"Éamonn an Chnoic" ("Ned of the Hill") is a popular Sean nos song in

traditional Irish music Irish traditional music (also known as Irish trad, Irish folk music, and other variants) is a Music genre, genre of folk music that developed in Ireland. In ''A History of Irish Music'' (1905), W. H. Grattan Flood wrote that, in Gaelic Irela ...

. It is a slow, mournful

ballad A ballad is a form of verse, often a narrative set to music. Ballads were particularly characteristic of the popular poetry and song of Great Britain and Ireland from the Late Middle Ages until the 19th century. They were widely used across Eur ...

with a somber theme and no

chorus Chorus may refer to: Music * Chorus (song), the part of a song that is repeated several times, usually after each verse * Chorus effect, the perception of similar sounds from multiple sources as a single, richer sound * Chorus form, song in whic ...

. The song is attributed to Éamonn Ó Riain (Edmund O'Ryan) (d. c. 1724), an early 18th-century

County Tipperary County Tipperary () is a Counties of Ireland, county in Republic of Ireland, Ireland. It is in the Provinces of Ireland, province of Munster and the Southern Region, Ireland, Southern Region. The county is named after the town of Tipperary (tow ...

folk hero A folk hero or national hero is a type of hero – real, fictional or mythology, mythological – with their name, personality and deeds embedded in the popular consciousness of a people, mentioned frequently in Folk music, folk songs, folk tales ...

, composer of Irish bardic poetry, and rapparee; an outlawed Jacobite from the

Gaelic nobility of Ireland This article concerns the Gaelic nobility of Ireland from ancient to modern times. It only partly overlaps with Chiefs of the Name because it excludes Scotland and other discussion. It is one of three groups of Irish nobility, the others bei ...

who still held to the

code of conduct A code of conduct is a set of rules outlining the social norm, norms, rules, and responsibilities or proper practices of an individual party or an organization. Companies' codes of conduct A company code of conduct is a set of rules which is comm ...

of the traditional chiefs of the

Irish clan Irish clans are traditional kinship groups sharing a common surname and heritage and existing in a lineage-based society, originating prior to the 17th century. A clan (or in Irish, plural ) included the chief and his patrilineal relatives; howe ...

s. Folk song researcher Donal O'Sullivan has written that Captain Edmund O'Ryan's, "gay chivalry, daring exploits, and 'moving accidents by flood and field' would indeed make fine material for a historical novel."

Life

According to

James Clarence Mangan James Clarence Mangan, born James Mangan (; 1 May 1803 – 20 June 1849), was an Irish poetry, Irish poet. He freely translated works from German, Turkish, Persian, Arabic, and Irish, with his translations of Goethe gaining special interest. St ...

, O'Ryan was born in Shanbohy, in the

civil parish In England, a civil parish is a type of administrative parish used for local government. It is a territorial designation which is the lowest tier of local government. Civil parishes can trace their origin to the ancient system of parishes, w ...

of Templebeg (), in the half-barony of Kilnamanagh Upper in Tipperary, "previous to the wars of 1690". Stephen Dunford, however, gives his birthplace as Atshanbohy, in the same civil parish. Donal O'Sullivan, on the other hand, gives his birthplace as the castle upon ''Cnoc Maothail'', a hill 828 feet high in Templebeg and, for this reason he was always known as ''Éamonn an Chnuic'', or Edmund of the Hill. For similar reasons, his sister was known as "Sally of the Hill", (). His father's family was descended from the

derbhfine The derbfine ( ; , from 'real' + 'group of persons of the same family or kindred', thus literally 'true kin'electronic Dictionary of the Irish Language s.vderbḟine/ref>) was a term for patrilineal groups and power structures defined in the fi ...

of the last

Chief of the Name The Chief of the Name, or in older English usage Captain of his Nation, is the recognised head of a family or clan ( Irish and Scottish Gaelic: ''fine'') in Ireland and Scotland. Ireland There are instances where Norman lords of the time like ...

of Clan O'Ryan and

Lord Lord is an appellation for a person or deity who has authority, control, or power (social and political), power over others, acting as a master, chief, or ruler. The appellation can also denote certain persons who hold a title of the Peerage o ...

of Kilnalongurty; but his ancestors had lost their ancestral lands fighting for the

Hiberno-Norman Norman Irish or Hiberno-Normans (; ) is a modern term for the descendants of Norman settlers who arrived during the Anglo-Norman invasion of Ireland in the 12th century. Most came from England and Wales. They are distinguished from the native ...

