“The Ballyshannon Lane”
Description
The singer stops at Ballyshannon Lane and thinks of "scenes of ninety-eight," recalling Scullabogue on the one hand and the death of rebels on the other. Many are named. The singer says "in Ireland's need I am here to bleed in Ballyshannon Lane"
Notes
Moylan: "This somewhat confused song seems to relate a series of outrages by government troops against the narrator's neighbors and relations."
The ballad is recorded on one of the CD's issued around the time of the bicentenial of the 1798 Irish Rebellion. See:
Franke Harte and Donal Lunny, "Ballyshannon Lane" (on Franke Harte and Donal Lunny, "1798 the First Year of Liberty," Hummingbird Records HBCD0014 (1998)) - BS
It sounds as if the idea is to measure Scullabogue against the atrocities committed by the British in 1798. This is suprisingly hard to do, given the nature of feelings about the matter (see the notes to "Father Murphy (II) (The Wexford Men of '98)"). Nonetheless, I'd have to say that Scullabogue, in which a handful of Irish killed a hundred or more loyalists in cold blood, was the single worst atrocity of 1798, and it would take quite a few acts againstt the Irish to balance this particular act of non-civilization.
Historical references
- 1798 - Irish rebellion against British rule
References
- Moylan 75, "The Ballyshannon Lane" (1 text, 1 tune)
- BI, Moyl075