After Makem amicably left The Clancy Brothers And Tommy Makem in 1969, Bobby Clancy joined as the fourth lead vocalist. Two of the Furey Brothers, Finbar Furey and Eddie Furey, also joined at this time as instrumentalists and back-up singers. Paddy asked Finbar Furey if he would play the whistle and five-string banjo with the group. Finbar also added Uillean pipes to his performances, creating a new sound for the group on stage, recordings, and TV. The six-piece band recorded two new albums in the summer of 1969: "Clancy Brothers Christmas", released later that year, and "Flowers in the Valley", released in 1970. The latter was their final album for Columbia Records.
Finbar and Eddie Furey left in 1970, and, for a short time, just the four brothers, Paddy, Tom, Bobby and Liam, performed together. This line-up recorded only one album together, Welcome to Our House, in 1970 for their new label, Audio Fidelity Records. Later that same year, Liam and Bobby got into an argument that resulted in Bobby quitting the group. Bobby later said about his younger brother: "With Liam it was very hard to be equal. I try to make it as equal as possible and everybody's happy that way. It makes it a better sound."
In 1971, the remaining Clancys recruited English folk singer, Louis Killen, to play the banjo, concertina, and spoons with the group. Together they made two studio albums for Audio Fidelity, Save the Land and Show Me the Way, on which they experimented with modernising their sound, musical style, and material, even including pop songs like Elton John's "Country Comfort". They recorded their final album for Audio Fidelity, the more traditional Live on St. Patrick's Day, at the Bushnell Auditorium in Hartford, Connecticut in 1972. It was released the following year.
By the early 1970s, the Clancys reduced their touring schedule to five months a year. The brothers were moving in different directions In spite of the brothers' growing distance, but, in spite of this, the group made one more album with Killen for Vanguard Records, The Clancy Brothers' Greatest Hits, as well as several television appearances on the Irish Rovers Show in Canada and a TV special for Brockton television in 1974 (in which Bobby Clancy made a surprise guest appearance).
In early 1976, a scheduling conflict between a tour of Australia and a television role for Tom Clancy provoked Liam to leave the group. Beginning in 1977, the Clancy Brothers and Robbie O'Connell (who took on the role Liam had vacated) toured three months a year in March, August, and November.
In the summer of 1983, the group travelled to their hometown in Ireland to film a 20-minute special on sea songs, sung on location on the fishing ships in the area. It was called Songs of the Sea. Directed by Irish filmmaker David Donaghy, it was broadcast on the BBC Northern Ireland.
In 1984, Makem and Clancy's manager Maurice Cassidy brought the original foursome The Clancy Brothers And Tommy Makem together again for a documentary, followed by a concert and the album The Clancy Brothers and Tommy Makem Reunion.
In 1988, the Clancy Brothers (Paddy, Tom, and Bobby) with Robbie O'Connell recorded a poorly mixed live album at St. Anselm College in Goffstown, New Hampshire, titled "Tunes 'n' Tales of Ireland".
With the death of Tom Clancy in 1990, Liam again stepped in full-time with his brothers. This line-up experienced a more active schedule than the group had during the previous decade, with appearances on Regis and Kathie Lee in 1991, 1993 and 1995, a performance at the 30th Anniversary Bob Dylan concert at Madison Square Garden in 1992, seen by 20,000 live and 200 million people worldwide on television, and the formation of Irish Festival Cruises in 1991, an annual cruise of the Caribbean with live folk music. They also brought their own tour groups to Ireland, which Robbie O'Connell continues.
The Bob Dylan concert in 1992 inspired the recording of the first studio album by The Clancy Brothers in over twenty years (since 1973's Greatest Hits). Released in late 1995, "Older But No Wiser" introduced all newly recorded songs with the exception of "When the Ship Comes In", which the group performed at the Dylan concert. It was the only recording to feature the line-up of Paddy, Bobby, Liam Clancy, and Robbie O'Connell. Older But No Wiser was The Clancy Brothers' final album.
Before splitting up, The Clancy brothers and Robbie O'Connell gave a Farewell Tour of Ireland and America in February and March 1996. One performance in Clonmel, as part of their Irish tour, was televised and later released on video and DVD as The Clancy Brothers and Robbie O'Connell: Farewell to Ireland.
After the break-up, Paddy and Bobby continued touring as The Clancy Brothers, with Bobby's son Finbarr Clancy becoming an official member of the group. The trio added longtime friend of Bobby's daughter Aoife, Eddie Dillon, to the group for a thirteen city engagement in early 1997. The quartet was known as the Clancy Brothers and Eddie Dillon. Eddie Dillon, a Boston-based musician, is the only American ever to perform with the Clancy Brothers.
Liam Clancy and Robbie O'Connell toured for a while as a duo, but very soon added Liam's son Dónal Clancy to the mix, forming the group, Clancy, O'Connell & Clancy. They released two albums together, an eponymous debut album in 1997 and an album of sea songs in 1998, The Wild and Wasteful Ocean.
