{"id":1270,"date":"2016-01-17T12:43:41","date_gmt":"2016-01-17T12:43:41","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.joeheaney.org\/ga\/?p=1270"},"modified":"2021-03-28T15:04:03","modified_gmt":"2021-03-28T14:04:03","slug":"una-bhan","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.joeheaney.org\/ga\/una-bhan\/","title":{"rendered":"\u00dana Bh\u00e1n"},"content":{"rendered":"<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\" id=\"t:seinnteoirin1\">Play recording: \u00dana Bh\u00e1n<\/h2>\n\n\n<audio class=\"wp-audio-shortcode\" id=\"audio-1270-1\" preload=\"none\" style=\"width: 100%;\" controls=\"controls\"><source type=\"audio\/mpeg\" src=\"https:\/\/www.joeheaney.org\/00-micil\/me\u00e1in\/una-bhan.mp3?_=1\" \/><source type=\"audio\/ogg\" src=\"https:\/\/www.joeheaney.org\/00-micil\/me\u00e1in\/una-bhan.ogg?_=1\" \/><a href=\"https:\/\/www.joeheaney.org\/00-micil\/me\u00e1in\/una-bhan.mp3\">https:\/\/www.joeheaney.org\/00-micil\/me\u00e1in\/una-bhan.mp3<\/a><\/audio>\n\n\n\n<div class=\"dmeite\">\n<p><span id=\"neasc-nocht-ceilth\" class=\"nmeite\">view \/ hide recording details [+\/-]<\/span><\/p>\n<ul id=\"clarMeiteashonrai\" class=\"meiteashonrai\">\n<li><span class=\"lipead-meiteashonrai\">Teideal <span class=\"lipead-meiteashonrai-bearla\">(Title)<\/span>:<\/span> \u00dana Bh\u00e1n.<\/li>\n<li><span class=\"lipead-meiteashonrai\">Uimhir Chatal\u00f3ige Ollscoil Washington <span class=\"lipead-meiteashonrai-bearla\">(University of Washington Catalogue Number)<\/span>:<\/span> 850403; 853910.<\/li>\n<li><span class=\"lipead-meiteashonrai\">Uimhir Chnuasach Bh\u00e9aloideas \u00c9ireann <span class=\"lipead-meiteashonrai-bearla\">(National Folklore of Ireland Number)<\/span>:<\/span> CC 018.004.<\/li>\n<li><span class=\"lipead-meiteashonrai\">Uimhir Roud <span class=\"lipead-meiteashonrai-bearla\">(Roud Number)<\/span>:<\/span> none.<\/li>\n<li><span class=\"lipead-meiteashonrai\">Uimhir Laws <span class=\"lipead-meiteashonrai-bearla\">(Laws Number)<\/span>:<\/span> none.<\/li>\n<li><span class=\"lipead-meiteashonrai\">Uimhir Child <span class=\"lipead-meiteashonrai-bearla\">(Child Number)<\/span>:<\/span> none.<\/li>\n<li><span class=\"lipead-meiteashonrai\">Cnuasach <span class=\"lipead-meiteashonrai-bearla\">(Collection)<\/span>:<\/span> National Folklore Collection, University College Dublin.<\/li>\n<li><span class=\"lipead-meiteashonrai\">Teanga na Cro\u00edmh\u00edre <span class=\"lipead-meiteashonrai-bearla\">(Core-Item Language)<\/span>:<\/span> Irish and English.<\/li>\n<li><span class=\"lipead-meiteashonrai\">Catag\u00f3ir <span class=\"lipead-meiteashonrai-bearla\">(Category)<\/span>:<\/span> lore; song.<\/li>\n<li><span class=\"lipead-meiteashonrai\">Ainm an t\u00e9 a thug <span class=\"lipead-meiteashonrai-bearla\">(Name of Informant)<\/span>:<\/span> Joe Heaney.<\/li>\n<li><span class=\"lipead-meiteashonrai\">Ainm an t\u00e9 a th\u00f3g <span class=\"lipead-meiteashonrai-bearla\">(Name of Collector)<\/span>:<\/span> S\u00e9amas Ennis.<\/li>\n<li><span class=\"lipead-meiteashonrai\">D\u00e1ta an taifeadta <span class=\"lipead-meiteashonrai-bearla\">(Recording Date)<\/span>:<\/span> 1942.<\/li>\n<li><span class=\"lipead-meiteashonrai\">Su\u00edomh an taifeadta <span class=\"lipead-meiteashonrai-bearla\">(Recording Location)<\/span>:<\/span> Carna, County Galway, Ireland.<\/li>\n<li><span class=\"lipead-meiteashonrai\">Oc\u00e1id an taifeadta <span class=\"lipead-meiteashonrai-bearla\">(Recording Occasion)<\/span>:<\/span> private.<\/li>\n<li><span class=\"lipead-meiteashonrai\">Daoine eile a bh\u00ed i l\u00e1thair <span class=\"lipead-meiteashonrai-bearla\">(Others present)<\/span>:<\/span> unavailable.<\/li>\n<li><span class=\"lipead-meiteashonrai\">St\u00e1das ch\u00f3ipcheart an taifeadta <span class=\"lipead-meiteashonrai-bearla\">(Recording copyright status)<\/span>:<\/span> unavailable.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\" id=\"t:treas-scr\u00edbhinn-c\u00e1ip\u00e9is-bhunaidh\">S\u00e9amas Ennis\u2019 transcription (original handwritten document)<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-image micil-wp-img-imeall-0\"><figure class=\"aligncenter\"><a href=\"https:\/\/www.joeheaney.org\/00-micil\/mbm\/\u00fana-bh\u00e1n.jpg\"><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/www.joeheaney.org\/00-micil\/mbm\/\u00fana-bh\u00e1n.jpg\" alt=\"The handwritten sheetmusic for this song.