Parnell was born at Avondale in County Wicklow in 1846. He was the son of an American woman and a member of the Anglo-Irish landowning class, an M.P. for Meath, and an ardent Irish nationalist who worked to bring about land reform and home rule. Like many of the greatest patriots, Parnell was not a Roman Catholic.
In 1889, after impeding Parliament in order to draw attention to the Irish Question, Parnell was named as a correspondent in a divorce proceeding and effectively ruined by a Church-Government alliance. (from "A Bonny Bunch of Roses," by Milner & Kaplan")
Parnell died in 1891.

Barry Finn posted the other verse in another thread:

Oh Erin, my country, awake from your slumber
And bring back my blackbird so true unto me
Let everyone know the strength of his murmur
That Ireland, a nation, would long to be free

The first three verses and the last verse that Patrish posted are almost the same as what's in Bonny Bunch of Roses. Dan Milner is a New Yorker, and maybe he was on the subway to Queens when he was transcribing that verse. I'll ask him to stop by to defend himself, and I'll submit both versions of the verse to the Digital Tradition.

Milner's book also has, "Where is my blackbirds of sweet Avondale?" I'm assuming that's a typo. Maybe that subway train hit a bump.

And, since Mmario doesn't seem to have a tune forthcoming, I'll transcribe the tune and post it in a little while.
-Joe Offer-