The song is written from the perspective of a doomed young Wexford rebel who is about to sacrifice his relationship with his loved one and plunge into the cauldron of violence associated with the 1798 rebellion in Ireland. The references to barley in the song derive from the fact that the rebels often carried barley oats in their pockets as provisions for when on the march. This gave rise to the post-rebellion phenomenon of barley growing and marking the "croppy-holes", mass unmarked graves which slain rebels were thrown into, symbolising the regenerative nature of Irish resistance to British rule.

As requested by Aidan & Tomás :)

Author: Robert Dwyer Joyce (1836 - 1883) - a poet and professor of English Literature born in Limerick, Ireland






Album: "Irish Roses: Women of Celtic Song"
Performed by: Rowena Taheny, Carlyle Fraser, Laurel MacDonald & Eleanor McCain

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