With three brothers having died (Tom in 1990, Pat in 1998, Bobby in 2002), the last surviving Clancy brother, Liam Clancy, continued to tour solo into the twenty-first century. He died in 2009.
Holy Ground
The Clancy Brothers Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
A thousand times adieu
For we're going away from the Holy Ground
And the girls we all love true
We will sail the salt seas over
And we'll return for shore
To see again the girls we love
And the Holy Ground once more
You're the girl that I adore
And still I live in hope to see
The Holy Ground once more
Fine girl you are!
And now the storm is raging
And we are far from shore
And the good old ship is tossing about
And the rigging is all tore
And the secret of my mind, my love
You're the girl that I adore
And still I live in hope to see
The Holy Ground once more
Fine girl you are!
You're the girl that I adore
And still I live in hope to see
The Holy Ground once more
Fine girl you are!
And now the storm is over
And we are safe and well
We will go into a public house
And sit and drink our bill
We will drink strong ale and porter
And we'll make the rafters roar
And when our money is all spent
We will go to sea once more
Fine girl you are!
You're the girl that I adore
And still I live in hope to see
The Holy Ground once more
Fine girl you are!
The song "Holy Ground" by The Clancy Brothers is a traditional Irish folk song that tells the story of sailors leaving their beloved Holy Ground and the women they love to set out to sea. The song begins with a farewell to a woman named Dinah, who the singer loves and adores. They know they must leave her and the Holy Ground behind to sail the salt seas. However, they hope to return one day to see the girls they love and the Holy Ground once more.
As they venture out to sea, a storm begins to rage, and the ship begins to toss about. Despite the danger, the singer's thoughts remain focused on his love for Dinah and his hope to see the Holy Ground again. Eventually, the storm subsides, and they reach safety. They then head to a public house to drink and celebrate, singing about their love for their women and the Holy Ground. However, once their money runs out, they will have no choice but to set sail once more.
The song "Holy Ground" is a heartfelt tribute to love, home, and the joys and challenges of seafaring life. It captures the universal longing for a place to call home and the bittersweet ache of leaving loved ones behind. It is a poignant reminder that, no matter how far we roam, there will always be a part of us that yearns for the familiar.
Line by Line Meaning
Fare thee well my lovely Dinah
Goodbye, my beloved Dinah
A thousand times adieu
I bid farewell a thousand times
For we're going away from the Holy Ground
We're leaving the sacred land behind
And the girls we all love true
And the girls we all truly love
We will sail the salt seas over
We'll journey across the salty waters
And we'll return for shore
And we'll come back to land
To see again the girls we love
To once more see the girls we love
And the Holy Ground once more
And the sacred land once more
Fine girl you are!
You are a wonderful girl!
You're the girl that I adore
You're the girl that I love
And still I live in hope to see
And yet I hope to see
The Holy Ground once more
The sacred land once more
And now the storm is raging
And now the storm is brewing
And we are far from shore
And we're far from land
And the good old ship is tossing about
And the old ship is being thrown about
And the rigging is all tore
And the rigging has all been torn
And the secret of my mind, my love
And my secret thought, my love
And now the storm is over
And now the storm has passed
And we are safe and well
And we're safe and sound
We will go into a public house
We'll go into a tavern
And sit and drink our bill
And sit and drink until we're finished
We will drink strong ale and porter
We'll drink strong ale and porter
And we'll make the rafters roar
And we'll make the rafters shake with our revelry
And when our money is all spent
And when we've spent all our money
We will go to sea once more
We'll go to sea once again
Contributed by Maria F. Suggest a correction in the comments below.
thestonemachine Reg
i shook Tommy Makems hand,at an outside concert many years ago,and i told him how much his music means to me,he said thanks and meant it,ill never forget it.
Mustange Sally
I love it. I'd forgotten how much fun everyone always has singing along on this one
Helen Murphy
we all did at home
Sid Snodgrass
Ar dheis Dei go raibh a H-anamnacha go leir. Fine men ye were !
Paul Johnson
i have had this song on a cassette tape i recorded off the radio back in 1986 i listened to it so much, i finally saved it as mp3 back in 1997 and burn the cassette to cd great song
djmikeyo09
love those irish songs.
tazzdevil24
Rest in Peace. A great fan I was of his and the dubs and all the rest. Greetings from America!
James Whitaker
How fun are they? As much fun as they are having performing it. 100 percent Irish music. I love it!! Tese
M Michel
Uniques ! Ils ont marqué à tout jamais la musique Celtique en particulier celle du "Holy Ground" ... l'Ile Verte !
Fifa Bhoy
Fine girl you are!!!!!!!!!!!!!!....i bet not many know this but the Holy Ground is about working girls back in Ireland..i once heard our local parish priest sing it lol......