Dunlavin Green is an Irish

Ireland

Ireland is an island to the northwest of continental Europe. It is the third-largest island in Europe and the twentieth-largest island on Earth...

 ballad referring to the Dunlavin Green massacre

Massacre of Dunlavin Green

The Massacre of Dunlavin Green refers to the summary execution of 36 suspected rebel prisoners by the British military shortly after the outbreak of the rebellion of 1798...

 which occurred in Dunlavin

Dunlavin

Dunlavin is a village in County Wicklow, Ireland, situated about thirty miles south west of Dublin. It is centred on the junction of the R412 and R756 regional roads...

 in Ireland

Ireland

Ireland is an island to the northwest of continental Europe. It is the third-largest island in Europe and the twentieth-largest island on Earth...

 in 1798 and resulted in the execution of 36 suspected rebel prisoners. The song is written from the perspective of a witness to the massacre. The song is one of the most popular Irish rebellion ballads and has been recorded numerous times in the last decade alone.

Lyrics

In the year one thousand seven hundred and ninety eight

A sorrowful tale the truth unto you I'll relate

Of thirty-six heroes to the world were left to be seen

By a false information were shot on Dunlavin Green

Bad luck to you Saunders, for you did their lives betray

You said a parade would be held on that very day

Our drums they did rattle - our fifes they did sweetly play

Surrounded we were and privately marched away

Quite easy they led us like prisoners through the town

To be shot on the plain, we first were forced to kneel down

Such grief and such sorrow were never before there seen

When the blood ran in streams down the dykes of Dunlavin Green

There is young Matty Farrell who has plenty of cause to complain

Likewise the two Duffys who were also shot down upon the plain

And young Andy Ryan, his mother distracted will run

For the loss of her darling, her only beloved son

Bad luck to you, Saunders, may bad luck never you shun!

That the widow's curse may melt you like the snow in the sun

The cries of the orphans their murmurs you cannot screen

For the murder of their fathers on Dunlavin Green

Some of our boys to the hills they are going away

Some of them are shot and some of them going to sea

Mickey Dwyer in the mountains to Saunders he owes a spleen

For loss of his brothers who were shot on Dunlavin Green

In the year one thousand seven hundred and ninety eight

A sorrowful tale the truth unto you I'll relate

Of thirty-six heroes to the world were left to be seen

By a false information were shot on Dunlavin Green

Notable recordings

• 1956 – Patrick Galvin
  Patrick Galvin
  Patrick Galvin was an Irish poet, singer, playwright, and prose and screen writer born in Cork's inner city.-Biography:Galvin was born in Cork in 1927 at a time of great political transition in Ireland...
  
   – Irish Songs of Resistance Part I
• 1975 – Paddy Mahone – Irish Rebellion Album
• 1986 – Joe Burke – Happy to Meet and Sorry to Part
• 1998 – Dolores Keane
  Dolores Keane
  Dolores Keane is an Irish folk singer and occasional actress. She was a founding member of the successful group De Dannan, and has since embarked on a very successful solo career, establishing herself as one of the most loved interpreters of Irish song.-Background:Keane was born in a small village...
  
   – Night Owl
• 2008 – Karan Casey
  Karan Casey
  Karan Casey is an Irish folk singer, and a former member of the Irish band Solas.-Early years:Casey was born in Ballyduff Lower, Kilmeaden, County Waterford, Ireland. Her family encouraged her to sing in the house, in a church choir and at school. At Waterford Regional Technical College she...
  
   – Ships in the Forest
  Ships in the Forest
  Ships in the Forest is a studio album by Irish traditional singer Karan Casey, and the first to be released primarily on her own label. The album features much of Casey's live band, as well as her brother-in-law and husband, both members of the band Buille. The album features one song in Gaelic and...