Lyr Add: The Boys of Kilmichael

Subject: Lyr Add: THE BOYS OF KILMICHAEL
From: paddymac
Date: 27 Mar 05 - 10:38 PM

I was surprised not to find this song in the DT. Sung to the air of "Roisin The Beau," or more correctly "The Men Of The West," this is a great song about an incident in the Anglo-Irish War. There are other versions out in cyber space, but I think this is closest to the "original." I haven't found a reliable attribution, but then I haven't searched thoroughly either. There is, however, an historical inaccuracy in the lyrics. The reference to Black and Tans, or just Tans, should be to the Auxies, or Auxillaries. Though obvious to many, there are no doubt some folks about who could make more sense of the "red, white and blue" line knowing that it relates to the colors of the British flag.

The Boys of Kilmichael
(authorship uncertain)
(Air: Rosin The Beau)

Chorus:

Oh forget not the boys of Kilmichael,
Those brave boys both gallant and true.
They fought with Tom Barry's bold column,
And conquered the red, white and blue.

Whilst we honour in song and in story,
The memory of Pearse and McBride.
Whose names are illumined in glory,
With martyrs that long since have died.
Oh forget not the boys of Kilmichael,
Who feared not the ice and the foe.
Oh the day that they marched into battle,
They laid all the Black and Tans low.

On the twenty-eighth day of November,
The Tans left the town of Macroom.
They were seated in Crossley tenders,
Which brought them right into their doom.
They were on the high road to Kilmichael,
And never expecting to stall.
'Twas there that the boys of the column,
They made a clear sweep of them all.

The sun in the west it was sinking,
'Twas the eve of a cold winter's day.
When the Tans we were eagerly waiting,
Sailed into the spot where we lay.
And over the hill went the echo,
The peal of the rifles and guns.
And the smoke from their lorries bore tidings,
That the boys of Kilmichael had won.

The battle being over at twilight,
And there in that glen so obscure.
We threw down our rifles and bayonets,
And made our way back to Granure.
And high over Dunmanway town, my boys,
They sang of the brave and the true.
Of the men from Tom Barry's bold column,
Who conquered the red, white and blue.

There are some who will blush at the mention,
Of Connolly, Pearse and McBride.
And history's new scribes in derision,
The pages of valour deny.
But sure here's to the boys who cried, Freedom!
When Ireland was nailed to the mast.
And they fought with Tom Barry's bold column,
To give us our freedom at last.

Final chorus:
So forget not the boys of Kilmichael,
Those brave boys both gallant and true.
They fought 'neath the green flag of Erin,
And conquered the red, white and blue.
And conquered the red, white and blue.

Subject: RE: Lyr Req: The Boys of Kilmichael
From: paddymac
Date: 27 Mar 05 - 11:08 PM

Sorry. This thread should be prefixed "Lyric Add," not Lyric Req. Could a Joe Clone be so kind as to correct it. I suspect that would make it easier for the harvesting crew to spot it.

Subject: RE: Lyr Req: The Boys of Kilmichael
From: paddymac
Date: 27 Mar 05 - 11:57 PM

Here's more background material for those interested.

28 Nov 1920        Seventeen RIC Auxiliaries ("Auxies") were killed in an IRA ambush at Kilmichael in County Cork by Tom Barry's "Flying Column". It was the Auxies greatest single loss. (O'Brien, B., @ 22-23)(Oxford Comp., 1998 @ 40) The IRA commanding officer, Tom Barry, assembled his unit of thirty-six men at Ahilina at 2:30 am that Sunday morning, then marched them ten miles through the rain and by 09:00 am had them in position for the ambush at Kilmichael Cross, on the road between Macroom and Dunmanway, County Cork. Barry's unit, soaked from the rain, lay on the wet ground until, in the gathering dusk, at 4:30 pm, two Crossley tenders with 18 Auxilaries drove into their carefully laid ambush. In a fierce, 30-minute gun battle, which ended in hand-to-hand fighting, 17 Auxilaries were killed and the eighteenth was mortally wounded. Barry's column of Volunteers suffered three casualties: Pat Deasey from Kilmacsimon; Michael McCarthy from Dunmanway; and Jim O'Sullivan from Rossmore. All three were killed by a number of Auxilaries who had pretended to surrender during the battle [a point disputed by some]. Barry burned the tenders on-site, then marched off with captured equipment at 11:00 pm, to Granure, some eleven miles away, where they camped for the night. Following a three-day march south, zig-zagging all the way to avoid enemy patrols hunting for them, the column dispersed and the volunteers returned to their various units. (An Phoblacht; 30 Nov 2000). The event is immortalized in the song "The Boys of Kilmichael."

Subject: RE: Lyr Req: The Boys of Kilmichael
From: GUEST
Date: 28 Mar 05 - 12:58 AM

Did the 18 Auxiliaries have names as well?

Subject: RE: Lyr ADD: The Boys of Kilmichael
From: Fiolar
Date: 28 Mar 05 - 07:25 AM

If you can get the book "The Wild Heather Glen" published in 1995 (ISBN 0 9526973 0 0), it lists the names of the Auxilaries, as well as mini-biographies of all the Irish lads who took part.

Subject: RE: Lyr Add: The Boys of Kilmichael
From: paddymac
Date: 29 Mar 05 - 10:34 PM

Fiolar - Thanks for the tip about the book. I'm always on the lookout for such interesting things. It is often the littlest details that help most to bring history to life.

Subject: RE: Lyr Add: The Boys of Kilmichael
From: GUEST,Paul Burke
Date: 30 Mar 05 - 02:35 AM

"Did the 18 Auxiliaries have names as well?"

Of course, but only British Army records will tell you what they were. The Auxies and Tans were rather closer to Central American death squads than to a peacekeeping force, and the lessons they taught were learned well by both Free Staters and Irregulars in the years following.

Subject: RE: Lyr Add: The Boys of Kilmichael
From: Big Tim
Date: 30 Mar 05 - 04:42 AM

Not the case Paul. Most of the names are given by Padraic O'Farrell in his book, "Who's Who in the Irish War of Independence and Civil War, 1916-1923", Lilliput Press, 1997. Plus, the names are also given on a memorial plaque in Macroom.