\"\/><\/a><figcaption>The original sheetmusic.<\/figcaption><\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\n<p>\u00dana Bh\u00e1n was called \u00dana Mc&nbsp;Dermott, her name was, and she lived on an island in Lough Measc on the west coast of Mayo. Now she was in love with man called Thomas Costelloe\u2026 \u2018Strong Thomas\u2019 they called him, because he was very strong. And she fell in love with him at the fair in Ballinrobe\u2026 which is in Mayo, too\u2026 one day. They were wrestling. There was a big wrestler from England came to challenge all comers to wrestle. And nobody would fight him only Strong Thomas, they called him\u2026 he was only eighteen at the time.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>And the way they used to wrestle that time: they made a circle\u2026 about eight feet wide on the ground, and the two men stood inside it, and they tied them round with belts. And then they asked them to start fighting, or wrestling. So they tied the Englishman to Thomas, and then they told them to start wrestling, and the Englishman didn&#8217;t move. And the referee told them again, and the Englishman didn&#8217;t move, and they went and took off the belts, and the Englishman fell down dead. His back was broken on the first pull from Thomas. \u00dana was there with her father, she fell for him. She went home\u2026<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><b>LS:<\/b> Is this all in the song?<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><b>JH:<\/b> No, this is the story leading up to the song.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><b>LS:<\/b> Oh. Is this true?<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><b>JH:<\/b> This is true. This is absolutely true.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><b>LS:<\/b> When did [inaudible]?<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><b>JH:<\/b> Eighteenth century. The latter part of the eighteenth century.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>They went home\u2026 the father and \u00dana. Her mother was dead. And \u00dana went on her bed, and fell sick. The doctor was called. Her father was a well-to-do man, and the doctor told the father he didn&#8217;t know what was wrong with her. There was nothing wrong with her, he said, as far as medical science could cure. He said there was something else wrong with her. She was pining away.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>And finally, the woman who was looking after her told her father that she was pining for Thomas Costelloe. And the father hated him, you see, because he was poor. So finally, to satisfy the daughter, he sent for him. And the minute he came, that very same day, she got out of bed, and started living a normal life, eating normally. And he stayed for a week, and she was as good as ever. And then the father told him he&#8217;d have to go. <q>She&#8217;s well now, you go your way and stay away\u2026 don&#8217;t come back any more<\/q>\u2026 And he said\u2026 and \u00dana was listening\u2026 <q>If I go away<\/q>, he said, <q>if I leave this house, if I cross that river\u2026 the Dan\u00f3g River<\/q>, he said, <q>if I cross that, I&#8217;m not turning back. But if you call me before I cross it, I&#8217;ll turn\u2026 I&#8217;ll come back<\/q>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>So he stayed for three hours, they say, he stayed on the bank of the river\u2026 he wouldn&#8217;t cross it. And no word came from the house. And he crossed the river, eventually; and the minute he crossed the river, the woman who was looking after \u00dana came down, calling him back. <q>Come back!