h2g2 The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy: Earth Edition

Thank you for sharing the story of Rory Dall O'Cahan. How !

The song really does bring you close to tears, doesn't it?

A fascinating account.

Danny Boy is full of ambiguities which made it a sensitive song in the more troubled times of the recent past. The Londonderry Air is how it it was referred to, certainly in the South in the 1970's. I remember being there on a rugby tour and it was a song we used to sing regularly. As a visiting English team, eyebrows were raised when we sang it, we of course should have been a lot more sensitive to feelings at that time. I also recall that there was a line in it which goes something like, 'You will find the place where I am lying, and say an Ave there for me'. I presume that this is an obvious reference to Catholic ceremony, I wonder if this was uncomfortable for the other side of the divide at that time, or perhaps there were different versions. Anyway, it remains a wonderfully mysterious song which will bear continuing reevaluation through the years.