Mareena's 'Pick of the Week'

29. Patriot Game by The Clancy Brothers - Greatest Irish Hits (1995)

Dominic Behan

Why did I choose this song? The Patriot Game is an Irish ballad written by Dominic Behan (1928-1989) - the brother of Irish novelist and playwright, Brendan Behan and a member of a literary family. His maternal uncle, Peadar Kearney, wrote the English lyrics to The Soldiers' Song in 1907 - The Soldiers' Song (Amhrán na bhFiann in Irish) is now the Irish National Anthem.

Fergal O'Hanlon

Sean South

The Patriot Game is the story of Fergal O'Hanlon (1936-1957) who at age 20, was killed along with Sean South in an attack on a Royal Ulster Constabulary (R. U. C.) barracks in Brookeborough, County Fermanagh during the Border Campaign of 1956-1962.

Mareena's 'Pick of the Week'

6. The Boys of Wexford by Danny Doyle - Rebels! The Gold Sun of Freedom (1998)

Patrick Joseph McCall -
Better known as P. J. McCall

Why did I choose this song? The Boys of Wexford was a ballad written by Patrick Joseph McCall (1861-1919) and Arthur Warren Darley (1873-1929). Patrick Joseph McCall was an Irish songwriter and poet also known for writing the lyrics to Follow me up to Carlow, Boolavogue and Kelly the Boy From Killanne. He also collected many old Irish airs but is perhaps better known for his patriotic ballads. Patrick Joseph McCall married Margaret Furlong - the sister of Irish poet, writer and political activist, Alice Furlong - in 1901.

Arthur Warren Darley was an Irish fiddle player, composer, music teacher, examiner and traditional music archivist. Arthur was also a church organist who spent some time as a Church of Ireland organist near Bruckless, Co. Donegal.

Arthur Warren Darley was the first musical director of the Abbey Theatre following its foundation in 1904, and he played a very active part with the Abbey Theatre. His father Henry Warren Darley had converted to Catholicism and Arthur supported the nationalist cause during the Irish War of Independence in 1916. His house - Bruckless House - provided shelter for republican leaders.

Theobald Wolfe Tone -
Better known as Wolfe Tone -
was the leader of the United Irishmen

The Boys of Wexford is a famous Irish ballad commemorating the Irish Rebellion of 1798 - also known as United Irishmen Rebellion. This rebellion took place against British rule in Ireland and lasted from May to September of 1798. The United Irishmen was a republican revolutionary group very much influenced by the ideas of the American and French revolutions.

The leader of the United Irishmen, Theobald Wolfe Tone (1763-1798) traveled in exile from America to France to secure French military support for the Irish cause beginning in 1796. The subsequent French force that Wolfe Tone succeeded in raising, consisted of 14,000 veteran French troops under General Hoche. The ship sailed into Bantry Bay in December of 1796 after eluding the Royal Navy. However, unremitting storms, the indecisiveness of leaders and bad seamanship forced the French fleet to return home. The army of 14,000 was then split up and sent off to fight in the French Revolutionary Wars.

Fr. John Murphy -
Better known during his lifetime as "Mr. Murphy -
was one of the most famous leaders of The Wexford Rebellion

The Wexford Rebellion was led by the Wexford United Irishman and began 27 May 1798. It was the most successful and most destructive of the uprisings that broke out all over Ireland in 1798. From 27 May 1798 to 21 June 1798, Father John Murphy and many other leaders cemented their names in Irish history.

Mareena's 'Pick of the Week'

25. Rob Roy: O'Sullivan's March by The Chieftains - Film Cuts (1996)

Donal O'Sullivan

Why did I choose this song? The 'O'Sullivan' in O'Sullivan's March was Donal Cam O'Sullivan Beare (1561-1618). He was the last independent ruler of the O'Sullivan Beara sept, and thus the last O'Sullivan Beara - a Gaelic princely title.

Donal's father was killed in 1563, but his son was considered too young to inherit the title at the time of the chief's death. Instead, the clan's leadership passed to the chief's surviving brother, Owen. In 1587, Donal asserted his own claim to the clan's leadership. Eager to extend English legal authority over Ireland, the Dublin commission that had confirmed Owen's leadership - who had been knighted by Elizabeth I in order to claim his leadership at the time - accepted Donal's claim, and he now became O'Sullivan Beare

In the lead up to the Nine Years' War (1594-1603) - also known as Tyrone's Rebellion - Donal O'Sullivan initially kept his distance from the rebel cause. In time, Donal joined a confederation of Gaelic chiefs led by Hugh O'Neill, Earl of Tyrone and Hugh Roe O'Donnell. In 1603, Dunboy Castle, the stronghold of the O'Sullivans, fell after a vicious 13-day siege. The entire company of defenders was either killed in battle or executed.

Donal O'Sullivan was absent during the siege, having traveled north to conference with Hugh O'Neill. The Earl of Tyrone's letter to Philip II of Spain left him with little hope of a pardon from the English, and he continued his fight with guerilla tactics. Donal O'Sullivan was eventually forced to gather up his remaining followers, including women and children, and set off on a 250-mile march to the north.

