Easter 1916 © 2017Tony Fallon1220
In the island of Ireland at Easter in nineteen sixteen
Some rebels decided they didn’t need a king or a queen.
They would once more try to cast off the British yoke.
Or die like heroes in the Dublin rubble and smoke.
There were soldiers, labor leaders and some socialists.
Poets, teachers, agitators and Countess Markowitz
Men like Plunkett McDonagh McDermott and Clarke
Who on this trip of martyrdom were about to embark.
In Jacobs Bakery they created a rough compound
And dug trenches for protection on St Stephens ground.
Also on the south side, St Josephs Hospital was occupied
And it was there that many brave men and women died.
But as their headquarters, they picked the GPO.
As they marched in from Glasnevin and Phibsboro
To meet up with Connolly and Ceannt and Pearce
Who warned them the fighting would be cruel and fierce
As the Angelus rang the proclamation was read,
As they proudly remembered our brave Fenian dead
Then they defiantly raised our new tricolored flag
And swore we would no more be England’s punching bag.
Within the British army, there was soon hue and cry
As the bullets from the rebels in the GPO started to fly
Along with the men were the brave women of Comma Na Mban
In the island of Ireland at Easter in nineteen sixteen
Some rebels decided they didn’t need a king or a queen.
They would once more try to cast off the British yoke.
Or die like heroes in the Dublin rubble and smoke.
There were soldiers, labor leaders and some socialists.
Poets, teachers, agitators and Countess Markowitz
Men like Plunkett McDonagh McDermott and Clarke
Who on this trip of martyrdom were about to embark.
In Jacobs Bakery they created a rough compound
And dug trenches for protection on St Stephens ground.
Also on the south side, St Josephs Hospital was occupied
And it was there that many brave men and women died.
But as their headquarters, they picked the GPO.
As they marched in from Glasnevin and Phibsboro
To meet up with Connolly and Ceannt and Pearce
Who warned them the fighting would be cruel and fierce
As the Angelus rang the proclamation was read,
As they proudly remembered our brave Fenian dead
Then they defiantly raised our new tricolored flag
And swore we would no more be England’s punching bag.
Within the British army, there was soon hue and cry
As the bullets from the rebels in the GPO started to fly
Along with the men were the brave women of Comma Na Mban
Who stood shoulder to shoulder with rifles in the combat zone
In London, they couldn’t believe those people so inferior.
Could try to secede from England a land so superior.
Then a well fed and trained army longing for a fight
Blew up buildings and killed innocent civilians just for spite.
This was so much easier than to be in France facing Huns.
For on O’Connell Street in Dublin, there were no big guns.
Sixteen hundred Irish rebels of all ages and both gender
Faced 19 thousand soldiers for a week before surrender.
After the peace slowly returned there was no more flying lead
But there were twice as many British soldiers as rebels dead.
After the surrender, the British had ready cruel solutions.
Terrorize the population with quick trials and executions.
Nobody was found innocent, and no appeals were allowed.
As the rebels stood before them all with heads unbowed
Within two weeks they had shed the finest Irish blood
And broke all laws of decency by burying them in mud
A man like Connolly was thrown into an unmarked grave.
One of Ireland’s greatest heroes treated no better than a slave
A thousand years may come and go, and we will never forgive.
The ones who took the lives of men who had only one life to give.
Those martyrs in history will be remembered for their sacrifice.
But they were not the only Irish people who paid a high price.
We should never forget the women both girlfriends and wives.
Many who lived alone in near poverty for the rest of their lives.
In London, they couldn’t believe those people so inferior.
Could try to secede from England a land so superior.
Then a well fed and trained army longing for a fight
Blew up buildings and killed innocent civilians just for spite.
This was so much easier than to be in France facing Huns.
For on O’Connell Street in Dublin, there were no big guns.
Sixteen hundred Irish rebels of all ages and both gender
Faced 19 thousand soldiers for a week before surrender.
After the peace slowly returned there was no more flying lead
But there were twice as many British soldiers as rebels dead.
After the surrender, the British had ready cruel solutions.
Terrorize the population with quick trials and executions.
Nobody was found innocent, and no appeals were allowed.
As the rebels stood before them all with heads unbowed
Within two weeks they had shed the finest Irish blood
And broke all laws of decency by burying them in mud
A man like Connolly was thrown into an unmarked grave.
One of Ireland’s greatest heroes treated no better than a slave
A thousand years may come and go, and we will never forgive.
The ones who took the lives of men who had only one life to give.
Those martyrs in history will be remembered for their sacrifice.
But they were not the only Irish people who paid a high price.
We should never forget the women both girlfriends and wives.
Many who lived alone in near poverty for the rest of their lives.
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