Kathleen Mavourneen
Encyclopedia
"Kathleen Mavourneen" is a song, written in 1837, composed by Frederick Crouch with lyrics by Marion Crawford. It was popular during the American Civil War
. "Mavourneen" is a term of endearment derived from the Irish Gaelic
mo mhuirnín, meaning "my beloved."
The Irish soprano Catherine Hayes
(1818–1861), the Hibernian prima donna, was the first Irish woman to sing at La Scala in Milan. She learned Kathleen Mavourneen while training in Dublin. It became her signature tune during concerts and in fact, Catherine Hayes sang it for Queen Victoria and over 500 royal guests during a concert performed at Buckingham Palace in June 1849.
During several very successful years in Italy, Catherine Hayes became the foremost Lucia di Lammermoor in the 1840s. She toured around the world between 1851 and 1856. She circumnagivated the globe, performing in operas and singing concerts. The trip began in New York in 1851 and over the next few years, she appeared in over 40 other cities on the east coast of the USA and Canada. From there she toured extensively across the US - Charleston SC, Savannah GA, New Orleans and Baton Rouge LA, Memphis and Nashville TN, San Francisco and Sacramento CA, (1851–53) Lima (Peru), Valparaiso and Santiago (Chili)(1853–54), Honolulu Hawaii (July 1854), Sydney, Melbourne, Geelong and Adelaide (Australia)(1854 and again in 1855), Bendigo, Hobart (Tasmania 1856), Calcutta, Singapore, Java (1855).
The song Kathleen Mavourneen gained popularity with American audiences as a direct result of the extensive touring of Catherine Hayes.
The song plays a prominent role in Michael Shaara
's Civil War historical novel The Killer Angels
and its film adaptation Gettysburg. It is recalled by Confederate Brigadier General Lewis A. Armistead that the song was sung at a dinner at the home of Armistead's best friend, now Union Major General Winfield Scott Hancock
and his wife Almira, at the U.S. Army garrison in Los Angeles, California in 1861 (at which time Armistead was a major and Hancock was a captain). This was the night before Armistead and several other Southern officers were to depart for the Confederacy, having resigned their US Army commissions. Armistead and Confederate Brigadier General Richard B. Garnett
, who was also present at the dinner, are killed and Hancock is severely wounded as Armistead's and Garnett's brigades assault the position defended by Hancock's II Corps on Cemetery Ridge
in Gettysburg during Pickett's Charge
. In the film, "Kathleen Mavourneen" is sung once by an Irish tenor at the Confederate camp, and thereafter is used frequently as a theme in the music score by Randy Edelman
.
Several silent films were titled "Kathleen Mavourneen" with the first such drama being produced in 1906 starring Kitty O'Neil, Walter Griswoll and H.L. Bascomb. Other such silent film titles were produced in 1911, 1913, and 1919. This last one starred Theda Bara
. Two other films with this title, but using sound, were produced in 1930 and 1937. Of the 1919 film, Irish and Catholic groups protested not only the depiction of Ireland, but of a Jewish actress in the leading role. Fox Film Corporation pulled the film after several movie-theater riots and bomb threats.
American Civil War
The American Civil War was a civil war fought in the United States of America. In response to the election of Abraham Lincoln as President of the United States, 11 southern slave states declared their secession from the United States and formed the Confederate States of America ; the other 25...
. "Mavourneen" is a term of endearment derived from the Irish Gaelic
Irish language
Irish , also known as Irish Gaelic, is a Goidelic language of the Indo-European language family, originating in Ireland and historically spoken by the Irish people. Irish is now spoken as a first language by a minority of Irish people, as well as being a second language of a larger proportion of...
mo mhuirnín, meaning "my beloved."
The Irish soprano Catherine Hayes
Catherine Hayes
Catherine Hayes [married name Bushnell] was the first Irish-born opera diva to achieve international acclaim....
(1818–1861), the Hibernian prima donna, was the first Irish woman to sing at La Scala in Milan. She learned Kathleen Mavourneen while training in Dublin. It became her signature tune during concerts and in fact, Catherine Hayes sang it for Queen Victoria and over 500 royal guests during a concert performed at Buckingham Palace in June 1849.
