Geaftai Bhaile Atha Bui (The Gates of Ballaghbuoy)

DESCRIPTION: Gaelic. Singer leads Mary astray but falls asleep, leaving her a virgin. His heart "is coal-black ... And for nine days I've wrestled with very death itself." Advice: "women are all guile; ... sleep the more soundly without them"
AUTHOR: unknown
EARLIEST DATE: 1991 (Tunney-WhereSongsDoThunder)
KEYWORDS: foreignlanguage seduction sex virginity rejection
FOUND IN: Ireland
REFERENCES (2 citations):
Tunney-WhereSongsDoThunder, pp. 35-37, "Geaftai Bhaile Atha Bui" (1 text)
ADDITIONAL: Bell/O Conchubhair, Traditional Songs of the North of Ireland, pp. 73-74, "Geaftai Bhaile Ath Bui" ("The Gates of Athboy") [Gaelic and English]
CROSS-REFERENCES:
cf. "The Broomfield Hill" [Child 43] (plot) and references there
NOTES [21 words]: The translations in Tunney-WhereSongsDoThunder and Bell/O Conchubhair are very close and are the basis for the description. - BS
File: TST035

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