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"The Hills of Connemara" is an Irish folk song written by Sean McCarthy about Irish moonshine, or Poitín, set in Connemara. In the song, the drink is referred to as "mountain tea" (tay to rhyme with day, which is a common pronunciation in this region derived from the Gaelic term for tea, 'tae'.). The punch line to the song is that the tax collectors ("excise men") find the cache of moonshine and begin "drinkin' it straight".
Connemara is a region on the Atlantic coast of western County Galway, in the west of Ireland. The area has a strong association with traditional Irish culture and contains much of the Connacht Irish-speaking Gaeltacht, which is a key part of the identity of the region and is the largest Gaeltacht in the country. Historically, Connemara was part of the territory of Iar Connacht. Geographically, it has many mountains, peninsulas, coves, islands and small lakes. Connemara National Park is in the northwest. It is mostly rural and its largest settlement is Clifden.
The Twelve Bens or Twelve Pins, also called the Benna Beola, is a mountain range of mostly sharp-peaked quartzite summits and ridges in the Connemara National Park in County Galway, in the west of Ireland. The widest definition of the range includes the Garraun Complex to the north as well as several isolated peaks to the west, and is designated a 16,163-hectare (39,940-acre) Special Area of Conservation.
Carraroe is a village in Connemara, the coastal Irish-speaking region (Gaeltacht) of County Galway, Ireland. It is known for its traditional fishing boats, the Galway Hookers. Its population is widely dispersed over the Carraroe peninsula between Cuan an Fhir Mhóir and Cuan Chasla. Carraroe has an unusual beach, Trá an Dóilín, a biogenic gravel beach made of coralline algae known as "maerl".
Poitín, anglicized as poteen or potcheen, is a traditional Irish distilled beverage. Former common names for Poitín were "Irish moonshine" and "mountain dew". It was traditionally distilled in a small pot still and the term is a diminutive of the Irish word pota, meaning "pot". The Irish word for a hangover is póit. In accordance with the Irish Poteen/Irish Poitín technical file, it can only be made from cereals, grain, whey, sugar beet, molasses and potatoes.
Connacht Irish is the dialect of the Irish language spoken in the province of Connacht. Gaeltacht regions in Connacht are found in Counties Mayo and Galway. Connacht Irish is also spoken in the Meath Gealtacht Ráth Chairn and Baile Ghib. The dialects of Irish in Connacht are extremely diverse, with the pronunciation, forms and lexicon being different even within each county.
The Girls Won't Leave the Boys Alone is an album by Cherish the Ladies released in 2001 on the Windham Hill label. The title reverses the lyrics "the boys won't leave the girls alone" from the Irish song "Belle of Belfast City/I'll Tell Me Ma", popularized in the album Irish Heartbeat by Van Morrison and The Chieftains. The Boys Won't Leave the Girls Alone is also the title of a 1962 album by The Clancy Brothers and Tommy Makem.
Éamon a Búrc (1866–1942) was a tailor, employee of the Great Northern Railway of James J. Hill, and, in his later life, a storyteller or seanchaí from Ireland Connemara Gaeltacht. Seán Ó Súilleabháin, the former chief archivist for the Irish Folklore Commission later called Éamonn a Búrc, "possibly the most accomplished narrator of folktales who has lived into our time." Furthermore, according to Irish-American genealogist and historian Bridget Connelly, the stories from the Fenian Cycle of Irish mythology that were collected from Éamon a Búrc are still taught in University courses alongside Beowulf, the Elder Edda and the Homeric Hymns.
Benbaun is a mountain in County Galway, Ireland. With a height of 729 metres (2,392 ft), it is the 72nd highest peak in Ireland on the Arderin scale, and the 88th highest peak on the Vandeleur-Lynam scale. Benbaun is situated at the centre of the core massif of the Twelve Bens mountain range in the Connemara National Park and is the tallest mountain of the Twelve Bens range, and the county top for Galway.
