Took the Irish Gaelic spelling of "raparree." A raparree was a highwayman, often a former soldier who had fought against the English.      
They viewed themselves as "Robin Hood" sorts; usually they were hanged.

Like them, "My spurs are rusty/My coat is rent/My plume is damp with rain/And the thistledown and the barleybeards/Are thick on my horse's mane."

Mike