This song is locally attributed to Owen McMahon of Tassagh and he names himself in it. Coyle was a person rather than a personification of any kind of struggle, Republican or concerning life. There is no evidence that this song, or the Creggan White Hare, about which it is also said, is any kind of allegory for a fugitive Republican. Both these songs describe exactly the sort of hunt that was, in the past, conducted by local men, each on foot with his own dog, over their local ground. Though the hare was hunted, there were seldom reports of them being caught. The relationship between these men, their dogs, their locality and the quarry was quite complicated emotionally, it involved exercise, skill and affection rather than bloodlust.
I am not a supporter of blood 'sports' but the past is another country and my aim is understanding and the accurate interpretation of songs, which are one of the few records in which we can spot the feelings and aspirations of ordinary people in theor own words.