During several very successful years in Italy, Catherine Hayes became the foremost Lucia di Lammermoor in the 1840s. She toured around the world between 1851 and 1856. She circumnagivated the globe, performing in operas and singing concerts. The trip began in New York in 1851 and over the next few years, she appeared in over 40 other cities on the east coast of the USA and Canada. From there she toured extensively across the US - Charleston SC, Savannah GA, New Orleans and Baton Rouge LA, Memphis and Nashville TN, San Francisco and Sacramento CA, (1851–53) Lima (Peru), Valparaiso and Santiago (Chili)(1853–54), Honolulu Hawaii (July 1854), Sydney, Melbourne, Geelong and Adelaide (Australia)(1854 and again in 1855), Bendigo, Hobart (Tasmania 1856), Calcutta, Singapore, Java (1855).
The song Kathleen Mavourneen gained popularity with American audiences as a direct result of the extensive touring of Catherine Hayes.
The song plays a prominent role in Michael Shaara
Michael Shaara
Michael Shaara was an American writer of science fiction, sports fiction, and historical fiction. He was born to Italian immigrant parents in Jersey City, New Jersey, graduated from Rutgers University in 1951, and served as a sergeant in the 82nd Airborne division...
's Civil War historical novel The Killer Angels
The Killer Angels
The Killer Angels is a historical novel by Michael Shaara that was awarded the Pulitzer Prize for Fiction in 1975. The book tells the story of four days of the Battle of Gettysburg in the American Civil War: June 30, 1863, as the troops of both the Union and the Confederacy move into battle around...
and its film adaptation Gettysburg. It is recalled by Confederate Brigadier General Lewis A. Armistead that the song was sung at a dinner at the home of Armistead's best friend, now Union Major General Winfield Scott Hancock
Winfield Scott Hancock
Winfield Scott Hancock was a career U.S. Army officer and the Democratic nominee for President of the United States in 1880. He served with distinction in the Army for four decades, including service in the Mexican-American War and as a Union general in the American Civil War...
and his wife Almira, at the U.S. Army garrison in Los Angeles, California in 1861 (at which time Armistead was a major and Hancock was a captain). This was the night before Armistead and several other Southern officers were to depart for the Confederacy, having resigned their US Army commissions. Armistead and Confederate Brigadier General Richard B. Garnett
Richard B. Garnett
Richard Brooke Garnett was a career United States Army officer and a Confederate general in the American Civil War. He was killed during Pickett's Charge at the Battle of Gettysburg.-Early life:...
, who was also present at the dinner, are killed and Hancock is severely wounded as Armistead's and Garnett's brigades assault the position defended by Hancock's II Corps on Cemetery Ridge
Cemetery Ridge
Cemetery Ridge is a geographic feature in Gettysburg National Military Park south of the town of Gettysburg, Pennsylvania, that figured prominently in the Battle of Gettysburg, July 1 to July 3, 1863. It formed a primary defensive position for the Union Army during the battle, roughly the center of...
in Gettysburg during Pickett's Charge
Pickett's Charge
Pickett's Charge was an infantry assault ordered by Confederate Gen. Robert E. Lee against Maj. Gen. George G. Meade's Union positions on Cemetery Ridge on July 3, 1863, the last day of the Battle of Gettysburg during the American Civil War. Its futility was predicted by the charge's commander,...
. In the film, "Kathleen Mavourneen" is sung once by an Irish tenor at the Confederate camp, and thereafter is used frequently as a theme in the music score by Randy Edelman
Randy Edelman
Randy Edelman is an American film and TV score composer.-Life and career:Edelman was born in Paterson, New Jersey. He was raised in Teaneck, New Jersey, the son of a first-grade teacher and an accountant. He attended the Cincinnati Conservatory of Music before heading to New York where he played...
.
Several silent films were titled "Kathleen Mavourneen" with the first such drama being produced in 1906 starring Kitty O'Neil, Walter Griswoll and H.L. Bascomb. Other such silent film titles were produced in 1911, 1913, and 1919. This last one starred Theda Bara
Theda Bara
Theda Bara , born Theodosia Burr Goodman, was an American silent film actress – one of the most popular of her era, and one of cinema's earliest sex symbols. Her femme fatale roles earned her the nickname "The Vamp" . The term "vamp" soon became a popular slang term for a sexually predatory woman...
. Two other films with this title, but using sound, were produced in 1930 and 1937. Of the 1919 film, Irish and Catholic groups protested not only the depiction of Ireland, but of a Jewish actress in the leading role. Fox Film Corporation pulled the film after several movie-theater riots and bomb threats.