BILLY BYRNE OF BALLYMANUS
Come all ye 'brave United Men, I prey you lend an ear,
And listen to these verses I now will let you hear,
Concerning noble Billy Byrne a man of great renown,
Who was tried and hanged at Wicklow as a traitor to the crown.
It was in the year of '93 we had reason to complain,
We lost our brave commander, Billy Byrne was his name
He was taken to Dublin City and brought to Wicklow Jail,
And though we wished to free him, for him they'd take no bail.
When a prisoner he was taken the traitors forward came,
To swear our hero's life away, and well they're known by name,
They had but little scruple his precious blood to spill,
And Wicklow lost through perjury the pride of Pleasant Hill.
Now some of these informers who in false evidence agreed,
Were men who in his father's house so frequently did feed;
And at his brother's table where many did then see,
And so these perjurers paid the Byrnes for their generosity.
When they came forward for the crown they home against him swore,
That he among the Rebels a captain's title bore,
They swore he worked the cannons, and the rebels did review,
And that with that piece of cannon he marched on Carrigue.
Then here's to Billy Byrne, may his fame for ever shine;
We'll not forget his noble death In the year of '99;
May the Lord have mercy on him and all such men as he,
Who stood upright for Ireland's rights and died for liberty.
