751. The Men of the West (Traditional Irish)

In December 1796, the French attempted to invade Ireland, with the support of the Society of United Irishmen. In May 1798 the United Irishmen could not wait any longer for French support and rebelled without them. After this failed, the French, led by General Humbert, made a second attempt in August 1798. The fleet landed near Killala in County Mayo and was joined by many Irishmen. General Humbert abandoned the initial plan to advance to Dublin through Ulster and decided for a straightforward approach. The French-Irish army forced the British to retreat behind the River Shannon, which encouraged further uprisings around the country. However once the French-Irish army crossed the River Shannon the tide turned as they encountered the regrouped and reinforced forces of the Crown Near Ballinamuck, and those French who were not captured retreated back to France. This song, sung to the tune of "Rosin the Beau", tells the story of the Battle of Ballinamuck. Lyrics and chords of this song can be found here: http://www.raymondfolk.com/page/Men+of+the+West+%28William+Rooney%29 You can see a playlist of my Irish songs here: http://www.youtube.com/view_play_list?p=373C27204B0BB31F For lyrics and chords of all my songs, please see my website: http://raymondfolk.wikifoundry.com