the club moved
premises to the Steward’s House some short distance down the hill. Now
the remains of the Lodge stand in ruins, but not abandoned, at least not by the
living.
The screams of a woman being
bowled to her death in a burning barrel echo over the hill, a smell of
brimstone fills the air and invisible hands grabbing at throats to tear off
jewellery are just some of the claims of paranormal activity at the top of
Montpelier Hill.
MASSY
WOODS. CHILLY, EERIE OVERGROWN VEGATATION. FAYE QUOTES MIDSUMMERS NIGHT DREAM.
PETE QUOTES BAD POETRY. GILLIAN TALKS ABOUT HISTORY. COLLIN ANNOY HER. FAYE
HANGS ALL OVER PETE. WHAT HAPPENS? FAYE GETS STUNG BY A BEE AND PETE HAS TO
GIVE HER PIGGY BACK RIDE. Here you'll find the Steward’s House, site of
more of the Club’s scandalous parties, which is said to be haunted to this
day.
If you can hold your nerve
through these eerie woods, the waymarked path passes all sorts of curiosities,
including a Bronze Age wedge tomb, an icehouse and the remnants of the fine
gardens that were once laid out here.
“A LS is In Celtic folklore, the leannán sí
("Fairy-Lover";[1] Scottish Gaelic: leannan sìth, Manx: lhiannan
shee; [lʲan̴̪-an ˈʃiː]) is a beautiful woman of the Aos Sí ("people of the barrows") who takes a human lover. Lovers
of the leannán sídhe are said to live brief, though highly inspired, lives. The
name comes from the Gaelic words for a sweetheart, lover, or concubine and the
term for inhabitants of fairy mounds (fairy).[2]
The Leanhaun Shee (fairy mistress) seeks the love of mortals. If
they refuse, she must be their slave; if they consent, they are hers, and can
only escape by finding another to take their place. The fairy lives on their
life, and they waste away. Death is no escape from her. She is the Gaelic muse,
for she gives inspiration to those she persecutes. The Gaelic poets die young,
for she is restless, and will not let them remain long on earth—this malignant
phantom.
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