Item HSH-18739/1/259031 - Hugh Shields Collection. Reel-to-Reel 46 [sound recording] / [various performers]

Recorded from Charles (Charlie) Somers (age about 75) in his house at The Bog, Bellarena, Co. Derry, 18 July 1969 [tracks 1–2]
Recorded in the house of Eddie Butcher, Aughil, Magilligan, Co. Derry, from Robert Butcher junior (age about 48), son of Eddie’s elder brother Robert (deceased) and his brother John Butcher junior (age about 45), 21 July 1969 [tracks 3–7]

Performers:
Somers, Chas, singing in English Track 1, speech in English Track 2;
Shields, Hugh, speech in English Track 2;
Butcher, Robert, singing in English Tracks 3-4, 6;
Butcher, John, singing in English Tracks 5, 7;
Butcher, Eddie, singing in English Track 6

Running Order:
1. Barbro Allen (‘Early, early in the spring  When flowers they were blooming...’), song [old ballad] / Charlie Somers, singing in English
2. Talk about the song ‘Barbro Allen’ [learnt from his mother], speech / Charlie Somers, speech in English ; Hugh Shields, speech in English [end of session]
3. The hills above Drumquin (‘God bless the hills of Donegal,  I’ve heard their praises sung...’), song / Robert Butcher junior, singing in English
4. The strands of Magilligan [=The American stranger] (‘On the top of the cliff where the castle does stand...’), song [1 verse only, learnt from his father] / Robert Butcher, singing in English
5. The strands of Magilligan (‘I’m a stranger to this country, from America I came...’), song [2 verses] John Butcher junior, singing in English  [END OF BAND ONE]
6. The green fields of America (‘Oh farewell to old Erin, the land of my fathers...’), song [sung with help from Eddie Butcher] / Robert Butcher junior, singing in English
7. When the breathalyser came to Ireland (‘Have you thought what the future of drinking may be...’), song [recent, in pop-folk style] / Robert Butcher junior, singing in English [session continued at 6911] [END OF BAND TWO]