Star of the County Down

"Star of the County Down" is an Irish ballad set near Banbridge in County Down, in Northern Ireland. The words are by Cathal MacGarvey (1866–1927) from Ramelton, County Donegal.[1] The tune is traditional, and may be known as "Dives and Lazarus" or (as a hymn tune) "Kingsfold".

The melody was also used in an Irish folk song called "My Love Nell".[2] The lyrics of "My Love Nell" tell the story of a young man who courts a girl but loses her when she emigrates to America.[3] The only real similarity with "Star of the County Down" is that Nell too comes from County Down. This may have inspired MacGarvey to place the heroine of his new song in Down as well. MacGarvey was from Donegal.

"The Star of the County Down" uses a tight rhyme scheme. Each stanza is a double quatrain, and the first and third lines of each quatrain have an internal rhyme on the second and fourth feet: [aa]b[cc]b. The refrain is a single quatrain with the same rhyming pattern.

The song is sung from the point of view of a young man who chances to meet a charming lady by the name of Rose (or Rosie) McCann, referred to as the "star of the County Down". From a brief encounter the writer's infatuation grows until, by the end of the ballad, he imagines himself marrying the girl.

The song usually begins with the opening verse:

Near Banbridge town, in the County Down,
One morning last July
Down a boreen green came a sweet colleen,
And she smiled as she passed me by

Versions
  • English band The Pogues recorded a version of the song that was included the 2005 reissue of their 1989 album Peace and Love.
  • Israeli singer Ehud Banai recorded a Hebrew version of the song titled "Ha-Kochav shel Mechoz Gush Dan" (Hebrew: הכוכב של מחוז גוש דן‎ or "The Star of Gush Dan District"). It appeared first on his 1998 album Tip Tipa.
  • Dublin folk artist Dylan Walshe recorded a live version of the song which appeared on the 2015 album Soul Hell Cafe released on Muddy Roots Records.
  • German schlager music band Santiano recorded a version of the song called "Mädchen von Haithabu" with the same melody.
  • American folk-jazz band Béla Fleck and the Flecktones included an instrumental arrangement of the song in their 1991 Grammy-nominated album "Flight of the Cosmic Hippo".
  • Irish-Canadian band The Irish Rovers recorded versions of the song for the 1996 album Gems and the 2020 Saints and Sinners.

References
  1. O'Lochlainn, Colm (1967). Songwriters of Ireland in the English Tongue. Dublin: Three Candles Press.
  2. Folksongs&Ballads popular in Ireland, Volume 3, Loesberg,pp 72
  3. "Axon Ballads No.95 - My love Nell; Kitty Tyrrell; Rory of the hills". Retrieved 11 July 2016.
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