Now back to the topic. I am not personally a fan of republican ballads, but I get to hear a lot of them despite my best intentions.

I don't think that any of the songs on the following list exactly meet your criteria but might be adapted to do so, or may spark some ideas in others.

1. The Mother by P H Pearse

This is a poem in which a Mother says she does not grudge the lives of her two sons who fought and died for their country. Padraig Pearse was the leader of the Irish Volunteers in the Easter Rebellion in 1916. Himself and his brother Willie were excecuted by the British for their part in the Rebellion. Big drawback here is that I don't know if it has ever been put to music (but someone else around here might).

2. The Time is Come by Christy Moore

This is a song of a mother and son saying goodbye. Although it isn't that explicit from the lyrics the context of the song is that the son is one of the H Block hunger strikers who is dying in 1981. Although the song has a traditional feel to it, it might be a bit too modern for what you're looking for.

3. Bramblethorn by Sarah Daniels

This is a beautiful song recorded by the group Brodrick (featuring Sarah's son Luke) and by Niamh Parsons (with Graham Dunne and Anne Parsons-Dunne) on the album Hearts Desire. It is not a Republican song (and is in fact English) but it tells of the plight of women left at home while their men are away fighting in an unspecified war. Very much an anti-wa

4. A Stor Mo Chroi (trad recorded by various people as discussed in a recent mudcat thread) is a song in which a parent (I always think of it as a mother) is saying goodbyre to a child. THe context of the song is emigration rather than war, but it meets some of the criteria.

5. Skibereen

This song is very much a Republican rallying cry and has a beautiful air. THe parent telling the story in this case is almost certainly a father.

6. Danny Boy (origins controversial at least around here!)

In some ways this song may seem the obvious choice and has been interpreted by some as being about a Mother who is saying goodbye to son on his way to war. Before the usual suspects jump in let eme be the first to say that, desite the popular perception there is some doubt as to just how Irish this song is, although the air was definitely collected in Derry at some stage in the past.

I hope these suggestions are useful or may spark some ideas that will lead you to the song you are looking for. I can't help feeling there's a song out there that exacly fits the bill of whatg you are looking for, but I haven't been able to identify which one it might be yet.