This song has been described as ‘the gem of the whole Tunney repertoire’; it is certainly one of the finest of all our traditional songs. It comes down directly from Biddy Gallagher (nee Travers) who moved from Townawully, at the foot of the Blue Stacks, to Teamhair, around 1840. She brought the song with her, and it was her daughter Mary who taught it to Paddy’s own mother Brigid Tunney (nee Gallagher). (JT)

Seán O Boyle tells us (in The Irish Song Tradition): ‘The Mountain Streams is sung traditionally in Derry, Tyrone, North Antrim and Fermanagh. The Antrim version, which seems to suggest a Scots origin for the song, is given in four-line stanzas to a different air in Folksongs of Britain and Ireland (p. 313, No. 136). In the Sam Henry Collection (Vol 1. No. 32) it is claimed for County Derry.’

Another version, which retains largely similar words but has a different melody is sung by – amongst others – Rita Gallagher and Cathal McConnell.

The melody the Tunneys sing is a splendid and demanding one with a range of an octave and a half. Paddy was at the height of his singing prowess when he made this recording in 1955.