Boolavogue is a rebel song composed by Patrick Joseph McCall in 1898 to mark the centenary of the Irish Rebellion. Its title is taken from the name of the town in County Wexford from which Father John Murphy led his parishioners against the British army in the Battle of Vinegar Hill. It all ended in tears as the insurgents were defeated and Murphy, together with other rebel leaders, was hanged.
The title of Enniscorthy-born Colm Tóibin’s excellent 1992 novel ‘The Heather Blazing’ comes from a line in this song:
“A rebel hand set the heather blazing / And brought the neighbours from far and near”. Continue reading
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