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Francis Scott Key

Is “The Star Spangled Banner” a Traditional Irish Melody?

By Geoff Cobb
June 30, 2017

June 30, 2017 by 2 Comments

At first glance the claim seems like pure pub blarney: an Irishman wrote the melody for “The Star Spangled Banner.” There is, however, a strong basis to assert that the melody of our national anthem, in fact, is an adaptation of an Irish tune written by Erin’s greatest composer. If you half paid attention in school you know the Anthem’s story. On September 14, 1814, during the … [Read more...] about Is “The Star Spangled Banner” a Traditional Irish Melody?

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May 22, 1798

The Irish Rebellion of 1798, led by the United Irishmen began in May and lasted until June 21 when General Lake took Vinegar Hill and pushed on through into the town of Wexford. The leaders of the rebellion, including Father John Murphy were executed by British soldiers after first being tortured. Murphy was stripped, flogged, and hanged. His decapitated head was placed on a pike as a warning to other rebels and his body was burned in a barrel of tar. Fr. Murphy, who was initially against the rebellion, was the parish priest of a small village called Boolavogue and he is remembered in the ballad “Boolavogue” which was written for the 100th anniversary of the rebellion.

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