{"id":4050,"date":"2026-05-26T13:04:57","date_gmt":"2026-05-26T12:04:57","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/blogs.qub.ac.uk\/specialcollections\/?p=4050"},"modified":"2026-05-26T15:23:41","modified_gmt":"2026-05-26T14:23:41","slug":"molly-st-george-lacemaking-and-irish-traditional-music","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/blogs.qub.ac.uk\/specialcollections\/molly-st-george-lacemaking-and-irish-traditional-music\/","title":{"rendered":"Molly St George: Lacemaking and Irish Traditional Music"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

We are pleased to announce our newest exhibition,\u00a0Molly St George: Lacemaking and Irish Traditional Music<\/strong> – a collaboration between Headford Lace Project and QUB Special Collections.<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Development of this exhibition can be traced to Summer 2024 when Headford Lace Project<\/a> contacted us after consulting the Bunting Collection through Digital Special Collections<\/a>. Their research focused on the harp tune and song Molly St George<\/strong>, its connections to the town of Headford, County Galway, and its links to the history of lacemaking. A year later, we decided to collaborate, bringing together material from Headford Lace Project and the Bunting Collection for display in an exhibition that sets manuscript sources alongside lacemaking traditions and contemporary musical reimaginings. It includes dedicated listening stations for Toss the Bobbin<\/a> by The Whileaways<\/a> and a new recording of Molly St George sung by Breda Keville<\/a> and played by Kathleen Loughnane<\/a>. <\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

The following blog was written by Ger Henry Hassett, committee member of Headford Lace Project<\/em>. Ger traces the journey behind the exhibition, drawing on archival sources, musical revival and community responses to tell the story of a tune and song closely connected to Headford and its lacemaking heritage.<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Background<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

I am a committee member of\u00a0Headford\u00a0Lace Project which was\u00a0established\u00a0in 2016. Our aims are to research, revive and reimagine the forgotten history of\u00a0Headford\u00a0lacemaking. The lace industry was\u00a0established\u00a0by Mary (Molly) St George c1765. When historian and committee member Norma Owens discovered that there is an early harp tune and song called\u00a0Molly St George<\/em>\u00a0linked to Molly St George,\u00a0Headford, I was intrigued.\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Inspiration<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

The first time I heard the song was while watching the programme R\u00f3is\u00edn Reimagined<\/em> on RT\u00c91, featuring singer Muireann Nic Amhlaoibh with the Irish Chamber Orchestra<\/a>. It was so beautiful, it entered my heart and stayed with me. This was my inspiration to bring both the song and tune back to Headford. I began to research its origins.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Research<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

The music of Molly St George<\/em> was first published in 1724 in A Collection of the Most Celebrated Irish Tunes proper for the Violin, German Flute or Hautboy<\/em> by John & William Neal. I purchased the facsimile edition by Nicholas Carolan<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Then I discovered that Special Collections at Queen\u2019s University housed the Edward Bunting Collection and to my great delight I found that selections were digitised. It was exciting to find Special Collection’s digital Edward Bunting Collection Exhibition<\/a> which included some images of music notation of Molly St George<\/em>.<\/p>\n\n\n

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Molly St George from Bunting’s 1797 A General Collection of the Ancient Irish Music<\/em> MS 4\/41, p7.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n\n
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Bunting’s noting of Molly St George in his earliest notebook MS 4\/29 on p72 <\/em>
The tune appears again, MS 4\/29, p168<\/em><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

We can see in the top image of MS 4\/41 that Bunting had noted “Harp Higgins” on the left, suggesting that he may have collected the tune from the Mayo harper Hugh Higgins. Higgins did indeed perform at the first Harp Festival in 1792, however, the tune Molly St George<\/em> was not among the tunes played. In the same image we see that Bunting attributes the tune to Conalan – Thomas Connellan (c1640-1720)<\/a>, harper and composer from Cloonmahon, Co. Sligo.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

I learned that Bunting travelled in Connaught with Richard Kirwan<\/a> in 1792 to collect native Irish music. Without Bunting\u2019s dedication and passion to preserve this music, much of it would have been lost.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In the Irish Traditional Music Archive’s Edward Bunting Digital Harp Collection, I found Eil\u00eds Lavelle\u2019s beautiful harp recording of the tune<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Next, I found Galway based harper Kathleen Loughnane\u2019s publication, The Harpers Connellan<\/em>, and her CD with the recording of the tune\/song. Her publication documented the historical background to the Connellan brothers and their music. Kathleen told me she had recently performed this song with Breda Keville. This was a pivotal moment for me, as Breda is a Headford native and a traditional musician and singer. I felt that the tune and song had come full circle.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div><\/div>\n\n\n\n