<\/q> she said. \u00dana wants you and her father wants you, he said, <q>I won&#8217;t break my word. I won&#8217;t come back<\/q>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>So he went home, broken-hearted. And she died three weeks afterwards. And she was buried on an island in Lough Measc. And every night he swam the lake, the water, to sing on her grave, lament on her grave. And the third night [inaudible] she got up and gave him a slap on the cheek, and said, When you could have saved me, you didn&#8217;t. Now go home, and live your miserable life to yourself. So he went home, and six months after, he was dead, too; and he was buried beside her on Lough Measc.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><b>LS:<\/b> So what does the song say?<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><b>JH:<\/b> The song\u2026 the praise he had, you know. And if she heeded him, instead of heeding her father, you know\u2026 if she ran away with him when he asked her, instead of trying to satisfy her father and at the same time ruining his and her own life, you know. She was oppressed [?] these things. He compared her to the rose in the garden, you know, and he compared her to a little flower trying to get out of the weeds and\u2026 live a life of his own. And he said, <q>It&#8217;s an awful way you&#8217;re lying there, \u00dana. You&#8217;re lying there<\/q>, he said, <q>amidst thousands of corpses. But if I knew that would happen to you, I would have turned back. I wouldn&#8217;t have\u2026 I&#8217;d have broken my word and come back to you<\/q>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>A \u00dana Bh\u00e1in, is gr\u00e1nna an lu\u00ed sin ort<br>I do leaba chaol chl\u00e1ir i measc na dt\u00e1inte corp<br>F\u00e9ach, a mhn\u00e1, c\u00e9 b&#8217;fhearr n\u00e1 an t-och\u00f3n sin<br>Aon ghlaoch amh\u00e1in &#8216;gabh\u00e1il \u00c1th na Don\u00f3ige.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>A \u00dana Bh\u00e1in, ba r\u00f3s i ngaird\u00edn th\u00fa<br>Ba choinnleoir \u00f3ir &#8216;gabh\u00e1il romhan sa mb\u00f3thar th\u00fa<br>Ba cheili\u00far is ba cheolmhar ag gabh\u00e1il an bhealaigh seo th\u00fa<br>Mo l\u00e9an d\u00f3ite n\u00edor p\u00f3sadh le do ghr\u00e1 geal th\u00fa.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>D\u00e1 mbeadh p\u00edopa fada cailce a&#8217;m is tobac a bheith ann<br>Tharraingeoinn amach \u00e9 is chaithfinn de mo sh\u00e1ith<br>&#8216;Maith a d&#8217;inseoinn-se dhaoibhse c\u00e9 gc\u00f3na\u00edonn \u00dana Bh\u00e1n<br>I gCill Bhr\u00edde i gcr\u00edch Mha Chill, mo chreach is mo chr\u00e1.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>T\u00e1 an sneachta seo ar an l\u00e1r, t\u00e1 s\u00e9 dearg le fuil<br>Ach samhail mo ghr\u00e1 n\u00ed fhaca m\u00e9 in \u00e1it ar bith<br>F\u00e9achaidh-se a mhn\u00e1, c\u00e9 b&#8217;fhearr n\u00e1 an t-och\u00f3n sin<br>Aon ghlaoch amh\u00e1in &#8216;ghabh\u00e1il \u00c1th na Don\u00f3ige.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>What he said there, &#8220;Wouldn&#8217;t it be better, now, to give me one call crossing the Dan\u00f3g River, than to be crying forever [and for] somebody to die because of it?&#8221;. Now, that&#8217;s the old way<sup class=\"tagairt-n\u00f3ta-bun-leathanaigh\">1<\/sup>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\" id=\"t:aistriuchan\">Translation<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>Fair \u00dana, that&#8217;s an awful place you&#8217;re lying,<br>in your narrow wooden bed among a multitude of corpses.<br>Look, you women, wouldn&#8217;t one shout [to me] crossing the Dan\u00f3g ford<br>be better than all that lamentation?<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Fair \u00dana, you were a rose in the garden;<br>you were a golden candlestick going before me in the road;<br>you were a celebration \u2014 you were song and music going along the way;<br>my fierce sorrow that you were not married to your true love.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>If I had a long clay pipe and tobacco in it,<br>I would pull it out and smoke my fill;<br>it&#8217;s well I would tell you where fair \u00dana lives<br>In Kilbride on the border of Machill, my destruction and desolation.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>The snow is on the ground, it is red with blood<br>But the likes of my love I see nowhere.<br>Look, you women, wouldn&#8217;t one shout [to me] crossing the Dan\u00f3g ford<br>be better than all that lamentation?