“The Minstrel Boy” was written by Irish poet and artiste Thomas Moore. He wrote the lyrics in commemoration of friends who had died in the 1798 Irish Rebellion, and set it to the tune of an old Irish air called “The Moreen.” The song quickly became a popular patriotic song, both in Ireland and among Irishmen abroad, including Irish-American Civil War Regiments. Continue reading The Minstrel Boy →

“The Hundred Pipers” is attributed to Carolina Nairne, Lady Nairne, a prolific songwriter of the period descending from a Jacobite family. The verses appears in the second edition of her Lays from Strathern (1846).

The song commemorates the surrender of the town of Carlisle to Prince Charles Edward Stuart, on November 18, 1745, when he Continue reading With a Hundred Pipers →

At any highland games, when all the bands gather on the field, you’re likely to hear the familiar strains of Green Hills of Tyrol. It is usually played as a set with When the Battle’s O’er.

The Green Hills of Tyrol is one of the best-known, and oldest, tunes played by pipe bands today. It was originally from the opera “William Tell” by Rossini, but Continue reading The Green Hills of Tyrol →