A Little Bit of Heaven: An Irish American Anthology

This nostalgic collection of Irish ballads and poems celebrates the rich history and culture of the Irish-American experience.  Spanning the early 19th century through the 1930s, these carefully selected pieces capture the hopes, dreams, and struggles of Irish immigrants as they built new lives in America. From the decorous parlours of the Irish middle class to the tumultuous vaudeville halls, these songs and verses paint a vivid picture of a people finding their place in a new land.  Iconic figures like 'Irish Molly-Os,' 'Mother Machrees,' and 'Dacent Irish Boys' come to life, embodying the spirit of a proud and resilient community.  Many of these pieces, such as ‘My Wild Irish Rose’ and ‘My Irish Molly’, still figure in the repertoire of Irish traditional groups. However, they owe far more to the era of vaudeville, music hall and Tin Pan Alley than to any Irish Music Tradition.  While some entries may lean into the "Oirishness" that purists love to critique, this collection embraces the sentimental charm that endeared these works to generations of Irish Americans. For them, these ballads and poems were a cherished connection to the green hills of a distant homeland, a badge of honour in their adopted country. Compiled with love and unapologetic nostalgia, A Little Bit of Heaven: An Irish American Anthology pays tribute to the enduring legacy of the Irish on both sides of the Atlantic. It is a must-read for anyone seeking to understand the Irish-American experience through the power of song and verse.

Table of Contents:
Contents Introduction 9 1 The Irish Emigrant The Irish Emigrant, Lady Dufferin 15 Teddy O'Neale, James Gaspard Maedar 17 Shores of Amertkay, Anon 19 The Moon Behind the Hill, William Kenneally 20 Goodbye, Mursheen Durkin, Anon 22 Ireland -A Seaside Portrait, John James Piatt 24 Off to Philadelphia, Anon 25 The Old Bog Road, Teresa Brayton 27 The Emigrant's Letter, Percy French 29 An Irish Mother, Percy French 31 Goodbye, Mick, Anon 33 2 A Little Bit of Heaven Kathleen Mavourneen, Julia Crawford 37 Killarney, Edmund Falconer 38 The Exile's Devotion, Thomas D'Arcy McGee 40 Come Back to Erin, Claribel 42 The Exile's Return, John Locke 43 Danny Boy, Fred E. Weatherly 46 I'll take You Home Again, Kathleen, Thomas P Westendorf 47 The Shamrock, Maurice Francis Egan 49 Mr Dooley on Irish Christmasses, Finley Peter Dunne 50 A Little Bit of Heaven, J.Keirn Brennan 54 Mother Machree, Rida Johnson Young 56 Ireland in America, Alice Furlong 57 'Twas Only an Irishman's Dream, John J. O'Brien and Al Dubin 60 3 When McGuiness Gets a Job When McGuiness Gets a Job, Anon 63 Drill, Ye Tarriers, Drill, Anon 65 The Hod-Carriers'Song, Anon 67 Paddy on the Canal, Anon 69 The Boston Burglar, Anon 71 4 Wakes and Weddings and Every County Ball Mick McGilligan's Ball, Anon If You're Irish, Come into the Parlour, ShanGlenville and Frank Miller The Magutres, Edward Harrigan Lannigan's Ball, Anon Teaching McFadden to Waltz, Anon McCarthy's Party, Anon 84 Finnegan's Wake, Anon 86 Macnamara's Band, John J. Stamford 88 5 The Fighting Race The Wearing of the Green, Dion Boucicault 93 The Celts, Thomas D'Arcy McGee 95 Irish Astronomy, 'Private Myles O'Reilly' 97 When Johnny Comes Marching Home, 'Louis Lambert' 99 The Croppy Boy, 'Carroll Malone' 101 A Savage, John Boyle O'Reilly 103 The Fighting Race, J. I. C. Clarke 104 The General's Death, Joseph O'Connor 107 The Fenian Man o War, Anon 108 Come to the Bower, Anon 109 Mush, Mush, Anon 111 'Throw Him Down, McCloskey', John W. Kelly 113 A Challenge, John L. Sullivan 115 Clancy Lowered the Boom, Anon 116 6 My Irish Molly, O Molly Bawn, Samuel Lover 119 Molly Brallaghan, Anon 120 Colleen Dhas Cruthen na Moe, Dion Bouctcault 122 The Rose of Tralee, William P. Mulchinock 124 Bridget Donahue, Johnny Patterson 125 My Wild Irish Rose, Chauncey Olcott 127 Little Annie Rooney, Michael Nolan 128 Macushla, Josephine V. Rowe 130 My Irish Molly, O, Billy Jerome 131 Peggy O'Neill, V. Pearse, E. G. Nelson and Gilbert Dodge 133 7 On Stage, Everybody! Barney Brallaghan''s Courtship, Peter K. Moran 137 Dear Old Donegal, Johnny Patterson 139 The Donevans, Edward Harrigan 141 The Mulligan Guard, Edward Harrigan 142 'Who Threw the Overalls in Mistress Murphy's Chowder?', George L. Geifer 144 Down Went McGinty, Joseph Flynn 146 Harrigan, George M. Cohan 149 If We Only Had Old Ireland Over Here, Anon 150 8 A Great Day for the Irish Maggie Murphy's Home, Edward Harrigan 153 Muldoon, the Solid Man, Edward Harrigan 155 The Band Played On, John F- Palmer 157 Casey at the Bat, Ernest Lawrence Thayer When Irish Eyes Are Smiling, Chauncey Olcott and George Graff It's a Great Day for the Irish, Roger Edens © Copyrigh

About the Author :
Sean McMahon was born in Derry in 1931 and he was educated at St Derrys Columbs College and in Queens University in Belfast. He returned to Derry to teach in St Columbs and taught Mathematics until his retirement in 1988. During his teaching years he staged many productions of works by Shakespeare and modern dramatists both for St Columbs and for amateur theatre groups in Derry. He also wrote the lyrics for musical shows. His literary career properly began with his anthology The Best from the Bell, which was followed by A Book of Irish Quotations and Rich and Rare, an anthology of prose and verse. Over the past twenty years he has written and edited dozens of books, including biographies of Ulster writers Sam Hanna Bell and Robert Lynd, the bestselling A Short History of Ireland and books on all aspects of Irish life and culture, including A Short History of Ulster, The Island of Saints and Scholars and Irish Names for Children.