Orange Maid of Sligo, The

DESCRIPTION: A tiny boat is driven by wind onto the shore of the Bay of Sligo. "At the bow there sat a girl... the 'Orange Maid of Sligo.'" An Orange youth sees an orange lily on the water and gives it to her. They marry.
AUTHOR: unknown
EARLIEST DATE: 1970 (Morton-FolksongsSungInUlster)
KEYWORDS: marriage sea ship shore flowers Ireland patriotic
FOUND IN: Ireland
REFERENCES (2 citations):
Morton-FolksongsSungInUlster 34, "The Orange Maid of Sligo" (1 text, 1 tune)
DT, ORGSLIG*
Roud #2910
NOTES [67 words]: The "aisling" is common on the Green side of the Irish conflict. Here the Orange Maid stands for Orange Ireland and the Orange Lily is its symbol. See the discussion of "aisling" in the notes to "Eileen McMahon." "The Orange Lily was a symbol of the Royal House of Orange, official or not, but clearly adopted as such in Ireland." (source: John Moulden; for the full note see "The Orange Lily-o"). - BS
File: MorU034

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