“The Sorrowful Lamentation of Denis Mahony”

Description

"Honest Denis Mahony that now lies in the clay ... his precious blood was freely spilt before the tithes he'd pay." Farmer Mahony is murdered. The Parishioners catch the murderer "and laid him on the ground" but "the tithes they paid without delay"

Notes

The complete title of Zimmermann's broadside is "The Sorrowful Lamentation of Denis Mahony, Who Lost His Life in the Parish of Inniscarra, in the County of Cork, on Account of the Tithes."

The context is "The Tithe War": O'Connell's Catholic Association was formed in 1823 to resist the requirement that Irish Catholics pay tithes to the Anglican Church of Ireland. The "war" was passive for most of the period 1823-1836, though there were violent incidents in 1831 (source: _The Irish Tithe War 1831_ at the OnWar.com site) - BS

See "The Battle of Carrickshock" for more about the Tithe War, and the cross-references there for more songs on the topic. - RBW

Cross references

References

  1. Zimmermann 38, "The Sorrowful Lamentation of Denis Mahony" (1 text)
  2. BI, Zimm038

About

Author: unknown
Earliest date: 1830s (Zimmermann)