Óró, sé do bheatha ‘bhaile [English translation]

Horo, welcome home,

Horo, welcome home,

Horo, welcome home,

Now that summer has come1.

Welcome, woman who was afflicted,

Your being taken was our disaster,

Your fine country occupied by a thief

And you sold by the wogs2

Horo, welcome home,

Horo, welcome home,

Horo, welcome home,

Now that summer has come.

Grainne Mhaol3 is coming across the sea

Lads in arms4 with her for defence;

They are Gaels and neither wogs nor Spaniards5

And they will put the wogs to rout.

Horo, welcome home,

Horo, welcome home,

Horo, welcome home,

Now that summer has come.

May the Lord of fate grant me the luck to see

Were I to live afterwards only for a week

Grainne Mhaol3 and a thousand warriors

Laying the wogs low.

Horo, welcome home,

Horo, welcome home,

Horo, welcome home,

Now that summer has come.

1. I get pissed off with translations that have "is coming" as if the Irish were "ag teacht" instead of "ar teachd" - see verse 2, line 1, which genuinely has "is coming"2. ie by the English or by the Scandinavians3. a. b. Irish name of Grace O'Malley4. I think the song was written before 1900, and 1924 is the first recorded use of "òglaigh" for "defence forces" or "soldiers" - although use for "volunteers" dates back at least to to 1913; a few hundred years ago it presumbly meant "young heroes" or "young warriors", and probably continued to mean that until it became "volunteers"; but in context here it might as well mean soldiers5. Why are the Spaniards separated from other foreigners here? Probably because only the Spanish, the Scandinavians and the English were seen as enemies of the Gaels in the late 16th century, which is the time the song is about although not the time it was written