Legacy of a Quite Man Sinéad Stone & Gerard Farrelly Seolta 001	Site Map Help Contact

Richard Farrelly (1916 - 1990), learned to play piano as a young boy and was writing songs and poetry by the time he reached his teens. At the age of twenty-three.
Dick, as he was better known, was a gentle and quite man, who rarely sought notoriety or publicity for his musical creations. Hence, our title, 'Legacy Of A Quite Man', refers to his association with the film, The Quite Man, but more so to the unassuming personality and creativity of Dick, who penned more than two hundred songs and poems in his lifetime. Songs like Seolta Bána & Siobhán, were just two little gems, which we found amongst a bundle of manuscripts in an old suitcase belonging to him.
In 1948, Dick had his first big success with If You Ever Fall In Love Again. The song was a hit for Anne Shelton in the UK, and for Guy Lombardo & His Orchestra in the US. He had several successful songs during the fifties, amongst them, his lovely ballad, Cottage by the Lee, popularised by Joe Lynch and The Rose of Slievenamon, recorded by Joseph Locke.
However the song for which Dick is best remembered is of course, The Isle of Innisfree. The inspiration for the song came to Dick while on a bus journey from his native Kells to Dublin, and by the time he reached his destination, the words and music of The Isle of Innisfree were complete. Before going to bed that night he put the song down safely on manuscript. In Dick's own words "I used Isle of Innisfree as another name for Ireland and it was Ireland I had in mind when I wrote the song" With poignant words the song expresses the longing of an Irish emigrant for his native land.
The Isle of Innisfree was a huge international hit for Bing Crosby in 1952, giving Crosby his biggest chart success in the UK. Dublin band leaders voted it their number one tune of the year and it is interesting to note that it sold over 150,000 copies in sheet music format in Ireland and England alone.
Film director John Ford was so taken by The Isle of Innisfree that he decided to use it as the principle musical theme for The Quite Man. The melody almost totally dominates the soundtrack, being reprised at least seven times. It is first heard as the credits roll, with a beautiful scene of Lough Corrib and Ashford Castle in the background at sunset. The melody becomes the love theme for Sean Thornton (John Wayne) and Mary Kate (Maureen O'Hara), and is wonderfully orchestrated by Victor Young.
To quote author, Prof. Des McHale, in his book, 'The Complete guide To The Quite Man', "Its lush tone is fairy music, released from another world by the genius of Richard Farrelly. Sadly, he received no mention in the screen credits for the vital contribution he made to the movie, but The Quite Man wouldn't have been half the movie it was without The Isle of Innisfree".
In 1982, Stephen Spielberg included it in his film ET, when a scene from The Quite man is shown, and Innisfree is also used in the soundtrack of the film, Distant Voices Still Lives (1988).
The Isle of Innisfree has been recorded hundreds of times worldwide and continues to enrich the repertoires of innumerable artists, but above all, it endures in the hearts of many to this day as one of the great songs of Ireland.
Dick wrote We Dreamed our Dreams just a few years before he died, and it was one of his personal favourites. The Fureys & Davey Arthur, made the first recording of it on an album entitled The Scattering, released in 1988.
We spent many enjoyable hours sifting through Dick's manuscripts and songs, some of which were jotted down on the backs of envelopes and bits of notepaper. We actually had difficulty in choosing eleven of our favourites for this album, some of which are recorded here for the first time.

Sinead Stone & Gerard Farrelly

Associated Pages

Album Sleevenotes Legacy of a Quite Man

Third Party Sites Gerard Farrelly on Myspace Wikipedia