Spancil Hill and Classic Irish Song
Jan 23, 2011 Classic
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Often, great songs are written by people at a time are experiencing a personal tragedy in their lives.
The classic Irish ballad, Spancil Hill, is a perfect example of that. It was a written by a young man named Michal Considine at a time when I knew I did not have much time to live. I wanted the song to be a monument to him and a celebration of people who had loved in his life.
Considine Michal was born in 1850 near Spancil Hill, located between Ennis and Tulla in County Clare, Ireland.
Like millions of others, Considine was forced to leave their homeland because of the great famine that devastated Ireland in the mid-nineteenth century. He went to Boston in 1870, but stayed only for a few years before moving to California.
It is believed that his plan was to earn enough money to make her true love for America to join him. Her name was Mary MacNamara. Considine alluded to in the song as “daughter of Mac and goalkeeper pride Spancil Hill.”
As the song became popular in recent years, the name became Mag or Nell changed to “the farmer’s daughter.”
When Considine was about 23, however, fell ill and realized he had not long to live. Spancil Hill wrote that he could be sent home to express their feelings to all who knew him, especially, of course, his beloved Mac
The letter explains how he dreamed one night, “came on board a vision” that led all the way to Spancil Hill back in Ireland.
Spancil Hill was the scene of a horse fair every year and Considine comes the day before he was about to take place. Once there, you see familiar faces and sights of his youth. All persons referred to in the song are regarded as real people instead of fictional characters.
The most moving encounter is with the Mac, “his first and only love.” She threw her arms around him and he kisses her dreams, “as in ancient times.” The joy was short-lived, however, when the rooster crows and wakes up from his reverie. Once awake, no longer Spancil Hill, but again in the real world, thousands of miles in California.
Considine died shortly after writing the song and, unfortunately, never found his beloved Mary MacNamara. She remained faithful to his memory and never married.
For some people Spancil Hill is a little sentimental, but for others it is a perfect expression of love and devotion. Few people now know the personal tragedy behind him, but moving lyrics and beautiful melody this song is classic Irish still popular throughout the world.
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Tags: Classic, song, Spancil Hill
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