Women Of Ireland (Merlin)

Originally an 18th century poem by  Peadar Ó Doirnín  which was set to music by Seán Ó Riada two centuries later. It is considered Irish rebel music for its references to Ireland as a beautiful woman suffering the depredations of an English master. This is as close as I can get to the beautiful haunting melody recorded by The Chieftains. There are a number of other great recordings of this song notably one by Sinead O’Conner who sings the lyrics in Irish. It is called “Mna Na H-Eireann” in Irish. There are two tabs of the song. The first, I think, is easier to play and has the advantage of a number of notes on the base string giving it a nice sound.