JOYCE, P.W. Irish Peasant Songs in the English Language. The Words set to the proper Old Irish Airs.

London: Longmans & Dublin: Gill, 1906. Second edition. Octavo. pp. 16, [4 (Joyce’s works)]. Stitched printed wrappers. Very good copy. The rarest of all P.W. Joyce’s works.
In his preface Joyce tells us: “I now publish this little Collection, different from both, the Title of which explains itself. Like the book last mentioned, it is the first of its kind ever given to the public, i.e. the first collection of English songs of the Irish peasantry—peasant songs pure and simple—set to the old Irish airs to which they were sung. The peasant songs of Ireland written in English are, as a rule, very inferior to those in Irish; for the good reason that the song-writers were only imperfectly acquainted with English, while they were quite at home in Irish. The Irish language, as it were, ran in their blood: and indeed it runs in our blood at the present day, whether we speak Irish or not; for our English is everywhere coloured with Irish idioms.” Songs included: The Irish Girl; Sweet Cootehill Town; The Croppy Boy; Handsome Sally; The Rambler from Clare; My Mind is Uneasy; Rory the Blacksmith from Ireland; Oh, Come with me, my Irish Girl.

[CAT 164]