Irish Hymns

It's Sunday and I've enjoyed going to church on this fairly warm day, spending time with fellow believers, hearing from God's Word and singing hymns of the faith. I've been thinking about hymns today and looking for hymns that are Irish in lyric or melody.


Be Thou My Vision
Arguably the most famous Irish hymn is Be Thou My Vision. Words are at­trib­ut­ed to Dal­lan For­gaill from the 8th Cen­tu­ry; trans­lat­ed from an­cient Ir­ish to Eng­lish by Ma­ry E. Byrne, in “Eriú,” Jour­nal of the School of Ir­ish Learn­ing, 1905, and versed by El­ea­nor H. Hull in 1912. Melody is Slane, of Ir­ish folk or­i­gin. It's named after Slane Hill where in 433 AD St. Patrick lit a fire in honor of Easter and in defiance of High King Lo­gaire's decree that noone should light fires before his pagan holiday was celebrate. Lo­gaire was so im­pressed by Pat­rick’s de­vo­tion that, de­spite his de­fi­ance (or per­haps be­cause of it­), he let him con­tin­ue his mis­sion­ary work. This is my favorite hymn because the melody is not only beautiful but the words are such a beautiful prayer!

Verse 1:
Be Thou my Vision, O Lord of my heart;
Naught be all else to me, save that Thou art.
Thou my best Thought, by day or by night,
Waking or sleeping, Thy presence my light.

Find all the verses and a MIDI of the melody at NetHymnal.org.


King of Love My Shepherd Is I know I've sung this lovely hymn before but I hadn't seen it in a long time. Words are by Henry W. Baker an English minister, first published in his Hymns An­cient and Mo­dern (London: 1868). Music is St. Columba, an­cient Ir­ish melody. An interesting fact: This hymn was sung at the fun­er­al of Di­a­na, Prin­cess of Wales, in West­min­ster Ab­bey, Lon­don, Sep­tem­ber 6, 1997. The lyrics focus on Christ being our Shepherd, some of the words come directly from Psalm 23.

Verse 1:
The King of love my Shepherd is,
Whose goodness faileth never,
I nothing lack if I am His
And He is mine forever.

Find all the verses and a MIDI of the melody at NetHymnal.org.


The Day Of The Lord Is At Hand
I'd never heard this hymn before but I really enjoyed the lyrics which focus on the second coming of our Lord. Words by Charles Kings­ley (1819-1875), an English minister who had the honor of serving as pri­vate chap­lain to Queen Vic­tor­ia in 1859. He wrote many poems and this one was set to the traditional Ir­ish mel­o­dy Re­mem­ber the Poor.

Verse 1:
The day of the Lord is at hand, at hand;
Its storms roll up the sky;
The nations sleep starving on heaps of gold;
All dreamers toss and sigh;
The night is darkest before the morn;
When the pain is sorest the child is born,
And the day of the Lord is at hand, at hand,
The day of the Lord is at hand.

Find all the verses and a MIDI of the melody at NetHymnal.org.



O Come And Sing To God, The Lord
This was another hymn I'd never heard before but it's lovely! Words from The Psalter, 1912. One of the alternate tunes is Irish, from A Col­lect­ion of Hymns and Sac­red Po­ems (Dub­lin: 1749). I love this call to praise the Lord!

Verse 1:
O come and sing to the God, the Lord,
To Him our voices raise;
Let us in our most joyful songs
The Lord, our Savior, praise.

An earlier version of verse 1, from the 1650 Scottish Psalter:
O come, let us sing to the Lord,
To Him our voices raise;
With joyful noise let us the Rock
Of our salvation praise.

Find all the verses and a MIDI of the melody at NetHymnal.org.



Morning Has Broken
I know this song has been sung and made popular by many secular singers, but I really enjoy the words and music. Words by English author Eleanor Farjeon, first published in 1931. Set to a traditional Gaelic tune known as Bunessan.

Verse 1:
Morning has broken, like the first morning
Blackbird has spoken, like the first bird
Praise for the singing, praise for the morning
Praise for them springing fresh from the word.



Christ Be Beside Me
One of the most famous poems from Irish history is the one penned by St. Patrick himself as a dedication to the Lord. There are several variants of his words, but this is my favorite. Words from St. Patrick's Breastplate; adapted by James Quinn. Melody is the Traditional Gaelic melody Bunessan (same as Morning Has Broken above). I love this song, almost more than Morning Has Broken. The words are such a lovely prayer!

Verse 1:
Christ beside me, Christ before me,
Christ behind me King of my heart;
Christ within me, Christ below me,
Christ above me never to part.

Find all three verses and a MIDI of this song at HymnSite.com.




These are just some of the Irish hymns I found today. I am looking into more hymns but this post is long enough! All of the photos are of various churches in Ireland. They may not be exactly the type of church I'd attend but I really enjoy the picturesque scenes!



Are there any more Irish hymns you can think of? 
Which of these hymns to you like best? What is your favorite hymn?

Very Truly Your's,