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Mn na hireann
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Wikipedia article
"'Mn na hireann'" is a poem written by Ulster poet Peadar Doirnn (17041796), most famous as a song, and especially set to an air composed by Sen Riada (19311971). As a modern song, 'Mn na hireann' is usually placed in the category of Irish rebel music; as an eighteenth-century poem it belongs to the genre (related to the 'aisling') which imagines Ireland as a generous, beautiful woman suffering the depredations of an English master on her land, her cattle, or her self, and which demands Irishmen to defend her, or ponders why they fail to. The poem also seems to favour Ulster above the other Irish provinces. Doirnn was part of the distinctive Airgalla tradition of poetry, associated with southern Ulster and north Leinster; in this poem he focuses on Ulster place-names, and he sees the province as being particularly assaulted (for instance, he says that being poor with his woman would be better than being rich with herds of cows and the shrill queen who assailed Tyrone, in Ulster, i.e. Medb who attacked Cooley, as the borderlands of Ulster, which would have lain in ancient Airgalla). This may be because, besides being the poet's home, until the success of the Plantation of Ulster the province had been the most militantly Gaelic of the Irish provinces in the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries.
Poem
Here is the Irish text of the poem. The verses most often performed by modern singers are the first two and the last.
Mn na hireann
Is t bean in irinn is ba bhinne lithe mo rfla ceoil
N seinm thad; at bean in irinn is norbh fhearr li beo
Mise ag limnigh n leagtha i gcr is mo thrr faoi fhd
T bean in irinn a bheadh ag ad liom mur' bhfaighfinn ach pg
bhean ar aonach, nach ait an scala, is mo dhimh fin leo;
T bean ab fhearr liom n cath is cad dhobh nach bhfagham go deo
Is t cailn spiriil ag fear gan Bharla, dubhghrnna crin.
T bean i Laighnibh is nios mhiste lithe bheith lmh liom ar bord,
Is t bean i bhFearnmhaigh a ghabhadh bharsai is is srbhinne glr,
Bh bean ar thaobh cnoic i gCarraig amoinn a nodh gire ag l
Is trth bh ina maighdin n mise d'ignigh d chois chomhar.
T bean a leafgfadh, nfead is d'fhuaifeadh cimric is srl,
Is t bean a dhanfadh de dh'olainn gras is thairnfeadh an bhr
T bean is b'fhearr le ag cruinni dirce n crite re cr
Is t bean 'na ndidh uile a lufeadh l fear is a mthair faoi fhd
T bean a darnadh an iomad tranais is gr Dia mr,
Is t bean nach mbarfadh a mionna ar aon mhodh is nach n-arddh glr;
Ach thaisbeuin saorbhean a ghlacfadh l fear go crifeach cir
Nach mairfeadh a ghlas is nach mbainfeadh lithe i gcs ar domhan.
T bean a darfadh d siulfainn li go bhfaighinn an t-r,
Is t bean 'na line is fearr a min n tinte b
Le bean a bhuairfeadh Baile an Mhaoir is clr Thr Eoghain,
Is n fheicim leigheas ar mo ghalar fin ach scaird a dh'l
* There are several places called 'Carraig amainn' (modern spelling), but the most likely is Carrickedmond townland in the author's home county, County Louth.
* The "'fear dubhghrnna gan Bharla'" (darkly ugly man without English) who has possession of the poet's favoured woman is probably one of the Hanoverian kings of Great Britain George I or George II who were native German speakers and rumoured to be incompetent in English.
* The sixth and twelfth verses refer to the 'Tin B Cailnge' ("'tinte b'") and Medb of Connacht, a powerful, legendary queen, known for her power, wealth in cattle and gold, her beauty, her many husbands and especially her war with Ulster to steal the king of that province's prize bull.
Women of Ireland (Kate Bush version)
This is the translation performed by Kate Bush on the album 'Common Ground Voices of Modern Irish Music'. No translator is given, but the song is credited as arranged by Bush with Dnal Lunny and Fiachra Trench.There's a woman in Ireland to whom my singing is sweeter than the music of strings
There's a woman in Ireland who would much prefer me leaping
Than laid in the clay and my belly under the sod
There's a woman in Ireland who'd envy me if I got naught but a kiss
From a woman at a fair, isn't it strange, and the love I have for them
There's a woman I'd prefer to a battalion, and a hundred of them whom I will never get
And an ugly, swarthy man with no English has a beautiful girl
There's a woman who would say that if I walked with her I'd get the gold
And there's the woman of the shirt whose mien is better than herds of cows
With a woman who would deafen Baile an Mhaoir and the plain of Tyrone
And I see no cure for my disease but to drink a torrent
Women of Ireland (Michael Davitt version)
This translation (of the same three verses) is by Michael Davitt. Davitt plays with the second couplet of each verse, reversing the meaning and turning the poem into the song of a womanising drunkard, who favours no particular woman (second verse), resorts to drink instead of avoiding it (third versethough this may be ironic in the original), and whom his lover wants dead (first verse).There's a woman in Ireland who'd prefer my strains to strings being played;
There's a woman in Eirinn and nothing would please her more
Than to see me burning or in a grave lying cold.
