This song is by the Irish singer Bridie Gallagher who lived from 1924 to 2012. She was a famous Irish singer who really gained fame during the 1950s. I chose to showcase one of her songs because she is known for being Ireland’s first International popstar. Not Ireland’s first female International popstar, Gallagher was their first world-renowned popstar altogether. She came from a very poor family, she was one of ten children. She was from a town in Ireland called Donegal, she also happened to be the first singer from Donegal who made it in the industry. Once Gallagher hit adulthood she moved to Belfast and became an in-home housekeeper. It was there she met her husband. When she was fourteen she started singing in music competitions and her fame started to grow. It was in 1956 when things really took off for her, Gallagher record the song “A Mother’s Love’s a Blessing”. The song was an instant success in the UK. In 1957 she released her first album which was also an instant success and would be one of her most popular albums in her lifetime. Her life was not easy though, she had two sons, Jim and Peter Livingstone. When Peter was twenty-one he got into a motorbike accident and was killed, Gallagher was on tour performing in England when this happen and she wasn’t made aware of the death of her son until she returned home. She carried the weight of her son’s death with her for the rest of her life, always haunted by the fact that she was not there for him when it happened. Things really went downhill from there, her marriage fell apart and she ended up turning to alcohol to help with the deep sorrow she felt. She never stopped performing though, even after her son’s death, Gallagher got right back to work. When talking to her living son, Jim, she would often say, “We all have our crosses to bear.” Gallagher could have let her setbacks in life destroy her, but she didn’t – she took them in stride and I really admire that. I specifically chose the song “The Boys from County Armagh” because at the time of its release it was the biggest-selling Irish single. 

The instrument analysis is different from what we have heard in class. A very prominent instrument in this song that we didn’t discuss in class is the Accordion, even though that instrument is from Germany it was picked up very quickly in Ireland and is commonly heard in Céilí bands. You can also hear a group of fiddles playing which is very common in Irish music. If you listen closely you can also hear an upright bass which seems to be keeping the tempo. Then of course you hear Bridie Gallagher singing, she is singing in the key that we know best as Western Music listeners. Her singing is straightforward and doesn’t include lots of ornamentation that we have heard in different countries and regions.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=d_AK59TwAdc&list=OLAK5uy_mGdkJ1M4s0ah6olgfNeklMi_QIlt5oW6g