Trad Tuesday: Lagan Love sung by Celtic Thunder

Written in 1903 in northern Donegal by and English poet and composed in 1904 by an Irish Composer from Belfast, "My Lagan Love" is a song to a traditional Irish air. Written during a time in Irish history when it was forbidden to write openly about Ireland, or express love, devotion, or nationalism towards the country, the Irish would write songs that indirectly would reference their love for their country as a beautiful woman. The Lagan is the river that runs through Belfast, but arguably that the Lagan in the song refers to a stream that empties into Lough Swilly in County Donegal, not far from where the composer resided.

This song features in my book The Black Swans where Conn sings it to Taisie.

Lagan Love

This is the song that Conn sings to Taisie in The Black Swans. It's a very slow song, but I've always found it haunting. This version is sung by Lisa Hannigan and backed by The Chieftains.