There's a woman in Eirinn who'd be mad with envy if I was kissed
By another on fair-day, they have strange ways, but I love them all;
There are women I'll always adore, battalions of women and more
And there's this sensuous beauty and she shackled to an ugly boar.
There's a woman who promised if I'd wander with her I'd find some gold
A woman in night dress with a loveliness worth more than the woman
Who vexed Ballymoyer and the plain of Tyrone;
And the only cure for my pain I'm sure is the ale-house down the road.
Song and melody
Recordings
The poem in song form was first recorded by Ceoltir Chualann, with lead vocal by Sen O S (on the 1969 live album ' Riada Sa Gaiety'). Subsequent recordings include:*A famous instrumental version by The Chieftains (the offshoot of Ceoltr Chuallann) on their 1973 album 'The Chieftains 4'.
*An instrumental version by Na Connerys.
*An arrangement by Bob James was included in his 1976 album 'Bob James Three'.
*An instrumental arrangement by guitarist Davy Graham was included in his reissue 1978 album The Complete Guitarist in 1999
*An instrumental version was included on Oakenshield's first album, 'Across The Narrow Seas' in 1983.
*Guitarist Ronnie Montrose recorded an instrumental version for his 1986 recording 'Territory'.
*English soul band The Christians used the tune for their song "Words", recorded in 1989. This reached the No. 18 position in the UK Singles Chart.
*Alan Stivell made a version, sung in Irish, accompanying himself with a metal strung Celtic harp, on his 1995 album 'Brian Boru'.
*Sinad O'Connor recorded a version for the 1995 compilation CD, 'Ain't Nuthin' But a She Thing', in connection with a multi-artist television special for MTV.
*Mike Oldfield recorded an instrumental version of the song on his 1996 album, 'Voyager'.
*Sarah Brightman performed a version called "So Many Things" on her album 'Eden', released in 1998. Brightman also performed the song at her 'One Night in Eden' concert, recorded at Sun City, South Africa, later released on DVD.
*French singer Nolwenn Leroy recorded her own version on her album 'Bretonne', released on 6 December 2010.
*Jeff Beck performed a version at the Crossroads Guitar Festival 2013. It appears on the album from the festival.
*Sharon Corr, formerly of The Corrs, has made at least two recordings of this tune with the RT Radio Orchestra, and occasionally includes the song in her concert repertoire.
*Patricia Petibon, Susan Manoff, Ronan Lebars on the 2020 album, 'L'Amour, la Mort, La Mer'
*Irish music group Celtic Woman covered the song on their 2018 album 'Ancient Land'.
*English singer songwriter Kate Bush (Catherine Bush CBE) also recorded a version. Bush recorded her rendition in 1995 for the 1996 compilation album Common Ground - Voices of Modern Irish Music. The track then featured on her compilation album The Other Sides-2018 remaster which includes some of her unknown work, b-sides and unreleased work.
Live performances
The song is also a frequently played song at concerts. One example of a notable act performing "Women of Ireland" is guitarist Jeff Beck, who at times performs it with Irish violinist Sharon Corr. It also appears on her first solo album, 'Dream of You'.Use in film and television
"Women of Ireland" has been used in various film and television productions.* The Chieftains version of the song features prominently on the soundtrack to Stanley Kubrick's 1975 film 'Barry Lyndon'.
* Soundtrack of a Levi's jeans advertisement.
* This was also the slow air whistled by Emilio Estevez as Billy the Kid in the 1988 western film, 'Young Guns'.
* A partial instrumental version is used in the soundtrack of the 1999 Chinese film 'Postmen in the Mountains'.
* An instrumental version of the song was used as background music in the 2009 BBC documentary about the mixed fortunes of the Harris Tweed industry.
* An adaptation of the Chieftains version is featured in Carl Colpaert's 2010 film 'The Land of the Astronauts'.
* Used in courtship scene of Robin & Marion in Ridley Scott's 2010 film 'Robin Hood'.
References
Category:1969 songs
Category:Irish poems
Category:Irish-language literature
Category:18th-century poems
Category:Songs in Irish
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