Old Carathee

DESCRIPTION: Sean McNamara from County Down looks for a wife in Carathee. First, Red Danny shows him his selection. He picks Julia, a hawker. The first month they are happy. The second they argue. The third she beats him. You can find such a wife in Carathee.
AUTHOR: unknown
EARLIEST DATE: 1967 (recording, John Reilly)
KEYWORDS: marriage violence humorous wife
FOUND IN: Ireland
Roud #3377
RECORDINGS:
John Reilly, "Old Carathee" (on Voice15)
CROSS-REFERENCES:
cf. "Devilish Mary" [Laws Q4] (theme)
NOTES [91 words]: Hall, notes to Voice15: "'Old Carathee' tells of an Irish traveller, who chooses for a wife at a fair, thinking she would make him a good hawker."
Musical Traditions site Voice of the People suite "Reviews - Volume 15" by Fred McCormick - 27.2.99: "John Reilly's 'Old Carathee,' is about a bachelor who obtains a wife at a horse fair and ends up with a less than blissful match. Matrimonial bargains of this kind were common in Ireland at one time and survive into the present with the famous matchmaking fair at Lisdoonvarna in County Clare." - BS
File: RcOlCara

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