This is a fun song about a daring 19^th-century prison escape. You can read all about the rescue on Wikipedia, or in at least two books: The Voyage of the Catalpa by Peter Stevens, and John Devoy’s Catalpa Expedition, edited by Fennell, King, and Golway.

This arrangement of the lyrics is taken from the recording which appears on The Wolfe Tones’ 1987 album A Sense of Freedom. Evidently there’s a longer, more fleshed-out version out there as well.

Incidentally, I think it’s pretty neat that this song mentions two national personifications, and neither for Ireland.

Now come all ye gallant Irishmen and a story I’ll relate
I’ll tell to you of the Fenian men who from the foe escaped
Though bound with Saxon chains in a dark Australian jail
They struck a blow for freedom and for New York town set sail
On the 17th of April in the year of ’83
The gallant bark Catalpa from Freemantle town did flee
She showed the green above the red as she calmly made her way
Prepared to take those Fenian men to saftey o’er the sea

Here’s to the ship Catalpa and the boys of Uncle Sam
And to all the Irishmen afloat and the Fenians to a man
Here’s to Captain Anthony, bold Breslin and his crew
When challenged by the empire’s might, the Stars and Stripes he flew!

Then Breslin and brave Desmond had Catalpa taut and trim
When fast approaching them they saw a vision dark and dim
It was the gunboat Georgette and ’long her deck there stood
One hundred hired assassins to shed the patriots’ blood
“My ship is sailing peacefully beneath the flag of stars
She’s manned by Irish hearts of oak and manly Yankee tars
And that dear emblem to the fore so plain for to be seen
Is the banner to protect and mind — old Ireland’s flag of green!”

One hundred years have passed and gone since the day in New York Bay
All sorts of floats and ships and boats were there — hip hip hooray!
They say that eighty thousand men about the rescue new
Not a word was spoke and it was some joke on John Bull’s navy too
And here’s to Captain Anthony who well these men did free
He dared the English navy men to fight him on the sea
To John Devoy, his name held high, and all friends to be seen
The flag for which our heros fought was Ireland’s flag of green!

Notes

1. It was actually 1876, but I suppose that wouldn’t have rhymed. ↩
2. John Breslin and Tom Desmond were Fenian agents who helped arrange the escape from shore. See the Wikipedia article for all the gory details. ↩ ↩