"Slaney Valley" is a 1971 Irish

country A country is a distinct part of the world, such as a state, nation, or other political entity. When referring to a specific polity, the term "country" may refer to a sovereign state, state with limited recognition, constituent country, ...

song A song is a musical composition performed by the human voice. The voice often carries the melody (a series of distinct and fixed pitches) using patterns of sound and silence. Songs have a structure, such as the common ABA form, and are usu ...

written by Paddy Kehoe and performed by Irish singer

Larry Cunningham Larry Cunningham (13 February 1938 – 28 September 2012) was an Irish country music singer, who was one of the leading figures of the showband scene in the 1960s and 1970s. Cunningham accomplished a series of "firsts" during his career. In 1964 ...

and his band the Country Blue Boys.

Lyrics

A speaker addresses his lover and asks her to come with him to the valley of the

Slaney Slaney is a surname. Notable people with this surname include: * Geoffrey Slaney (1922–2016), British surgeon and academic * Ivor Slaney (1921–1998), England musical composer and conductor * John Slaney (born 1972), Canadian ice hockey player ...

, a river in

County Wexford County Wexford () is a Counties of Ireland, county in Republic of Ireland, Ireland. It is in the Provinces of Ireland, province of Leinster and is part of the Southern Region, Ireland, Southern Region. Named after the town of Wexford, it was ba ...

and

County Carlow County Carlow ( ; ) is a Counties of Ireland, county located in the Southern Region, Ireland, Southern Region of Ireland, within the Provinces of Ireland, province of Leinster. Carlow is the List of Irish counties by area, second smallest and t ...

, Ireland. Wexford Irish National Heritage Park 13 Viking Settlement River Slaney 1

Song history

The song was written by Paddy Kehoe of

Enniscorthy Enniscorthy () is the second-largest town in County Wexford, Republic of Ireland, Ireland. The town is located on the picturesque River Slaney and in close proximity to the Blackstairs Mountains and Ireland's longest beach, Curracloe. The Plac ...

, who was the father of the hurler Padge Kehoe. The melody was composed by Tom Kinsella. "Slaney Valley" was released in 1971 and reached number 1 in the

Irish singles chart The Irish Singles Chart is the Republic of Ireland's music industry standard singles popularity chart issued weekly by the Irish Recorded Music Association (IRMA) and compiled on their behalf by the Official Charts Company. Chart rankings are ...

for the week of 1 January 1972. The song is mentioned in Orna Ross's 2005 novel ''Lovers' Hollow''.Ross, O. (2005:95). Lovers' Hollow. Ireland: Penguin Ireland.

References

External links

* {{authority control 1971 songs Country music songs Songs about Ireland 1970s in Irish music