ABSTRACT
In Cathleen Ni Houlihan, much of which came from AG's hand, but whose scenario was largely WBY's, these lines are sung by the ‘Old Woman’ who has appeared in the cottage belonging to the Killane family, at Killala Bay in 1798. Preparations for a wedding are well underway, and the bride with her dowry is about to be received, when the Old Woman appears. AG's prose, however, is probably the material from which WBY worked. The idea of the ‘marriage portion,’ the provision for the wake, being brought home for the dead boy, gives this lament a touch of extreme pathos. The idea of the ‘marriage portion,’ the provision for the wake, being brought home for the dead boy, gives this lament a touch of extreme pathos.
