happy? - Mar 17 (Drumboe Martyrs)

Subject: happy? - Mar 17 (Drumboe Martyrs)
From: Abby Sale
Date: 17 Mar 06 - 08:22 AM

          'Twas the feast of St Patrick by the dawn of the day,  [1923]
          The hills of Tirconnaill stood sombre and gray.,
          When the first light of morning illumined the sky,
          Four brave Irish soldiers were led forth to die.
  
              "The Drumboe Martyrs" by Mick McGinley (1852-1940) of County Donegal, Ireland

From John McLaughlin's (Mudcat's Big Tim) excellent account in his One Green Hill – Journeys through Irish Songs, 2003. He points out the big surprise – this is one of those rare Irish traditional songs in which Irish Repulicans are not killed by the English, they're killed by other Irish Repulicans during the post-independance Irish Civil War. [June 1922 – May 1923]

(Patrick, c.385-c.461)

Early warning notice: This series of the Happy File noncontinues beginning April 16.
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Subject: RE: happy? - Mar 17 (Drumboe Martyrs)
From: GUEST,Guest, Big Tim
Date: 17 Mar 06 - 12:16 PM

The booklet "The Story of the Drumboe Martyrs" has been reissued as the 80th anniversary edition (2003). It is available from Sinn Fein's online bookstore, or at least it was recently.