REMEMBERING FIACH MacHUGH O’BYRNE IN SONG

The second in our series on celebrated figures from history immortalised in song and covered by both Folk and Celtic-Punk bands. Today we turn to the great Irish hero of Fiach MacHugh O’Bryne one of the greatest leaders in Irish history.

Memorial to Fiach McHugh O’Byrne, Glenmalure, County Wicklow

The song ‘Follow Me Up To Carlow’ recounts the struggle of Irish clan leaders against British rule in Ireland in the 16th century. The central figure in the song is Fiach MacHugh O’Bryne (1534 – 8 May, 1597) who fought the British army for thirty years during the reign of Queen Elizabeth I. The song celebrates his feats in battle and though thought to be from the time it was actually written 200 years later by famed Irish poet Patrick Joseph McCall, who also wrote the great patriotic ballads ‘Boolavogue’ and ‘Kelly The Boy From Killane’ among others. The song ‘Follow Me Up To Carlow’ is one of the most famous Irish folk songs and celebrates the defeat of the English army at the Battle of Glenmalure in 1580.

Lift MacCahir Óg your face brooding o’er the old disgrace
That black Fitzwilliam stormed your place, drove you to the Fern
Grey said victory was sure soon the firebrand he’d secure;
Until he met at Glenmalure with Fiach Mac Hugh O’Byrne.

Chorus:
Curse and swear Lord Kildare
Fiach will do what Fiach will dare
Now Fitzwilliam, have a care
Fallen is your star, low
Up with halbert out with sword
On we’ll go for by the Lord
Fiach MacHugh has given the word,
Follow me up to Carlow.

See the swords of Glen Imayle, flashing o’er the English Pale
See all the children of the Gael, beneath O’Byrne’s banners
Rooster of a fighting stock, would you let a Saxon cock
Crow out upon an Irish rock, fly up and teach him manners.

From Saggart to Clonmore, there flows a stream of Saxon gore
O, great is Rory Óg O’More, sending the loons to Hades.
White is sick and Lane is fled, now for black Fitzwilliam’s head
We’ll send it over dripping red, to Queen Liza and the ladies.

Fiach MacHugh O’Bryne (Fiach Mac Aodh ÓBroin) was the son of the chief of the O’Byrnes of the Gabhail Raghnaill. His sept, a minor one, claimed descent from the 11th century King of Leinster, Bran Mac Maolmordha, and was centred at Ballinacor in Glenmalure, a steep valley in the fastness of the Wicklow mountains. Their chiefs styled themselves as Lords of Ranalagh. The territory of the Gabhail Rabhnaill stretched from Glendalough south to the Forest of Shillelagh in Wexford and west to the borders of present day Co Carlow, an area of some 150,000 acres. Resenting the greed and cruelty of the Elizabethan adventurers and settlers, Fiach would raid their villages and kill or drive them out. He was appalled at the ruthless cruelty of the stewarts Thomas Masterson and Sir Henry Harrington and in 1580 went into open rebellion when Masterson summarily executed many Kavanagh clansmen.

(Perhaps the greatest ever version of ‘Follow Me Up To Carlow’ by the legendary Planxty included here with lyrics to sing along to)

Other clans joined with Fiach and when James Eustace, 3rd Lord Baltinglass, angered by the treatment of the Catholic Old English also rebelled and joined with him. The English were appalled at this, already Munster was in turmoil as the Earl of Desmond was in rebellion and in the north the O’Neills were moving also against the English.

(The song as covered by new north London Irish folk group Crock Of Bones on their debut EP ‘Nasty, Brutal And Short’. Incidentally the singer was named after Hugh O’Bryne)

An army of 3,000 men were sent into the Wicklow Mountains but O’Byrne and Eustace were waiting for them in Glenmalure. Over 800 English lost their lives at the Battle of Glenmalure and the rest fled back to Dublin. The following year the English offered terms, Eustace refused and fled to Spain but Fiach and the other clan chiefs accepted and were pardoned.

