So there's a line that shouldn't be sung? A line that shouldn't be crossed?

Now here is a song from a protestant tradition that isn't in any Ulster Society Songbook.

THE BALLAD OF HENRY JOY

An Ulster man I am proud to be,
From the Antrim Glen I come,
Although I labour by the sea,
I have followed flag and drum.
I have heard the martial tramp of men,
I have watched them fight and die;
And it's well do I remember
When I followed Henry Joy.

I pulled my boat up from the sea
I hid my sails away
I hung my nets on a greenwood tree,
And I scanned the moonlit bay.
The Boys went out, and the Redcoats too;
I kissed my wife goodbye,
And in the shade of the greenwood glade
Sure I followed Henry Joy.

In Antrim town the tyrant stood,
He tore our ranks with ball,
But with a cheer and a pike to clear,
We swept them o'er the wall.
Our pikes and sabres flashed that day,
We won, but lost, ah! why
No matter, lads, I fought beside,
And shielded Henry Joy.

Ah lad's for Ieland's cause we fought
For homes and sire we bled,
Tho pikes were fed, still our hearts beat true,
And five to one lay dead,
But many a lassie mourned her boy;
For youth was strong in that gallant throng,
Who followed Henry Joy.

In Beklfast town they built a tree,
And the Redcoats mustered there;
I watched him come as the beat of the drum
Rolled out from the barrack square.
He kissed his sister, went aloft,
Then bade a last goodbye,
My soul he died, och, I turned and cried,
They had murdered Henry Joy.

Henry Joy McCracken - born in Belfast 1767, co-founder of the northern arm of the United Irishmen, hanged in 1798 for his part in the rebellion. Very much a Protestant.

There is another song about HENRY JOY MCCRACKEN, a version of which is in the DT.

The one I've posted here I found in an excellent anthology called "Rich and Rare" compiled by Sean McMahon, published in Dublin in 1984, which has a good range of songs and poems from the various traditions of Ireland.