Sheet Music: Limerick's Lamentation

TitleLimerick's Lamentation
Alternate titlesClothier's March
Farewell to My Jean
Irish Lamentation
King James' March to Ireland
Lochaber No More
ComposerTraditional Irish
InstrumentationFlute solo
KeyG major
RangeD4–G5
Time signature3/4
Tempo76 BPM
Performance time1:55
Difficulty leveleasy
Download printable scorePDF Sheet Music (49 kB) (preview)
Download audio tracksMIDI (change tempo/key) MP3 (927 kB)
Date added2020-03-20
Last updated2020-03-20
Download popularity index☆☆☆☆☆ 0.4 (below average)
Categories
Slow airs, Traditional/Folk

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Friday 20 March 2020

Tune of the Day: Limerick's Lamentation

Traditional Irish air

There is no doubt that “Limerick's Lamentation” is related to the Scottish lament “Lochaber No More”. The two melodies may have had a common ancestry, although provenance is claimed by both Ireland and Scotland. Irish folk musician Robin Morton (1976) says the weight of evidence lends credence to the Scots claim, despite Francis O'Neill's seemingly cogent argument that a tune composed by the 17th century County Cavan harper Myles O'Reilly was the common ancestor of both. The esteemed harper Thomas Connellon has also been given credit for the tune. In 1922, O'Neill wrote: “As far back as 1676, this melody was referred to as ‛The Irish Tune’.”

The Irish version, also known as “Marbhna Luimní”, derives its title from the siege and fall of the city of Limerick to the English forces of Ginkel in 1691, at the end of the Williamite Wars. The tune is sometimes known as “Sarsfield's Lamentation”, from the name of the commander of the Irish forces at Limerick.