"Dear Old Donegal" is an Irish-American song popularised by American singer

Bing Crosby Harry Lillis "Bing" Crosby Jr. (May 3, 1903 – October 14, 1977) was an American singer, musician and actor. The first multimedia star, he was one of the most popular and influential musical artists of the 20th century worldwide. He was a ...

and written by Steve Graham. The song has an 'upbeat' rhythm and is meant to be the words of a poor Irishman who has to leave his homeland to go to United States, however, he gets to return to his native

County Donegal County Donegal ( ; ga, Contae Dhún na nGall) is a county of Ireland in the province of Ulster and in the Northern and Western Region. It is named after the town of Donegal in the south of the county. It has also been known as County Tyrconn ...

after becoming successful in the United States. ''Dear Old Donegal'' was also performed by

Judy Garland Judy Garland (born Frances Ethel Gumm; June 10, 1922June 22, 1969) was an American actress and singer. While critically acclaimed for many different roles throughout her career, she is widely known for playing the part of Dorothy Gale in ''The ...

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, and

Vic Damone Vic Damone (born Vito Rocco Farinola; June 12, 1928 – February 11, 2018) was an American traditional pop and big band singer and actor. He was best known for his performances of songs such as the number one hit "You're Breaking My Heart", and ...

as part of the ''All-Purpose Holiday Medley'' on ''

The Judy Garland Show ''The Judy Garland Show'' is an American musical variety television series that aired on CBS on Sunday nights during the 1963–1964 television season. Despite a sometimes stormy relationship with Judy Garland, CBS had found success with sever ...

'' in 1963. It was parodied by

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on his 1962 album '' My Son, the Folk Singer'', as "Shake Hands With Your Uncle Max", using Jewish references rather than Irish. The tune of the song was used in the US comedy ''

Family Guy ''Family Guy'' is an American animated sitcom originally conceived and created by Seth MacFarlane for the Fox Broadcasting Company. The show centers around the Griffins, a dysfunctional family consisting of parents Peter and Lois; their ...

'' for the song "Drunken Irish Dad", which was sung by Peter Griffin in the episode "

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". The song was even nominated for a Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Original Music and Lyrics at the 59th Primetime Emmy Awards.

Film appearances

*'' Gentleman Jim'' (1942) - (sung and danced by Alan Hale and others)

Recordings

, recorded December 6, 1945 with

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and his Orchestra with The Jesters. *

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, whose version appeared on an episode of ''

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'' *

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, performed on Command Performance in 1943 *

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, performs it in the film ''

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'' (1947) *

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included in her album '' Connie Francis Sings Irish Favorites'' (1962) *

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sang a portion of the song in his role as Sergeant Morgan O'Rourke in an episode of the television series ''

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'' (Season 1, Episode 25, "Reunion For O'Rourke"). It was also sung by

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as "

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" in an episode of ''

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'' (when he was dressed up like a woman to show what a pushover the Mayberry Bank was). Its latest incarnation is a comedic version about an evil capitalist arriving in Hell, where he meets all his role models in the trade, by Mikhail Horowitz and Gilles Malkine, parodists from Woodstock, NY, on their 2007 CD "Poor, On Tour, & Over 54".

Lyrics

Many versions of the lyrics exist. Some have the singer's 'sister Kate' and the girl at the garden gate as separate people, different lengths of time since the singer left Ireland, and multiple versions of the names sung in the body of the song.

References

{{authority control Irish folk songs Songs about Ireland Songs of the Irish diaspora Year of song unknown Songwriter unknown