Follow Me up to Carlow

"Follow Me Up to Carlow" is an Irish folk song celebrating the defeat of an army of 3,000 English soldiers by Fiach Mac Aodh Ó Broin (anglicised Fiach MacHugh O'Byrne) at the Battle of Glenmalure, during the Second Desmond Rebellion in 1580.

Composition

The air is reputed to have been played as a marching tune by the pipers of Fiach MacHugh O'Byrne in 1580.^[1]

The words were written by Patrick Joseph McCall (1861–1919) and appear in his Songs of Erinn (1899) under the title "Marching Song of Feagh MacHugh".^[2]

Characters mentioned

Brian Mac Cahir Óg Kavanagh, Fiach's brother-in-law (as "MacCahir Óg")^[3]
Queen Elizabeth I of England ("Queen Liza")
William FitzWilliam, Lord Deputy of Ireland
Baron Arthur Grey
Fiach McHugh O'Byrne
Sir Pierce (or Piers) Fitzgerald, High Sheriff of Kildare (as "Lord Kildare")^[4]
Rory Óg O'More

Performances

The song performed by Christoph Nolte.

It has been performed by numerous Irish folk bands, including Planxty and Wolfe Tones

References

^ "Follow Me up to Carlow", Irish Music Daily
^ Patrick Joseph McCall, Songs of Erinn (London and Dublin, 1899), 22-23.(external link to source)
^ "Follow Me Up to Carlow – story and characters". Irish Music Daily. Retrieved 14 January 2024.
^ "Follow Me Up to Carlow – story and characters". Irish Music Daily. Retrieved 14 January 2024.

External links

Sheet music Archived 7 October 2016 at the Wayback Machine
"Follow Me up to Carlow" - Planxty

[1] "Follow Me up to Carlow", Irish Music Daily

[2] Patrick Joseph McCall, Songs of Erinn (London and Dublin, 1899), 22-23.(external link to source)

[3] "Follow Me Up to Carlow – story and characters". Irish Music Daily. Retrieved 14 January 2024.

[4] "Follow Me Up to Carlow – story and characters". Irish Music Daily. Retrieved 14 January 2024.

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