Fitzgerald dynasty The FitzGerald dynasty is a Hiberno-Norman noble and aristocratic dynasty, originally of Cambro-Normans, Cambro-Norman and Anglo-Normans, Anglo-Norman origin. They have been Peerage of Ireland, peers of Ireland since at least the 13th centur ...

during the

Elizabethan era The Elizabethan era is the epoch in the Tudor period of the history of England during the reign of Queen Elizabeth I (1558–1603). Historians often depict it as the golden age in English history. The Roman symbol of Britannia (a female ...

Desmond Rebellions The Desmond Rebellions occurred in 1569–1573 and 1579–1583 in the Irish province of Munster. They were rebellions by the Earl of Desmond, the head of the FitzGerald dynasty in Munster, and his followers, the Geraldines and their allies, ...

. O'Ryan's mother was from the

of the last

of Clan O'Dwyer and

of Upper and Lower Kilnamanagh. O'Ryan was educated in

Catholic Europe The Catholic Church in Europe is part of the worldwide Catholic Church in full communion with the Holy See in Rome, including represented Eastern Catholic Catholic missions, missions. Demographically, Catholics are the largest religious group in ...

and intended for the priesthood, but "by an affair in which he took a prominent part" had to relinquish that plan. It is said that, during a visit home, O'Ryan was outlawed after shooting a

bailiff A bailiff is a manager, overseer or custodian – a legal officer to whom some degree of authority or jurisdiction is given. There are different kinds, and their offices and scope of duties vary. Another official sometimes referred to as a '' ...

dead during a quarrel over the confiscation of an elderly and poor woman's only cow. A further background to Captain O'Ryan's career was the confiscation of

Royalist A royalist supports a particular monarch as head of state for a particular kingdom, or of a particular dynastic claim. In the abstract, this position is royalism. It is distinct from monarchism, which advocates a monarchical system of gove ...

-owned land after the

Cromwellian conquest of Ireland The Cromwellian conquest of Ireland (1649–1653) was the re-conquest of Ireland by the Commonwealth of England, initially led by Oliver Cromwell. It forms part of the 1641 to 1652 Irish Confederate Wars, and wider 1639 to 1653 Wars of the Three ...

in the Act of Settlement 1652, upon which when many similarly dispossessed

Cavaliers The term ''Cavalier'' () was first used by Roundheads as a term of abuse for the wealthier royalist supporters of Charles I of England and his son Charles II of England, Charles II during the English Civil War, the Interregnum (England), Int ...

also became outlaws, known as "tories" or " rapparees". According to Stephen Dunford, "Ned ranged over his native parish in the aftermath of the shooting. Hunted night and day, he embarked upon a one man crusade against the foreign landlords and authorities. He robbed, he plundered, he disturbed the peace of the area." In one story, O'Ryan held up an Anglo-Irish woman's coach on the road to

Dublin Dublin is the capital and largest city of Republic of Ireland, Ireland. Situated on Dublin Bay at the mouth of the River Liffey, it is in the Provinces of Ireland, province of Leinster, and is bordered on the south by the Dublin Mountains, pa ...

. Upon learning, however, that the £100 was all the woman possessed for her living expenses until her husband returned from England, O'Ryan took only half a crown from the woman's purse and returned the rest. He then told her, "It is Ned of the Hill that has robbed you, madam, and not some common criminal. Be sure to say that when you recount this incident." Moments later, O'Ryan is said to have been robbed at gunpoint by Count Redmond O'Hanlon, before turning the tables on the outlaw Count and defeating him in a wrestling match. The two outlaws then parted as friends. During the

Williamite War The Williamite War in Ireland took place from March 1689 to October 1691. Fought between Jacobite supporters of James II and those of his successor, William III, it resulted in a Williamite victory. It is generally viewed as a related conflic ...

of 1689-91, Éamonn O'Ryan fought for

King James II James II and VII (14 October 1633 – 16 September 1701) was King of England and Ireland as James II and King of Scotland as James VII from the death of his elder brother, Charles II, on 6 February 1685, until he was deposed in the 1688 Glori ...

at the

Battle of the Boyne The Battle of the Boyne ( ) took place in 1690 between the forces of the deposed King James II, and those of King William III who, with his wife Queen Mary II (his cousin and James's daughter), had acceded to the Crowns of England and Sc ...

and the

Battle of Aughrim The Battle of Aughrim () was the decisive battle of the Williamite War in Ireland. It was fought between the largely Irish Army (Kingdom of Ireland), Irish Jacobitism, Jacobite army loyal to James II of England, James II and the forces of Will ...

