{"id":14697,"date":"2022-02-08T15:03:28","date_gmt":"2022-02-08T15:03:28","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/folksongandmusichall.com\/?page_id=14697"},"modified":"2022-02-08T15:03:31","modified_gmt":"2022-02-08T15:03:31","slug":"blind-irish-girl-the","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"https:\/\/folksongandmusichall.com\/index.php\/blind-irish-girl-the\/","title":{"rendered":"Blind Irish girl, The"},"content":{"rendered":"\n
AKA<\/strong><\/td>Sweet Kitty Farrell
Katie Farrell
The pride of Liscarroll<\/td><\/tr>
First Published<\/td>1895<\/td><\/tr><\/tbody><\/table><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

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Writer\/composer<\/td>Robert Donnelly<\/td>Roud<\/strong><\/td>RN22769<\/td><\/tr><\/tbody><\/table><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

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Music Hall Performers<\/strong><\/td>Robert Donnelly<\/td><\/tr>
Folk performances<\/strong><\/td>Collected from the singing of:<\/strong>
Keeping family; England : London; 1930-50
Stewart, Lucy; Scotland : Aberdeenshire; 1960
Green, Harry; ngland : Essex : 1968
Graham, Mrs.; N. Ireland : Co. Antrim; 1969
Baker, Arthur; England : Hampshire; 1971
Ling, George; England : Surrey; 1971
Doherty, Bernard; Ireland : Co. Donegal; 1989<\/td><\/tr><\/tbody><\/table><\/figure>\n<\/div><\/div>\n\n\n\n
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In my native home, Lisscarroll\nLives a colleen who is blind\nAnd her name is Katie Farrell\nTo her the neighbours all are kind\nTo see her knit beside her mother\nYou ne'er think her sight was gone\nAnd with Barney, her young brother\nShe milks the cows at early dawn.\n\nThe pride of Lisscarroll is sweet Katie Farrell\nWith cheeks as red as roses and teeth as white as pearl\nThe neighbours all pity this colleen so pretty\nAnd, Oh how we all love this blind Irish girl.<\/em>\n\nYears ago when she was courting\nHer young sweetheart, Ned Malloy\nOne night they were both out walking\nWith hearts like children full of joy\nA storm came on and Kate got frightened\nShe seized the arm of sweetheart Ned\nWhen both of them were struck by lightning\nThey found her blind, and he was dead.\n\nWhat a sad and awful ending\nJust when everything seemd bright\nFor her to lose her future husband\nAnd she, poor girl, to lose her sight\nAll the neighbours gathered round her\nOne and all to her were kind\nAnd the reason... her affliction\nThey pitied her, for she was blind.<\/pre>\n<\/div><\/div>\n<\/div><\/div>\n\n\n\n
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An early song composed written and performed by Robert Donnelly, <\/a>who started his professional life as a performer but became a full time songwriter in the late 1890s. Donnelly specialised in writing sentimental and Irish songs – this song covers both themes.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The Blind Irish Girl<\/em> was printed in several broadsides and cheap 2oth century songbooks. It was widely sung by amateur performers in Ireland and the UK form 1896 on, and  seems to have been sung regularly ever since.<\/p>\n<\/div><\/div>\n\n\n\n
You can here a lovely version at the Irish Traditional Music Archive <\/a> sung by Bernard Doherty of the Innishowen Traditional Singers’ Circle.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Another interesting version was collected from the singing of John McCrory when he was held as a prisoner of war in a German POW camp during the First World War. You can here a digitally enhanced version made by The Irish Times via this SoundCloud Widget<\/a> and read more of his story on this BBC website<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Sources:<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n