Thanks for the info on the famine in Clare. I had not read that one. Here is the full words to the song if you are interested. Mary McCaw -----Original Message----- From: sm8carberry@comcast.net To: IRL-CLARE-L@rootsweb.com Sent: Fri, 18 Aug 2006 1:50 PM Subject: [CLARE] A tug at the heart For those seeking an unvarnished historical perspective and a bit of a good cry, you would do well to find the book entitled Black Potatoes: The Story of the Great Irish Famine, 1845-1850 by Susan Campbell Bartoletti. Look in the juvenile non-fiction section of your library, as this was written for teens. It is only 172 pages and features lots of those wonderful Illustrated London News pictures of the time. However, it is an excellent overview of the many aspects of the famine era, not simplified, with attention to detail (just no footnotes or in-text citations). Thus it is an "easy read" although the author pulls no punches in terms of the hardships and realities of the famine. Her sources are plainly stated and are standard, except that she heavily relied on one which we know well: the Clare County Library, which she acknowledges as offering "a wealth of information at its Web site..." Consequently, she has anecdotal sections featuring Clare locations. That is how I learned of this book, because a Google book search brought up this book's reference to Moveen. Unfortunately that turned out to be only the caption to a picture: "In County Clare, nearly the entire village of Moveen was evicted a few days before Christmas." pp. 108-09. To gain an idea of how many people were involved in that eviction, take a look at the Moveen population recorded in the Tithe Applotment of 1827, at http://www.clarelibrary.ie/eolas/coclare/genealogy/tithe_applot/moyarta_tab.htm Then you may realize what inspired Michael Flanagan of nearby Inagh to sing as he did about those times (see below article taken off the Web). Sharon Carberry Info found at www.mudcat.org "The following is reprinted from 'Traditional Songs and Singers' published by Comhaltas Ceoltóiri Éireann (1977?), where Séamus Mac Mathúna says: LONE SHANAKYLE I was sure that this song had been "lost" as I had never heard more than a few lines of it in a score or more years; but when I met Michael Flanagan of Inagh in 1974 it was the first song on his lips. It comes from the Kilrush area of County Clare. Shanakyle (in Irish, SeanaChill) is the site of a graveyard outside Kilrush, and Inis Cathaigh is, of course, St. Senan's Island - also known as Scattery Island, on the Shannon. There is a passion and sincerity in Michael Flanagan's rendering which never fails to grip his listeners; some lines paint a startling, even an appalling picture, e.g.- "Dark, dark is the night-cloud o'er lone Shanakyle Where the murdered sleep silently pile upon pile In the coffinless graves of poor Erin." The parish of Kilrush and the surrounding areas were most grievous strucken during the famine years. A total of over 3,900 people died in the workhouse in Kilrush during the three years 1847-'49 and most of these were carted to a common famine pit in Shanakyle. The evidence can be seen in the graveyard to this day, and no amount of re-writing of Irish history can change these facts. Lone Shanakyle was written by Thomas Madigan of Carnacalla, Kilrush (1797-1881) who was a scholar and poet, writing in both English and Irish and a friend of that other renowned West Clare scholar Eoghan 0 Comhrai. Lone Shanakyle was probably written during the 1860's, the last verse being inspired by the expected Fenian Rising. The air is a variant of the "Paistin Fionn" MICHAEL FLANAGAN of Ballyduffbeg, Inagh, Co. Clare, was 81 years of age when I recorded this song and some ten others from him in April 1974. Even at that age he is one of the best traditional singers I have heard. He sings with a heart and involvement which one might expect from a man of half his years." ==== IRL-CLARE Mailing List ==== http://www.clarelibrary.ie/eolas/coclare/genealogy/1901census/1901_clare_census.htm ============================== Search Family and Local Histories for stories about your family and the areas they lived. Over 85 million names added in the last 12 months. Learn more: http://www.ancestry.com/s13966/rd.ashx ________________________________________________________________________ Check out the new AOL. Most comprehensive set of free safety and security tools, free access to millions of high-quality videos from across the web, free AOL Mail and more.