. O'Ryan also accompanied

Patrick Sarsfield Patrick Sarsfield, 1st Earl of Lucan ( 1655 – 21 August 1693) was an Irish army officer. Killed at Battle of Landen, Landen in 1693 while serving in the French Royal Army, he is now best remembered as an Irish patriot and military hero. Born ...

and Galloping Hogan during the raid that resulted in the destruction of the William of Orange's siege train at Ballyneety. Author and poet Robert Dwyer Joyce would later dub Edmund O'Ryan, "one of the noblest gentlemen and bravest Rapparee captains that ever drew sword or shook bridle free in the cause of worthless, war-minded King James the Second." During the first siege of Limerick, O'Ryan's cousin, Hugh O'Ryan, also known as "Hugh of Glenurra", was

killed in action Killed in action (KIA) is a casualty classification generally used by militaries to describe the deaths of their personnel at the hands of enemy or hostile forces at the moment of action. The United States Department of Defense, for example, ...

during an ambush of Williamite troops at the Bridge of Tern. Éamonn O'Ryan, while accompanied by at least one other relative, is said to have subsequently avenged his cousin. After the Treaty of Limerick, most of the defeated Jacobite Army sailed from

Limerick City Limerick ( ; ) is a city in western Ireland, in County Limerick. It is in the Provinces of Ireland, province of Munster and is in the Mid-West Region, Ireland, Mid-West which comprises part of the Southern Region, Ireland, Southern Region. W ...

and joined the Flight of the Wild Geese. According to Donal O'Sullivan, "Most, but by no means all. Some of the most gallant and intrepid remained behind to carry on an independent fight by every means in their power: constantly raiding the encampments of the English soldiery, harassing its lines of communication, and retreating into their hideouts in the hills, each man of them with a price in his head. They were known as Rapparees () - what we should now call an underground movement; and one of the most heroic of them all was Edmund Ryan of the Hill." Along with fellow raparees Colonel John Hurley, Colonel Dermot Leary, Captain Matthew Higgins and John Murphy, O'Ryan issued a proclamation in December 1694, denouncing all those disloyal to

, offered a reward of £200 to anyone who brought to them any member of William of Orange's privy council and a further bounty of £50 to anyone who delivered to them a military officer still in arms against the

House of Stuart The House of Stuart, originally spelled Stewart, also known as the Stuart dynasty, was a dynasty, royal house of Kingdom of Scotland, Scotland, Kingdom of England, England, Kingdom of Ireland, Ireland and later Kingdom of Great Britain, Great ...

. According to Donal O'Sullivan, "Precise dates are for the most part lacking; but there existed in the former Irish Record Office (destroyed with all its contents in the

Civil War A civil war is a war between organized groups within the same Sovereign state, state (or country). The aim of one side may be to take control of the country or a region, to achieve independence for a region, or to change government policies.J ...

of 1922) a Government Proclamation, dated 1702, offering £200 for the apprehension of 'Edmund Knock Ryan.'"

Personal life

Despite being constantly on the run, Éamonn O'Ryan, according to the local

oral tradition Oral tradition, or oral lore, is a form of human communication in which knowledge, art, ideas and culture are received, preserved, and transmitted orally from one generation to another.Jan Vansina, Vansina, Jan: ''Oral Tradition as History'' (19 ...

, found time to fall in love and get married. While roving through

Ulster Ulster (; or ; or ''Ulster'') is one of the four traditional or historic provinces of Ireland, Irish provinces. It is made up of nine Counties of Ireland, counties: six of these constitute Northern Ireland (a part of the United Kingdom); t ...

and

Leinster Leinster ( ; or ) is one of the four provinces of Ireland, in the southeast of Ireland. The modern province comprises the ancient Kingdoms of Meath, Leinster and Osraige, which existed during Gaelic Ireland. Following the 12th-century ...

, Éamonn O'Ryan met Mary Leahy. O'Ryan secretly wooed Leahy while posing as a wandering composer and singer of Irish bardic poetry and, ultimately, they eloped from the feast celebrating Mary Leahy's imminent wedding to another man. Éamonn O'Ryan is said to have composed for Mary both the song that is now named for him and

love song A love song is a song about love, falling in love, heartbreak after a breakup, and the feelings that these experiences bring. Love songs can be found in a variety of different music genres. They can come in various formats, from sad and emotion ...

''Bean Dubh an Ghleanna''. While no records to confirm their marriage now survive, Éamonn and Mary O'Ryan are said to have had a son, who was taken in and raised by a sympathetic woman from the local

Anglo-Irish Anglo-Irish people () denotes an ethnic, social and religious grouping who are mostly the descendants and successors of the English Protestant Ascendancy in Ireland. They mostly belong to the Anglican Church of Ireland, which was the State rel ...

gentry and later became a respected local merchant. Their grandson is said to have become magistrate at the Leinster Assizes, who was known as Judge Mountain.

