Скачать или смотреть Mailligh Mo Stoir – The Banks of Banna (The banks of the Bann) Traditional Irish Love Ballad

Mailligh Mo Stoir (Molly, My Treasure)
Performed by Callum Boucicault
Arranged to the traditional Irish air The Banks of Banna

This timeless Irish love ballad is adapted from a lyric by Right Hon George Ogle (1742–1814), unfolding along the banks of the River Bann in County Down. Surrounded by birdsong, meadow flowers, and the quiet beauty of a May evening, the singer mourns a lost love — yet in true Irish fashion, ends not with bitterness, but with blessing.

The song is arranged to the traditional Irish air The Banks of Banna, a melody long associated with the River Bann (historically styled “Banna” in poetic tradition). The recurring Gaelic refrain forms the emotional core of the piece:

“Grádh mo chroidhe, mo cailín óg,
’Sí Mailligh mo stoir.”

(“Love of my heart, my young girl, Molly is my treasure.”)

This performance blends traditional Irish folk atmosphere with cinematic depth — acoustic textures, restrained orchestration, and a baritone vocal that honours the heritage of the original lyric while presenting a contemporary adaptation.

🎵 LYRICS, adapted

As down by Banna’s banks I strayed,
One evening in sweet May,
The little birds in blithest notes
Made vocal every spray;
They sang their little songs of love,
They sang them o’er and o’er —

Ah, Grádh mo chroidhe, mo cailín óg,
’Sí Mailligh mo stoir.

The daisy pied, the primrose pale,
The violet’s tender blue,
Lay scattered o’er the waking fields
Still wet with morning dew;
Such fragrance in the bosom lies
Of her whom I adore —

Ah, Grádh mo chroidhe, mo cailín óg,
’Sí Mailligh mo stoir.

I laid me down upon the bank,
Bewailing my sad fate,
That doomed me thus the slave of love
And cruel Molly’s hate;
How can she break the honest heart
That wears her at its core? —

Ah, Grádh mo chroidhe, mo cailín óg,
’Sí Mailligh mo stoir.

You said you loved me, Molly dear —
Ah, why did I believe?
Who could hear such tender words
And think them meant to deceive?
That love was all I asked on earth —
Heaven could give no more —

Ah, Grádh mo chroidhe, mo cailín óg,
’Sí Mailligh mo stoir.

O had I all the flocks that graze
On yonder yellow hill,
Or all the herds that low for me
Where green pastures lie still —
With her I love I’d gladly share
My kine and fleecy store —

Ah, Grádh mo chroidhe, mo cailín óg,
’Sí Mailligh mo stoir.

Two turtle doves above my head
Sat courting on a bough;
I envied them their happiness —
Where is that fondness now?
Such love was once for me was shown,
But now, alas, ’tis o’er —

Ah, Grádh mo chroidhe, mo cailín óg,
’Sí Mailligh mo stoir.

Then fare thee well, my Molly dear!
Thy loss I e’er shall mourn;
Whilst life remains within this heart
For thee alone ’twill burn.
Though thou art false — may Heaven on thee
Its choicest blessings pour —

Ah, Grádh mo chroidhe, mo cailín óg,
’Sí Mailligh mo stoir.

📖 ABOUT THE AUTHOR

The Right Honourable George Ogle (1742–1814) was an Irish politician, landowner, and poet associated with County Down. He represented Belfast in the Irish House of Commons from 1790 until the Act of Union in 1801.

Though part of the Anglo-Irish Protestant Ascendancy, Ogle’s poetry reflects a deep affection for the Irish pastoral landscape. In Mailligh Mo Stoir, nature mirrors emotion: birds in “blithest notes,” wildflowers in bloom, and the River Bann flowing quietly beside a heart in sorrow. His verses survived through song tradition rather than political legacy — carried forward by melody and memory.

🎼 CREDITS

Traditional Irish air: The Banks of Banna
Lyrics adapted from the text of George Ogle (Public Domain)
Arrangement, adaptation, performance & production: © 2026 Irish Longing
Vocal interpretation: Callum Boucicault

All rights reserved on this arrangement and recording.

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