In 1968, the predecessor of the Juno’s named The Irish Rovers Canada’s, “Folk Group of the Year”, and the following year, they received a Grammy nomination for “Folk Performance of the Year”.
As hosts of three national television series in Canada and Ireland, through the 1970's and 80s, The Irish Rovers increased the popularity of Irish music by way of the CBC (Canadian Broadcasting Corporation).
Canada's Prime Minister, Pierre Elliott Trudeau, personally asked the band if they could “please become Canadian” so that they could officially represent Canada throughout the world. Since then, they have represented Canada at no less than five world Expos, and in recognition for a quarter century of contributions to the International music world, The Irish Rovers won the Performing Rights Organization's (PROCAN) 'Harold Moon Award'.
Although all members of the band hail from Ireland, a number of their biggest hits were often "non-Irish". Their own rousing, traditional Irish compositions, however, do comprise the bulk of their music.
By the 90’s, their songwriting was even more prolific than their early years, and production of albums wasn’t about to slow down. Since they desired the freedom that as a younger band, they could not afford, in ’93 The Irish Rovers established their own record company, Rover Records. Their songs tell the story of the Irish, whether it’s a lost love, a sailor on leave, or the simple good taste of a Guinness. Rover Records has put out their last eleven albums, including Celtic Collection, Come Fill Up Your Glasses, Down by the Lagan Side, Another Round, Still Rovin', a Christmas album, and their greatest hits, 40 Years A-Rovin'.
Founding member George Millar is from Ballymena, original member Wilcil McDowell is from Larne, John Reynolds from Belfast, Sean O'Driscoll from Cork, Ian Millar from Ballymena, and percussionist Fred Graham is also from Belfast.
Former members include founding member Jimmy Ferguson who passed away in 1997 and Joe Millar.
Miss Fogarty's Christmas Cake
The Irish Rovers Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
A little gilt-edged invitation sayin' "Gilhooley come over to tea"
I knew that the Fogarty's sent it. So I went just for old friendships sake.
The first think they gave me to tackle was a slice of Miss Fogarty's cake.
Chorus:
There were plums and prunes and cherries,
There were citrons and raisins and cinnamon, too
And a crust that was nailed on with glue
There were caraway seeds in abundance
Such that work up a fine stomach ache
That could kill a man twice after eating a slice
Of Miss Fogarty's Christmas cake.
Miss Mulligan wanted to try it, but really it wasn't no use
For we worked in it over an hour and we couldn't get none of it loose
Till Murphy came in with a hatchet And Kelly came in with a saw
That cake was enough be the powers above for to paralyze any man's jaws
Miss Fogarty proud as a peacock, kept smiling and blinking away
Till she flipped over Flanagan's brogans and she spilt the homebrew in her tea
Aye Gilhooley she says you're not eatin, Try a little bit more for me sake
And no Miss Fogarty says I, for I've had quite enough of your cake
Maloney was took with the colic, O'Donnell's a pain in his head
McNaughton lay down on the sofa, and he swore that he wished he was dead
Miss Bailey went into hysterics and there she did wriggle and shake
And everyone swore they were poisoned just from eating Miss Fogarty's cake
The Irish Rovers's song Miss Fogarty's Christmas Cake tells the story of a man, Gilhooley, who receives an invitation to tea from the Fogarty family. The invitation leads him to a slice of Miss Fogarty's Christmas cake, which is described as having plums, prunes, cherries, citrons, raisins, cinnamon, nutmeg, cloves, berries, and caraway seeds. The chorus highlights the richness of the cake and the potential danger that comes with eating too much of it.
The second verse describes the struggle that Gilhooley and the others at the tea party face in trying to eat Miss Fogarty's Christmas cake. Despite their best efforts, they cannot seem to get a slice of the cake loose from the rest of it. The introduction of tools like a hatchet and a saw highlight just how difficult it is to eat this cake.
In the final verse, the aftermath of the cake is revealed. Maloney is taken with the colic, O'Donnell has a pain in his head, and McNaughton wishes he was dead. Miss Bailey goes into hysterics, and everyone swears that they were poisoned by the cake. The final line of the song shows that Gilhooley has had enough of the cake and wants nothing more to do with it.
Overall, the song is a humorous take on the dangers of overindulging during the holiday season. It also highlights the importance of knowing when to say no, even in the face of pressure from others to indulge.
Line by Line Meaning
As I sat in my window last evening, the letterman brought it to me
I was sitting by my window when the postman brought me a gold-embossed invitation.
A little gilt-edged invitation sayin' "Gilhooley come over to tea"
The invitation was an invitation from Fogarty's to attend their tea party.
I knew that the Fogarty's sent it. So I went just for old friendships sake.
I recognized that the invitation was from the Fogartys and so I attended the party for the sake of our old friendship.
The first think they gave me to tackle was a slice of Miss Fogarty's cake.
The first thing I was served at the tea party was a slice of Miss Fogarty's Christmas cake.
There were plums and prunes and cherries,
Miss Fogarty's cake was full of plums, prunes and cherries.
There were citrons and raisins and cinnamon, too
The cake also had citrons, raisins and cinnamon.
There was nutmeg, cloves and berries
Additionally, there were nutmeg, cloves and berries in the cake.
And a crust that was nailed on with glue
The crust of the cake was so dense that it felt like it was glued to the rest of the cake.
There were caraway seeds in abundance
The cake also had a lot of caraway seeds.
Such that work up a fine stomach ache
The abundance of caraway seeds in the cake could give someone a stomach ache.
That could kill a man twice after eating a slice
One slice of Miss Fogarty's cake was strong enough to make a person feel like they were going to die twice.
Miss Mulligan wanted to try it, but really it wasn't no use
Miss Mulligan was curious about the cake, but to no avail because it was too dense to eat.
For we worked in it over an hour and we couldn't get none of it loose
It took over an hour to attempt to cut the cake at the party, but it remained impossible to cut.
Till Murphy came in with a hatchet
Murphy brought a hatchet to the party to cut the cake.
And Kelly came in with a saw
Kelly brought a saw to the party to saw through the cake.
That cake was enough be the powers above for to paralyze any man's jaws
The density of the cake was enough to stun a person's jaws.
Miss Fogarty proud as a peacock, kept smiling and blinking away
Miss Fogarty remained calm and composed despite the difficulties the guests had in eating her cake.
Till she flipped over Flanagan's brogans and she spilt the homebrew in her tea
However, Miss Fogarty became so overwhelmed that she ended up spilling a drink on her own shoes.
Aye Gilhooley she says you're not eatin, Try a little bit more for me sake
Miss Fogarty tried to coax me into eating more cake, but I refused.
And no Miss Fogarty says I, for I've had quite enough of your cake
I politely declined Miss Fogarty's offer, stating that I had had enough of her cake.
Maloney was took with the colic, O'Donnell's a pain in his head
Some of the other guests started feeling sick after eating the cake.
McNaughton lay down on the sofa, and he swore that he wished he was dead
One of the guests, McNaughton, was feeling so unwell that he lay down and wished he were dead.
Miss Bailey went into hysterics and there she did wriggle and shake
Miss Bailey started to panic and shudder uncontrollably.
And everyone swore they were poisoned just from eating Miss Fogarty's cake
All the guests at the party believed they had been poisoned by eating Miss Fogarty's cake.
Contributed by Madison F. Suggest a correction in the comments below.
Ian Burt
on Bluenose
You have missed out a verse.