Sep 12, 2026 · 3 min · 5 segments
Send us Fan Mail MacGillycuddy's Reeks: The Creation of a Folk Ballad MacGillycuddy's Reeks is a ballad about a young woman abandoned on the eve…
Tudor RickardsHost
Before I wrote a word of the poem, I wanted to write it and imagined it as being sung by a young Irish folk singer to whom I give the name Sheila O'Shea.
Sheila O'Shea is an Irish folk singer who shot to fame with her first track, which won first prize at the Galway Folk Festival of 2014. with her track, McGilly Cuddy's Ricks.
She thinks about what would happen if time could go back and the wedding were to take place.
This keeps the audience interested in the pain she is suffering and wanting to know how it get resolved.
The title, McGilly Cuddy's Reeks, came about when I was researching the background for my planned singer.
I wanted something different from traditional verses, so I picked a relatively uncommon rhyme scheme, as you will hear at the end of this audio tape.
They've already gone through a brief process of tweaking, and this is likely to be repeated as extra verses are being added.
I hope they make this brief audio tape of some interest, and if that proves the case, I will continue with further descriptions of the creation of the poem as it develops.
Before I wrote a word of the poem, I wanted to write it and imagined it as being sung by a young Irish folk singer to whom I give the name Sheila O'Shea.
Sheila O'Shea is an Irish folk singer who shot to fame with her first track, which won first prize at the Galway Folk Festival of 2014. with her track, McGilly Cuddy's Ricks.
She thinks about what would happen if time could go back and the wedding were to take place.
This keeps the audience interested in the pain she is suffering and wanting to know how it get resolved.
The title, McGilly Cuddy's Reeks, came about when I was researching the background for my planned singer.
I wanted something different from traditional verses, so I picked a relatively uncommon rhyme scheme, as you will hear at the end of this audio tape.
They've already gone through a brief process of tweaking, and this is likely to be repeated as extra verses are being added.
I hope they make this brief audio tape of some interest, and if that proves the case, I will continue with further descriptions of the creation of the poem as it develops.
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