• Percy French
Percy French's song 'Darling Girl from Clare' is sung here by Brendan O'Dowda, followed by an instrumental version with Frankie Gavin on fiddle and Martin O'Connor on Box.
French was born at Clooneyquinn House, near Tulsk, County Roscommon, the son of an Anglo-Irish landlord, Christopher French, and Susan Emma French (née Percy). The song, "Abdul Abulbul Amir", was published in 200 copies for £5 and French sold each copy for 2s6d, making a small fortune. However, he fatally omitted to register the copyright on the song and lost all the subsequent income from the royalties as it was re-published without his name. The royalties were restored to his widow and daughters after his death. The song later became hugely popular and was falsely claimed by other authors. Although he lost copyright, French always claimed authorship and did so on the sleeve of his song "Slattery's Mounted Fut" (1889) and in every issue of the weekly The Jarvey. Brendan O'Dowda claimed to have discovered, via the popularity of versions of the song at the American military academies in the 1980s, that French had written the lyrics while at Trinity College. He claimed responsibility for the restoration of the royalties in the 1980s. French joined the Board of Works in County Cavan as an Inspector of Drains in 1883. While in Trinity French won five out of six watercolour prizes and he became a member of the Dublin Sketching Club in 1876. It is said that he wrote his best songs during his Cavan period. He also painted copiously and established a sketching club and a comic troupe The Kinnepottle Komics in Cavan. During this period, he considered art to be his true vocation. In fact, when he became well-known later in his life, his paintings from his time as a civil engineer became fashionable and sought after. The volcano Krakatoa erupted in 1883 while French was in Cavan, and the particles of volcanic ash caused dramatic sunsets all over the world. French painted some of his finest landscapes in this period as he captured the spectacular skies. French exhibited his pictures in the Royal Hibernian Academy (RHA) and sometimes gave them short lyrical poems for titles, such as "Only the sullen seas that flow/ And ebb forever more,/ But tarry awhile sad heart and, lo!/ A light on that lonely shore". When the Board of Works reduced its staff around 1888, French turned to journalism as the editor of The Jarvey, a weekly comic paper. French was an enthusiastic cyclist, who cycled all over the country with his art materials stopping to sketch and paint. He was good friends with "Arjay" Mecredy, and when Mecredy went on holiday, he asked French to stand in for him as editor of The Irish Cyclist magazine. French's fey sense of humour caused him to make facetious replies to the letters to the editor, and Mecredy returned to a storm of raging withdrawals of subscriptions. He offered to subvent French in a humorous magazine. When The Jarvey failed, French's long and successful career as a songwriter and entertainer began. He had lived by the canal in Dublin at 35 Mespil Road before going to London in 1890. He famously wrote to his friends when he moved there: "We have come to live by the canal, do drop in". A granite seat was erected in 1988 on the canal near his home, dedicated to French. It was sponsored by the Oriel Gallery and bears another witticism of French's: "Remember me is all I ask, / And if that memory proves a task, forget". French was renowned for composing and singing comic songs and gained considerable distinction with such songs as Phil the Fluther's Ball, Slattery's Mounted Foot, and The Mountains of Mourne. The song was set to the same air as Thomas Moore's "Bendmeer's Stream" which, in turn, was adapted from the old Irish Air "Carraigdhoun". French also wrote many sketches and amusing parodies, the most famous of which is The Queen's After-Dinner Speech, written on the occasion of Queen Victoria's visit to Dublin in 1900, in which French drolly suggests "There's a slate off Willie Yeats". In addition, he wrote several poems, some he called "poems of pathos". Many of his poems and songs are on the theme of emigration. He remained a regular contributor to The Irish Cyclist, a weekly journal until his death. "Are Ye Right There Michael", a song ridiculing the state of the rail system in rural County Clare caused such embarrassment to the rail company that - according to a persistent local legend - it led to a libel action against French. According to the story, French arrived late at the court, and when questioned by the judge he responded "Your honour, I travelled by the West Clare Railway", resulting in the case being thrown out. In January 1920, when he was 65 years old, French became ill while performing in Glasgow. He died from pneumonia in Formby, England at the home of his cousin, Canon Richardson of Green Lea, College Avenue, on 24 January 1920.
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