The Rare Ould Times
"The Rare Ould Times" is a song composed by
Description
In the song, the narrator, Sean Dempsey, who comes from Pimlico, a working-class neighbourhood in the Dublin Liberties, recalls his upbringing. He laments the changes that have occurred in the city since his youth, mentioning the loss of Nelson's Pillar, the Metropole ballroom, the "Royal" (Theatre Royal). He dislikes the "new glass cages", the modern office blocks and flats being erected along the quays, and says farewell to Anna Liffey (the River Liffey).
Recording history
The song was first recorded by the
The song remains popular in Ireland, particularly in Dublin.[3][4] It is sung as a sporting anthem by fans of Dublin GAA teams.
Irish businessman Bill Cullen used the first two stanzas of the song as the epigraph for his 2004 memoir of growing up in inner-city Dublin, It's a Long Way from Penny Apples.[5]
References
- ^ "Our Story - The Dublin City Ramblers". dublincityramblers.com. Retrieved 21 March 2022.
"Dublin In The Rare Auld Times" [..was..] written especially for them all those years ago, by the late Pete St. John
- ^ "Irish Charts - Search - Title Placement - Rare Ould Times". irishcharts.ie. IRMA. Retrieved 14 March 2022.
- ^ "The Very Best Of Patsy Watchorn". Retrieved 23 May 2015.
- ISBN 9781843530596.
- ISBN 1466820918.