Tipperary man records rendition of old lost ballad based on burning of Bridget Cleary

Tipperary singer-songwriter Bill ‘The Bard’ O’Brien has performed and recorded a rendition of an old ballad based on the burning of Bridget Cleary, a Tipperary woman known for being the last woman in Ireland burned due to suspicions about her being a witch.

O’Brien is the host of the Lost Songs of Ireland podcast, a podcast series in which he tells the stories of old Irish songs somewhat lost to time, where he discusses the stories behind the songs in great length.

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O’Brien has a passion for Irish heritage and tradition, mostly in Tipperary, and upon reading up on Bridget Cleary, he began searching for songs regarding her killing, but to no avail.

He was guided by Steve Roud, creator of the Roud Folk Song Index, in the direction of an old song stored in Belfast University, which revolved around the killing of a woman named ‘Bridget O’Leary,’ however upon reading the lyrics, he found that the story lined up remarkably close to Bridget Cleary’s story.

He then went in search of a recording of the song, but once again, his searches returned nothing, which led him to want to record the song himself.

He, along with others interested in old Irish music, set about analysing the song’s lyrics, breaking down the flow and rhythm of the wording of the song, so as to be able to best recreate what they believe would have been the tune to which the ballad was sung to.

Speaking with the Tipperary Star, O’Brien says that pieces like these are important part of both our local and national history, and as such, deserve to be preserved and experienced, stating that through his recording, the first of its kind to his knowledge, will be the first time in generations that the song will be heard.

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“It’s a song written over a hundred years ago, and I’m quite sure it’s never been recorded before, and it’s probably never been heard, aside from me singing it to people at singing sessions, I don’t think it’s been heard, for generations until then. To me, it’s very profound and I’m very proud to be part of that process, because, Bridget Cleary, that story resonates with a lot of Irish women, and a lot of women in this country, not just Irish women obviously, and it’s very recent, what happened to her was horrific, was absolutely horrific, and it was all, you know, social pressures on women at the time were not that different to what they are now, and I just kind of felt that it was important that people could hear this song and that it kind of became, again, a part of Irish culture and Irish folklore.”

“It’s a piece of history, it’s a living piece of local history, and I think people can appreciate that.”

O’Brien travels the country performing live shows, in which he performs the songs he discusses, and is currently in talks with a number of venues for live shows in the coming year.

He is also planning a launch event for his upcoming book, ‘The Lost Songs of Tipperary’.

The song can be found on YouTube here, and his podcast, ‘Lost Songs of Ireland’, can be found on Acast here.