At the beginning of the First World War (in September 1914) John Redmond appealed to Irish Volunteers to join the British army. As this song shows, not everyone was enthusiast about this idea and a conflict was inevitable. This song was created as a parody of the British Army

British Army

The British Army is the land warfare branch of Her Majesty's Armed Forces in the United Kingdom. It came into being with the unification of the Kingdom of England and Scotland into the Kingdom of Great Britain in 1707. The new British Army incorporated Regiments that had already existed in England...

 after a series of events.

This song of Irish origin has circulated both inside and outside the army since Victorian times. Singers/Chanters would insert at appropriate points the names of those NCO's they disliked.

Current Recordings

• Irish Brigade
• The Dubliners
  The Dubliners
  The Dubliners are an Irish folk band founded in 1962.-Formation and history:The Dubliners, initially known as "The Ronnie Drew Ballad Group", formed in 1962 and made a name for themselves playing regularly in O'Donoghue's Pub in Dublin...
  
  
• Irish Rovers
• Ewan MacColl
  Ewan MacColl
  Ewan MacColl was an English folk singer, songwriter, socialist, actor, poet, playwright, and record producer. He was married to theatre director Joan Littlewood, and later to American folksinger Peggy Seeger. He collaborated with Littlewood in the theatre and with Seeger in folk music...
  
  
• Luke Kelly
  Luke Kelly
  Luke Kelly was an Irish singer and folk musician from Dublin, Ireland, notable as a founding member of the band The Dubliners.-Early life:...
  
  
• Black Irish Texas
• The ShamRock
  The Shamrock
  The Shamrock is a 1777 Irish play by John O'Keeffe. It was first staged on 15 April 1777 at Crow Street Theatre in Dublin. Several of the characters and airs were re-used in O'Keefe's more successful 1783 play The Poor Soldier.-Bibliography:...
  
  
• The Battering Ram