A Fair and a Song

The Lammas Fair in Ballycastle 

 

Book Cover

In his book Traveller in the Glens (1979), Jack McBride describes, on pages 117-120, The Lammas Fair in Ballycastle, County Antrim, Northern Ireland. In the olden times, he writes, it was the day when the first-fruits of the corn, i.e. loaves, were given in thanksofferings. From pagan times it was an aenach, or fair, that was dedicated to thanksgiving and celebration. There were games, trials of skill between noted warriors and athletes, contests between bards, with a very important section where marriages were performed. It appears, from the following paragraph, it was also a time for forming relationships that would lead to marriage:

p. 117 Traveller in the Glens by Jack McBride

cailin Irish variant of colleen

Mr. McBride wrote that in those early times the Lammas Fair lasted for three days and was hosted by the MacDonnells and M'Donalds.  It was a time when the Antrim Scots met the Scots in Antrim (those red-shanked Highlanders). There was a brisk trade in cattle and highland ponies, and pipes and harps entertained the visitors. The nights, lit with bonfires, were a time for dancing the jigs and reels. On huge spits, sides of oxen were roasted to fill their bellies.

Dulse

Yella-man

Today, it is said that thousands of people attend the Lammas Fair, enduring the traffic jams that go with it. Besides horses and cattle, fair goers might find sheep and other animals, like llamas and rabbits at the fair. They can purchase Dulse and Yella-man, famous treats that have been sold at the Lammas Fair for hundreds of years. Another attraction, long awaited by the younger visitors to the fair, is the popular Amusement Rides. For a spectacular view of the fair and surrounding countryside, take advantage of the swinging seat of the Ferris Wheel. 

1968 Pamphlet

 At the time Mr. McBride wrote his book, publishing date 1979, the Lammas Fair, which has been been celebrated continually since the 17th century, was held the last Tuesday in August. Referred to in some places as the Auld Lammas Fair or the Ould Lammas Fair, the time of the event is now the last Monday and Tuesday in August. If held, the date for the fair, this year, 2021, will be the 30th and 31st. Cancelled in 2020 because of the Covid Virus, it is likely to be cancelled for the second year in a row. 

If walking along the streets of Ballycastle and enjoying the Lammas Fair in person is not possible for you, there are other ways to savor the atmosphere of the County Antrim event that has delighted so many visitors for hundreds of years. For instance, there are many videos available, on YouTube, made by those who have attended the fair in the past. There are also recipes that can be found for Yella-man, the well-known treat made with honeycomb and brown sugar. If you are an arm chair traveler, there are many stories written about the fair and Ballycastle that can be found on the internet. 

Then, too, there is the song written about the fair by a man who probably witnessed many Lammas Fairs over his lifetime. YouTube has shared many renditions of his tune, if you are interested in doing a search. If you happen to be a collector of music and would like the song in your collection,  a CD by Ruby Murray, a popular Irish singer, is available for purchase. The story of the song and it's composer enhance the already interesting story of the centuries old Lammas Fair.

John McAuley's Shop on Ann Street

About a hundred years ago, there lived in Ballycastle a man named John Henry "The Carver"  McAuley. On a dare made during his childhood, he had jumped off the Glenshesk Bridge into the river and broke his back. Incapable of strenuous work, to make his living, he had become a bog oak carver. Among other well crafted works of art, he created picture frames, animals, farm wagons and gypsy caravans.

Other than being acknowledged for his gifted wood carvings, John happened to be a well-known, talented fiddler. To the pleasure of the people passing by his shop on Ann Street in Ballycastle, he would often put down his tools and play rousing jigs and reels on his fiddle. Being a genius composer, as well as a master musician, his impromptu concerts would, as often as not, include a song of his own composition. Only one of his songs ever made it to publication, however.

In the 1920s, Sam Henry, a man who collected local folk songs, listened to and wrote down the words to a song McAuley was singing. He transcribed the music and published it in a local newspaper. The Oul Lammas Fair was soon issued as a pamphlet, and, since then, it has been recorded many times. John Henry McAuley died in 1937. He never knew how popular his tune about the Old Lammas Fair would become. A historic plaque, honoring his memory and the song that he wrote, is displayed at his old wood carving shop on Ann Street.

 

Lyrics to the song written by John Henry McAuley

 

Ould Lammas Fair

 

At the Ould Lammas Fair in Ballycastle long ago
I met a pretty colleen who set me heart a-glow
She was smiling at her daddy buying lambs from Paddy Roe
At the Ould Lammas Fair in Ballycastle-O
Sure I seen her home that night
When the moon was shining bright
From the ould Lammas Fair in Ballycastle-O

CHORUS
At the ould Lammas Fair boys were you ever there
Were you ever at the Fair In Ballycastle-O?
Did you treat your Mary Ann to some Dulse and Yellow Man
At the ould Lammas Fair in Ballycastle-O

In Flander’s fields afar while resting from the War
We drank Bon Sante to the Flemish lassies O
But the scene that haunts my memory is kissing Mary Ann
Her pouting lips all sticky from eating Yellow Man
As we passed the silver Margy and we strolled along the strand
From the ould Lammas Fair in Ballycastle-O
Chorus

