Barney O’Flynn

Religion: not determined yet

Name: Barney O'Flynn

Classification: supporting character

Publisher(s): Chicago Grand Opera

First Appearance: Babes in Toyland (1903)

Creators: Victor Herbert, Glen MacDonough, Julian P. Mitchell

Number of Appearances: 1

Nation: USA

Gender: male

In Act 1 of the original operetta "Babes in Toyland" (1903), one of the musical numbers is "Barney O'Flynn." This song is sung by Contrary Mary and the Chorus. O'Flynn himself is not a character portrayed in the operetta. He is apparently only mentioned in the song.

It is likely that the song "Barney O'Flynn" is based heavily on a folk song in circulation in America, a song that dates back at least to the 1870s. That song tells of Barney O'Flynn, "who had no breeches to wear and got him a sheepskin to make a pair." William Allen White mentions hearing this song in Kansas in the 1870s in his Autobiography (1946).

This character is in the following 2 stories which have been indexed by this website:

Babes in Toyland

Suggested links for further research about this character:
- http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Babes_in_Toyland_(operetta)