The Foggy Dew benefits from an astonishingly powerful air. It has an interesting back story. The original air can be dated back to 1804 and is most likely much older. Canon Charles O’Neill wrote the words and the old air was rearranged by Carl Hardebeck.
I love the unlikely combination of a rural Irish priest collaborating with a half-German/Welsh arranger. Hardebeck was a major proponent of Irish music revival post independence and I feel he hasn’t received due recognition in the years after his death. Here’s a nice film to give some background on the man.
In any case this is my take on the air. It’s my first real attempt of doing something intrinsically Irish and took a full day to get out. The main part is guitarviol while the “banjo” is actually my resonator.
The image is part of Grangegorman. I live nearby and it was a fascinating place in it’s Victorian decrepitness. More on that and the North Dublin Union another time…