An Mhaighdean Mhara

(Traditional)

You seem to be pining and forsaking the fun

The snowdrifts are heavy by the fords in the burn

Your bright golden tresses, your smile gentle and mild

I give you Mary Kinney, who has swum the ocean wide

Darling mother, cries Maíre Bhán

From the banks of the ocean and down by the tide

Maighdean Mhara (Mermaid), my mother, my pride

I give you Mary Kinney, who has swum the ocean wide

I’m tired and weary and will be till dawn

For my darling Mary and my Pádraig bán

As I ride on the billows and drift with the tide

I give you Mary Kinney, who has swum the ocean wide

Translation by Proinsias Ó Maonaigh

The mermaid is a fantastic creature who represents the unattainable, and tales in which she appears usually end in heartbreak and death.  This mermaid’s tale is no different.  In this ballad a fisherman falls in love with the mermaid, Mary Kinney.  He tricks her into forgetting her identity.  For years the two live happily together and start a family, but eventually the mermaid is able to remember who she is and must return to her home in the sea.  As in many traditional ballads, this story is told through the eyes of its characters.  The husband speaks through the first verse, the daughter in the second, and the mermaid in the final verse. 

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