Death

After many strange vicissitudes, O'Ryan arrived at the Hollyford () home of his kinsman Tomás Bán Ó Dubhuir, also known as ''Dubhuir Broc'' ("Badger Dwyer"), on a rainy evening in 1724. O'Ryan had been pursued for two days by a posse of redcoats and was exhausted. Even though O'Ryan had stood godfather at the

baptism Baptism (from ) is a Christians, Christian sacrament of initiation almost invariably with the use of water. It may be performed by aspersion, sprinkling or affusion, pouring water on the head, or by immersion baptism, immersing in water eit ...

of his son, Dwyer let him in and, hoping to collect the £300 reward,

beheaded Decapitation is the total separation of the head from the body. Such an injury is invariably fatal to humans and all vertebrate animals, since it deprives the brain of oxygenated blood by way of severing through the jugular vein and common c ...

O'Ryan with a

hatchet A hatchet (from the Old French language, Old French , a diminutive form of ''hache'', 'axe' of Germanic origin) is a Tool, single-handed striking tool with a sharp blade on one side used to cut and split wood, and a hammerhead on the other side ...

while he slept. Upon bringing the severed head to the

county seat A county seat is an administrative center, seat of government, or capital city of a county or parish (administrative division), civil parish. The term is in use in five countries: Canada, China, Hungary, Romania, and the United States. An equiva ...

Cashel Cashel (an Anglicised form of the Irish language word ''Caiseal'', meaning "stone fort") may refer to: Places in Ireland *Cashel, County Tipperary **The Rock of Cashel, an ancient, hilltop fortress complex for which Cashel is named ** Archbishop ...

(), however, Dwyer learned to his chagrin that O'Ryan had been pardoned two days previously and that no reward would be given. Even so, O'Ryan's severed head was confiscated and displayed spiked upon Cashel Gaol for several days, until some local men removed the head and delivered it to the former outlaw's sister, Sally O'Ryan. According to the local

, O'Ryan's body lies buried at Doon ( Irish: ''Dún Bleisce''), while his sister, Sally O'Ryan of the Hill, buried her brother's severed head in the Catholic cemetery at Foilachluig, in the

of Toem, in the half barony of Kilnamanagh Upper, near the site of his assassination at Hollyford. According Mangan, "the precise spot is marked on sheet 45 of the Ordnance Survey of Tipperary as the grave of Eamonn an Chnoic." In 1962, the grave was found to have been dug up. What was believed to be O'Ryan's skull was taken to the nearest Catholic Church, blessed, and then reburied. In 1963, Matthew Ryan, a relative of the outlaw and retired officer in the

United States Navy The United States Navy (USN) is the naval warfare, maritime military branch, service branch of the United States Department of Defense. It is the world's most powerful navy with the largest Displacement (ship), displacement, at 4.5 millio ...

, erected a tombstone: ;"Edmund Knock Ryan Ned O' the Hill ;Éamman an Chnoic ;His spirit and song live in the hearts of his people." Stephen Dunford (2000), ''The Irish Highwaymen'', Merlin Publishing. Page 286.

Song variants

The song is usually sung in Irish, but various English versions are popular as well. Other versions also highlight the failure of Ó Riain's countrymen to come to rally to his defence and more strongly emphasize that Ó Riain had been a man of wealth and influence. "Éamonn an Chnoic" has been recorded by countless artists in both English and Irish. Some versions, such as the "Young Ned of the Hill" recorded by

The Pogues The Pogues are an English Celtic punk band founded in King's Cross, London, in 1982, by Shane MacGowan, Spider Stacy and Jem Finer. Originally named Pogue Mahone—an anglicisation of the Irish language, Irish phrase :wikt:póg mo thóin, ''p� ...

, adapt the lyrics to a fast-

tempo In musical terminology, tempo (Italian for 'time'; plural 'tempos', or from the Italian plural), measured in beats per minute, is the speed or pace of a given musical composition, composition, and is often also an indication of the composition ...

song with only a passing similarity to the original folk song. Completely instrumental versions are also common.

Notes

References

"Ned of the Hill"
(2006). ''Sing Out! The Folk Song Magazine''. Retrieved 26 February 2007.

External links

Podcast - ''The Writers Passage 5 by Steve Dunford''
Dunford narrates biography from Cashel in County Tipperary where Edmond O' Ryan/Éamonn an Chnoic met his end.
''Ned of the Hill performed by Connie Dover''
from the album If Ever I Return {{DEFAULTSORT:Eamonn an Chnoic 1724 deaths 17th-century Irish-language poets 18th-century Irish-language poets Assassinated Irish people Assassinations in Ireland Deaths by decapitation Gaels Irish folk songs Irish folklore Irish Jacobites Irish murder victims Irish outlaws Irish soldiers in the army of James II of England Jacobite poets Outlaws Murder victims from County Tipperary People murdered in Ireland Songs in Irish The Pogues songs People assassinated in the 18th century