Poitín is a 1978 Irish crime drama film produced and directed by Bob Quinn, and starring Cyril Cusack, Donal McCann, and Niall Tóibín. It was the first feature film to be made entirely in Irish, and the first recipient of a film script grant from the Arts Council of Ireland.
Daniel Doyle was an Irish folk singer born in Dublin. During the 1960s and 1970s, he was one of the top Irish singers, regularly featuring in the Irish charts and scoring three No.1 singles. He recorded 25 albums and is known for his chart-topping songs "Whiskey on a Sunday", "A Daisy a Day", and "The Rare Auld Times".
Sean-nós singing is unaccompanied, traditional Irish vocal music usually performed in the Irish language. Sean-nós singing usually involves very long melodic phrases with highly ornamented and melismatic melodic lines, differing greatly from traditional folk singing elsewhere in Ireland, although there is significant regional variation within Ireland. Sean-nós songs cover a range of genres, from love song to lament to lullaby, traditionally with a strong focus on conveying the relevant emotion of the given song. The term sean-nós, which simply means "in the old way", is a vague term that can also refer to various other traditional activities, musical and non-musical.
Moonshine is referenced in many works, including books, motion pictures, musical lyrics and television.
Connemara is a district in the west of Ireland.
Diamond Hill or Bengooria is an isolated peak overlooking the village of Letterfrack, in the northwest corner of the Twelve Bens in Connemara National Park in County Galway, Ireland. At only 442 metres (1,450 ft), it does not rank as an Arderin, or a Vandeleur-Lynam; however, it has the prominence to rank as a Marilyn.
Bencollaghduff at 696 metres (2,283 ft), is the 93rd–highest peak in Ireland on the Arderin scale, and the 115th–highest peak on the Vandeleur-Lynam scale. Bencollaghduff is situated near the centre of the core massif of the Twelve Bens mountain range in the Connemara National Park in County Galway, Ireland. It is the 3rd tallest mountain of the Twelve Bens range, after Benbaun 729 metres (2,392 ft), to which it is connected by the northern col of Maumina; and after Bencorr 711 metres (2,333 ft), to which it is connected by a high southeast rocky ridge.
Bengower at 664 metres (2,178 ft), is the 135th–highest peak in Ireland on the Arderin scale, and the 166th–highest peak on the Vandeleur-Lynam scale. Bengower is in the southern end of the Twelve Bens mountain range in the Connemara National Park in County Galway, Ireland, and is the 6th-tallest of the core Twelve Bens.
Benbrack at 582 metres (1,909 ft), is the 251st–highest peak in Ireland on the Arderin scale; while it does not have the elevation to be a Vandeleur-Lynam, it has the prominence to rank as a Marilyn. Benbrack is situated on its own small massif to the north of the core Twelve Bens mountain range in the Connemara National Park in County Galway, Ireland. It is the 10th-tallest of the core Twelve Bens, and is linked by a deep col to Muckanaght, which is itself attached by a high ridge to the tallest mountain of the Twelve Bens range, Benbaun at 729 metres (2,392 ft).
Benlettery at 557 metres (1,827 ft), is the 259th–highest peak in Ireland on the Arderin scale. Benlettery is in the southernmost peak of the Twelve Bens mountain range in the Connemara National Park in County Galway, Ireland, and is the 11th-tallest of the core Twelve Bens. The Ben Lettery An Oige youth hostel is on the southern slopes of Benlettery, off the N59 road to Clifden.
Benglenisky at 516 metres (1,693 ft), is the 368th–highest peak in Ireland on the Arderin scale. Benglenisky is the second most southern peak, after neighbouring Benlettery, of the Twelve Bens mountain range in the Connemara National Park in County Galway, Ireland, and is the lowest of the core Twelve Bens.
Lissoughter or Lissoughter Hill is a prominent hill between the Twelve Bens and Maumturks mountain ranges, at the southern entrance to the Inagh Valley, in the Connemara National Park of County Galway, Ireland. With a height of 401 metres (1,316 ft), it does not qualify to be an Arderin or a Vandeleur-Lynam, however, its prominence of 336 metres (1,102 ft) ranks it as a Marilyn.
