Songs of Wexford

A regular feature on traditional songs of County Wexford. This week: Father Nicholas Stafford

THE 1798 Rising is part of the Wexford psyche. As the legendary Dublin singer and song collector Frank Harte said: ‘ Those in power write the history while those who suffer write the songs’. And indeed it is in our songs and ballads that our stories of ’98 are told.

Few of these songs, however, were written at the time of the Rising. It was 100 years later when PJ McCall wrote Boolavogue for the centenary commemorations and yet another 100 years later John Furlong wrote this song to celebrate the rebel priest Nicholas Stafford.

Fr Nicholas Stafford was born at Ballyvoodock in 1753 and was a curate in Riverchapel at the time of the 1798 Rebellion. A list of persons regarded as leaders in the Rebellion was found by General Lake in the house of the military governor and included the name of Fr Stafford and so he became a ‘wanted’ man.

The yeomen did everything in their power to capture him and to quote one source; ‘ he was hunted like a wild beast from his curacy in Riverchapel’.

After many trials and hardships he succeeded in reaching Ballytegan, outside Gorey, where a Protestant family by the name of Cooke lived and gave him shelter. Fr Stafford was most grateful and folklore has it that he said that there would always be a white horse in their yard. Indeed, it seems that for as long a Cookes lived at that house, this folklore survived and indeed they always did keep a white horse.

John Furlong set about writing this song at the request of Larry Mythen (RIP), from Ballingowan, Blackwater, a great local historian. Fr Stafford was an ancestor of both Larry and John. It was Larry’s belief that his story should be told in ballad form and he was most grateful to John for writing it.

A special event featuring Ballads of ’98 took place last Friday evening on June 1 as part of Michael Fortune and Robbie Sinnott’s ‘First of the Month’ series, which is filmed and broadcast on Facebook. Singers from all over the county gathered at Tulach a tSolais on Oulart Hill that evening for an intimate setting where we heard over a dozen ’98 songs which recalled the history and people in that famed summer of 1798.

The video of this concert and of John Furlong performing Fr Stafford is available on the Songs of Wexford Facebook page.

Father Stafford 1798 Words: John Furlong Air: Traditional

In ’98 in Wexford there were many wanted men,

But I’d like to tell you of a priest who was on the blacklist then, He was Father Nicholas Stafford and his flock he proudly led, It was then that Hunter Gowan set off to have his head.

He was chased from Riverchapel like a fox before the hound, He fled across the country evading every sound,

’Til just outside of Gorey he found a place to rest,

The stately home of Cooke’s where they cared him with the best.

They hid him from the yeomen who were searching high and low, In every shed and dwelling where they thought he might go. They followed him to Cooke’s house and inquired if he was there, And Mrs Cooke she answered: “No priest is staying here”.

From being so long on the run his health was almost gone, But when he gained in strength it was time that he moved on, To his home in Ballyvoodock, the place where he was born, In the parish of Blackwater on a clear September morn.

They gave to him a white horse to help him on his way,

And just before he left he turned around to say:

‘May you always have a white horse and may God be with you too, Though we’re of different faith I owe my life to you’

For his last few remaining years he stayed at his brother’s home, For involvement in the Rising he was denounced by Rome, He died in eighteen eleven, a fine priest loyal and true,

And they laid him down to rest in his grave in Ballyvaloo.