Thady Quill

Lyrics
Ye maids of Duhallow who're anxious for courting
A word of advice I will give unto ye
Proceed to Banteer to the athletic races
And hand in your names to the club committee
But do not commence any sketch of your programme
Till a carriage you’ll notice flying over the hill
For flying through the valleys and glens of Kilcorney
Is our Muskerry sportsman the Bold Thady Quill
(Chorus):
For rambling, for roving, for gambling and courting,
For draining a bowl e’en fast as you'd fill
In all your days roaming you'll find none so jovial
As our Muskerry sportsman, the Bold Thady Quill.
(Chorus)
Bold Thady was famous all over the nation
At sports and at races he’s very well known
He’s the only young rake who can coax all the ladies
From Bantry Bay to the County Tyrone.
There is not a a young lady from Kerry to Coachford
But is wild to elope with him right with her will.
Ther’s no man in Duhallow, Kanturk or Kilcorney
Can bowlplay or goal with you, Bold Thady Quill.
(Chorus)
Bold Thady was famous in many more places
At the athletic meeting held down at Cloghroe
He won the long jump without throwing off his waistcoat
Going twenty-four feet every sweep he used throw
At throwing off the weights there was a Dublin chap foremost
But our Muskerry sportsman exceeded him still
And around the whole field rang the wild ringing chorus
Long life to you, glory there! the Bold Thady Quill
(Chorus)
In the year ninety-one before Parnell was taken
Thade was outrageously breaking the peace
He got a light sentence for causing commotion
And six months' hard labour for batin' police
But in spite of coercion he's still agitating
Every drop of his life's blood he's willing to spill
To gain for old Ireland complete liberation
Till then there's no rest for me, says Bold Thady Quill
(Chorus)
At the conquering goal between Cork and Tipperary
('Twas played in the park on the banks of the Lee)
Our Gaelic young boys were afraid of being beaten
So they sent for Bold Thady to Ballinagree.
Sure he hurled the ball right and left in their faces
Showing those Tipperary lads training and skill
If they touched on his lines then he swore he would brain them
And they placed in the papers the praise of Thade Quill.
lest his reputation as a sportsman be tarnished by the last two lines,
Gleeson offered
 There were tar barrels blazing and green laurels waving
To honour our hero the Bold Thady Quill
(Chorus)
At the Cork Exhibition there was a fair lady
Whose fortune exceeded a thousand or more
But a bad constitution had ruined her completely
And medical treatment had failed o'er and o'er
“Now Mama”, says she, “sure I know what will heal me
And cure this disease which will certainly kill.
Give over your doctors,  your medicine and caring
The cure is one squeeze from Bold Thady Quill”
(Chorus)
On his rambles through Kerry his story was painful  
He witnessed quite plainly the flames of Glenbeigh,
The evictions of Hussey near Sneem and Kenmare
And he challenged Lord Clare in the town of Tralee
. He loaded his rifle swore that Be JACUS
That right through their brains he would drive the contents,
 If they dared to continue their savage outrages
Those big-bellied bears that are raising the rent.
(Chorus)
 In the year ’81 when Parnell was taken
Sure Thady was outrageously breaking the peace
He was bound under chains for two years in Kilmainham
With six month’s hard-labour for bating police,
But in spite of coercion he’s still agitating
The blood of his veins he’s quite willing to spill
And gain for poor Erin , entire separation
Until such is obtained there’s no peace in Thade Quill.
(Chorus)
 There was an old prophecy came to light lately
And stated young Thady would shortly be seen
In parliament pleading the rights of old Erin
With Parnell our Chairman in famed College Green,
And the dear Harp of Tara that’s silent for ages,
Once more shall awaken its liveliest trill
And sing forth triumphant, old Ireland a nation
Long live the Land League and our hero Thade Quill.

Thady Quill is a popular traditional Irish song. The song is ironic as it was written about an individual living in County Cork who was actually far from heroic. It is recorded by The Clancy Brothers on their album Come Fill Your Glass with Us.

In reality, the ballad "The Bould Thady Quill" was composed by Johnny Tom Gleeson around 1895 and first put to paper in 1905. Johnny Tom Gleeson (1853-1924) was a farmer who lived near Rylane, County Cork. He fancied himself a poet/balladeer, lampooning many of his neighbors and acquaintances.

