The band has recorded many albums of instrumental Irish folk music, as well as multiple collaborations with popular musicians of many genres, including Country music, Galician traditional music, Cape Breton and Newfoundland music, and rock and roll. They have performed with Van Morrison, The Rolling Stones, Sting, Roger Daltrey, Elvis Costello, Tom Jones, Sinéad O'Connor, James Galway, Jackson Browne, Nancy Griffith and numerous Country-western artists. In 1975, the group won praise for their playing of "Women of Ireland" for Stanley Kubrick's movie Barry Lyndon.
They have won six Grammy Awards and have been nominated eighteen times. In 2002 they were given a Lifetime Achievement Award by the UK's BBC Radio 2. The front covers of the first four albums were designed by Edward Delaney.
Paddy Moloney is the band's leader, and composes or arranges most of the band's music. While the band's members changed numerous times in the band's early history, the membership solidified in 1979 when Matt Molloy replaced Michael Tubridy.
From then until 2002, members included:
Paddy Moloney (uilleann pipes, tin whistle, button accordion, bodhrán)
Matt Molloy (flute, tin whistle)
Kevin Conneff (bodhrán, vocals)
Seán Keane (fiddle, tin whistle)
Martin Fay (fiddle, bones) (born 1938; died 14 November 2012)
Derek Bell (Irish harp, keyboard instruments, oboe) (born 21 October 1935; died 17 October 2002)
In 2002, Fay retired from active membership. In the same year, Bell died due to complications following a minor operation. Fay died on 14 November 2012.
The Rocky Road to Dublin
The Chieftains Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
From me home I started
Left the girls of Tuam
Sad and brokenhearted
Salute me father dear
And kissed me darling mother
Then drank a pint of beer
Off to reap the corn
Leave where I was born
I cut a stoat black thorn
To banish ghosts and goblins
In a pair of brand new brogues
Rattled over the bogs
I frightened all the dogs
On the rocky road to Dublin
One two three four five
Hunt the hare and turn her down the rocky road
And all the way to Dublin, whacks fer al de da
In Dublin next arrived
And thought it such a pity
To be so soon deprived
A view of that fair city
Then I took a stroll
All amongst the quality
Me bundle it was stole
In that neat locality
Something crossed me mind
When I looked behind
No bundle I could find
Upon me stick a wobbling
Inquiring after the rogue
Said me Connaught Brogue
Was not much in vogue
On the rocky road to Dublin
One two three four five
Hunt the hare and turn her down the rocky road
And all the way to Dublin, whacks fer al de da
The boys of Liverpool
When we safely landed
Called myself a fool
I could no longer stand it
Me blood began to boil
Me temper I was losing
For old Erin's isle
They began abusing
Horah say I
Me shelelagh I let fly
Galway boys were by
They saw I was a hobbling
With a loud hurray
They joined in the affray
We quickly cleared the way
For the rocky road to Dublin
One two three four five
Hunt the hare and turn her down the rocky road
Nd all the way to Dublin, whacks fer al de da
The Rocky Road to Dublin by The Chieftains is a traditional Irish song that tells the story of a man leaving his home in Tuam, County Galway and travelling to Dublin. The song starts in the merry month of May when the singer leaves his home town, leaving behind the girls of Tuam sad and broken-hearted. He salutes his father and kisses his mother before drinking a pint of beer to mask his tears and grief.
As he continues on his journey, he cuts a stoat black thorn to banish ghosts and goblins and walks in a pair of brand new brogues that rattle over the bogs, frightening all the dogs. When he arrives in Dublin, he is devastated that he has been robbed of his bundle. When he looked behind him, he couldn't find his bundle and upon checking his stick, it was wobbling. He soon discovers that his Connaught brogue is not in vogue on the rocky road to Dublin.
The song concludes with the singer getting into a fight with the boys of Liverpool when he lands in Dublin, and the Galway boys come to his aid. Together, they quickly clear the way for the rocky road to Dublin. This song is an ode to the tough life of Irish immigrants, who had to overcome numerous challenges on their journey from their home town to the capital of Ireland, Dublin.
Line by Line Meaning
In the merry month of May
The events of the song are set in May
From me home I started
The singer left his home
Left the girls of Tuam
The singer left behind the girls of Tuam
Sad and brokenhearted
The girls of Tuam were sad and brokenhearted to see him go
Salute me father dear
The singer bade farewell to his father
And kissed me darling mother
The singer bade farewell to his mother
Then drank a pint of beer
The singer drank a pint of beer to drown his sorrows
Me tears and grief to smother
The singer wanted to suppress his tears and grief
Off to reap the corn
The singer left to harvest the corn
Leave where I was born
The singer left the place of his birth
I cut a stoat black thorn
The singer cut a blackthorn to ward off evil spirits
To banish ghosts and goblins
The singer wanted to get rid of ghosts and goblins
In a pair of brand new brogues
The singer wore new shoes
Rattled over the bogs
The singer travelled over the marshy ground
I frightened all the dogs
The singer scared all the dogs on his way
On the rocky road to Dublin
The singer was travelling on the difficult road to Dublin
One two three four five
The singer is counting and getting ready for a game
Hunt the hare and turn her down the rocky road
The singer and his companions are playing a game with a hare
And all the way to Dublin, whacks fer al de da
The singer and his companions are having fun as they travel to Dublin
In Dublin next arrived
The singer arrived in Dublin
And thought it such a pity
The singer was disappointed that he couldn't spend more time in the city
To be so soon deprived
The singer was unhappy about leaving so soon
A view of that fair city
The singer wanted to see the sights of Dublin
Then I took a stroll
The singer went for a walk
All amongst the quality
The singer walked among the wealthy and fashionable people
Me bundle it was stole
The singer's belongings were stolen
In that neat locality
The theft happened in a seemingly safe and tidy area
Something crossed me mind
The singer had a sudden thought
When I looked behind
The singer turned around to see what had happened
No bundle I could find
The singer's belongings were nowhere to be seen
Upon me stick a wobbling
The singer was using a stick which wasn't very stable
Inquiring after the rogue
The singer asked around to find out who had stolen his belongings
Said me Connaught Brogue
The thief was wearing Connaught brogues
Was not much in vogue
Connaught brogues weren't very popular
The boys of Liverpool
The singer's companions were from Liverpool
When we safely landed
The group arrived safely in Liverpool
Called myself a fool
The singer felt foolish
I could no longer stand it
The singer couldn't take it anymore
Me blood began to boil
The singer became angry
Me temper I was losing
The singer was losing his temper
For old Erin's isle
The singer was defending Ireland
They began abusing
The locals began insulting the singer and his companions
Horah say I
The singer shouted 'hoorah!'
Me shelelagh I let fly
The singer swung his shelelagh
Galway boys were by
The singer's friends from Galway were there to support him
They saw I was a hobbling
The singer's friends saw that he was struggling
With a loud hurray
The singer's companions joined in with a loud cheer
They joined in the affray
The singer's companions joined in the fight
We quickly cleared the way
The group quickly made a path for themselves
For the rocky road to Dublin
The group continued their journey down the rocky road to Dublin
Nd all the way to Dublin, whacks fer al de da
The group continued to enjoy themselves on their journey to Dublin
Lyrics © BMG Rights Management
Written by: Paddy Moloney, Traditional
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
tom canterbury
on North Amerikay
the great accapella version by kevin on tribute to their harpist