Kevin Barry (song)
Encyclopedia
"Kevin Barry" is a popular Irish rebel song recounting the death of Kevin Barry
, a member of the Irish Republican Army
(IRA) who was hanged on 1st November 1920. He was 18 years old at the time. He is one of a group of IRA members executed in 1920-21 collectively known as The Forgotten Ten
.
The ballad was penned shortly after his death by an author whose identity is unknown. Barry's family investigated this in the 1920s, but were only told it was the work of an Irish emigrant living in Glasgow. Some sources claim that it was written by Terrence Ward, a journalist, but this his incorrect, he actually wrote another song about Barry. (At the very least it seems that nobody is actively claiming copyright of this song.) It is sung to the melody of "Rolling Home to Dear Old Ireland" (also known as "Rolling Home to ..." several other places).
It had been performed by many Irish groups including The Wolfe Tones and The Clancy Brothers
. The American singer Paul Robeson
included it in this album Songs of Struggle, although this version tones down the anti-British sentiment of the original. On at least one occasion, in 1972, Leonard Cohen
covered the song in concert.
The song has been one of the most enduringly popular of Irish songs and has been largely responsible for making Kevin Barry a household name. It was said to be so popular with British troops during the Troubles that it was banned. It was one of many Irish rebel ballads removed from RTE
playlists during the period of the conflict in Northern Ireland.
Kevin Barry features prominently in Frank McCourt
's novel Angela's Ashes
and in the 1999 movie adaptation
of the book.
In Mountjoy jail one Monday morning
High upon the gallows tree,
Kevin Barry gave his young life
For the cause of liberty.
Just a lad of eighteen summers,
Still there's no one can deny,
As he walked to death that morning,
He proudly held his head on high.
Chorus
Shoot me like an Irish soldier.
Do not hang me like a dog,
For I fought to free old Ireland
On that still September morn.
All around the little bakery
Where we fought them hand to hand,
Shoot me like an Irish soldier,
For I fought to free Ireland
Just before he faced the hangman,
In his dreary prison cell,
British soldiers tortured Barry,
Just because he would not tell.
The names of his brave comrades,
And other things they wished to know.
Turn informer or we'll kill you
Kevin Barry answered "No".
Proudly standing to attention
While he bade his last farewell
To his broken hearted mother
Whose grief no one can tell.
For the cause he proudly cherished
This sad parting had to be
Then to death walked softly smiling
That old Ireland might be free.
Another martyr for old Ireland,
Another murder for the crown,
Whose brutal laws may kill the Irish,
But can't keep their spirit down.
Lads like Barry are no cowards.
From the foe they will not fly.
Lads like Barry will free Ireland,
For her sake they'll live and die.
Kevin Barry
Kevin Gerard Barry was the first Irish republican to be executed by the British since the leaders of the Easter Rising. Barry was sentenced to death for his part in an IRA operation which resulted in the deaths of three British soldiers.Barry's death is considered a watershed moment in the Irish...
, a member of the Irish Republican Army
Irish Republican Army
The Irish Republican Army was an Irish republican revolutionary military organisation. It was descended from the Irish Volunteers, an organisation established on 25 November 1913 that staged the Easter Rising in April 1916...
(IRA) who was hanged on 1st November 1920. He was 18 years old at the time. He is one of a group of IRA members executed in 1920-21 collectively known as The Forgotten Ten
The Forgotten Ten
The Forgotten Ten is the term applied to ten members of the Irish Republican Army who were executed in Mountjoy Prison, Dublin by British forces following courts martial from 1920-1921 during the Irish War of Independence. Based upon military law at the time, they were buried within the prison...
.
The ballad was penned shortly after his death by an author whose identity is unknown. Barry's family investigated this in the 1920s, but were only told it was the work of an Irish emigrant living in Glasgow. Some sources claim that it was written by Terrence Ward, a journalist, but this his incorrect, he actually wrote another song about Barry. (At the very least it seems that nobody is actively claiming copyright of this song.) It is sung to the melody of "Rolling Home to Dear Old Ireland" (also known as "Rolling Home to ..." several other places).