(Irish-American band The Young Dubliners from California performed one of the earliest Celtic-Punk versions of the song)

In 1592 Hugh Roe O’Donnell, with brothers Art and Henry MacShane O’Neill escaped from Dublin Castle. The breakout had been planned with the help of Hugh Mór O’Neill and the escapees fled to the safety of Glenmalure. It was a severe winter and Art died from exposure and was buried in O’Byrne land but Fiach was able to transport Hugh Roe and Henry away to safety.

(The Tan And Sober Gentlemen from Snow Camp, North Carolina)

The English spent a long time collecting heads and plundering, they spared few. In April, Russell again went hunting for Fiach who once again escaped. His wife Rose however was captured and sentenced to be burned to death. The sentence was not carried out.

(Jim McCann’s version was the first time I ever heard ‘Follow Me Up To Carlow’ when he bought me this album on tape when i was on holiday)

Lord Deputy Russell was to spend the next year unsuccessfully scouring the country for Fiach. However O’ Byrne’s luck was to run out. A traitor in his camp gave information to Russell that Fiach would be in Ballinacorr on 8th May 1597. The Lord Deputy was able to surprise him and captured him in a cave. There he was hacked to death and decapitated with his own sword.

(folk-metal version titled The Marching Song Of Fiach MacHugh from Irish band Cruachan)

Fiach MacHugh O’Byrne’s corpse was cut up, and for months hung on pike staffs on the wall over Dublin Castle drawbridge. Several months later, the pickled head was presented to the council secretary at London by an English adventurer, who was disappointed to find that the head-silver due on O’Byrne had already been paid in Ireland. The queen was said to have been greatly angered that

“the head of such a base Robin Hood was brought solemnly into England”.

(There’s no better way to end this article than with my own personal favourite and the version by Dublin Celtic-Punk band Blood Or Whiskey)

• If you are even just the tiniest bit interested in Irish history and culture then it is essential that you subscribe to Stair na hÉireann/History of Ireland. An absolutely fantastic resource for all aspects of Irish history including the daily ‘What Happened On This Day’ and covering a wide range of Irish History, Irish language, Irish Diaspora, The Great Hunger, Arts & Music, Culture, Archaeology, Literature, Photography, Mythology & Folk Culture.
• REMEMBERING HUGH THE GREAT O’NEILL IN SONG  here
• REMEMBERING RODDY McCORLEY IN SONG  here

BRING YOUR MATE TO THE HOOLEY: A STARTERS GUIDE TO CELTIC-PUNK

Alright straight of the bat I know what you’re thinking: I’m reading a site called ‘London Celtic Punks’ I don’t really think I need a starters guide to the Celtic Punk/Rock/Folk Punk scene. Well steady on for a second and hear me out: This isn’t for you. This for your mate who has shown a bit of interest or even a passing interest in this music. Maybe they’ve watched The Departed, or heard the Dropkick Murphys on a sports broadcast, or maybe they’re just looking for some kick arse tunes to play on Paddy’s Day. It can be tough trying to think of where to start introducing them to the genres, so many great bands to choose from after all, so here’s my recommendations to help you help your mates out.

DROPKICK MURPHYS – THE WARRIORS CODE

This is the song that got me into this genre, stomping beats, wailing pipes, lyrics that fire you up. Written for Bostonian boxer Micky Ward, it’s a fantastic tune for any mate of yours who’s looking for some music to play while at the gym. Even after all these years it’s still my favourite Murphy’s song, great mix of punk rock sensibilities and some fantastic piping by the bands former piper Scruffy Wallace.

FLATFOOT 56 – KNUCKLES UP

A great punk tune that is a great bridge track for those just getting into the genre. Fast and hard, this song wouldn’t be out of place in a mid-2000’s skateboarding video. Flatfoot 56 are an excellent starting point band for people new to the genre. Once you’ve played them this get them onto to tracks like ‘Black Thorn’, ‘Ollie Ollie’ and of course ‘Winter In Chicago’.

KRAKIN KELLYS – ANARCHY IN THE DOUBLE K

Similar to Knuckles Up, just a flat out great punk tune, another skate punk style banger from one of the newer bands on the scene. The Kellys have a big future ahead of them and your mate will want to be on the ground floor for these guys.

