Boys of Mullabawn, The
DESCRIPTION: "A vile deceiving stranger ... has ordered transportation for the boys of Mullabawn." The women lament and "without hesitation, we are charged with combination And sent for transportation from the hills of Mullabawn"AUTHOR: unknown
EARLIEST DATE: 1925 (Hayward-Ulster); c.1867 (broadside, Bodleian 2806 b.9(265))
KEYWORDS: farming transportation Ireland political
FOUND IN: Ireland
REFERENCES (4 citations):
OLochlainn-More 56, "The Boys of Mullabawn" (1 text, 1 tune)
Moylan 42, "The Boys of Mullaghbawn" (1 text, 1 tune)
Hayward-Ulster, pp. 26-27, "The Boys of Mullabawn" (1 text)
OBoyle 6, "Boys of Mullaghbawn" (1 text, 1 tune)
Roud #2362
BROADSIDES:
Bodleian, 2806 b.9(265), "The Boys of Mullaghbawn," W. Birmingham (Dublin), c.1867; also 2806 c.15(180), Harding B 19(40), "The Boys of Mullaghbawn"
NOTES [125 words]: OLochlainn-More: "This song records a real happening during the last quarter of the eighteenth century, the transportation of peasant farmers for some agrarian offence at Mullaghbawn near Newry, Co. Armagh. (See F. J. Bigger: The Ulster Land War.)"
Moylan: "This song could be about Defenderism or United Irishmen or, according to one theory, the transportation of men who had attempted to abduct an heiress, an activity for which clubs existed in 18th-century Ireland. It is set in the heart of Defender country in south Armagh, but local tradition associates the song with the United Irishmen." At the end of the eighteenth century the Catholic "Defenders" were opposed to the Protestant "Peep o'Day Boys" or "Orangemen" (source: Zimmermann). - BS
File: LcMullB
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Here's what we have in the Digital Tradition. Where is this version from?
THE BOYS OF MULLACHBAWN (from DT)
On a Monday morning early
As my wand'ring steps did lead me,
Down by a farmer's station,
Of meadow and green lawn,
I heard great lamentation
That the wee birds they were makin'
Sayin' "We'll have no more engagements
With the boys of Mullaghbawn."
Squire Jackson was un equalled
For honour or for reason,
He never turned a traitor
Or betrayed the rights of man,
But now we are endangered
By a vile deceiving stranger
Who has ordered deportation
For the Boys of Mullachbawn.
As those heroes crossed the ocean
I'm told the ship in motion
Did stand in wild commotion
As if the seas ran dry,
The trout and salmon gaping
As the cuckoo left her station
Sayin', "Farewell to lovely Erin
And the hills of Mullaghbawn.
To end my lamentation
We are all in consternation
For the want of education
I here must end my song;
None cares for recreation
Since without consideration
We are sent for transportation
From the hills of Mullachbawn.
note:In 1787, Squire Jackson, the landlord of an estate which
included the parish of Mulluchbawn, died. His successor was less
popular. In 1781, several rebels were deported.
From The Irish Song Tradition, O'Boyle
Collected from Nicholas Hughes, Armagh
@Irish @transportation @rebel
filename[ MULLBAWN
TUNE FILE: MULLBAWN
CLICK TO PLAY
RG
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