A 1986 recording of Manx music to accompany the core repertoire of traditional Manx dance.

This song is connected to the Isle of Man's mummers' play, The White Boys.

Then here’s success to all brave boys
Of stout and gallant heart,
In battlefield or banquet board
Prepared to play a part.
We handle well both fork and knife
Likewise the sword and spear,
And we wish you a merry Christmas
And a good new year,
And we wish you a merry Christmas
And a good new year,
And we wish you a good new year!

With hostile bands confronted,
To fight we are not slack,
On roast beef and plum pudding
We can make a stout attack.
We handle well both knife and fork
Likewise the sword and spear,
And we wish you a merry Christmas
And a good new year,
And we wish you a merry Christmas
And a good new year,
And we wish you a good new year!

This 1986 recording was intended as a companion to the dance instruction book of the same name, which was first published in 1983.
Over forty years after its first edition, this resource remains the essential instruction manual for Manx dance and it contains many of the popular dances still enjoyed by all ages in performances, competitions and ceilis.
https://www.manxmusic.com/publications/books/rinkaghyn-vannin---dances-of-mann/

This recording was originally published as a cassette tape by Sleih gyn Thie.
Colin Jerry (vocal) recorded in 1986 by John Kaneen.

This recording is made available online by Culture Vannin with permission of Sleih gyn Thie.
As per the original cassette tape release, it is made available here in order to promote and assist the continued learning and performance of the Isle of Man’s traditional dance.

More information about the Manx music can be found here:
www.manxmusic.com

Released by Culture Vannin, 2024.
Culture Vannin exists to promote and support all aspects of culture in the Isle of Man.
www.culturevannin.im
www.facebook.com/culturevannin/
www.twitter.com/CultureVannin
www.instagram.com/culturevannin/

White Boys' Carol (Rinkaghyn Vannin)

A 1986 recording of Manx music to accompany the core repertoire of traditional Manx dance.
Mona Douglas' original notes for this dance are:

'Rinkey ny Ghuilleyn Baney (The White Boys Dance).
The sword dance which accompanies the Mummers Play and is dance by 6 men and the ‘Doctor.’
The whole dance is performed in slipping-skip step and throughout the dance the doctor capers about in and out of the movements. The dance was collected by Leighton Stowell.'

This 1986 recording was intended as a companion to the dance instruction book of the same name, which was first published in 1983.
Over forty years after its first edition, this resource remains the essential instruction manual for Manx dance and it contains many of the popular dances still enjoyed by all ages in performances, competitions and ceilis.
https://www.manxmusic.com/publications/books/rinkaghyn-vannin---dances-of-mann/

This recording was originally published as a cassette tape by Sleih gyn Thie.
Recorded in 1986 by John Kaneen.
Musicians: John Corlett (bodhran); Sharon Corlett (flute, whistle); Peter Cubberley (low D and high D whistle); Dave Collister (fiddle).

This recording is made available online by Culture Vannin with permission of Sleih gyn Thie.
As per the original cassette tape release, it is made available here in order to promote and assist the continued learning and performance of the Isle of Man’s traditional dance.

More information about the Manx music can be found here:
www.manxmusic.com

Released by Culture Vannin, 2024.
Culture Vannin exists to promote and support all aspects of culture in the Isle of Man.
www.culturevannin.im
www.facebook.com/culturevannin/
www.twitter.com/CultureVannin
www.instagram.com/culturevannin/

Rinkey ny Ghuilleyn Baney (Rinkaghyn Vannin)

A conversation with Fiona McArdle RBV about the White Boys between the late 1980s and the 2000s, and the wider Manx cultural circles in which it lived.

It was as a driver in the late 1980s that Fiona McArdle first joined those keeping alive the Isle of Man's 200-year-old Christmas mummers play named for its unusual costume.
In 1992 she was a leading member of 'The White Girls' who performed the first ever modern all-female performance of the play.
She continued to play a central role in the play's performances each year through to 2007, when the performances linked to the dance group, Bock Yuan Fannee, finally ceased.

As well as discussions of the White Boys, the conversation also touches on the wider Manx cultural revival of the time, including the Manx language and dance.

This conversation with Fiona McArdle RBV was conducted by James Franklin on 2 December 2025.

This interview is part of the collection of over 200 oral history recordings freely available on the Culture Vannin website: culturevannin.im/watchlisten/oralhistory/

The image is Fiona McArdle RBV as St Denise in 'The White Girls,' 28/12/1992, MNH PG/16370. It is used here with thanks to our friends at the Manx National Heritage Library & Archives.

Culture Vannin exists to promote and support all aspects of culture in the Isle of Man.
https://culturevannin.im/
www.facebook.com/culturevannin/
www.instagram.com/culturevannin/
www.youtube.com/@culturevannin8486

Oral history interview with Fiona McArdle RBV about the White Boys (2 Dec 2025)

Promoting and supporting all aspects of culture in the Isle of Man.

Culture Vannin awards grants and initiates schemes whilst supporting the work of development officers for music and language. The work of Culture Vannin has been fundamental to the revival of interest and support for Manx language and culture over the last twenty years.

Culture Vannin is the trading name for the Manx Heritage Foundation, registered charity 333 in the Isle of Man.

New tracks tagged #Guillyn Baney