“The Kilruddery Hunt”
Description
An early December morning the hunters, horses, and dogs "rode from Kilruddery, to try for a fox." The huntsmen and dogs are named. Reynard is "unkennelled" and the route is traced. The fox is killed after a five hour chase. The hunters party until night.
Notes
The song says the hunt began at 5 in the morning, December 5, 1744. Among the places named, Kilruddery, County Wicklow, is near Bray, ten or fifteen miles down the coast from Dublin.
Croker-PopularSongs: "Called, by Ritson, 'The Irish Hunt,' and printed by him in the second volume of his collection of English Songs (ed. Park. 1813, p.184).... Mr. Walker ... informed Ritson that ''The Irish Hunt' was written by T Mozeen. It appeared in a collection of 'Miscellaneous Essays,' which he published by subscription in 1762.... Mozeen entitles the song ... 'A Description of a Fox Chase that happened in the County of Dublin with the Earl of Meath's Hounds.'"
"'The Kilruddery Hunt,' was written to this air ["Celia O'Gara (Sighile ni Ghadharadh)"] in 1744 by Thomas Mozeen and Owen Bray of Loughlinstown, Co. Dublin. It soon became enormously popular, according to Grattan Flood (1906), and was called by Ritson 'The Irish Hunt' (who incorrectly ascribed it to St. Leger)[until he corrected that error]." (source: Andrew Kuntz, _The Fiddler's Companion_ Copyright 1996-2006) - BS
Cross references
- cf. "Shelah na Guiragh" (tune, according to Croker-PopularSongs)
References
- Croker-PopularSongs, pp. 204-215, "The Kilruddery Hunt" (1 text)
- BI, CrPS204