Sarah Makem

Sarah Makem (18 October 1900 – 20 April 1983) a native of Keady, County Armagh, Northern Ireland, was a traditional Irish singer.

She was the wife of fiddler Peter Makem, mother of musicians Tommy Makem and Jack Makem, and grandmother of musicians Shane Makem, Conor Makem and Rory Makem. Sarah Makem and her cousin, Annie Jane Kelly, were members of the Singing Greenes of Keady.

In the 1950s, song collectors from the United States toured Ireland recording its musical heritage. Sarah Makem was visited and recorded by, among others, Diane Guggenheim Hamilton, Jean Ritchie, Peter Kennedy and Sean O'Boyle. Her rendition of As I Roved Out opened the BBC Radio folk music programme of the same name in the 1950s.

Songs

Note: Footnotes take you to lyrics but not necessarily to the recordings of Sarah Makem as many of the songs are traditional.

Sarah Makem collected, performed and/or composed, and handed down hundreds of songs including:

• As I Roved Out^[1]
• Barbara Allen^[2]
• Barney Mavourneen
• Blow Ye Winds^[3]
• The Butcher Boy^[4]

• Caroline and her Young Sailor Bold^[5]
• The Cobbler^[6]
• The Cot in the Corner
• Derry Gaol^[7]
• Dobbin's Flowery Vale
• The Factory Girl
• Farewell My Love, Remember Me
• I Courted a Wee Girl^[8]
• John Mitchel
• The Jolly Thresher
• Little Beggarman^[9]
• Magpie's Nest
• A Man in Love He Feels No Cold
• Mary of Kilmore
• May Morning Dew^[10]
• Month of January (The Forsaken Mother & Child)^[11]
• On the Banks of Red Roses
• Our Ship She's Ready to Bear Away
• Robert Burns and his Highland Mary
• A Servant Maid in her Father's Garden
• Willie Reilly
• The Wind That Shakes the Barley^[12]

Recordings

Sarah Makem has been recorded extensively, and is included on the following recordings:

• Ulster Ballad Singer - Sarah Makem
• Field Trip (1954) - Jean Ritchie
• The Lark in the Morning - Liam Clancy and others (1956)
• Best of the Clancy Brothers (1994) - The Clancy Brothers
• Sea Songs & Shanties (1994) - Various Artists
• Traditional Songs of Ireland (1995) - Various Artists
• Ancient Celtic Roots (1996) - Various Artists
• Celtic Mouth Music (1997) - Various Artists
• Irish Voices: The Best in Traditional Singing (1997) - Various Artists
• Celtic Reflections (1998) - Various Artists
• Celtic Voices (1999) - Various Artists
• Who's That at My Bedroom Window (1999) - Various Artists
• The Voice of the People, Vol. 6: Come Let Us Buy the License (1999)- Various Artists
• The Voice of the People, Vol. 8: A Story I’m Just About to Tell (1999) - Various Artists
• The Voice of the People, Vol. 17: It Fell on a Day a Bonny Summer Day (1999) - Various Artists
• The Voice of the People: A Selection (2000) - Various Artists

References

1. ^ [1]
2. ^ [2]
3. ^ [3]
4. ^ [4]
5. ^ [5]
6. ^ [6]
7. ^ [7]
8. ^ [8]
9. ^ [9]
10. ^ [10]
11. ^ [11]
12. ^ [12]

• Folktrax.org
• Mudcat.org

External links

• Sarah Makem at SmithsonianGlobalSound.org
• Tommy Makem's Official Web Page
• Other Irish source singers may be found at Folkopedia

Persondata
Name	Makem, Sarah
Alternative names
Short description
Date of birth	18 October 1900
Place of birth
Date of death	20 April 1983
Place of death