Rafferty, Pat

Pat Rafferty (1861-1952) was the stage name of Henry Brown, a popular Music Hall comic for over 40 years. He was born in Birmingham of Irish parents, and started singing career at the age of 12 by entering a series of pub singing competitions. He was fond of saying that he had sung in every music hall in the British Empire and whilst he was known for his Irish songs his repertoire varied from broadly comic and nonsense songs to high-flown ballads. According to Macqueen Pope, when Irish regiments were fighting in the Boer War:

Rafferty became extremely patriotic on behalf of of the Emerald Isle, asking the British public [in song]: “What you think of the Irish now?” And informing them that if they had been in the habit of calling them traitors because agitators made troubles, “You can’t call them traitors now!”

MacQueen Pope, p376

He loved playing to Irish audiences and would tell the story of the time in a Dublin music hall when the audience refused to let him leave the stage and the police were called to clear the theatre – prompting a riot which continued on the street outside. He retired from the stage to set himself up in business first as a builder and later as an antique dealer.

Songs credited to Rafferty collected from traditional singers:

• The Bus; or Mary MacIntyre
• Molly Riley O!
• Then she started tickle-ing

Songs that were sung by Rafferty (but not written by him) that have been collected from traditional singers:

• Katie Connor
• Sweet Rosie O’Grady
• Tickle-ickle-um