FEW people would appreciate the wonderful irony of briefcases and envelopes of cash "donated" to Irish Prime Minister Bertie Ahern from successful Irish businessmen in Britain than the late rascal and folk song collector Frank Harte, who died in June of 2005. Nor would the circumstances facing today's varied immigrant groups in Celtic Tigerland doing the jobs that no Irish would apply for in the wealthier euro state of today escape his keen observation and commentary.

Though he may not be alive today to entertain us with his rapacious wit and insight, Harte labored to complete a project till the day he died, that three years later calls out to us from his grave helping to keep the current fortunes of Mother Ireland very much in historical context.

We would expect nothing less from Harte (1933-2005), whose recording produced with Donal Lunny was released posthumously around the June anniversary of his passing by Daisy Discs under the title, There's Gangs of Them Digging: Songs of Irish Labor.

Harte is considered one of Ireland's great song collectors who amassed over 20,000 songs that have shaped our consciousness about Ireland's plight down through the centuries. He correctly described those songs with their colorful, literate and artful detail as the "unwritten history of the Irish people since those in power write the history and those who suffer write the songs, and given our history, we have an awful lot of songs."

As in the similar epics produced for Hummingbird Records (now distributed by Daisy Discs www.daisydiscs.com) with Lunny, one of the few accompanists with whom the Dublin folk singer would deign to work with, this latest recording reflects Harte's greatest assets.

His grasp of history, preservation and tradition bearing and transmission made his CD releases 1798-First Year of Liberty, My Name Is Napoleon Bonaparte and The Hungry Voice collectors' items for all singers and non-singers alike because of the detailed booklets that accompanied his vocal renderings of songs both familiar and obscure.

The Gangs CD gives us 19 tracks filled with similar fare that deliver the message poignantly contained in the songs that sought to depict the lives of the Irish who traveled away from their native homes to live and work elsewhere to better their lot, whether that was in Britain or America or even on Irish sod.

We hear about Spailpin farmers and hiring fairs, navvies, railroad laborers, ditch and highway toilers whose lives and work literally built the society that we enjoy today in the post Industrial revolution.

Much of this material has been exploited by the Dubliners, the vocal folk group who regularly traversed the familiar tales of the Irish in the British Isles, but there is just something special about the focus that Harte brings to these songs that allow you to view each of them as a microcosm of the Irish experience abroad.

Whether it is the familiar "Do Me Justice," "McAlpine Fusiliers," Mickey Dam," "Galbally Farmer" or "Building Up and Tearing England Down," or the less familiar "McAlpine Crew," "Tunnel Tigers" or "Murphy Can Never Go Home," we come away with a new appreciation for the work that was in it and its impact on their personal lives for better or worse.

Harte was in declining health as this material was recorded so his voice is not as robust as we might like to remember, but there is nothing lacking in the creativity that spawned the recording or the notes (44 pages) that accompany it.

In fact the opening essay penned by Harte towards the very end of his life defines why he will continue to remain a very important influence on those who see the importance of the Irish song tradition. Interpreting the history contained in the songs with a prescient relevance to what later transpired was one of his more valuable assets, and this last recording ensures that his legacy will be with us always.

The CD is available from a couple of U.S. sources in OssianUSA (www.ossian USA.com) or from Celtic Grooves (http://celticgrooves.homestead.com/CGhome.html) or from Daisy Discs in Ireland.

In addition, the Frank Harte Festival occurs this weekend in Dublin from Friday to Sunday at the Teacher's Club with singers like Karan Casey, Sean Corcoran, Mick Moloney, Ron Kavana, Maighread and Triona Ni Dhomhnaill and Len Graham. More details can be found at http://www.goilin.com/frank_harte/frank_harte.php.