The Irish singer-songwriter Miriam Ingram has released a new single entitled ‘The Stranger’s Grave’.
It is part of an ongoing series of titles issued by Bring Your Own Hammer (in association with Dimple Discs) where musicians are tasked with creating songs rooted in the work of 19th century Irish writers.
BYOH have partnered with the Irish Women’s Writing (1880-1920) Network for this single, which was founded in 2016 with the aim of making the works and profiles of a diverse range of Irish women writers more visible and accessible. Further information about the organisation can be found HERE.
Written by the Co. Kildare born poet, novelist and historian Emily Lawless, ‘The Stranger’s Grave’ was originally included in the poetry collection ‘Atlantic Rhymes and Rhythms’ (1898) which was republished in 1902 as ‘With the Wild Geese’. The poem offers an extraordinary evocation of an ‘unknown drowned man’ buried in a ‘graveyard upon Inishmaan, dedicated to unbaptised babies’. Ingram offers a stunning reinterpretation of the poem through a beautiful vocal performance and striking musical arrangement.
Ingram most recently issued the stunning ‘Spells’ EP in 2020, while her long-awaited third album will be released in 2026. She has also written for film, theatre and TV and collaborated both in the studio and on stage with numerous other artists.
Bring Your Own Hammer (BYOH) brings historians and composers together to create new song cycles based on historical sources and to reinterpret song material rooted in the history of 19th century Ireland and of the Irish diaspora. It is not a band, a group, an ensemble or even a collective. If anything, it is a faction, but unlike 19th century Irish factions, who met, armed with sticks and two-handed wattles in fairs and markets, it is armed with voices and instruments and dedicated, as no faction before, to the reinterpretation of historical material in song form.
