Mulrooney had been hard and fast upon the captain’s trail, The traitor thought to euchre Pat by placing him in jail, And, ere the blundering Kerry tongue could tell how matters stood, Give up his comrades to the wolves that thirsted for their blood. The captain played his cards with skill--his triumph almost came; But Irish hearts are always trumps in war’s uncertain game; And pinioned in his tent that night he heard gay voices nigh Tell o’er and o’er the story of Mulrooney and the spy.
[A] This incident was recorded at the time in the Irish newspapers, was debated in Parliament, and formed the subject of rich comic cartoons in _Pat_, the _Weekly News_, the _Weekly Freeman_, and _United Ireland_.
[B] Rory, or Capt. Moonlight, is the latest cognomen for the Ribbon or Whiteboy avenger of landlord oppression.
[C] During the period of Irish obstruction in Parliament, the Speaker or Chairman of the House of Commons had frequently to preside for twenty or twenty-four hours at a stretch, during a debate, in the course of which the Irish members would raise points of order every five minutes or so.
[D] Allen, Larkin, and O’Brien, executed at Manchester, England, for their share in the rescue of Col. Kelly and Capt. Deasy, two Fenian leaders, were buried in the prison grounds, their bodies being refused to their relatives lest their funeral should be made the occasion of a demonstration.
[E] On this day William Philip Allen, Michael O’Brien, and Michael Larkin were hanged in Manchester, England, for the rescue of two Fenian leaders. Until the sentence of death was actually carried into effect it was not believed that the first political execution since that of Robert Emmet would take place. A mass meeting was held at the Old Swan Cross in Manchester, to welcome the reprieve, but their messenger brought news of the execution instead.
[G] O’Brien--A brave Union soldier, who had fought in Meagher’s Irish Brigade.
[H] Larkin--An elderly man, who left a widow and four orphans.
[I] At the explosion which took place in the Tower of London on Jan. 23, 1885, the Grenadier Guards and the Police distinguished themselves by their frantic efforts to escape from the building.
[J] In April, 1885, the Prince of Wales paid a visit to Ireland. On the morning of his arrival a placard containing the verses above was found posted on every dead-wall in the cities and villages of Ireland. The poem had previously appeared in an American paper.