<\/p>\n\n\n\n<div class=\"n\u00f3ta\u00ed-bun-leathanaigh\">\n<h2 id=\"a:nota\u00ed\">Notes<\/h2>\n<p class=\"n\u00f3ta-bun-leathanaigh\">1. By \u2018the old way\u2019, Joe means the way they sang the song at home. He also occasionally sang what he called \u2018the popular version\u2019, by which he meant the version printed in songbooks and taught in schools. Joe had two versions of a number of the songs in his repertoire \u2014 <cite>R\u00f3is\u00edn Dubh<\/cite>, <cite>Casadh an tS\u00fag\u00e1in<\/cite>, <cite>An Sail \u00d3g Rua<\/cite> and <cite>Bean Dubh an Ghleanna<\/cite> for example \u2014 and he was interested in this variability; sometimes asking audiences to let him know which version they preferred.<\/p>\n<p>While <cite>\u00dana Bh\u00e1n<\/cite> appears on four of Joe&#8217;s commercially-available recordings, the double CD of his Gael-Linn recordings, <cite>Seosamh \u00d3&nbsp;h\u00c9ana\u00ed: \u00d3 mo dh\u00fachas<\/cite> (CEFCD 191), includes particularly good sleeve-notes and is <a href=\"https:\/\/siopa.gael-linn.ie\/ga\/%C3%B3-mo-dh%C3%BAchas-sraith-1-sraith-2\">currently available<\/a> at time of writing (Spring 2020).<\/p>\n<p>The musical transcription given above was written by S\u00e9amas Ennis for Coimisi\u00fan B\u00e9aloideasa \u00c9ireann (the Irish Folklore Commission) in 1942 and was based on Joe&#8217;s singing. On that occasion, Joe told Ennis that he had learnt the song from Se\u00e1n Choilm Mac&nbsp;Donnchadha, who lived next door to the Heaneys in An \u00c1ird Thoir. The Cartlanna are grateful to <a href=\"https:\/\/www.ucd.ie\/irishfolklore\/ga\/\">Cnuasach Bh\u00e9aloideas \u00c9ireann<\/a> for permission to reproduce the document (CB\u00c9 manuscript 1280: 327\u20138) here.<\/p>\n<p>In his comprehensive review of the CD <cite>The Road from Conamara<\/cite>, the late Tom Munnelly <a href=\"http:\/\/www.mustrad.org.uk\/reviews\/j_heaney.htm\">observes<\/a> that <q>because of the sweep of its air, [<cite>\u00dana Bh\u00e1n<\/cite>] is a difficult song to sing and has suffered greatly from singers who have abandoned the delicate text in order to impress listeners with operatic performance<\/q>. But this is Joe \u00c9inni\u00fa and he\u2019s is at his best here; bringing out every nuance of the lament with a sensitivity and artistry seldom heard.<\/p>\n<p>For additional verses and discussion, see an tAthair Tom\u00e1s \u00d3&nbsp;Ceallaigh, <cite>Ceol na n\u2011Oile\u00e1n<\/cite> (Dublin, 1931), 15\u201316 and notes; also a book-length study by M. F. \u00d3&nbsp;Conch\u00fair, <cite>\u00dana Bh\u00e1n<\/cite> (Indreabh\u00e1n, 1994).<\/p>\n<\/div>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"templates\/template-full-width.php","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[3,11,8],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-1270","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-amhrain","category-amhrain-i-ngaeilge","category-seanchas"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.joeheaney.org\/ga\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1270","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.joeheaney.org\/ga\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.joeheaney.org\/ga\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.joeheaney.org\/ga\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.joeheaney.org\/ga\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=1270"}],"version-history":[{"count":27,"href":"https:\/\/www.joeheaney.org\/ga\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1270\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":3581,"href":"https:\/\/www.joeheaney.org\/ga\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1270\/revisions\/3581"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.joeheaney.org\/ga\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1270"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.joeheaney.org\/ga\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=1270"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.joeheaney.org\/ga\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=1270"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}