"Roddy McCorley"

No personal notes.

Per wikipedia;

Roddy McCorley [?? - 28 February 1800] was an Irish radical from the civil parish of Duneane, County Antrim. Following the publication of the Ethna Carbery poem bearing his name in 1902, where he is associated with events around the Battle of Antrim, he is alleged to have been a member of the United Irishmen and claimed as a participant in their rebellion of 1798.

Per TFC;

Irish, Air or March (cut time). D Major (Miller & Perron): G Major (Carlin). Standard tuning. One part (Miller & Perron): AABB (Carlin). While the tune is traditional, the lyrics are credited to Ethna Carberry and commemorate a martyr of the 1798 rebellion. They begin: *** O see the fleet-foot host of men, who march with faces drawn, From farmstead and from fishers' cot, along the banks of Ban; They come with vengeance in their eyes. Too late! Too late are they, For young Roddy McCorley goes to die on the bridge of Toome today. *** Oh Ireland, Mother Ireland, you love them still the best The fearless brave who fighting fall upon your hapless breast, But never a one of all your dead more bravely fell in fray, Than he who marches to his fate on the bridge of Toome today. *** The song has been recorded by the Clancy Brothers, the Kingston Trio and others. It is a frequently heard in march medley’s played by Irish musicians and is considered a ‘grand old chestnut’ of a tune. Carlin (Master Collection), 1984; No. 134, pg. 82 (appears as “Roddy McCorley’s March�). Miller & Perron (New England Fiddler’s Repertoire), 1983; No. 62.