KILMAINE SAINTS – THE SAINTS ARE UP!

Honestly, I could’ve picked any one of about a dozen songs from these guys, but I went with the opener from their fantastic debut album ‘The Good, The Plaid And The Ugly’. Similar to The Warriors Code in as much as it combines a great punk rock tune with some tremendous piping work. You and your mates will be belting out ‘raise a shot, raise a pint, put your arms around your mates, ‘coz we’re the noisy drunken bastards called the Kilmaine Saints!’ in no time.

THE DREADNOUGHTS – LEONARD COHEN

One of my mates upon hearing this song said to me ‘It’s a great song, but why is it called Leonard Cohen?’ I honestly had no idea, but really it’s irrelevant because he was right, it is a great song. The Dreadnoughts have always wholeheartedly embraced the folk side of the folk punk genre, playing everything from polkas, shanties and great punk rock songs. Once your mates have gotten a taste of these Canadian mainstays point them towards songs like ‘Back Home In Bristol’, ‘Eliza Lee’ and ‘Grace O’Malley’

THE BOTTLERS – HADES WAY

Regular readers of this site will know that the lads of London Celtic Punks love them some Australian bands and for good reason: we have some incredibly good bands down here. From bands like The Go Set, The Ramshackle Army, The Dead Maggies, Fox N Firkin, Medusas Wake and so many more Australia has an amazing scene that is going strong, even with The Rumjacks no longer calling Australia home. For mine though, Hades Way is one of the absolute top shelf songs by an Australian band. The Sydney lads from The Bottlers embrace all things Australiana and Hades Way is a cracking song.

THE YOUNG DUBLINERS – THE FOGGY DEW

Of course if you’re going to introduce your mates to this music, then you’re going to have to throw in a few traditional songs that have been covered by modern artists. This track is one of my favourites, great vocals backed by some tight music make this a powerful version of a powerful song. Once you’ve introduced your mates to this then move onto songs like ‘Botany Bay’ by The Blaggards, ‘The Wearing Of The Green’ by the Kilmaine Saints, ‘Danny Boy’ by Happy Ol McWeasel and of course the Pogues and The Dubliners teaming up on ‘The Irish Rover’.

SIR REG – FECK THE CELTIC TIGER

Based in Sweden and with a majority Swedish band. Sir Reg are a good way to introduce your mates to the wider world outside of the main hotspots of North America, The UK & Ireland and Australia. Feck The Celtic Tiger is an amazing tune about the exodus of Irish nationals riding high on the so called Celtic Tiger boom of the 90’s/2000’s. Well paced and well played with a catchy chorus, it’s a great song to introduce people to the many non traditional scenes, from there you can bring bands like The Barley Hops from Indonesia (great scene in Indonesia btw), Raise My Kilt from Argentina, Selfish Murphy from Hungary and of course the many great bands from central and Eastern Europe.

THE TOSSERS – SIOBHAN

Anyone who listens to the Celtic Punkcast will know that The Tossers are my favourite band, so of course I’m going to include them on this list. Siobhan is such a great song and in my opinion no other band seams trad and punk together as well as The Tossers. Siobhan is a prime example of The Tossers at their absolute finest. If I was to list all my Tossers recommendations this article would become something challenging Tolstoy in length. Pick any Tossers song and you can’t go wrong really.

THE POGUES – STREAMS OF WHISKEY

If you’re introducing you mates to Celtic Punk, you have to give them a taste of the band that started it all. A bit like some of the other bands on this list, you could chose any number of their songs by these legends (ok, maybe not Fiesta). I’d go with Streams Of Whiskey over some of The Pogues mainstream hits such as ‘Fairytale Of New York’ or ‘Dirty Old Town’. A great singalong chorus surrounded by some of Shane McGowan’s finest lyrical work makes for a tremendous song.

So there you go ladies and gents, 10 songs to get your mates to dip their toes into the waters of the Celtic Punk and it’s offshoots scene. Of course there were dozens of great bands I didn’t get to mention, the world of Celtic Punk and the number of bands out there continues to surprise me. But set your mates up with some of these and you’re off to a good start.

