Singer Ottilie Patterson recorded it in December 1959 with Chris Barber's Jazz Band on the EP "Ottilie Swings the Irish" Ye preferred the soldier's maxim when desisting from the strife "Best be a coward for five minutes than a dead man all your life." And when we'd loaded all our pipes, bould Shlathery up and said, "To-day's immortal fight will be remembered by the dead ! Are Ye Right There Michael", [7] a song ridiculing the state of the rail system in rural County Clare caused such embarrassment to the rail company that – according to a persistent local legend – it led to a libel action against French. According to the story, French arrived late at the court, and when questioned by the judge he responded "Your honour, I travelled by the West Clare Railway", resulting in the case being thrown out. [8]

In 2008, Celtic Thunder released the song on their eponymous debut album. Their recording is adapted from Don McLean's version of the song and performed by Keith Harkin. It is important to mention a song by French forgotten today called "The Fortunes of Finnegan" because when I was writing my book "Sounds of Manymirth" on French’s influence on James Joyce, I discovered that "The Fortunes of Finnegan" is the second most references of French’s songs in "Finnegans Wake" and is entirely thematic because it is a very amusing song about an indestructible giant - Finnegan who survives a series of mishaps; being bitten by a cat but the cat gets paralyzed not Finnegan, then he was hit by a motor car and the car came out the worst in the incident and the invincible Finnegan presumed dead, was found under the bonnet fixing it. He was also the man who succeeded in politics and who won the hand of ‘beautiful Mary Flynn’ because disregarding the matter of a dowry which made all other suitors cautious, Finnegan was ready to wed her ‘in the clothes she’s standin’ in.’ Beyond the manifold mathematical, musical, sporting, artistic, journalistic and poetic talents of Percy French lay a deeper talent, the ability to empathise with people, irrespective of whether they were in elevated and lofty positions or were simply the common man in the street or field. His ability to see through the decorum and propriety of late 19th Century society and discern its absurdities enabled him to parody this behaviour, always with humour, sometimes gently and at other times acerbic yet never with vulgar ridicule. Through his entire career he also demonstrated the greatest talent any entertainer could wish for, the unique gift of making audiences love him. When The Jarvey failed, French's long and successful career as a songwriter and entertainer began. He had lived by the canal in Dublin at 35 Mespil Road before going to London in 1890. He famously wrote to his friends when he moved there: "We have come to live by the canal, do drop in". A granite seat was erected in 1988 on the canal near his home, dedicated to French. It was sponsored by the Oriel Gallery and bears another witticism of French's: "Remember me is all I ask, / And if that memory proves a task, forget". During World War I, the song Old Gallipoli's A Wonderful Place used phrases from this song as a basis for some of its verses. Verses in the Gallipoli song include: "At least when I asked them, that's what they told me" and "Where the old Gallipoli sweeps down to the sea".Clarke, Frances (2009). "Daly, Emily Lucy de Burgh". In McGuire, James; Quinn, James (eds.). Dictionary of Irish Biography. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. Find sources: "Percy French"– news · newspapers · books · scholar · JSTOR ( January 2022) ( Learn how and when to remove this template message) Oliver Nulty (d. 2005) established the Oriel Gallery in Clare Street, Dublin in 1868, which opened with a Percy French and George Russell exhibition. Nulty promoted French from the day he opened the gallery in 1968 and mounted at least 15 solo exhibitions of French and several group shows featuring French, one opened by Peter Ustinov. French was born at Clooneyquinn House, [1] near Tulsk, County Roscommon, the son of an Anglo-Irish landlord, Christopher French, and Susan Emma French (née Percy). He was the third of nine children. His younger sister, Emily later Emily de Burg Daly was also a writer. [2]