There’s a neat little cabin on the slopes of fair Knocklayde
It’s lit by love and sunshine where the heather honey’s made
With the bees ever humming and the children’s joyous call
Resounds across the valley as the shadows fall
Sure I take my fiddle down and my Mary smiling there
Brings back a happy mem’ry of the Lammas Fair
Chorus

 

Ruby Murray - The Old Lammas Fair 

 Irish Recording Star

World Record Holder

Only female to have five recordings in the 

Top Twenty in the same week

 

The Ould Lammas Fair - Calum Kennedy

Scottish Singer 

Won a Gold Medal in 1955 for singing in Gaelic

Won World Ballad Championship in Moscow 1957 

 

Lammas Fair Ballycastle 27th August 2019

 

There are other videos for the Lammas Fair on YouTube.

 

Auld Lammas Fair Photographs on Facebook 

https://www.facebook.com/AuldLammasFairPhotographs

 

Blog about the Lammas Fair

Ould Lammas Fair, Ballycastle

 

These stories about the Lammas Fair are worth the read:

 

The Lammas Fair in Ballycastle

by Louis J. Walsh

The Glensman No 4 Vol 1 January, 1932

 

 Faces at the Fair by Stanley Matchett 1975

 

History Ould Lammas Fair "a tradition of excellence"

 

The Ould Lammas Fair Ballycastle 

by Margaret Bell

 

 

What have you eaten at a fair? 

 

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Movie Location in Scotland

The Prime of Miss Jean Brodie

Edinburgh, Scotland, in the 1930s, is the setting of the movie, The Prime of Miss Jean Brodie (1969). Miss Brodie (Maggie Smith) is a teacher at Marcia Blaine School for Girls who tends to stray from the school's curriculum. A romantic who glamorizes the fascists Benito Mussolini and Francisco Franco, she sees herself as in the very prime of her life. 

Among her students, Miss Brodie has four favorites. She spends a lot of time with these four girls, going to the theater, art museums and having picnics with them on the school lawn.

These activities upset the school's headmistress, who would prefer Miss Brodie stick to traditional teaching practices and concentrate on instilling knowledge in her pupils instead of being chummy. Others on the teaching staff, also, disapprove of Brodie's  nonconformist teaching methods and her influence over the girls.

Miss Brodie and her favorites spend a lot of time at the seaside home of the school's music teacher (with whom Brodie, sometimes, stays overnight).  He would like to marry, but Brodie is slow to consent.

Another suitor, although he is married, is her ex-lover, the Marcia Blaine art teacher. Her feelings for him remain, and he continues his pursuit.

Miss Brodie's idealized world comes tumbling down when her manipulations create resentment and, inadvertently, cause the death of one of the girls. Betrayal by one of her favorites leads to her termination at Marcia Blaine, and she suffers the loss of her music teacher lover, as well. 

Although critics liked the film, it was not a big box office success. In 1970, 20th Century Fox, distributor of the movie, reported earning $831,000. 

At the 42nd Academy Award ceremony in Hollywood, Maggie Smith won the best actress Oscar for her performance in the film. She had received high praise from the critics.

Nominated for Best Original Song, but not a winner, was the movie's theme song, Jean. Written by Rod McKuen, it was recorded by many artists of that time period, including McKuen.

 

 The Prime of Miss Jean Brodie (Suite)

  Music score composed by Rod McKuen

This short suite contains:

Main Title

 Edinburgh Morning

 Lloyd

Lloyd's Room

The Ivy That Clings to the Wall

Flanders Field

End Title

Jean (vocal by Rod McKuen)

 

 

The Prime of Miss Jean Brodie (1969) Original Trailer

 

Rod McKuen - Jean Lyrics

 

Jean, Jean, roses are red
All the leaves have gone green
And the clouds are so low
You can touch them, and so
Come out to the meadow, Jean

Jean, Jean, you're young and alive
Come out of your half-dreamed dream
And run, if you will, to the top of the hill
Open your arms, bonnie Jean

Till the sheep in the valley come home my way
Till the stars fall around me and find me alone
When the sun comes a-singin' I'll still be waitin'

For Jean, Jean, roses are red
And all of the leaves have gone green
While the hills are ablaze with the moon's yellow haze
Come into my arms, bonnie Jean

(Jean, Jean)

Jean, you're young and alive!!
Come out of your half-dreamed dream
And run, if you will to the top of the hill
Come into my arms, bonnie Jean

Jean

La-la-la-la

 

Rod McKuen - Jean 

Rod McKuen wrote the full soundtrack for

"The Prime of Miss Jean Brodie"

He received a Golden Globe for Best Song 

and an Academy Award Nomination for Best Song.

  

 

Oliver - Jean - 1969

#2 on the Pop chart

#1 Adult Contemporary

 

 

Bobby Goldsboro - Jean

"Honey"  

1968 #1 Billboard Hot Singles 

#1 Hot Country Singles

 

Johnny Mathis - Jean 

Not surprising that he recorded this song 

 His album - "Johnny Mathis' Greatest Hits" 

on the Billboard charts for longer 

than any other album in history:

490 weeks = 9 1/2 years.