It is common to hear critics or knockers, who, of course, never knew the man, emphatically assert that he was a phoney, while others, equally misinformed allege that he was utterly useless, an idler and parasite possessing innumerable vices and insisting that he never participated in any form of sport. It is only fair to the man that, because of the extremes of misrepresentation, he should be placed in proper perspective. We have his prowess and achievements fancifully exaggerated in the ballad and his shortcomings unfairly highlighted by his detractors.Thady was in many respects a unique character but few outside his native area have any idea of the many fine qualities he possessed. Of course like all humans he had his quota of minor vices. When one recalls the almost non-existent travel facilities of his time, he could, compared with the majority of his neighbours. be described as a widely travelled man. Whatever about his alleged exploits in the town of Tralee, he, on one occasion, travelled in the company of a cottier. to the fair in Killorglin, where the latter purchased a little Kerry cow from an old lady. She was not demanding about the price but was anxious to ascertain if her animal would be well fed. Thady assured her that the purchaser had a lawn of five hundred acres outside his front door, but did not inform her that the lawn consisted of miserable wasteland incapable of feeding a snipeThe good woman favourably commented on the man's humility - a man of such means!

Thady was born in Ballinagree. seven miles north of Macroom about 1860 and died in the same house in 1932 _being buried in the then new graveyard outside Macroom. His father was Pat Quill and his mother was Kit Twomey of Kilcorney (Banteer) The old residence where first saw the light is still standing.

Though older than his brother Dan, he did not inherit the farm, probably because old Pat, his father, wisely realised that Dan was the more prudent choice. Anyhow, at an early age Thady showed signs of becoming a successful cattle and sheep jobber, buying when prices were low and selling when market conditions improved. He pursued this way of life for many years with much financial success, a fact that bore testimony to his expertise.Apart from his commercial way of life attending fairs, he spent most of his time visiting his legions of friends and relations, staying a few nights or maybe more in each place. He possessed a great flow of talk, was never in a hurry nor overworked himself and frequently he endeavoured to prevent others from rushing about their business. Many an assiduous farmer deliberately avoided him when there was pressure of work. His loquacity was unending, his greatest enjoyment in life was to rest by the roadside, smoke his pipe and engage the passer-by in long conversation. His wants were few and simple.

One of his regular houses of call was that of his cousin, Con Coakley, the only other resident being an agricultural worker. Both Coakley and the worker were addicted to drink whereas Thady could be described as abstemious. However, life with both was not always the happiest as they invariably contradicted him and disagreed with his views. Coakley was a man of considerable ability and possessed a far more active brain than Thady. One day while discussing his predicament with another cousin who was a regular reader of "An Lochran" he informed. Thady how two women married to drunkards complained of the husbands to the priest. One husband arrived on the scene and gave his side of the story and the second man arriving later gave the exact same version as the first. At this one of the women observed,"Féach mar a thuigeann siad a chéile an dá dhruncaer"Thady memorised the comment and later when the two carpers (always agreeing with each other) dismissed his observations, he retaliated by employing the woman's acerbic remark. This riled Coakley as he knew Thady was incapable of composing such an apt aphorism. From that out Thady held the upper hand!

He was not by any means an outstanding athlete and he certainly never exceeded twenty-four feet in the long jump nor did he surpass a Dublin chap in throwing weights! He was, however, a reasonably good bowlplayer and even in his older days he still played the game he dearly loved. Physically he was a big, burly man, being about six feet, walked with a slight slouch and always carried a blackthorn to help him in his constant travelling.

Once in the nineties at the fair of Kanturk, an old man, having ascertained that Thady was from Ballinagree, inquired if he knew Thady Quill and if he were as famous as described in the song. Thady replied stating that the song did not do him justice; he was even greater than portrayed. The last few years of his life were spent in the old house, with his brother Dan and family, when he decided to give up rambling and roving. It was primarily because of his bohemian qualities, his indolence, his carefree manner, his garrulity that the poet found him a character of such interest.

Most of the song was a flight of fancy, though one or two statements may have referred to incidents in his young life. While he rambled and roved he did not gamble or drink nor was he a charmer of the ladies. He was born a bachelor and died one!

Though by no means an aggressive man he may have had a minor altercation with a meddlesome member of the RIC but he never served six month's hard labour. He may have helped in resisting eviction but more likely his words with the RIC were due to salmon poaching. Any dispute with members of the police did not arise from the interment of Parnell in 1881. Thady was an ardent admirer of the Chief and later of William O'Brien. He took little interest in the Anglo-Irish struggle but inexplicably he was actively anti-treaty. However, this interest faded on the cessation of hostilities.

(See one version of the ballad with music in "Soodlum's Irish Ballad Book" published by Oak Publications, London, England, 1982, and another in "Comic Songs of Cork and Kerry" by James N. Healy, published by Mercier Press, 1978.)

Reference: "Johnny Tom Gleeson" written by James A. Chisman and published by The Three Spires Press, Cork, Ireland, 1994.