I will have to go back through some of our old 78 rpm records to see if any of the mining songs specifically mention the Molly Maguires.

What I can contribute at this point is that I was born in Shenandoah, PA, in 1940, when it was still very much a mining town. My grandmother spoke frequently of the secret societies of the mines, including the Mollies and the Black Hand (I never knew if they were the same, or different, groups). She spoke of how the parish priest spoke from the pulpit forbidding his miner-parishioners (who were either not there or congregating at the back door out of earshot) to join these groups, and of his peeling off his collar on the main street to knock some sense into those he met who were ignoring his admonitions.

Author Darryl Ponicsan who wrote "Cinderella Liberty" was two years ahead of me in high school. He also penned a novel named "Andoshen, PA" an anagram of Shenandoah, which contains references to the Mollies.

Finally, an earlier posting mentioned the movie called "The Molly Maguires" and cites Richard Harris in the cast, but doesn't mention Sean Connery's role, which was equally, if not more, central to the story about the mine bosses hiring a Pinkerton detective to infiltrate the miners. Although it came out in 1970, the film can still be rented in many video stores.

Now, off to check those 78's . . .