The_Auld_Triangle
The Auld Triangle
Song
"The Auld Triangle" is a song by Dick Shannon, often attributed to Brendan Behan, who made it famous when he included it in his 1954 play The Quare Fellow. He first performed it publicly in 1952 on the RTÉ radio programme 'The Ballad Maker's Saturday Night', produced by Mícheál Ó hAodha. Behan's biographer, Michael O'Sullivan, recorded, 'It has been believed for many years that Brendan wrote that famous prison song but Mícheál Ó hAodha says he never laid claim to authorship. Indeed he asked him to send a copyright to another Dubliner, Dick Shannon.'[1] When he recorded the song for Brendan Behan Sings Irish Folksongs and Ballads (Spoken Arts 1960), Behan introduced it with these words: 'This song was written by a person who will never hear it recorded, because he's not in possession of a gramophone. He's ... he's ... pretty much of a tramp.'
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Shannon's authorship was asserted by his relatives in discussions on the Mudcat Cafe folksong forum. Here, Deasún ÓSeanáin, his nephew, recorded: 'My father Thomas Shannon told me as far back as the 1950s that Dickey had written it. Dickey is buried in Manchester. It would be nice to see a plaque erected indicating him as the author.'[2] Shannon's grandson Tom Neary posted: 'I can confirm that it was indeed Dicky Shannon who penned the song for Behan. Brendan and Dicky were very close pals, as well as drinking mates....I have many stories of their escapades together....Brendan always credited Dicky for the song because they were great pals, however, I can verify that Dicky never received a penny in royalties and neither did his family...I must also point out that grandad was not in fact a tramp, but was a highly articulate man with a very dry sense of humour, which could cut you to the quick without degrading you. He was also a very tough man who had literally fought his way through life in the Liberties.'[3]
The first commercial recording was by Brendan's brother Dominic Behan on his 1958 Topic album Irish Songs. On the liner notes, he wrote, 'The Old Triangle is a song of Mountjoy Prison and was made popular in the play "The Quare Fella" by Brendan Behan of Dublin.'[4]
The song was later made famous by Luke Kelly, Ronnie Drew and The Dubliners in the late 1960s, and was revived for a new audience by Irish rock band The Pogues on their 1984 album Red Roses for Me.
The song has become also a football chant, sung by fans of the Dublin Bohemian Football Club whose ground is near the prison. In 2021, Ronan Burtenshaw reported, 'Recently, the club's fans have gone viral for their renditions of ‘The Auld Triangle'.'[5]