Or if it’s easier, just point them in the direction of the Celtic Punkcast.

 

We have teamed up with The Celtic Punkcast to bring you the best in Celtic-Punk, Celtic rock and folk punk from around the world. You can find the Podcast here and we recommend you head over there as soon as you get the chance and take a listen. Check out our interview with Gareth the ‘Podmaster’ here and find out what possessed him to join the #OneBigCelticPunkFamily.

Contact The Celtic Punkcast  Facebook  WebSite  Twitter  E-Mail

LONDON CELTIC PUNKS PRESENTS OUR BEST OF 2014!

TOP TWENTY CELTIC PUNK ALBUMS OF 2014

Last year our ‘Best Of’ list was completely dominated by bands from these shores but this time there’s a much more international flavour to 2014’s Best Album’s list. Again Irish influenced bands dominate but the absolute standout album for me was without a doubt Uncle Bard And The Dirty Bastards from Italy who nailed their fusion of punk rock and traditional music completely. With their own roots and influences included along with some amazing uilleann piping they are deserved winners of the Best Album spot. Kitchen Implosion join them in what has been a great year for Italian bands. Sure not all of these twenty bands are celtic-punk in the dictionary definition of the phrase but sod that anyway. These are what we liked and they all fit in in some way. Twenty bands from thirteen countries (Italy, England, Sweden, Brittany, Canada, Ireland, USA, Australia, Brazil, Catalonia, Germany, Switzerland and Belguim) which only goes to show the international appeal of the celtic-punk scene these days. A special mention for London Irish band Creeds Cross superb debut album. Only just caught them live and they were awesome so hoping to see much more of them around town in 2015.

As ever we have reviewed some, though not all of these albums, so click (here) after the title and you will be re-directed to our review.

We compiled the ‘Best Of’ lists together from the scraps of paper handed to me by the various admins from the London Celtic Punks facebook page.

1. UNCLE BARD AND THE DIRTY BASTARDS- ‘Get The Folk Out!’ (here)

2. CREEDS CROSS- ‘Gods And Fighting Men (here)

3. ROVERS AHEAD- Always The Sinner, Never The Saint (here)

4. LES RAMONEURS DE MENHIRS- Tan Ar Bobl (here)

5. THE MAHONES- The Hunger And The Fight

6. BLOOD OR WHISKEY- Tell The Truth And Shame The Devil (here)

7. THE ROUGHNECK RIOT- Out Of Anger

8. BASTARD BEARDED IRISHMEN- Rise Of The Bastard (here)

9. JAY WARS- Carry Me Home (here)

10. THE RAMSHACKLE ARMY- Letters from the Road Less Travelled

11. 6’10- The Humble Beginnings Of A Rovin’ Soul (here)

12. LUGH- Quando Os Canecos Batem (here)

13. SIGELPA- TerraMorte (here)

14. KITCHEN IMPLOSION- Pretty Work Brave Boys! (here)

15. THE KILKENNY KNIGHTS- Bradys Pub Tales (here)

16. BEYOND THE FIELDS- The Falcon Lives (here)

17. THE YOUNG DUBLINERS- ‘Nine (here)

18. KELTIKON- Agenbite Of Inwit (here)

19. FM 359- Truth, Love And Liberty (here)

20. THE BLACK TARTAN CLAN – Scotland in Our Hearts

a special special mention for three absolutely brilliant compilation albums too. Can’t really include them in the Best of charts so heres all three in no particular order at all as they are all 11 out of 10!

a class album with 4 songs per band and an absolutely beautifully put together record. THE PORTERS/ THE JUDAS BUNCH/ THE MAHONES/ MALASANERS 4-WAY SPLIT DOUBLE ALBUM- ‘Welcome To The Folk Punk Show’ (2014)  here

a mostly Russian compilation paying tribute to all (lets just face it they are!) our favourite celtic-punk band- ‘Ex-USSR Tribute To The Dropkick Murphys’ (2014)  here

this ought to be the number one album of the year to be honest. a fecking amazing compilation of Indonesian celtic-punk bands.the quality is amazing throughout.absolutely stunning. I cannot recommend enough!! ‘Wind From The Foreign Land- Indonesian Celtic-Punk Compilation’ (2014)  here

