John Kelly (Kelly of Killanne) (1773 – c. 25 June 1798) lived in the town of
Killanne in the parish of
Rathnure
Rathnure () is a small village on the R731 regional road about from the town of Enniscorthy, County Wexford, Ireland. The village is located at the foot of the Blackstairs Mountain, which borders County Carlow on the opposite side.
Place ...
, west of
Enniscorthy
Enniscorthy () is the second-largest town in County Wexford, Republic of Ireland, Ireland. At the 2016 census, the population of the town and environs was 11,381. The town is located on the picturesque River Slaney and in close proximity to the ...
, in
County Wexford
County Wexford ( ga, Contae Loch Garman) is a county in Ireland. It is in the province of Leinster and is part of the Southern Region. Named after the town of Wexford, it was based on the historic Gaelic territory of Hy Kinsella (''Uí Ceinns ...
in Ireland, and was a
United Irish leader who fought in the
Irish Rebellion of 1798
The Irish Rebellion of 1798 ( ga, Éirí Amach 1798; Ulster-Scots: ''The Hurries'') was a major uprising against British rule in Ireland. The main organising force was the Society of United Irishmen, a republican revolutionary group influence ...
. Kelly was obviously well known to rebel and loyalist alike during the short duration of the
Wexford Rebellion
The Wexford Rebellion refers to the outbreak in County Wexford, Ireland in May 1798 of the Society of United Irishmen's rebellion against the British rule. It was the most successful and most destructive of all the uprisings that occurred throu ...
but almost nothing is known of him outside this time. He was one of the leaders of the rebel victory at the
Battle of Three Rocks
The Battle of Three Rocks was a United Irish victory during the Wexford Rebellion, a part of the 1798 rebellion, against a British artillery column marching to reinforce Wexford town against anticipated rebel attack.
Background
By 29 May, patr ...
which led to the capture of
Wexford
Wexford () is the county town of County Wexford, Ireland. Wexford lies on the south side of Wexford Harbour, the estuary of the River Slaney near the southeastern corner of the island of Ireland. The town is linked to Dublin by the M11/N11 N ...
town but was later seriously wounded while leading a rebel column at the
Battle of New Ross.
Robert Gogan describes how Kelly was under orders from the Wexford commander
Bagenal Harvey
Beauchamp Bagenal Harvey (died 28 June 1798) was a barrister and a commander of the United Irishmen in the Battle of New Ross during the 1798 Rebellion.
He was the eldest son of Francis Harvey of Bargy Castle, Wexford, who was one of the six ...
to attack the military outposts around New Ross but on no account to attack the town itself. The rebels outnumbered the government forces and so Harvey sent a messenger to give them an opportunity to surrender. The messenger was shot while carrying a white flag. This angered the rebels who began the attack without receiving the official order from Harvey. Kelly's column of 800 men attacked and broke through Ross's "Three Bullet Gate" and proceeded into the town itself. After initial success, they were eventually beaten back by the government forces and Kelly was wounded in the leg. He was moved to Wexford to recuperate but after the fall of Wexford on 21 June was dragged from his bed, tried and sentenced to death. He was hanged on 25 June 1798 along with seven other rebel leaders on
Wexford bridge, after which his body was decapitated, the trunk thrown into the River Slaney and the head kicked through the streets before being set on display on a spike.
In popular culture
His exploits are commemorated in the famous Irish ballad ''Kelly the Boy From Killane'' written by
Patrick Joseph McCall
Patrick Joseph McCall (6 March 1861 – 8 March 1919) was an Irish songwriter and poet, known mostly as the author of lyrics for popular ballads. He was assisted in putting the Wexford ballads, dealing with the 1798 Rising, to music by Arthur ...
(1861–1919). Liam Gaul describes how McCall wrote the song to commemorate the centenary of the 1798 Rebellion, although it was not published in book form until it appeared in McCall's Irish Fireside Songs in 1911.
Gaul says the origin of the melody used in the song is uncertain. There is no known reference to it before it was used in Kelly the Boy From Killane and so it is likely that McCall, who was a talented musician, wrote the tune himself.
recorded a solo acoustic version of the song in 1964, and would later regularly play the song during
street busking, before and after his hit records in the late 1960s.
