Margaret Barry (1917–1989) was an Irish Traveller, traditional singer and banjo player.
Margaret Barry | |
|---|---|
| Birth name | Margaret Cleary |
| Born | 1 January 1917 Cork, Ireland |
| Origin | County Cork, Ireland |
| Died | 1989 (aged 71–72) Lawrencetown, County Down, Northern Ireland |
| Genres | Irish traditional music, Sean-nós |
| Occupation | Musician |
| Instrument | Banjo |
Biography
editBorn Margaret Cleary in Cork into a family of Travellers and street singers,[1] she taught herself how to play the zither banjo and the fiddle at a young age. At the age of sixteen, after a family disagreement, Margaret left home and started performing as a street musician.
In the early 1950s, she moved to London, originally to appear on a TV series called The Songhunter, produced by a young David Attenborough. Attenborough described in recent years how Barry’s striking wild, toothless appearance and her out-of-tune banjo playing prompted a volley of angry complaints about Irish tinkers being allowed on the TV.[2] Barry became a well-known name on the London folk scene in the 1950s where, with her distinctive singing style and idiosyncratic banjo accompaniment,[3] she was frequently accompanied by the fiddler Michael Gorman. Her singing and banjo playing became a major influence on the younger generation of ballad singers in Ireland and the UK, including Luke Kelly.[citation needed] She performed in the Carnegie Hall and the Rockefeller Centre in New York.[1]
One song for which Barry is particularly noted is "She Moved Through the Fair".[4] Asked by an interviewer, Karl Dallas, whether she had learned it from her family or from other Travellers, she replied cheerfully, "Oh, no. I got it off a gramophone record by Count John McCormack".[citation needed] The accompanying book to the Topic Records 70 year anniversary boxed set, Three Score and Ten, lists Her Mantle So Green as one of the classic albums[5]: 16 and "The Factory Girl" from Street Songs and Fiddle Tunes of Ireland with Michael Gorman is track 9 on the third CD in the set.
A play, She Moved Through the Fair: The legend of Margaret Barry, co-written by Mary McPartlan and Colin Irwin had its debut in 2017 at the Tron Theatre in Glasgow, as part of the Celtic Connections Festival.[6] Poet/songwriter, Frank Callery wrote a song for the centenary of Barry's birth.[7] Singer/songwriter, Tim O'Riordan, wrote a song in celebration of Barry, "The Heart of the Song (for Margaret Barry)" and recorded it on the album Taibhse in 2018.[8]
At the RTÉ Radio 1 Folk Awards in 2019, Barry was inducted into the Hall of Fame by American singer Peggy Seeger.[9]
Discography
edit- Songs of an Irish Tinker Lady (Riverside RLP 12–602, 1956)
- Street Songs and Fiddle Tunes (Topic 10T6, 1957) – with Michael Gorman
- Ireland’s Queen Of The Tinkers Sings (Top Rank 25/020, 1960)
- The Blarney Stone (Prestige Irish, 1961) – with Michael Gorman
- Songs From the Hills of Donegal (Washington WV 731, 1962)
- Irish Music In London Pubs (Folkways FG 3575, 1965) – with Michael Gorman
- Her Mantle So Green (Topic 12T123, 1965) – with Michael Gorman
- Come Back Paddy Reilly (Emerald GEM 1003, 1968)
- Sing and Play (Folkways FW8729, 1975)
- Ireland's Own (Outlet SOLP 1029, 1976)
- I Sang Through The Fairs (Rounder 11661-1774-2, 1998)
- Travellin' People from Ireland (Emerald EMCD8004, 2001) – with Pecker Dunne
- Queen of the Gypsies (Emerald EMCD8004, 2007)
- The Definitive Collection (Songs of The Travelling People) (PMI, 2013)
See also
editNotes
edit- ^ a b Crowley, Jimmy (2014). Songs from the Beautiful City- The Cork Urban Ballads. The Freestate Press. p. 269.
- ^ "Margaret Barry: wild Irish woman of the British folk scene". the Guardian. 18 January 2017. Retrieved 1 October 2021.
- ^ Byrne, Angela. "The 'Irish Tinker Lady' whose songs captivated London". The Irish Times. Retrieved 11 November 2020.
- ^ Molleson, Kate (24 January 2017). "She Moved Through the Fair / Leveret reviews – a touching tribute and classy and convivial folk". The Guardian. ISSN 0261-3077. Retrieved 11 November 2020.
- ^ Three Score and Ten Accompanying Book
- ^ "Folksinger and broadcaster Mary McPartlan dies at 65". www.rte.ie. Retrieved 1 May 2020.
- ^ "Margaret Barry". www.audioboom.com. Retrieved 3 October 2020.
- ^ "Taibhse Tim O'Riordan". www.timoriordan.hearnow.com. Retrieved 15 March 2021.
- ^ Ye Vagabonds make it a treble at RTE Radio 1 Folk Awards.
References
edit- Pohle, Horst (1987) The Folk Record Source Book; 2nd ed. p. 22 (for discography)