Song Lyrics<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

In 1802, Edward Bunting engaged the scholar and scribe Patrick Lynch (c1756-1838)<\/a> to collect song lyrics in Connaught in both Irish and English.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div><\/div>\n\n\n\n

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MS 4\/26\/46a; MS 4\/26\/46b<\/em><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div><\/div>\n\n\n\n

The above images show Lynch’s handwritten Molly St George lyrics in Irish<\/a>, <\/em>and at the end the following note is included:<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Note this lady was bred in connaght<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Daughter Colonel St george She was<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

heiress to a large estate She was<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

married to a Captain Manshear about<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

100 years ago, a munster man of a good<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

estate. <\/em><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n

This was\u00a0a very exciting\u00a0find as it linked the song to\u00a0Headford. Molly was the\u00a0daughter of General Richard St George (1670-1755), her date of birth is unknown.\u00a0She inherited the estate at\u00a0Headford\u00a0on her marriage\u00a0in 1749 to Captain James Mansergh and died in 1795.\u00a0So\u00a0the lyrics could have been written about her.\u00a0It is worth noting that Lord St. George (1658-1735) who lived at\u00a0Headford\u00a0Castle played the\u00a0Uilleann\u00a0Pipes.\u00a0While examining the St George Family Tree I concluded then that\u00a0perhaps the\u00a0tune could have been written about his daughter Mary St George (1693-1741) or Mary St George\u00a0daughter of Sir George St George\u00a0who died in 1701.\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n

On the Gaelic script version of the lyrics, Lynch notes that he collected it from harper Denis Hampsey (Hempson) from Magilligan, County Derry.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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MS 4\/26\/2ci<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n
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MS 4\/26\/2cii; MS 4\/26\/2a<\/em><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

The lyrics mention Galway:<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Is m\u00e9 an s\u00edoga\u00ed \u00f3n nd\u00edleann                    <\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

ar bhruach loch a\u2019sn\u00e1mh<\/em><\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Is m\u00e9 an s\u00edoga\u00ed ga mo dh\u00edbirt<\/em><\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u00f3 Ghaillimh \u2018s gach \u00e1it<\/em><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n

The handwritten lyrics in English are also recorded by Lynch in MS4\/36\/48:<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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That daughter of St George Is a young woman who has taken the prize For niceness, for superiority, For beauty and for loveliness. She is a modest young woman, She is the most honourable and the best From the Shannon to Omagh, From Omagh to Drogheda, To Portumna of the ships, And to Limerick of the boats. It is certain, maidenly Molly, That your like is not to be found. I am a fairy creature from the flood At the side of a lake swimming, I am a fairy creature being driven From Galway and from everywhere else. There is a net on every side of me That has killed thousands, A net in which there is magic And a net in which there is love; It is to my great harm and loss That I am in one of those nets, And that no one can release me But that fine maidenly woman. My friends are always saying to me That I have no sense, That I have love for Mary But have no reason to be with her; That I am continually pleasing her And flattering her, And that sweeter to me than the harp Is the sound of her voice. Death is tormenting me And it has come very near me; it is certainly so, modest Molly, Unless you go with me.<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n

Patrick Lynch\u2019s diary<\/a> was\u00a0really interesting, detailing his journey from Westport, County Mayo to\u00a0Headford, County Galway on 22 July 1802. Lynch noted\u00a0\u2018and by the abbey of Ross to\u00a0headford\u00a012 miles from\u00a0Balinrobe\u00a0where I took Breakfast between 12 and one and to\u00a0Cahermorris\u00a0wher\u00a0I found Mr. B<\/em>\u2019.\u00a0\u00a0This was an exciting find and resonated strongly with the local community.\u00a0Regrettably,\u00a0this was his last diary entry.\u00a0However\u00a0looking at\u00a0Taylor and Skinner\u2019s maps of roads of\u00a0Ireland:\u00a0surveyed in 1777 and corrected down to 1783<\/em>,\u00a0Cahermorris\u00a0was then on the main route from\u00a0Headford\u00a0to Galway. Cregg Castle, home of Richard Kirwan is\u00a0very close\u00a0to the route, so perhaps that was where Patrick met Mr. B. (Bunting).<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The idea of bringing the tune and song back to Headford was met with great enthusiasm so Headford Lace Project applied to Galway County Council Creative Ireland for funding in 2024. The application was successful and the project A Meitheal for Molly<\/em> began. It resulted in a joyful cross-generational coming together of over 200 local people in a performance celebrating the tune and song Molly<\/em> St George<\/em> through music, song and dance and bring it back to the town.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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