Deirdre Shannon sings 'Crucán na bPaiste'

This song, sung in Gaelic, is taken from Deirdre Shannon's latest album. For those who don't know, Deirdre has been part of Celtic Woman during the times Méav was on maternity leave.

Crucán na bPáiste means "Burial place of the children". The song was written by Brendan Graham, who is both a songwriter and an author, and it was written for the principal character in his trilogy of books:

1)The Whitest Flower
2) The Element of Fire
3) The Brightest Day, The Darkest Night

The song is the story of Ellen Rua, from East County Mayo, a county where the people suffered greatly in the Famine, with one third of the population dying as a result. Many more, weakened by the famine, died of fever and dysentery. Babies conceived and born in this era were malnourished, and often did not live long. There were so many victims that they were buried in mass graves. However, local people could not bear the thought of their little ones being placed in mass graves with everyone else, so they made a special place ... Crucán na bPaiste.

In this lament, Ellen Rua is mourning her "little redheaded girl" lying in the cold ground of Crucán na bPaiste. She is devastated that she could not save her child, and asks the Lord to take her too. She cannot stay in Ireland without her child … so she leaves on one of the Famine ships to Australia. Eventually she travels to Boston, to a new life … but her strength is again tried by tragedy.

A very sad song ... and it is sung with great feeling by the talented Deirdre.

Translation:

Broken my heart
Lonely my life
With my darling child lying here and me tormented
It is the end of my world
My little red-haired girl
Laid out in Crucán na bPáiste 

She will not see again
The dew on the grass
Nor the snow in the glens of Maamtrasna
No sun on her face
No sweet song of the birds
Only the cold earth of Crucán na bPáiste

Chorus:
In the name of the Father
And in the name of the Son
And Mother Mary full of grace
In the name of the Holy Spirit
Don't leave me alive
With my little angel in Crucán na bPáiste 

There is sadness on the mountains
Anger on the Mask ( Lough Mask - a lake nearby)
But much worse am I that didn't save her
And for the time I am alive
Never more will I stand
In Ireland or in Crucán na bPáiste
With my little angel in Crucán na bPáiste