Burgess Meredith and The Cheiftains

In 1991, The Chieftains teamed up with several of their colleagues to record their one and only Christmas record, The Bells of Dublin. The record features the likes of Jackson Browne, Marianne Faithful, Ricki Lee Jones, The McGarrigle Sisters, Nanci Griffith and one actor, Burgess Meredith.

For Meredith’s cut, he reads an English translation of the Irish Christmas Carol, “Don Oíche úd I mBeithil” (To That Night In Bethlehem).  It is followed by The Chieftains’ Kevin Conneff singing the song in its original Gaelic.

If you’ve never heard it, do yourself a favor and spend 3:47 to do so. If you have, well, then you know another listening is well worth it.

Don Oíche úd I mBeithil

The Penguin and The Chieftains Do Christmas

My generation knew Burgess Meredith as “the Penguin,” from the 60’s TV show, Batman.  Then as Stallone’s manager in the movie Rocky.

Back in 1991 he performed a traditional Irish Christmas song, Don Oiche Ud I MBeithil with the Chieftains on the CD, The Bells of Dublin.

In the song, Meredith speaks an English translation and is followed by Kevin Conneff singing the tune in Gaelic.

If you’ve never heard this version of Don Oiche Ud I MBeithil, it’s very pretty — Meredith’s telling is heartfelt.

I created a video for it back in 2010 doing the best I could to piece together an accurate translation of the Gaelic portion of the song. Hope you enjoy it.