Catalpa
UnknownOh, come all you gallant Irishmen
And a story I’ll relate
I’ll tell to you of the Fenian men
Who from their foe escaped
Though bound with Saxon chains
In a dark Australian jail
They struck a blow for freedom
And for New York town set sail
On the seventeenth of April
In the year of eightythree
The gallant bark Catalpa
From Freemantle town did flee
She showed the green above the red
As she calmly made her way
Prepared to take those Fenian men
To safety o’er the sea
Here’s to the ship Catalpa
And the boys of Uncle Sam
And to all the Irishmen afloat
And the Fenians to a man
Here’s to Captian Anthony
Bold Breslin and his crew
When challenged by the empires might
The stars and stripes he flew
Then Breslin and brave Desmond
Had Catalpa taut and trim
When fast approaching them they saw
A vision dark and dim
It was the gunboat Georgette
And on her deck there stood
One hundred hired assassins
To shed the patriot blood
“My ship is sailing peacefully
Beneath the flag of stars
It’s manned by Irish hearts of oak
And manly Yankee tars
And that dear emblem to the fore
So plain for to be seen
It’s the banner to protect and mind
Old Ireland’s flag of green”
Here’s to the ship Catalpa
And the boys of Uncle Sam
And to all the Irishmen afloat
And the Fenians to a man
Here’s to Captian Anthony
Bold Breslin and his crew
When challenged by the empires might
The stars and stripes he flew
One hundred years have passed and gone
Since the day in New York bay
All sorts of floats and ships and boats
Were there, hip, hip hooray
They say that eighty thousand men
About the rescue knew
Not a word was spoke and it was some joke
On John Bull’s navy too
And here’s to Captain Anthony
Who well these men did free
He dared the English navy men
To fight them on the sea
To John Devoy, his name held high
And all friends to be seen
The flag for which our heroes fought
Was Ireland’s flag of green
Here’s to the ship Catalpa
And the boys of Uncle Sam
And to all the Irishmen afloat
And the Fenians to a man
Here’s to Captian Anthony
Bold Breslin and his crew
When challenged by the empires might
The stars and stripes he flew
Here’s to the ship Catalpa
And the boys of Uncle Sam
And to all the Irishmen afloat
And the Fenians to a man
Here’s to Captian Anthony
Bold Breslin and his crew
When challenged by the empires might
The stars and stripes he flew