The Rose of Mooncoin
song
The Rose of Mooncoin is a ballad written in the 19th century by local schoolteacher and poet Watt Murphy, who was catholic, who met and gradually fell in love with a local Protestant girl called Elizabeth, also known as Molly, and set in Mooncoin, Ireland. Elizabeth was just 20 years old, and Watt was then 56, but the difference in age was of no consequence to either of them. Both were intellectuals, and they would often stroll along the banks of the River Suir, composing and reciting poetry. However, Elizabeth's father, who was the local vicar, did not approve of their relationship, and she was sent away to England. Watt was brokenhearted at the loss of his beloved lady, and wrote this song in her memory.
It has been recorded by, amongst others, Marika, Anna McGoldrick, Daniel O'Donnell, Paddy Reilly, Patsy Watchorn, Phil Coulter, Johnny McEvoy and The Wolfe Tones. However, many music lovers have heralded the finest version to be that of Mooncoin's own Darren Holden.
“The Rose of Mooncoin” enters the record as song. Crown Archives preserves that source wording while asking what Rose, Mooncoin and song can confirm, complicate or overturn.
Why this record matters
“The Rose of Mooncoin” is worth following because a concise public description often conceals a longer documentary argument. Here, Rose, Mooncoin and song provides the most credible route into that argument.
Attribution, date and provenance are strongest when supported by the original work, a catalogue record and documented transmission. The source revision retrieved here is dated Nov 30, 2024. The linked authority identifier is Q7761562.
Titles can refer to several editions, objects or performances, making precise identification essential before interpretation. The source lead contains qualifying language; that uncertainty should survive quotation, summary and reuse. Authority statements aid reconciliation but still require their own references, qualifiers and ranks to be checked.
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The original object or edition, catalogue raisonné, performance record, rights file and holding institution.
Three-step research path
- Establish the record: confirm the title “The Rose of Mooncoin”, its source revision and the description used here.
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Questions for further research
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This entry incorporates text from “The Rose of Mooncoin” on English Wikipedia. Contributors are listed in the page history. Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 License. Selected authority identifiers and statements are retrieved from Wikidata under CC0; their references and qualifiers remain part of the verification path.