Follow Me up to Carlow facts for kids

Follow Me Up to Carlow is a famous Irish folk song. It celebrates a big victory for the Irish. In 1580, an Irish leader named Fiach Mac Aodh Ó Broin defeated 3,000 English soldiers. This happened at the Battle of Glenmalure during the Second Desmond Rebellion. The song tells the story of this important event.

How the Song Was Made

The music for "Follow Me Up to Carlow" is very old. People say it was played by pipers in 1580. These pipers marched with Fiach MacHugh O'Byrne's army. The words we sing today were written much later. A poet named Patrick Joseph McCall wrote them. He published them in 1899 in his book Songs of Erinn. He called it "Marching Song of Feagh MacHugh".

Who Has Performed This Song?

Many Irish folk bands have performed this song. It is a very popular tune.

• The famous band Planxty recorded it on their very first album.
• The Wolfe Tones also included it on their first album, Foggy Dew, in 1965.
• Jim McCann performed it on his album, Jim McCann, in 1980.
• The Young Dubliners, a Celtic rock band, made their own version. You can find it on their albums Breathe and Alive Alive O.
• A Polish band called Mordewind recorded a version in Polish. It is called "Do Carlow".
• Declan Hunt, an Irish Balladeer, covered the song. It is on his album "26 Irish Rebel Songs — (Volume Two)".
• The Spanish band Los Stompers included it on their live album "Mezzy on Stage".
• Blood or Whiskey, an Irish punk/folk band, recorded it for their album "No Time To Explain".
• James Keelaghan performs versions on his album "Timelines". He also recorded it with Oscar Lopez on "Compadres".
• Cruachan, an Irish folk metal group, plays their version. It is on their album "Blood for the Blood God". They call it "The Marching Song of Fiach Mac Hugh".
• Fiddler's Green, a German folk rock band, changed the lyrics. Their song is called "I Won't Follow You Up To Carlow".
• The High Kings, an Irish Folk Group, recorded their version in 2016. It is on their album "Grace & Glory".
• Distant Oaks recorded this song in 1996. It is on their album "Empty Your Heart of its Mortal Dream".
• Quilty, a Swedish band, also performs Irish folk songs. They have recorded this one too.
• The Jacobites by Name recorded the song in 2016. It is on their first album.
• The Tan and Sober Gentlemen, a Scotch-Irish hillbilly band, included it on their debut record, "Veracity."

See also

• O'Donnell Abu