TOP FIVE CELTIC PUNK EP’S OF 2015

No question which EP deserved this and Russia’s Middle Class Bastards just blasted us away with their follow up to their 2013 album. Superb use of bagpipes and brass instruments combined with fast but tuneful punk rock. A bit unfortunate for Black Water County who looked nailed on to win this for most of the year with their fantastic 2nd EP. The Breton band The Maggie Whackers released their EP back at the start of the year while The South Sea Ramblers from South Africa literally released theirs just a couple of weeks ago while LQR from Holland slipped theirs out in time for St Patricks Day… ooh err missus! So spread out across the year but these are the ones that left their mark. Looking forward to hearing more from them all and long players must be arriving soon I hope.

1. MIDDLE CLASS BASTARD- Rebel To The Core (here)

2. BLACK WATER COUNTY- Fellowship Of the Craic (here)

3. THE MAGGIE WHACKERS- Naoned Whisky (here)

4. LQR- A Touch Of Liquor (here)

5. SOUTH SHORE RAMBLERS- Bare Knuckle Blackout

TOP FIVE TRAD ALBUMS OF 2014

As the blog is for (mostly) celtic punk so it is that we only review stuff that isn’t celtic punk if we really really (really!!) like it. All these rocked our boat and we loved them all to bits. Hard to decide which order they should go in but this is how we ended up. Turned out to be an all Irish list with I DRAW SLOW from Dublin with beautiful alternative country sounds and both Cork’s THE BUACHAILLS and London’s THE CRAICHEADS going head to head with both bands playing similar styles of music while Irish-American supergroup THE ALT’s debut album was a worthy runner-up to fellow Irish-Americans RUNA’s brillliant fourth album.

1. RUNA- Current Affairs (here)

2. THE ALT- ‘The Alt (here)

3. THE CRAICHEADS- Brewed in London (here) 

3. THE BUACHAILLS- At Your Call (here)

5. I DRAW SLOW- ‘WhiteWave Chapel (here)

BEST CELTIC PUNK WEB-SITE OF 2014

once again there is no question who gets this

CELTIC FOLK PUNK AND MORE

(find it here)

 keeping the whole wide world up to date with what’s going on and who is doing who within celtic punk (and more!) while also supplying us with regular free downloads and free compilations. Waldo you’re great. Keep it up mate!

BEST GIGS

Apart from the ones we put on which were all amazing and showcased some amazing performances from JAY WARS and THE DEAD MAGGIES from Aus, THE GREENLAND WHALEFISHERS from Norway, a couple of benefit gigs for Mad Dog out The Popes (hope youre back on your guitar highkicking soon pal!), BLACK WATER COUNTY played their London debut and went down a fecking storm, me O’s mates STEVE WHITE AND THE PROTEST FAMILY were as superb as ever and released a fantastic album. One of the major highlights was discovering the quintessential London Celtic Punk in ANTO MORRA and we look forward to working with him again in the future. We teamed up with fellow Londoners of Urbankelt and will be doing so again too.

I also saw DAVID ROVICS for the first time, THE MEN THEY COULDN’T HANG’s amazing 30th anniversary show was incredible, NECK and their sadly ended residency at TChances which had us all pissed on Polish lager on Sunday afternoons for the first 6 months of the year, FLOGGING MOLLY in Reading in June which showed they havent lost a thing and are as great as ever, THE POGUE TRADERS were the best Pogues tribute band I ever seen. Disappointing was missing so many gigs where I just didnt have the cash especially The Pogues various outings. THE STANFIELDS from Canada seemed like a decent bunch of lads but their London gig was a total rip-off. The pre-gig ticket price was £7-50 which more than doubled to £15 on the door on the night. Oi bands watch out for charlaten promoters won’t you? Rebellion music fest brings loads of decent bands over to play but that means that they all end up playing in the same week so I had to forgo THE GO-SET’s return to London. Missed out on THE WOLFE TONES London gigs too due to work. All three of them! THE LAGAN have been brilliant. Far far too many of their gigs to go into detail so we have choosen the whole of St Patricks Weekend as our Number One! With NECK playing three gigs over the weekend and both THE BIBLE CODE SUNDAYS and THE LAGAN playing on the same day as well it seen a clean sweep of all the London bands done. Afterwards sick days were phoned in, headache pills were taken and the best St Patricks in donkeys was had.

