Lyr Req: McElwee's Farewell / Farewell to Bellaghy

Subject: farewell to bellaghy
From: GUEST,Gwen
Date: 22 Sep 03 - 02:18 PM

I'm looking for the words to an old Northern Ireland song called 'Farewell to Bellaghy'

Has anyone ever heard of this and if so can you send me the lyrics?

Thank you

Gwen

Subject: ADD: McElwee's Farewell
From: Joe Offer
Date: 22 Sep 03 - 02:38 PM

Well, I found a recent song with that phrase here (click). The songwriter is not identified.
A recording is available here (click).
-Joe Offer-


McElwee's Farewell

[chorus]
Farewell to Bellaghy, likewise Tamlaghtduff,
And the green hills of Derry that I dearly love,
My thoughts return to you from a dark H-Block cell,
So friends and brave comrades I bid you farewell.


For hundreds of years now we've kept on the fight,
And the history books told me of Ireland's plight,
So with gallant Francis I followed the cause,
To conquer the tyrant and defy England's laws.

Through the hills of south Derry we marched and we drilled,
To our exploits in action all Irish youth thrilled,
Most feared men in Ulster, volunteers on the run,
We give England our answer from the barrels of our guns.

Oh gallant south Derry you are forever blessed,
In the struggle for freedom you have given your best,
There's Hughes and there's Bateson, Sheridan and Leigh,
And enscribed with their names now brave Tom McElwee.

---

Thomas McElwee
Died August 8th, 1981
Sincere, easy-going and full of fun
THE TENTH republican to join the hunger strike was twenty-three-year-old IRA Volunteer Thomas McElwee, from Bellaghy in South Derry. He had been imprisoned since December 1976, following a premature explosion in which he lost an eye.
He was a first cousin of Francis Hughes, who died after fifty-nine days on hunger strike, on May 12th.
One of the most tragic and saddening aspects of the hunger strike was the close relationships between some of the hunger strikers.
Joe McDonnell following his friend and comrade Bobby Sands on hunger strike and then into death, both having been captured on the same IRA operation in 1976.
Elsewhere, similar close ties, parallels, between one hunger striker and another: the same schools; the same streets; the same experiences of repression and discrimination.
And for those families, relatives and friends most acutely conscious of the parallels there is of course an even more intense personal sadness than for most, in the bitter tragedy of the hunger strike.
But of all those close relationships, none was surely as poignant as that between Thomas McElwee and his cousin, Francis Hughes: two dedicated republicans from the small South Derry village of Bellaghy, their family homes less than half-a-mile apart in the townland of Tamlaghtduff, who were close friends in their boyhood years and who later fought side by side in the towns and fields of South Derry for the freedom of their country.
It came then as no surprise to those who knew them when Thomas and Francis stood side by side again in the H-Blocks (along with Thomas' younger brother, Benedict) in taking part in the thirty-strong four-day fast at the end of the original seven-man hunger strike last December.
And when the deaths of Bobby Sands and Francis Hughes, on the subsequent hunger strike, only months later, failed to break the Brits intransigence, the McElwee family were already certain that either Thomas or Benedict, both of whom had volunteered, would soon be joining the hunger strike as well.

Subject: RE: farewell to bellaghy
From: Gwen
Date: 23 Sep 03 - 05:38 PM

Joe - You're a star!
I think this is it.
Now all I need is to learn the tune.
My cousin sang this song at my grandfather's funeral, nearly 10 years and this song has haunted me ever since.

Thank you very much,

Gwen

Subject: RE: farewell to bellaghy
From: Big Tim
Date: 26 Sep 03 - 03:20 AM

A related song is "The Magherafelt Martyrs", which commemorates "Bateson, Sheridan and Leigh" (should be "Lee"), accidently killed in 1971.

Subject: RE: farewell to bellaghy
From: triskelle
Date: 31 Dec 06 - 03:48 PM

"Farewell to Bellaghy", better known as "McElwee's Farewell", is written by Gerry O'Glacain. It's recorded by several groups.

Subject: RE: farewell to bellaghy
From: Cruiser
Date: 31 Dec 06 - 04:48 PM

Does anyone have a sound file clip link for this song?

Subject: RE: farewell to bellaghy
From: GUEST,Fionn MacCool
Date: 10 Jan 07 - 11:30 AM

A great version of the song, by Gary Og (formerly Eire Og), is available for stream & download at his official site.

www.garyog.com/audios/

Lyrics are also available on the site.

Subject: RE: farewell to bellaghy
From: Shaneo
Date: 10 Jan 07 - 12:22 PM

And the chords can be found here click here

Subject: RE: Lyr Req: McElwee's Farewell / Farewell to Bellaghy
From: GUEST,johnny the tinker
Date: 03 Mar 08 - 06:36 PM

also the irish brigade sing it very well on limewire or ares

Subject: RE: Lyr Req: McElwee's Farewell / Farewell to Bellaghy
From: GUEST
Date: 15 Nov 09 - 04:34 PM

Does anybody have the chord's to this song???

Subject: RE: Lyr Req: McElwee's Farewell / Farewell to Bell
From: GUEST
Date: 13 Oct 10 - 03:02 PM

Could any one submit the chords to this song

Subject: RE: Lyr Req: McElwee's Farewell / Farewell to Bellaghy
From: GUEST
Date: 21 Sep 11 - 09:22 AM

Gary Lawlor of the druids does a nice version here....

Gary Lawlor - Farewell to Ballaghy

this will take you to the youtube of him playing the song... http://youtu.be/_GjkadnRKC8

you can see the chords he is playing very clearly. Very easy song.

Check out my Irish bands page www.thelocals.info we're out of Boston.

Cheers,
Brian

Subject: RE: Lyr Req: McElwee's Farewell / Farewell to Bellaghy
From: GUEST,Chris
Date: 26 Mar 12 - 12:25 PM

People, don't click the link above this post, this link: http://youtu.be/_GjkadnRKC8. If you look carefully, it's not really youtube's URL. It could be a virus or something malicious. Beware. RIP to Francis, Tom, and the rest of the volunteers who gave their lives for Ireland.

Subject: RE: Lyr Req: McElwee's Farewell / Farewell to Bellaghy
From: GUEST,leeneia
Date: 26 Mar 12 - 01:51 PM

Good spotting, Chris. I believe a site called youtu.be would be something from Belgium.