Loughrey's Bull

DESCRIPTION: Cruel John Loughrey's bull attacks him for evicting tenants. He promises he will never evict anyone again. The bull kills him anyway, saying "if I was a landlord I'd treat the tenants fair." Nobody mourns the loss. Tenants should feed that bull well.
AUTHOR: unknown
EARLIEST DATE: 1988 (McBride-FlowerOfDunaffHillAndMoreTradSongsInnishowen)
KEYWORDS: homicide funeral farming humorous talltale animal landlord
FOUND IN: Ireland
REFERENCES (1 citation):
McBride-FlowerOfDunaffHillAndMoreTradSongsInnishowen 50, "Loughrey's Bull" (1 text, 1 tune)
NOTES [93 words]: McBride-FlowerOfDunaffHillAndMoreTradSongsInnishowen: "This song recalls the death of a local landlord." - BS
There is an interesting symbolism, however -- though in reverse: Usually it is the bull (John Bull) which is harming Ireland. But there is a certain sense to this if one takes it in the context of the Land League and the Tenant Rights Movement -- an attempt to get the English law (often represented by a bull) to give tenants fair treatment. Could this have been a tale of John Bull's government actually enforcing its laws against a landlord? - RBW
File: McB1050

Go to the Ballad Search form
Go to the Ballad Index Song List

Go to the Ballad Index Instructions
Go to the Ballad Index Bibliography or Discography

The Ballad Index Copyright 2024 by Robert B. Waltz and David G. Engle.