By Dai Bando
The Voice Squad “The Parting Glass” (from Waking Ned Devine, d. Kirk Jones, 1999)
The Hothouse Flowers frontman Liam Ó Maonlaí performed this classic in 1999’s Waking Ned Devine but I best love the recording sung a capella by The Voice Squad. Said music critic Rick Anderson, “By taking the traditional Irish repertoire and harmonizing it in a generally British style, the three members of the Voice Squad have created something new and absolutely wonderful. “
Listen on Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/track/2Ob4jL2zsoFSUTzX7XpEcf?si=59d8de8be13a418e
The Corrs “Time Enough for Tears” (from In America, d. Jim Sheridan, 2002)
This song plays over the final credits in Jim Sheridan’s heartbreaking autobiographical film In America (2002). Written by U2’s Bono with occasional collaborator Gavin Friday. I’ve long believed the fashion mag good-looks of Dublin’s Corrs sisters’ worked against them as artists. They’re amazing musicians and vocalists. The Corrs are Andrea (lead vocals, tin whistle, mandolin, ukulele), Sharon (violin, keyboards, vocals), Caroline (drums, percussion, piano, bodhrán, vocals) and Jim … well who gives a feck about Jim.
This song was said to have been recorded in just one take. It’s Andrea who whispers at the song’s conclusion “I know…it’s ok.” ‘Tis indeed.
Listen on Spotify at:
https://open.spotify.com/track/65pFJZpvdwFKwr6MeZg88e?si=7076de4d23d44b5a
Marcus Mumford “Farewell” (“The Leaving of Liverpool”) From Inside Llewyn Davis ( d. Joel & Ethan Coen, 2013)
The Clancy Brothers and Tommy Makem had a top 10 hit with “The Leaving of Liverpool” in Ireland in 1964. Liam Clancy was chumming with then-unknown Bob Dylan is his early days in Greenwich Village. Dylan swiped the song from Liam, renamed it, and recorded it as “Farewell”. The song has also been swiped, renamed, and/or adapted by several other artists, most notably The Dubliners and The Pogues. This track is from the outstanding concert film made with the Llewyn Davis creative team, Another Day, Another Time: Celebrating the Music of Inside Llewyn Davis and features the singing of Marcus Mumford with support from the Punch Brothers.
Listen on Spotify:https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZbNtUygmsSU
The Hothouse Flowers “Sweet Marie I’m Alive” (from Joe Picket, 2021)
I purchased my first Hothouse Flowers LP in a Dublin record shop in the late1980s and I’ve been a fan ever since. Liam Ó Maonlaí is the most soulful Irish singer since Van Morrison. The Flowers have recorded several great songs (“Forgiven”, “Emotional Time”, “Don’t Go”) but my favorite is the beautiful break-up song, “Sweet Marie.” The song played during the season one finale of Paramount’s critically acclaimed series Joe Picket.
Listen on Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/track/6V3JHMgZV2tmcgtaiYlukr?si=550fd1eb1ab04062
Clanned “Theme From Harry’s Game” (1982)
The unusual title for this Gaelic song derives from its use in the 1982 TV series “Harry’s Game,” a Brit TV series about a special agent who infiltrates the IRA to find an assassin. In 1992, the song was again used in the Harrison Ford movie Patriot Games making the title all the more confusing.
Clanned is the name of the band comprised of Donegal’s Brennan family. The song, featuring Moya’s haunting multi-tracked Gaelic vocals, was not only used in TV and films, but famously used in a Volkswagen commercial. Jason Flom, the RCA exec who negotiated the deal with Volkswagen, recalled in a Forbes interview: “It was lucky the lyrics were in Gaelic because it was actually a funeral dirge, and I don’t think if I was Volkswagen, I would be playing a funeral dirge in my ad for cars. But, we never told them.”
The Brennan family have a younger sister not in the band but who sings by the name of Enya who is said to have more money than God or even Volkswagon.
