"The Rocks of Bawn" (Rocks of White) talks about Oliver
Cromwell's invasion of Ireland in 1649 and the
treatment of the Roman Catholics: In 1652, Oliver
Cromwell "subdued" Ireland, a process that often
recurred in history before and since. Many Catholic
landholders were dispossessed and forced to take their
families and belongings beyond the Shannon, to the hard
country of Connaught. While English and Scottish
Protestant newcomers settled on the lusher vacated
farms, the dispossessed Irish hacke...(+)
"The Rocks of Bawn" (Rocks of White) talks about Oliver
Cromwell's invasion of Ireland in 1649 and the
treatment of the Roman Catholics: In 1652, Oliver
Cromwell "subdued" Ireland, a process that often
recurred in history before and since. Many Catholic
landholders were dispossessed and forced to take their
families and belongings beyond the Shannon, to the hard
country of Connaught. While English and Scottish
Protestant newcomers settled on the lusher vacated
farms, the dispossessed Irish hacked out a thin living
among the "rocks, bogs, salt water and seaweed" of the
barren west coast. In the ensuing centuries, to many a
farm-hand even the British Army offerred better
prospects than the stony plough-defying soil of Mayo,
Galway and Clare. The lament of the Connaught ploughman
has become one of the most popular of all Irish folk
songs, seemingly within the last few years.
Scholars feel that "Rocks of White is not a good
transaltion". In Irish the presence of "of" between
Rocks and White denotes the genitive 9 (n tuiseal
ginideach). This indicates that both Rocks and White
are nouns.
In Cavan it is asserted that the Rocks of Bawn refers
to the poor soil (impossible to plough) in west cavan,
adjacent to the town of Bawnboy (An Babhún Buí - the
yellow earth enclosure - that the earth enclosure is
referred to as a Babhún rather than a Lios or Rath
indicates that it was enclosure made up during the
Elizabethan plantation of Ulster).
Although originally written for traditional folk
instruments, I created this arrangement for Concert
(Pedal) Harp and Bb Clarinet.
SHEET MUSIC