John Walsh sang this classic song at the recent Noson Lawen, one of only two songs my wife managed to capture on video (the other being my original song "Osama bin Laden.")
The Noson Lawen is one of three great Welsh traditions, the others being the Eisteddfod, and the Cymanfa Ganu. Loosely equivalent to "Merry Night" this ancient get-together was held to celebrate events such as the successful bringing in of the hay harvest. The festivities used to include singing, verse reciting (accompanied by harp), dancing and usually large quantities of ale and cider. The Noson Lawen gave everyone a chance to show his or her talents. These days an MC takes charge of the evening and introduces the performers.
This tale of the innocent, rather gullible, Irish country boy in the big city of London was written in 1896 by Irish musician, Percy French, to the tune of Thomas Moore's "Bendemeer's Stream". It was popularised in the 1920s by Australian singer, Peter Dawson. Other recordings are by The Kingston Trio (1960) and Don McLean.
The Mourne mountains are in County Down in Northern Ireland. John Walsh is a fellow member of the Hong Kong Welsh Male Voice Choir and the Hong Kong Folk Society.

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