"Thady Quill" (or "Bold Thady Quill") is a popular traditional Irish song. The song was written about a man living in

County Cork County Cork () is the largest and the southernmost Counties of Ireland, county of Republic of Ireland, Ireland, named after the city of Cork (city), Cork, the state's second-largest city. It is in the Provinces of Ireland, province of Munster ...

, depicting him "as a beer-swilling, lady-loving sportsman" when he was actually none of those things. Recordings include

The Clancy Brothers The Clancy Brothers were an influential Irish folk music group that developed initially as a part of the American folk music revival. Most popular during the 1960s, they were famed for their Aran jumpers and are widely credited with popularisi ...

on their album ''

Come Fill Your Glass with Us ''Come Fill Your Glass with Us: Irish Songs of Drinking & Blackguarding'' is a collection of traditional Irish drinking songs that first brought The Clancy Brothers and their frequent collaborator Tommy Makem to prominence. It was their second ...

''.

Composer

The ballad "The Bould Thady Quill" was composed by Johnny Tom Gleeson around 1895 and first put to paper in 1905. Gleeson (1853–1924) was a farmer who lived near Rylane, County Cork. He fancied himself a poet/balladeer, lampooning many of his neighbors and acquaintances."Johnny Tom Gleeson" written by James A. Chisman and published by The Three Spires Press, Cork, Ireland, 1994.
2011 eBook edition
)

Subject

Timothy "Thady" Quill (c.1860–1932) was a poor laborer and occasional cattle jobber, who, owning no land nor house, did odd-jobs for the local farmers. Thady, although a burly man, was no athlete, apparently teetotal, while sleeping in barns did not endear him to the ladies—he died a bachelor. Johnny Tom Gleeson engaged Thady as a labourer. However, instead of paying him, he "immortalized" Thady with this ballad, which pleased Thady no end.

Published versions

A version of the ballad with music was published in "Soodlum's Irish Ballad Book" by Oak Publications, London, England, 1982, and another in "Comic Songs of Cork and Kerry" by James N. Healy, published by

Mercier Press Mercier Press is a publisher based in Cork, Ireland. It is the longest established independent publishing house in Ireland. History The company was founded in 1944 by Seán Feehan and initially published religious books. In 1946 they publishe ...

, 1978.

References

{{Reflist

External links

Lyrics
at beltainemusic.com
"Bold Thady Quill"
by

via

YouTube YouTube is an American social media and online video sharing platform owned by Google. YouTube was founded on February 14, 2005, by Steve Chen, Chad Hurley, and Jawed Karim who were three former employees of PayPal. Headquartered in ...

Irish folk songs 1950s in Irish music