The lyrics to the song The Mountains of Mourne (originally spelt The Mountains o' Mourne) were written by Irish musician Percy French (1854–1920). The music was adapted by Houston Collisson (1865–1920) from the traditional Irish folk tune "Carrigdonn" or "Carrigdhoun". [1] [2] The latter had been similarly used by Thomas Moore (1779–1852) for his song Bendemeer's Stream.The song is a whimsical look at the styles, attitudes and fashions of late nineteenth-century London as seen from the point of view of an emigrant labourer from a village near the Mourne Mountains. It is written as a message to the narrator's true love at home. The "sweep down to the sea" refrain was inspired by the view of the mountains from Skerries in north County Dublin. [3] It contrasts the artificial attractions of the city with the more natural beauty of his homeland. The store was a one-stop shop, serving as a guest house, hardware, and grocery store, and had several other versatile uses. French was treated royally there and was served fulsome Irish breakfasts reflected in the repeated refrain ‘for hardware and bacon and tae.’ French wrote the song as an act of gratitude and as a form of advertisement for McAuliff’s.’ Times, Irish (21–22 January 2022). "An Irishman's Diary Is Percy French the Hero of Finnegans Wake". The Irish Times. January 21 and 22 – via The Irish Times. An' down from the mountains came the squadrons an' platoons, Four-an'-twinty fightin' min, an' a couple o' sthout gossoons,

Tis merely throwin' life away to face that mearin' dhrain, I'm not as bold as lions, but I'm braver nor a hin, It is sad to think that although he is remembered and celebrated worldwide for his most famous song, ‘The Mountains of Mourne’, this one fact, is all that some people know about Percy French. It is appropriate to describe him as a great songwriter but that description only serves to scratch the surface of his genius. ‘The Mountains of Mourne,’ set to the traditional air, ‘Carrigdhoun’, has been recorded the world over by artists as diverse as Don McClean and Daniel O’Donnell. There is a Dixieland trombone version by Chris Barber, featuring Ottolie Patterson and there is even an ‘acapella’ version currently available on YouTube sung by a group called Wall Street Crash. In January 1920, when he was 65 years old, French became ill while performing in Glasgow. He died from pneumonia in Formby, England at the home of his cousin, Canon Richardson of Green Lea, College Avenue, on 24 January 1920. His grave is in the churchyard of St Luke's Church, Formby, Merseyside.The song featured on the 1958 album, The Immortal Percy French, featuring the voice of Irish tenor Brendan O'Dowda. French family at Cloonyquin". Landedestates.ie. 18 May 2011. Archived from the original on 27 February 2012 . Retrieved 22 December 2012. The Emigrant's Letter (Cutting the Corn in Creeslough)". WeLoveDonegal.com . Retrieved 22 December 2012.

The song is representative of French's many works concerning the Irish diaspora. The Mourne Mountains of the title are located in County Down in Northern Ireland. Emily de Burg Daly: Chronicles and Poems of Percy French, with an introduction by Katharine Tynan (Dublin: Talbot Press, 1922). William Percy French (1 May 1854 – 24 January 1920) was an Irish songwriter, author, poet, entertainer and painter. We reached the Mountains safely, though stiff and sore with cramp; Each took a wet of whiskey neat, to dissipate the damp. A sculpture of a park bench and plaque depicting his likeness by Brid Ni Rinn was installed on the spot where French was inspired to write "The Mountains of Mourne" in Red Island Park, Skerries, County Dublin, in 2008. [10]French was renowned for composing and singing comic songs and gained considerable distinction with such songs as Phil the Fluther's Ball, [5] Slattery's Mounted Foot, and The Mountains of Mourne [6] (this last was one of several written with his friend, stage partner and fellow composer, Houston Collisson). [4] The song was set to the same air as Thomas Moore's "Bendmeer's Stream" which, in turn, was adapted from the old Irish Air "Carraigdhoun". French also wrote many sketches and amusing parodies, the most famous of which is The Queen's After-Dinner Speech, written on the occasion of Queen Victoria's visit to Dublin in 1900, in which French drolly suggests "There's a slate off Willie Yeats". In addition, he wrote several poems, some he called "poems of pathos". Many of his poems and songs are on the theme of emigration. He remained a regular contributor to The Irish Cyclist, a weekly journal until his death. Oliver Nulty (ed. by Bernadette Lowry): Lead Kindly Light. Celebrating 150 Years of Percy French (Dublin: Oriel Gallery Dublin Gallery, 2002). And only Gaelic spoken in that House in College Green. Told me landlords wor the Divil! their agints ten times worst,. Then you'll meet the radiant vision who is all the world to you (You'll attend her mother's lectures later on);