Maid of Ballyhaunis, The

DESCRIPTION: The singer courts Mary, saying that her beauty has ensnared him. He begs her to love him, but notes that his father has told him they may not marry. He asks her to come away with him "to the land of ships," where they will be happy
AUTHOR: unknown
EARLIEST DATE: 1831 (Hardiman _Irish Minstrelsy,_ according to OLochlainn-MoreIrishStreetBallads)
KEYWORDS: love courting father
FOUND IN: Ireland
REFERENCES (3 citations):
Henry/Huntingdon/Herrmann-SamHenrysSongsOfThePeople H483, p. 427, "The Maid of Ballyhaunis" (1 text, 1 tune)
OLochlainn-MoreIrishStreetBallads 45, "Mary of Ballyhaunis" (1 text, 1 tune)
O'Conor-OldTimeSongsAndBalladOfIreland, p. 157, "Maid of Ballyhaunis" (1 text)
Roud #7960
NOTES [23 words]: This strikes me as far too intricate to be a genuine traditional song; the evidence strongly implies that it originated in a broadside. - RBW
File: HHH483

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