Mark's Alley West

THE BARLEY MOW PUB IS NOW A DERELICT BUILDING ON FRANCIS STREET WHICH WAS A GOOD LOCATION FOR STREET ART

This building is at the corner of Francis Street and Mark’s Alley West. It was a pub known as the Barley Mow. Unfortunately its condition is getting worse at an increasing rate.

A barley mow is a stack (mow) of barley, especially barley that was cultivated and then harvested. Barley is a grain that is commonly malted for brewing beer.

The Barley Mow is a cumulative song celebrated in the traditions of the folk music of Ireland, England, and Scotland. William Chappell transcribed the lyrics in his two-volume work The Ballad Literature and Popular Music of the Olden Time (1855).

“The Barley Mow” has become a drinking song sung while comrades empty their glasses. In one “Barley Mow” drinking game, any participant who fails to sing the song’s (progressively expanding) refrain in a single breath must drink. In another, participants drink just after singing the second line in each verse (“Good luck to the barley mow”); if one’s glass is not empty by the final verse, one must finish the drink after singing the line.