COUNTY LOUTH
1798
The following poem was included by Rev. EJ Quigley P.P., Newbliss, County Monaghan, in an article on Father James Coigley, the curate of Dundalk who was hanged in Maidstone, England, on 7 June 1798 for his involvement in the 1798 Rebellion. He had also been sympathetic to the Defenders.
The poem was written by Arthur Forrester of County Monaghan, date unknown.
THE FELONS OF OUR LAND
Fill up once more, we'll drink a toast To comrades far away No nation upon earth can boast Of braver hearts than they; And though they sleep in dungeons deep Or flee, outlawed and b[an]ned; We love these yet, we can't forget The felons of our land. In boyhood's bloom and manhood's pride Foredoomed by alien laws Some on the scaffold proudly died For holy Ireland's cause. And brothers, say, shall we to-day Unmoved, like cowards stand Whilst traitors shame, and foes defame The felons of our land?. Some in the convict's dreary cell, Have found a living tomb, And some unseen, unfriended, fell Within the dungeon's gloom. Yet, what care we, although it be Trod by a ruffian band -- God bless the clay where rest to-day The felons of our land. Let cowards sneer and tyrants frown O! little do we care-- A felon's cap's the noblest crown An Irish head can wear. And every Gael in Innisfail (Who scorne the serf's vile brand) From Lee to Boyne would gladly join The felons of our land.
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