Téir Abhaile Riú

Amhráin Gaelach tradisiúnta #2
Téir abhaile Riú / Teidhir abhaile Riú / away home with you

This is what’s known as a “matchmaking song” in the Irish tradition. According to the dialect used in the song, it originates from either Munster or Connacht.

It tells the story of a young woman, Mary, who’s been eyeing up the piper over the course of an evening – most likely during a seisiún ceol. The singer may be the woman’s father, teasing her for taking an interest in the man. He urges her to go ahead and marry the piper if she likes him that much! The woman denies that she’ll marry the piper – maybe because he’s not good enough for her... The song details this argument between father and daughter!

TEXT

Curfá
Téir abhaile riú
Téir abhaile riú
Téir abhaile riú Mhary
Téir abhaile riú 's fan sa bhaile
Mar tá do mhargadh déanta.

Is cuma cé dhein é nó nár dhein
Is cuma cé dhein é Mhary
Is cuma cé dhein é nó nár dhein mar
Tá do mhargadh déanta.

Pós an piobaire
Pós an piobaire
Pós an piobaire Mhary
Pós an piobaire dtús na hoíche
Is beidh sé agat ar maidin.

Níl do mmhargadh
Tá do mharghad
Níl mo mhardadh déanta
Tá do mhargadh
Níl do mhargadh
Tá do mhargadh déanta

Chorus
Go home with you
Go home with you
Go home with you, Mary
Go home with you and stay at home
Because your match is made.

It doesn't matter who made it or who didn't
It doesn't matter who made it, Mary
It doesn't matter who made it or who didn't
Because your match is made.

Marry the piper
Marry the piper
Marry the piper, Mary
Marry the piper at the start of the night
And you'll have him in the morning.

My match isn't,
Your match is,
My match isn't made.
Your match is,
My match isn't,
Your match is made.

Although a light-hearted exchange, the text suggests a paternalistic dynamic in the social context of traditional Ireland. The woman isn’t to be out socialising if she already has a partner. Rather, she should “fan sa bhaile” (stay at home). Of course, the song has a mischievous tone and alludes to an overnight marriage. But the fact that it’s a source of humour leads us to believe that it was taboo for a woman to have a flippant romantic interest in a man.

Alternatively, the song has been interpreted as a parental plead for a daughter to return home to marry an eligible piper, with whom a match has been made by the families. Given how she argues with them, it’s likely that the match was made without the daughter’s consent. This is perhaps a more realistic perspective on the historical context of relationships in rural Ireland, especially given the import attached to land, tradition and the family name in rural Ireland. This attitude is still ongoing for many Irish families, even though the tradition of matchmaking is largely a thing of the past.