"Rody McCorley was a Presbyterian from Duneane who took part in the rising in Antrim (1798). After over a year in hiding he was betrayed, tried in Ballymena and hanged in Toome on 28th of Feb 1800. (This has been established by John Moulden from contemporary newspaper accounts.) The first of these songs is the older ballad, probably composed in or soon after 1800.
The second ballad, by Ethna Carbery (Anna MacManus b. 1866), was written in the 1890's and may have been based on the older one."

This is a quote from the excellent new book "The Age of Revolution in the Irish Song Tradition - 1776 to 1815", compiled and edited by Terry Moylan, published by Lilliput Press (www.lilliputpress.ie), ISBN 1-901866-49-1.
This book is a must buy for anyone interested in Irish songs of that period.

Frank McGrath