TIOCFAIDH AN SAMHRADH
Track 18
Notes on the Track (18)
Recorded: 1991Notes on the Song
This is a fine example of the kind of lovesong to be found in the Gaeltacht areas of Donegal and Maura, in her singing here, is very true to the sean-nós tradition. The theme of the song is unrequited love: the young man's loved one has run off with another. In a Conamara version of this song – known as Tá an oíche seo dorcha – we are given to understand that disapproving parents have sent the young lady to America.
Tiocfaidh an Samhradh is to be found in Peter Kennedy's Folksongs of Britain and Ireland and in Muireadhach Méith’s Amhráin Chúige Uladh (1924).
A ten-verse version also appears in Ó Conghaile, Ó Tuairisg and Ó Ceannabháin’s Leabhar Mór na nAmhrán (2012). (JT)
The Singers
Maura Hickey (nee Tunney)
Rec. 1991
The Song Texts
The Tunney Song Tradition Trust’s Archive of Song Texts preserves the words of traditional songs, offering a valuable resource for singers and anyone interested in the living song tradition.
Where the Linnets Sing 2026, developed by the Tunney Song Tradition Trust with Comhaltas Ceoltóirí Éireann, celebrates 75 Bliain ag Fás by bringing the original collection to a new online audience, enriched with fifteen additional tracks, eleven more voices and two further generations of the tradition.
