The Rocky Road to Dublin

For St. Patrick’s Day this year, we have The Rocky Road to Dublin. The text was written by D. K. Gavan for the popular singer Harry Clifton (1832-1872), and it’s now considered a standard Irish folk song. The music is in the form of a slip jig, which has a 9/8 meter that distinguishes it from the standard jig in 6/8.

It tells the story of a young man who sets off from his home in Tuam (County Galway) to Dublin. When he arrives in Dublin, he’s robbed and gets no help from the Dubliners. He continues on to Liverpool. Not having the fare for passage, he stows away with the pigs. He is mocked in Liverpool and, having taken all the abuse he can, he decides to mete out some justice with his shillelagh (walking stick). Galway boys come to help. 

Henry Robert Clifton, known as Handsome Harry, wrote many popular and comic songs. He became popular as an English Music Hall singer, the Music Hall being a form of popular theater in the Victorian era similar to Vaudeville in America.

The Ramparts is a group formed in 2016 by Ruaidhrí Ó Dálaigh to perform barber shop tunes with an Irish flair.