The grueling two-week march was the most poignant in Irish history and was marked by incredible suffering as the fleeing, starving O'Sullivans sought food from an already decimated Irish countryside in winter, often resulting in hostility. On January 4, 1603, the remaining clan members - 35 out of the original 1000 - arrived at O'Rourke castle in Leitrim. Many had died along the way from hunger and exposure, and others had settled along the route.

In Leitrim, Donal O'Sullivan sought to gather forces to continue the fight, but resistance ended when Hugh O'Neill signed the Treaty of Mellifont. Donal, along with other members of the Gaelic nobility, fled and sought exile in Spain.

Mareena's 'Pick of the Week'

4. The Ghosts of Culloden by Isla Grant - Mother (2001)

Why did I choose this song? Isla Grant is an international singer/songwriter born in Wigtownshire, Scotland (which is within the county of Dumfries, Scotland). However, Isla and her family eventually settled in the Scottish Borders. Isla grew up in a musical family - her father's side of the family were highland bagpipe players, and her mother's side of the family were violin and accordian players. When she fourteen years old, Isla began singing, focusing on country music. Isla turned professional until 1992 when an horrific car accident involving herself and her husband Al, forced her to stop touring for five years. During her recuperation, Isla started composing more of her own music and released a CD of Hank Williams covers on her own record label in October of 2008.

Charles Edward Stuart - Charles III
Better known as 'Bonnie Prince Charlie' or 'The Young Pretender' 

Prince William Augustus - Duke of Cumberland
Better known as 'Butcher Cumberland'

The Ghosts of Culloden was written by Isla Grant and is about 'The Battle of Culloden', which was fought on April 16, 1746. 'The Battle of Culloden' was the final battle of the Jacobite Rebellion of 1745 and was between the forces of 'Bonnie Prince Charlie' - Charles Edward Stuart and Prince William Augustus, Duke of Cumberland - who earned the title 'Butcher Cumberland' because of his actions during the Battle of Culloden. Even though the British did win the Battle of Culloden, the victory is not considered a battle honor.

Allegedly, on each anniversary of the Battle of Culloden - April 16 - people claim to have seen phantoms all along the moor and to hear the ghostly sounds of battle between the soldiers who can not rest in peace. While no birds sing on Culloden Moor these days, it is said that on the eve of the battle in 1746, the Jacobite commander, Lord George Murray, saw a large black bird rise from the ground in front of him, and fly away. This bird was considered a bad omen and a harbinger of doom for Lord Murray and his men. Although the black bird's apparition is seen somewhat infrequently these days, 'The Great Scree of Culloden Moor' as it is called, always heralds bad luck to people who do see it.

Mareena's 'Pick of the Week'

20. The Wall by Michael McCann - Soldiers' Songs (1996)

Why did I choose this song? In honor of Veterans' Day which is officially observed on November 11 in the United States. Veterans' Day is a day to observe the service and sacrifice of all U. S. military veterans, as opposed to all military service members who died in the service of their country. 

 The song The Wall was written in 1985 by Tim Murphy, a Vietnam veteran who received the Silver Star in Vietnam. It is sung by Michael McCann, a former paratrooper and Army Special Forces (Green Beret) medic. The title of the song refers to the Vietnam Veterans Memorial in Washington, D. C. Dedicated on Veterans' Day in 1982, the Vietnam Veterans Memorial holds 58,272 names (as of May 2011) of soldiers either killed in action or missing in action from the Vietnam War.

Mareena's 'Pick of the Week'

27. Helicopter Song by The Wolfe Tones - 25th Anniversary (1991)

Mountjoy Prison, as it is known today, was opened in 1850 
as Mountjoy Gaol - nicknamed 'The Joy'

Why did I choose this song? The Helicopter Song is a number one single by the extremely popular Irish band The Wolfe Tones. The song tells the story of the brazen daylight escape of three Irish Republican Army prisoners from Dublin's Mountjoy Jail. On October 31, 1973, an IRA member hijacked a helicopter and forced the pilot to fly to Mountjoy where the three prisoners - J. B. O'Hagan, Seamus Twomey and Kevin Mallon - were lifted by helicopter from the exercise yard of the D wing of the jail at 3:40 pm. The incident was a major embarrassment for the Irish government.

Despite The Helicopter Song being immediately banned by the government, the song topped the Irish popular music charts, peaking on November 22, 1973 and staying at Number One for four weeks. 

A manhunt involving twenty thousand members of the Irish Defence Forces and the police force of Ireland, the Garda Síochána, was launched for the escapees. Kevin Mallon was recaptured at a dance in a hotel on 10 December 1973; and imprisoned in Portlaoise Prison - which he also escaped from during a mass breakout of nineteen prisoners on 18 August 1974. He was recaptured in Dublin in January 1975 and returned to Portlaoise Prison.

J. B. O'Hagan was recaptured in Dublin in early 1975, and also imprisoned in Portlaoise Prison. After he served out his original twelve-month sentence, he was immediately rearrested and sentenced to a further two years for escaping. Seamus Twomey evaded recapture until 2 December 1977, when he was spotted sitting in a car in Sandycove by members of the Garda's Special Branch who were investigating an arms shipment after a tip from the Belgian police. He drove away after spotting the officers, before being recaptured in the center of Dublin after a high-speed car chase. He was also imprisoned in Portlaoise Prison until his release in 1982.