Come Back Paddy Reilly

A celebration of Ireland.  Come Back Paddy Reilly to Ballyjamesduff was written by one of Ireland’s greatest songwriters, Percy French. The Paddy Reilly mentioned in the song was a jarvey or coach driver who often drove French to appointments in the Ballyjamesduff area.  When French returned to Ballyjamesduff after a short period away from the town, he discovered that Reilly had emigrated to Scotland. The thought of so many young Irish people being forced to emigrate in search of work saddened French and he wrote the song as a kind of lament for them.  On one level the song is about Ballyjamesduff which is described as being a latter day Garden of Eden, such is its beauty. As French describes its charms, he appeals to Paddy Reilly to come back to his homeland to enjoy what it has to offer.  On a more general level, the lyrics can also be taken to refer to the whole of Ireland with Paddy Reilly being a sort of Irish everyman. The plea is therefore a more general one to all the millions of young people who had emigrated