O'Donnell Abu
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Transcription: by Darryl D. Bush
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Lyrics:
Loudly the note of the trumpet is sounding;
Proudly the war cries arise on the gale;
Fleetly the steed by Lough Swilly is bounding,
To join the thick squadrons on Saimear's green vale.
On, ev'ry mountaineer,
Strangers to flight or fear,
Rush to the standard of dauntless Red Hugh.
Bonnaught and Gallowglass,
Throng from each mountain pass.
On for old Erin, "O'Donnell Abú!"
Princely O'Neill to our aid is advancing
With many a chieftain and warrior clan.
A thousand proud steeds in his vanguard are prancing
'Neath the borderers brave from the Banks of the Bann:
Many a heart shall quail
Under its coat of mail.
Deeply the merciless foeman shall rue
When on his ears shall ring,
Borne on the breeze's wing,
Tír Chonaill's dread war-cry, "O'Donnell Abú!"
Wildly o'er Desmond the war-wolf is howling;
Fearless the eagle sweeps over the plain;
The fox in the streets of the city is prowling--
All who would scare them are banished or slain!
Grasp ev'ry stalwart hand
Hackbut and battle brand--
Pay them all back the debt so long due;
Norris and Clifford well
Can of Tirconnell tell;
Onward to glory--"O'Donnell abú!"
Sacred the cause that Clan Connell's defending--
The altars we kneel at and homes of our sires;
Ruthless the ruin the foe is extending--
Midnight is red with the plunderer's fires.
On with O'Donnell then,
Fight the old fight again,
Sons of Tirconnell,
All valiant and true:
Make the false Saxon feel
Erin's avenging steel!
Strike for your country! "O'Donnell Abú!"
"O'Donnell Abu", in Gaelic "Ó Doṁnall Abú" or "Ó Domhnaill Abú" is<br> also known as "The Clan Connell War Song", "Irish National Anthem",<br> "Marcslua Uí Ḋoṁnall Abú", "Ó Domhnaill Abú",<br> "Our Land Shall Be Free", or "Proudly The Note Of The Trumpet Is<br> Sounding"<br> is a traditional Irish song. The lyrics were written by Fenian Michael<br> Joseph McCann in 1843. It refers to the Gaelic lord Red Hugh O'Donnell<br> who ruled Tyrconnell in the late sixteenth century, first with the<br> approval of the Crown authorities in Dublin and later in rebellion<br> against them during Tyrone's Rebellion. The title refers to the Gaelic<br> war cry of "Abú", "To victory" which followed a commander's name.<br> The song is the rallying cry for the O’Donnell clan, called to<br> assemble at a location on the banks of the River Erne. The Bonnaught<br> and Gallowglass were Irish and Scots mercenaries employed by the O'Donnells<br> to guard the mountain passes. They were summoned to join the rest<br> of O'Donnell's forces, who await the arrival of Hugh O’Neill, Earl of<br> Tyrone and the Borderers who protect his lands.<br> It was printed in<br> Galvin's Irish Songs of Resistance (1962),<br> Miller & Perron's New England Fiddlers Repertoire (1983),<br> Morrison's How to Play the Globe Accordion Irish Style (1931),<br> Mulvihill's 1st Collection (1986),<br> O'Neill's O'Neill's Irish Music (1915),<br> Roche's Collection of Traditional Irish Music, vol. 2 (1912),<br> Scanlon's The Violin Made Easy and Attractive (1923) and<br> Sweet's Fifer's Delight (1965/1981).<br> It was recorded by the Clancy Brothers and Tommy Makem on Rising of the Moon (1956),<br> Patrick Galvin and Al Jeffery on Irish Rebel Songs, Vol. 2 (1963),<br> Franklin George on Traditional Music for Banjo, Fiddle and Bagpipes (1967),<br> Rodney Miller on New England Chestnuts (1980) and<br> Frank Ritchie on The Singing Ulsterman (196?).<br>
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