Listen on Spotify at: https://open.spotify.com/track/7CTSDg60OC15XUJusBLPuo?si=d7663f04830a4b50
Petula Clark “How Are Things in Glocca Mora?” (Finian’s Rainbow, d. Francis Ford Coppolla, 1968)
Lyrics by the legendary songsmith Yip Harburg. Pet Clark once revealed in an interview that there was much smoking of weed during the filming of “Finians Rainbow” and that includes Fred Astaire. How are things in Glocca Morra?. Apparently, things are pretty baked at 4:20 pm.
Listen on Spotify at: https://open.spotify.com/track/6WB07tNTA7wBeq3itJlep7?si=0ab2de10a0244e99
Kate Bush “Mná na hÉireann” (Women of Ireland) from Barry Lyndon (d. Stanley Kubrick, 1968)
Lyrics written by Ulster poet Peadar Ó Doirnín (1700–1769), with the musical “air” composed by Seán Ó Riada (1931–1971) ”Women of Ireland” was made famous as arranged and played by Paddy Moloney and The Chieftains in Stanley Kubrick’s film Barry Lyndon. This version sung by Kate Bush (mom was Irish), and was arranged by trad-Irish uberman Donal Lunny. Beautiful.
The Chieftains on Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/track/7ljMc5PRHtSUYWtqBIpUCl?si=16aa11a4026b480c
Glen Hansard & Maketa Irglova “Falling Slowly” (from Once, 2007)
Lovely song from 2007’s the low-budget Indie gem Once. Written by Irish singer/songwriter Glen Hansard (who also co-stars in the film alongside Czech-Icelandic singer-songwriter Maketa Irglova). “Falling Slowly” won the Oscar for Best Song beating out three nominated songs from Disney Studios, no less! The 2012 Broadway stage adaption of Once won eight Tony awards and the Grammy Award for Best Musical Theater Album.
Listen on Spotify at: https://open.spotify.com/track/6EIVLz5xM1xE29r0OmIkWt?si=fc034f7cd27c437a
Dave Berry “The Crying Game” (d. Neil Jordan,1991)
This song isn’t Irish, nor was the singer Dave Berry who had a chart hit in England with the original in 1964. The 1991 film, also titled The Crying Game was written and directed by Irishman Neil Jordan. His film explores themes of race, sex, nationality, and sexuality against the backdrop of the Troubles in Northern Ireland. Jaysus, what’s more Irish than that?
Boy George performs “The Crying Game” in the film. I really love the original by Dave Berry whose real name was not “Crying Boy Berry” but actually “David Holgate Grundy.”
Dave Berry original on Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/track/1jQtC8sF34LjlsH6TP8D5K?si=355f88b59fe64675
Sinead O’Connor “The Butcher Boy”(d. Neil Jordan,1997)
The late Sinead O’Connor (who portrayed an apparition of the Virgin Mary in the film) sings a lovely version of the titular traditional folk song. Neil Jordan’s film is a disturbing retelling of the Patrick McCabe brilliant novel. Lovers of the song must also hear the legendary Tommy Makem perform it. The ballad’s tune was also regrettably used in the 1966 hit “The Ballad of the Green Berets” by Barry Sadler. An even deeper dive is in the film Caddyshack, when Bill Murray mumbles the “Green Berets” song under his breath while he is connecting the wires to the plunger as he prepares for his final battle with his gopher nemesis.
Tommy Makem on Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/track/4A4GkentJ6FWXXM86RwzJI?si=9fa73030e34346ce
Seamus Egan ”Weep Not For the Memories / I Will Remember You” (from The Brothers McMullen, 1995)
This song became a pretty big pop hit for Sarah McLaughlin who added the lyrics. but it was originally written and recorded as an instrumental by Seamus Egan, leader of the Irish-American supergroup “Solas.” Edward Burns wrote the screenplay and starred in the film.
Sarah’s version on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FacDkraAvlI
Seamus on Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/track/4hiO8zs3Ng0CNrAbxCrDDA?si=0c85dbe55d4b4a4c