William "Willy" Brennan (also known as John) was an

Irish Irish may refer to: Common meanings * Someone or something of, from, or related to: ** Ireland, an island situated off the north-western coast of continental Europe ***Éire, Irish language name for the isle ** Northern Ireland, a constituent unit ...

Highwayman A highwayman was a robber who stole from travellers. This type of thief usually travelled and robbed by horse as compared to a footpad who travelled and robbed on foot; mounted highwaymen were widely considered to be socially superior to footp ...

caught and hanged in

Cork Cork or CORK may refer to: Materials * Cork (material), an impermeable buoyant plant product ** Cork (plug), a cylindrical or conical object used to seal a container ***Wine cork Places Ireland * Cork (city) ** Metropolitan Cork, also known as G ...

in either 1804Norman Cazden, Norman Studer, ''Folk songs of the Catskills'', State Univ of New York Press, 1983, pg 414 1809 or 1812, whose story was immortalised in the ballad "Brennan on the Moor". According to ''The Reminiscences of a Light Dragoon'' published in 1840, Brennan was hanged at Caher as witnessed by the author. Whilst no date is mentioned for the hanging, the author arrived in Ireland in 1808 or shortly afterwards, making an 1809 or later date for Brennan's demise more realistic. The reminiscences describe some of Brennan's exploits, his character, his partner-in-crime and ultimately his capture, trial and hanging.

"Brennan on the Moor"

The earliest version of the ballad dates to the middle 19th century, either the 1830s Steve Roud & Julia Bishop, eds. ''The New Penguin Book of English Folk Songs'' Penguin Classics, 2002 p.496 or to 1859, and various versions of the song were extant in Ireland, Great Britain, Canada and the United States in the 19th century. The song's writer is unknown. It has been recorded by

Burl Ives Burl Icle Ivanhoe Ives (June 14, 1909 – April 14, 1995) was an American musician, actor, and author with a career that spanned more than six decades. Ives began his career as an itinerant singer and guitarist, eventually launching his own rad ...

The Clancy Brothers and Tommy Makem ''The'' () is a grammatical article in English, denoting persons or things already mentioned, under discussion, implied or otherwise presumed familiar to listeners, readers, or speakers. It is the definite article in English. ''The'' is the m ...

, Phillip James, Neil Morris, and

The Marshmen ''The'' () is a grammatical article in English, denoting persons or things already mentioned, under discussion, implied or otherwise presumed familiar to listeners, readers, or speakers. It is the definite article in English. ''The'' is the ...

. "Rambling, Gambling Willie," a song by

Bob Dylan Bob Dylan (legally Robert Dylan, born Robert Allen Zimmerman, May 24, 1941) is an American singer-songwriter. Often regarded as one of the greatest songwriters of all time, Dylan has been a major figure in popular culture during a career sp ...

with a melody derived from "Brennan on the Moor" (which Dylan had first heard performed by his friends, The Clancy Brothers), but with completely different lyrics, was recorded by Dylan in April, 1962 for the album ''

The Freewheelin' Bob Dylan ''The Freewheelin' Bob Dylan'' is the second studio album by American singer-songwriter Bob Dylan, released on May 27, 1963 by Columbia Records. Whereas his self-titled debut album ''Bob Dylan'' had contained only two original songs, this album r ...

''. It was not included on that album, but was finally released in 1991 on '' The Bootleg Series Volumes 1–3''.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Brennan, William Irish highwaymen Irish people convicted of murder Year of birth unknown Year of death uncertain 19th-century Irish people Irish folk songs People executed by Ireland by hanging