Lay Him Away O'er the Hillside

DESCRIPTION: "The grey dawn had crept o'er the stillness of morning... A young Connaught Ranger was sentenced to die. No cold-blooded murder had stained his poor conscience"; he merely supported "Ireland's loved freedom." He dies bravely
AUTHOR: unknown
EARLIEST DATE: 1943 (Walton's Treasury of Irish Songs and Ballads, according to Palmer-WhatALovelyWar)
KEYWORDS: soldier death execution burial
HISTORICAL REFERENCES:
Nov 2, 1920: James Joseph Daly of the Connaught Rangers executed for refusing duty as a protest over the Black and Tan War
FOUND IN:
REFERENCES (1 citation):
Palmer-WhatALovelyWar, pp. 65-66, "Lay Him Away O'er the Hillside" (1 text)
Roud #3226
NOTES [104 words]: This is one of those stories of widespread stupidity so common in the history of Anglo/Irish relations. There is no question but that the British Army was bullheaded and stupid to execute Jim Daly. On the other hand, what was Daly doing in the British Army in the first place? It really was a lose-lose situation.
To add to the irony, Daly was serving in India. In 1920, it was Ireland fighting for freedom. A quarter of a century later, India would be the nation prying free of Great Britain. So it's not as if the British Army was having great success convincing the Indians of the benefits of colonial overlordship. - RBW
Last updated in version 7.2
File: PWLW065

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