 

Vote for your favorite "Jean"

 

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Irish Ballad

CARRICKFERGUS Story and Song 

It was not youthful ears that heard Carrickfergus for the first time, only a few short years ago. For this listener it had not been a well-known song, one sung and heard with enjoyment, since the good old days. That it was an old Irish folk song, was not known, back then. It was love at first hearing.

Carrickfergus Lyrics

Since that satisfying moment, more has been learned about Carrickfergus, the song. It almost disappeared, it seems, from Irish folk tradition until a famous Irish actor sang it for a friend. The Irish actor was Peter O'Toole who was made famous for his role in Lawrence of Arabia. The friend who listened and liked what he heard was Dominic Behan. In the mid 1960s, Behan made a recording of Carrickfergus, and it quickly became one of the most popular of Irish ballads.

Carrickfergus Sheet Music

 

 

 

 

 

 

Irish Music Daily shares the notion that the song's reference to Kilkenny, in the south of Ireland, is, probably, meant for Kilmeny, an ancient parish across the sea to the Isle of Islay in Scotland. Ballygrant (some sing it as Ballygran or Ballygrand) and a churchyard with black marble stones can also be found across the sea in Kilmeny. 

It is possible Peter O'Toole did not hear the words to the song correctly or did not remember them correctly. (A song that was sung in childhood with the words and the deer and the antelope play was heard as and the dear anti anti ope pay. It made no sense whatsoever!)

After listening to many versions of Carrickfergus on YouTube, and creating a list especially for them, some favorites stand out. Surprisingly, the version enjoyed least was by Van Morrison, and it was not added to the list of favorite Carrickfergus performances. None of the video's commenters were in agreement, however. They considered it the best version of Carrickfergus ever recorded. Morrison had his own way with the melody and the lyrics, too. The ballad had to bend over backward to his personality, making it difficult for the listener to sing along. But it grows on you, over time, so we might go back and add it to the list.

The oldest known map of Carrickfergus, from 1560

The favorite version of Carrickfergus, for these ears, turned out to be the very first one ever heard. Sung by Ryan Kelly, a member of the group Celtic Thunder, there is nothing, according to this listener, not to like about it. Even the use of I wish I was instead of I wish I were, at the very beginning, bothers only a little. 

Throughout his rendition of Carrickfergus, Kelly holds an almost perfect display of emotion. As the ballad's story unfolds, the slight accent heard makes the song even more appealing. Oddly endearing is the slurring of the words from town to town when he sings about the handsome rover. The song comes to an end with the listener being informed that the sorrowful lamenter's days are numbered, and he woefully invites the young men to lay me down. All the sorrow and sadness in the song's grieving tale is transferred to the heart of the one who listens. Singing easily along with Mr. Kelly's melancholy crooning and his poignant longing for Carrickfergus leaves a wannabe singer with a vague yearning for the never visited town and the sea.

Carrickfergus could have a personal story to tell. In the imagination, a young man can be conjured, taking that long road down to the sea. Boarding a waiting ship, in his heart he knows the voyage will, forever, take him from the land, the language and the people he has known and loved. A listener might imagine a fifth great grandfather becoming a settler in a strange land and wistfully pining for his own Carrickfergus that was left behind in the north of Ireland. 

 

 https://www.irishmusicdaily.com/carrickfergus

https://www.irishmusicdaily.com/carrickfergus-meaning

 

Van Morrison and the Chieftains 

performing Carrickfergus

 

Carrickfergus - Richard Harris & Peter O'Toole 

(not so good, but very, very good)

  

 

Liam Ó Maonlaí sings this gaeilge version of Carrickfergus.

(Carrickfergus but not all in the English)

 

 

Another video by Liam Ó Maonlaí can be found here:

  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7XGezDhHPTA

 

  Mythology - 'Carrickfergus' - Ryan Kelly - Celtic Thunder

(Best Interpretation of  Carrickfergus)

 

 

Carrickfergus Lyrics

(There  lyrics to the song vary, depending on who is singing.)

 

I wish I was in Carrickfergus,
Only for nights in Ballygran 

I would swim over the deepest ocean,
Only for nights in Ballygran. 

 

But the sea is wide and I cannot swim over
And nor have I the wings to fly.
If I could find me a handsome boatman, 

To ferry me over to my love and die.

 

My childhood days bring back sad reflections

 of happy times I spent so long ago.
My boyhood friends and my own relations

have all passed on now like melting snow.

 

 But I’ll spend my days in endless roaming,

soft is the grass my bed is free.
Ah to be back in Carrickfergus

on that long road down to the sea.

 

And in Kilkenny it is reported 

there are marble stones as black as ink,

With gold and silver I would support her, 

but I’ll sing no more now till I get a drink.

 

 I’m drunk today and I’m seldom sober, 

a handsome rover from town to town.
Ah, but I’m sick now, my days are numbered 

so come all ye young men and lay me down.

 

https://www.irishmusicdaily.com/carrickfergus-lyrics-and-chords #print 

 

VOTE

In your opinion, which artist has the better interpretation of the song Carrickfergus?