The Hawk of Ballyshannon
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legacy / Irish
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Rory Dall O'Cahan
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Transcription: by Darryl D. Bush
The Hawk of Ballyshannon, also known as "Port Athol", "The Hawk of Lough Erne" (in Gaelic,<br> Seabhac na hEirne), "Miss Moore", "O’Moore’s Daughter", "O'Moore's Fair Daughter", or<br> "Katherine O'More" is an Irish slow air in 4/4 time and A Minor. Joyce (1909) says "The<br> Hawk of Ballyshannon" was a well-known air which was also known as "O'Moore's Fair Daughter",<br> according to his source, and by others as "Miss Moore." He notes that the Irish collector<br> William Forde gives half a dozen settings, including that of Bunting, but that O'Beirne's<br> version (which he prints) is more simple and flowing and less interrupted by instrumental<br> ornamentations than Bunting's (1840).<br> Bunting and Joyce both state the air was composed by the great Ulster harper <br> Ruaidhrí Dall Ó Catháin (Rory Dall O'Cahan; possibly born c. 1580 Co. Antrim - possibly<br> died 1653 at Eglinton Castle) which he called "Port Athol" and was somewhat varied by<br> O'Carolan. Bunting (1840) notes: "It was uniformly attributed to its proper composer by the<br> harpers at Belfast".<br> Unlike the vast number of travelling musicians, he was a gentleman by birth, his family being<br> hereditary allies of the O'Neill dynasty. Their territory was Keenaght (barony), now part of<br> County Londonderry in Northern Ireland. Reflecting his origins, Ó Catháin "traveled into<br> Scotland attended by the retinue of a gentle man of large property".<br> Rory Dall O'Cahan also composed "Give Me Your Hand" which is also in this section.<br> Caoimhin Mac Aoidh (1994) states that "The Hawk of Ballyshannon" is a title that cryptically<br> refers to the Fermanagh Chieftain Philip MaGuire. <br> It was printed in Bunting's Ancient Music of Ireland (1840), Joyce's Old Irish Folk Music and<br> Songs: The Forde Collection (1909), O'Sullivan/Bunting, 1983. <br> It was recorded by Ann Heymann which is where I learned it.<br>
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