SKIBBEREEN

This is not one of those toe-tapping, singalong Irish songs. It is a narrative that recounts the tragedy of The Great Famine that struck Ireland in the mid 19th century, killing close to a million people and forcing a million more to leave Ireland and start new lives elsewhere.

The song was written in America sometime in the late 1860’s or 1870’s, presumably by a man named Patrick Carpenter who lived somewhere in the Boston area. It was first published around 1880. For many years, it was rarely performed publicly because it ends with a call to arms, and was therefore considered subversive and revolutionary.

The Celtic harp I am playing was made around 1980 by harp builder Arsalaan Fay.

Видео SKIBBEREEN канала Peter Pringle