The Sons of Molly Maguire, by The Irish Balladeers

The Molly Maguires were a secret society of Irish coal miners in Pennsylvania in the period from the 1850's to the late 1870s. They seem to have been a direct importation of the system of secret Agrarian protection societies such as the Ribbonmen and Defenders which flourished in Ireland from the mid 1700s through the mid 1800s. No one knows the exact origin of the name "Molly Maguires". Some think the name Molly Maguire was used simply as a personification of Ireland. Others think Molly Maguire was a real woman who led a band of
Defenders against the Orange Order in County Cavan. Being a secret society, little is known of the Molly Maguires, as they left nearly no written or oral trace behind them. The little information that is available is from the biased source of the enemies and persecuters of the Mollies. The Molly Maguires employed the traditional tactics of the Irish Secret Societies in combatting the ruthless mine owners in Pennsylvania. They used sabotage, violence and intimidation against the owners, overseers and their property. The mine and railroad owners hired the Pinkerton Detective Agency to infiltrate the Molly Maguires, which they did, amassing enough spurious "evidence" to bring some fifty Mollies to trial, twnety of whom were sentenced to death by hanging. On June 11, 1877 ten Molly Maguires were hanged, six in Schuylkill County, PA, and four in Carbon County, PA. In the follwing two years, ten more Molly Maguires were hanged in the same counties.
This put an end to the organisation, and left a dark mystery behind. In 1978 the alleged leader of the Mollies, John Kehoe, was granted a posthumous pardon by the Governor of Pennsylvania on the grounds that the evidence at his trial had been falsified and inadmissable. Though not named in the pardon, the implication is that the same applies to the 19 other Molly Maguires who were hanged. This does not necessarily mean they did not commit the acts for which they were tried, but that the processes of their arrests and trials were essentially flawed from the beginning by perjured testimonies,
The twenty Molly Maguires hanged were:
John Kehoe
Alex Campbell
Mickey Doyle
Edward Kelly
Hugh McGeehan
Thomas Munley
James Carroll
James Roarity
James Boyle
Thomas Duffy
John Donahue
Thomas Fisher
Patrick Hester
Peter McHugh
Patrick Tully
Peter McManus
Charles Sharpe
Denis Donnelly
Martin Bergan
James McDonald

Rest in peace, defenders of the Working Class!

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[wildfiree21]

these are my uncles!

[eyeries1]

@wildfiree21 And great singers they are too. Hope to put up some more of their material soon. I hear they are still singing on a regular basis.

[gOnzsbg]

@MiserableOldFart very strong historical evidence. You mean you read the first bit of wikipedias facts about it. read more and understand that companies back then could convict you of anything. (much like today SOPA)

[Kharkovkid]

@indie1361 Despite my Irish last name, I highly admire my Slovak side!....

[wingit98]

love this song



[MiserableOldFart]

Actually there is very strong historical evidence to suggest that the "Molly Maguires" as a "terrorist" group using that name was created by the equivalent of FAUX NOOSE in that era.

[nycdoll1]

thomas munley was my great grandmother's brother...great great uncle? My Irish family didn't like to speak of him.... now they are dead and I've found proud family history! The song is great and reminds me of my great uncles playing and singing when I was a kid! Thanks for posting.

[indie1361]

When Irish eyes are smiling.......Despite my Polish last name, I highly admire my Irish side! Great song!

[Divit03]

These fine gentlemen are one of my favorite bands! I have listened to them many times at the Banshee in Scranton, PA (where I'm from). I even had the opportunity several years ago to play my bodhran on stage with them at the same pub. I look forward to visiting the Banshee and listening to them every time I come home for a visit. Thank you for posting this song, it is one of my favorites of theirs.

[GiovanniEpifano]

A great album and tribute to the anthracite miners of Pennsylvania. Besides their own composition, the original Avoca record contained a number of other songs referenced in George Korson' seminal works, Songs and Ballads of the Anthracite Miners and Minstrels of the Mine Patch: Songs and Stories of the Anthracite Industry.  I have all the Irish Balladeers Avoca LPs and wish all of them would be reissued in their entirety.