The woods of Drumbo by The Wolfhounds

The woods of Drumbo by The Wolfhounds

here is a Donegal song called "The Woods of Drumbo",It commemorates 4 members of a flying column who were shot by Free State troopers near Stranorlar, Co Donegal.There names were Enright, O'Donnell, Dawly and Larkin. They came from Kerry, Cork and Derry,

THE WOODS OF DRUMBO
Twas the eve of St.Patrick,at the dawn of the day
The hills of Tirconnell, lay slumbering and gray
The first light of morning illumined the sky
As four Irish heroes were lead forth to die
They were Enright, O'Donnell and Dawly by name
From the counties of Cork and from Kerry they came
While the gallant Stan Larkin from the banks of the Roe
Completes the four martyrs shot dead at Drumbo
These four Irish soldiers were dragged from their cell
For months they had suffered the torments of hell
No mercy they asked from their merciless foe
And no mercy was shown by the thugs at Drumbo
Three left their homesteads in Kerry's green vale
And one came from Derry to fight for the Gael
But instead of true friends they met traitor and foe
And uncoffined were laid in the woods of Drumbo
The church bells rang out in the cool morning air
To summon the faithful to penance and prayer
When a shot from the wild wood brought terror and woe
'Twas the death knell of Dawly, shot dead at Drumbo
Let Tireconnel ne'er boast of her honour and fame
All the waters of Finn will not wash out the stain
While the Finn and the Swilly continue to flow
The stain will remain on the woods of Drumbo

Category:

Music

Tags:

• irish
• rebel
• song
• donegal
• the
• wolfhounds

[daver852]

It's a great song, but some of the lyric notes area bit off. The men who were shot were Charlie Daly, Sean Larkin, Timothy O'Sullivan and Daniel Enright. They were anti-Treaty irregulars who were executed on March 14, 1923 by Free State troops.

[lorgain2]

Thanks for the info,daver.

[lorgain2]

Their stuff may still be available on the Web, try Google.

[lorgain2]

Thanks for the comment Cluzio.

[lorgain2]

Thank You spiel.

[lorgain2]

Dollymixture, See private message [PM].

[WOODKERNE1]

He recieved his veterans pension till the day he died (1994) from the Free State,,,  God Bless Donegal (Tyrconnell),,,, Gods own country!

[WOODKERNE1]

My grannies brother was a a captive at Drumbo Castle. He too was condmned to die by the pitiless Free State army. He was from Kilrean (about 200 meters from Reelin Bridge) and fought in the Anglo-Irish war and then as an Irregular (anti-treaty) till taken prisoner @ Dunlewy. His Flying Column was lead by his school master. The tune 'Johnsons Motorcar' is about an incident that happenen at his front door... I think he was going to assemble @ Dungloe (not Drumbar),,, RIP Sarah and Danny Mcglynn.

[TheBrinaleck]

@lorgain2 irregulars? i think they would have preferred the term republicans irregulars was the term used by pro-treaty forces

[TheBrinaleck]

@daver852 anti-treaty irregulars? i think its safe enough to say they were republicans executed by free state or national troops

[nearwin]

great song. wolfhound great band, i love them, do you know where i can get hold of any of their songs i would much appreciate it

[Cluzio]

The best ballad band Ireland has ever had and true republicans as well.