Lannigan’s Ball

AKA Lanigans Ball
Lannegan’s Ball
Jimmie Lanigan
Flanagan’s Ball
First Published 1863
Lyrics DK Gavan Music John Candy? Roud RN3011

Music Hall Performers Harry Clifton
Folk performances Source Singers
Berthold Chickering, nd, Michigan USA
George Piper, ca. 1869, ‘Europa’ ship, USA
Bateese Lapensier, 1885, Ontario Canada
Annie Ritchie, 1906, Scotland
Alexander Robb, 1906, Scotland
Patrick Halley, 1937/38, Co Waterford Ireland
Warde Ford, 1939, California USA
James Kneeland, 1941, Maine USA
Lena Bourne Fish, 1943, New Hampshire, USA
Michael Barden, 1947, Massachusetts USA
Bernard Young, 1951, Nova Scotia Canada
Elizabeth Cronin, 1954, Cork Ireland
Angelo Dornan, 1955, New Brunswick Canada
Eddie Butcher, 1968, Derry, Northern Ireland
Robin Hutchinson,1960s-80s, Scotland
Ulrick McDonald, ,1960s-80s, Co Galway Ireland

Modern performances
Christy Moore and many others

In the town of Athy one Jeremy Lannigan
Battered away ’till he hadn’t a pound
His father died and made him a man again
Left him a farm and ten acres of ground
He gave a grand party for friends and relations
Who hadn’t forgot him when sent to the wall
If you just listen, I’ll make your eyes glisten
At the rows and the ructions of Lannigan’s Ball

Myself, to be sure, got free invitations
For all the nice boys and girls I’d ask;
In less than a minute, the friends and relations
Were dancing as merry as bees round a cask
MIss O'Hara the nice little milliner,
Tipp'd me the wink to give her a call,
And soon we arrived with Timothy Gleigan
Just in time for Lannigan's Ball.

There was lashings of punch, and wine for the ladies
Potatoes and cakes and bacon and tea
There were Nolans and Doolans and all the O’Gradys
Courtin’ the girls and dancin’ away.
Songs they were as plenty as water,
From the "Harp that once thro' Tara's ould Hall,"
To sweet "Nelly Gray" and "The Ratcatcher's Daughter"
All singing together at Lannigan's Ball

They were doing all sorts of nonsensical polkas
All round the room in a neat whirligig
But Julia and I soon banished their nonsense
And tipp'd them the twist of a real Irish jig.
Och mavrone! ‘twas she that was glad o’ me,
And danced ’till you'd think the ceilin’ would fall
For I spent three weeks at Burke’s Acadamy
Learning to dance for Lannigan’s Ball

The boys were all merry, the girls were all hearty
Dancin’ away in couples and groups
Till an accident happened, young Terence Macarthy
He put right leg on Miss Flaherty's hoops.
The creature, she fainted and roared “Millia Murther”
Called for her friends and gathered them all,
Ned Carmody swore he’d go no further
But have satisfaction at Lannigan’s Ball

In the midst of the row, Miss Kerraigan fainted
Her cheeks all the while being red as the rose
Some of the ladies declared she was painted
She took a small drop too much I suppose
Her sweetheart, Ned Morgan, so powerful and able
When he saw his fair colleen stretched by the wall
He tore the left leg from under the table
And smashed all the chaney at Lannigan’s Ball

Oh boys, there was the ruction
Myself got a lick from big Phelim McHugh
But I soon replied to this kind introduction
And kick'd up a terrible Phillabaloo
Ould Casey, the piper, was near being strangled,
They squeez'd up his pipes, bellows, chanters and all
The girls in their ribbons, they got all entangled
And that put an end to Lannigan’s Ball

This song was 1st made popular by Harry Clifton, and probably dates from the time he spent touring in Ireland in the years 1855 to 1861. It was later published by Clifton’s regular publishers Hopwood and Crew, while the sheet music is unfortunately undated, the publishers first advertised it in 1863. The sheet music gives credit as follows: by D.K. Cavan, the Galway poet ; [arranged by] John Candy ; [sung by] Harry Clifton. The American sheet music published in 1863 claims that Tony Pastor wrote the lyrics, but I wouldn’t take that too seriously, as Pastor was in the habit of claiming the authorship of most of the hundreds of songs that he imported from the Music Halls of Britain.

There was some confusion in Britain about the authorship of the song at the time, which may be related to the claims that were often made that Clifton wrote all his own material. Clifton cleared up the confusion with this announcement he made in The Era, the Music Hall trade newspaper in 1863. [I think that The Era is correct and the spelling of the author is almost certainly Gavan not Cavan].

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The Era, Feb 22 1863

DK Gavan “The Galway poet” is a bit of a mystery. [more to come]

The music may have been borrowed from an older source, and may be related to a tune called Hurry the Jug. In any case the tune is often used in Irish dance music and has been recorded under various other titles including The Bullockies’ Ball, Domhnull An Dannsair, Domhull An Dannsair, Paddy O’Rafferty, Unplugged And Plowed. The complex story of the tune is summarised in the Traditional Tune Archive entry given in the sources.

Its a song which is hugely popular in the Irish tradition, and has been collected from source singers all over the English-speaking world.

Sources:

Christy Moore sings a version with a chorus