Now were just looking forward to catching THE DROPKICK MURPHYS ‘Celtic Invasion ‘ Tour in Dublin and London this year round St Patricks Day.

Sláinte, The London Celtic Punks Crew- 2015

 

Of course all these things are very subjective so don’t be dismayed if your album ain’t here. What appeals to one don’t neccessarily appeal to another. It would be impossible to keep up with the multitude of celtic-punk related releases so these are the best of of what we actually did get to hear. All the various sites in the celtic-punk family had different winners so to see what they thought check out the Best Of lists of the following sites…

CELTIC FOLK PUNK AND MORE

IRISH PUNK

PADDYROCK/GRINNNING BEGGAR

MacSLONS IRISH PUB RADIO

click on the blog logo at the top of the page to find more of this kind of stuff…

ALBUM REVIEW: YOUNG DUBLINERS- ‘Nine’ (2014)

 The Young Dubliners are one of thee most famous and popular celtic rock/punk bands in the United States and have been up there at the top of the tree for well over a decade right back to when they were formed in 1988 in Los Angeles. With a whole host of national television appearances behind them, hundreds of gigs every year across North America and Europe and songs featured in movies and TV shows too numerous to mention their can be no disputing their position to the fore of the celtic scene in the States.

Although oft described as a celtic-rock band there’s plenty other influences included that all add up to making The Young Dubliners one of my all time favourite bands. Keith Roberts, lead singer of the band since formation says

 “That was always the idea. The sound was always intended to be a hybrid because we all come from different backgrounds. Even though two of us are from Ireland, A lot of the music we listened to growing up wasn’t Irish at all but when we got here we got homesick and developed a new appreciation for Irish Music. In truth the celtic riffs can just as easily come from the American band members. Everyone writes now so you never know what you’ll end up with when you start on a new album.”

With eight amazing studio albums behind them plus a whole host of EPs, singles and the odd covers album it was time for them to release their ninth studio album rather imaginatively titled ‘Nine’!! After recording all their previous releases for various record companies the band took the decision to release ‘Nine’ themselves and set out to raise the funds. Within a few weeks the necessary had been raised and soon the album went into production.

“After eight albums on various labels it just seemed right to go it alone for once and maintain full creative control.” 

And well what can be said about it. I had exactly the same thoughts as i reviewed the latest album from fellow American celtic-rockers Seven Nations a few weeks ago (here). As a massive fan of the band could I be trusted to approach the record with a open mind and write a honest review without either gushing over it like a lovesick teenager or dismissing it out of hand as its not as good as they use to be.

Well truth be told I am a fan and so I do infact gush a little bit as it is, like their other eight albums, fecking brilliant…just like Seven Nations albums are!! Hard to say if it is in fact their best but the very idea that it could even be considered to be their best shows what a high level of consistency The Young Dubliners maintain. Certainly the album does not contain a single weak track and some of the standout tracks ‘We The Mighty’, an uplifting ditty about Irish emigration to the States

“we’ll fix your lonely and your broken hearted”

‘Seeds Of Sorrow’, ‘Fall’, ‘One Touch’ are definitely among their best ever work. They can also do trad and ‘Abhainn Mor’ is as good a trad instrumental you’ll hear on any celtic record- punk, rock or just celtic. Slow or fast ‘Nine’ is an outstanding record and the album comes to a close with the beautiful ‘Only You And Me’ just voice and piano, stunning. As stated before their music is primarily Irish/Celtic rock but they are in no way one dimensional and influences of country, Americana, soul, old fashioned US folk and ,yes, punk abound throughout ‘Nine’ making it perfectly accessible to just about everyone. This beauty would I’m sure even get toes a-tapping on the Shankill! 

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