The Wexford Carol (Irish: Carúl Loch Garman, Carúl Inis Córthaidh) is a traditional religious Irish Christmas carol originating from County Wexford and, specifically, Enniscorthy (whence its other name), dating to the 12th century. The subject of the song is that of the nativity of Jesus Christ.
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W. H. Grattan Flood transcription
"The Wexford Carol", sometimes known by its first verse "Good people all this Christmas time", is one of the oldest extant Christmas carols in the European tradition. The song achieved a renewed popularity due to the work of William Grattan Flood (1859-1928), who was organist and musical director at St. Aidan's Cathedral in Enniscorthy. He transcribed the carol from a local singer and had it published in the Oxford Book of Carols, putting Enniscorthy into most carol books around the world.
Bard Francis, of the SCA medieval society comments:
This lovely tune, remarkable for its haunting Mixolydian mode form, is unlikely to be 12th century. The words are maybe older than the tune, which likely came from the wave of Irish Music during the late 18th and through the entire 19th century, American Civil War period. Such rhyming words and tune structure had not been invented sufficiently in the 12th century, and it looks more like the 16th if it can be proven to be earlier than the 18-19th.*(Francis is assuming the original words were written in English but were most likely in Irish)
The Mixolydian mode can be played with only two chords one step apart on lute or guitar, which makes it an easy and wonderful performance piece for good singers but beginning players. Celtic Woman does it in D and C chords, though there are variations out there.
Modern performance
Traditions abound concerning the song. For many years, it was felt that only men should sing it.{{fact|date=December 2011}}; it was only during the current revival of all things Irish that this has changed. Many popular female artists, such as Julie Andrews in 1966 and Loreena McKennitt in 1987, have recorded versions of the “The Wexford Carol". Yo Yo Ma and Alison Krauss recorded the song for Ma's 2008 holiday album, Songs of Joy and Peace. Michael McDonald (singer) covered it on his 2009 album This Christmas as a duet with his wife Amy Holland, using only the first three of the traditional verses. The carol featured as title track on the 2014 collection of traditional Irish Carols The Wexford Carols by the Irish early-music singer Caitríona O'Leary, with Tom Jones and Rosanne Cash. Irish folksinger Cara Dillon featured the song on her 2016 album Upon a Winter's Night. An Irish group called Celtic Women, used The Wexford Carol, in the, Celtic Women Christmas Album,2006