It had been performed by many Irish groups including The Wolfe Tones and The Clancy Brothers
The Clancy Brothers
The Clancy Brothers were an influential Irish folk music singing group, most popular in the 1960s, they were famed for their woolly Aran jumpers and are widely credited with popularizing Irish traditional music in the United States. The brothers were Patrick "Paddy" Clancy, Tom Clancy, Bobby Clancy...
. The American singer Paul Robeson
Paul Robeson
Paul Leroy Robeson was an American concert singer , recording artist, actor, athlete, scholar who was an advocate for the Civil Rights Movement in the first half of the twentieth century...
included it in this album Songs of Struggle, although this version tones down the anti-British sentiment of the original. On at least one occasion, in 1972, Leonard Cohen
Leonard Cohen
Leonard Norman Cohen, is a Canadian singer-songwriter, musician, poet and novelist. Cohen published his first book of poetry in Montreal in 1956 and his first novel in 1963. His work often explores religion, isolation, sexuality and interpersonal relationships...
covered the song in concert.
The song has been one of the most enduringly popular of Irish songs and has been largely responsible for making Kevin Barry a household name. It was said to be so popular with British troops during the Troubles that it was banned. It was one of many Irish rebel ballads removed from RTE
RTE
RTÉ is the abbreviation for Raidió Teilifís Éireann, the public broadcasting service of the Republic of Ireland.RTE may also refer to:* Recep Tayyip Erdoğan, 25th Prime Minister of Turkey...
playlists during the period of the conflict in Northern Ireland.
Kevin Barry features prominently in Frank McCourt
Frank McCourt
Francis "Frank" McCourt was an Irish-American teacher and Pulitzer Prize–winning writer, best known as the author of Angela’s Ashes, an award-winning, tragicomic memoir of the misery and squalor of his childhood....
's novel Angela's Ashes
Angela's Ashes
Angela's Ashes is a 1996 memoir by the Irish-American author Frank McCourt. The memoir consists of various anecdotes and stories of Frank McCourt's impoverished childhood and early adulthood in Brooklyn, New York and Limerick, Ireland, as well as McCourt's struggles with poverty, his father's...
and in the 1999 movie adaptation
Angela's Ashes (film)
Angela's Ashes is a 1999 Irish-American drama film based on the memoir of the same title by Frank McCourt. It was directed by Alan Parker and starred Emily Watson, Robert Carlyle, Joe Breen, Ciaran Owens, and Michael Legge .-Plot:Angela's Ashes tells the story of Frank McCourt and his childhood...
of the book.
Lyrics
As the author is unknown there is no definitive version, they can be sung with various verses added or omitted, or without the chorus, or other minor variations. This is one version:In Mountjoy jail one Monday morning
High upon the gallows tree,
Kevin Barry gave his young life
For the cause of liberty.
Just a lad of eighteen summers,
Still there's no one can deny,
As he walked to death that morning,
He proudly held his head on high.
Chorus
Shoot me like an Irish soldier.
Do not hang me like a dog,
For I fought to free old Ireland
On that still September morn.
All around the little bakery
Where we fought them hand to hand,
Shoot me like an Irish soldier,
For I fought to free Ireland
Just before he faced the hangman,
In his dreary prison cell,
British soldiers tortured Barry,
Just because he would not tell.
The names of his brave comrades,
And other things they wished to know.
Turn informer or we'll kill you
Kevin Barry answered "No".
Proudly standing to attention
While he bade his last farewell
To his broken hearted mother
Whose grief no one can tell.
For the cause he proudly cherished
This sad parting had to be
Then to death walked softly smiling
That old Ireland might be free.
Another martyr for old Ireland,
Another murder for the crown,
Whose brutal laws may kill the Irish,
But can't keep their spirit down.
Lads like Barry are no cowards.
From the foe they will not fly.
Lads like Barry will free Ireland,
For her sake they'll live and die.