Lyrics
What's the news, what's the news oh my bold
Shelmalier
Shelmalier or Shelmaliere (Irish: ''Síol Maoluír'', from Old Irish ''Síl Máel Uidir'', "Offspring of Maeleer") is a region in County Wexford, Ireland
Ireland ( ; ga, Éire ; Ulster-Scots: ) is an island in the North Atlantic Ocea ...
With your long barrelled guns from the sea
Say what wind from the south brings a messenger here
With the hymn of the dawn for the free
Goodly news, goodly news do I bring youth of Forth
Goodly news shall you hear
Bargy
Bargy is a barony in County Wexford, Ireland. From the 12th century Bargy and the surrounding area, including the barony of Forth, saw extensive Anglo-Norman settlement following the Norman invasion of Ireland. A distinctive Anglic language, kn ...
man
For the boys march at dawn from the south to the north
Led by Kelly the boy from Killane
Tell me who is that giant with the gold curling hair
He who rides at the head of your band
Seven feet is his height with some inches to spare
And he looks like a king in command
Ah my boys that's the pride of the bold Shelmaliers
'Mongst greatest of heroes a man
Fling your beavers aloft and give three ringing cheers
For John Kelly the boy from Killane
Enniscorthy
Enniscorthy () is the second-largest town in County Wexford, Republic of Ireland, Ireland. At the 2016 census, the population of the town and environs was 11,381. The town is located on the picturesque River Slaney and in close proximity to the ...
's in flames and old Wexford is won
And tomorrow the
Barrow we will cross
On a hill o'er the town we have planted a gun
That will batter the gateway to
Ross Ross or ROSS may refer to:
People
* Clan Ross, a Highland Scottish clan
* Ross (name), including a list of people with the surname or given name Ross, as well as the meaning
* Earl of Ross, a peerage of Scotland
Places
* RoSS, the Republic of Sou ...
All the Forth men and Bargy men will march o'er the heath
With brave
Harvey
Harvey, Harveys or Harvey's may refer to:
Arts, entertainment, and media
* ''Harvey'' (play), a 1944 play by Mary Chase about a man befriended by an invisible anthropomorphic rabbit
* Harvey Awards ("Harveys"), one of the most important awards ...
to lead in the
van
But the foremost of all in that grim gap of death
Will be Kelly the boy from Killane
But the gold sun of freedom grew darkened at Ross
And it set by the
Slaney
Slaney is a surname.
Notable people with this surname include:
* Geoffrey Slaney (1922–2016), British surgeon and academic
* Ivor Slaney (1921–1998), England musical composer and conductor
* John Slaney (born 1972), Canadian ice hockey player ...
's red waves
And poor Wexford stripped naked, hung high on a cross
With her heart pierced by traitors and knaves
Glory-o, glory-o to her brave sons who died
For the cause of long down trodden man
Glory-o to
Mount Leinster
Mount Leinster ( ga, Stua Laighean) is a mountain in the Republic of Ireland. It straddles the border between Counties Carlow and Wexford, in the province of Leinster. It is the fifth-highest mountain in Leinster after Lugnaquilla , Mullaghclee ...
's own darling and pride
Dauntless Kelly the boy from Killane
See also
*
Wexford Rebellion
The Wexford Rebellion refers to the outbreak in County Wexford, Ireland in May 1798 of the Society of United Irishmen's rebellion against the British rule. It was the most successful and most destructive of all the uprisings that occurred throu ...
of 1798
*
Bagenal Harvey
Beauchamp Bagenal Harvey (died 28 June 1798) was a barrister and a commander of the United Irishmen in the Battle of New Ross during the 1798 Rebellion.
He was the eldest son of Francis Harvey of Bargy Castle, Wexford, who was one of the six ...
,
John Henry Colclough,
Cornelius Grogan
Cornelius Grogan (1738?–1798), was a United Irishman and commissary-general in the insurgent army of Wexford in the Rebellion of 1798.
Biography
Grogan was born about 1738, the eldest son of John Grogan of Johnstown Castle, Wexford, by his wi ...
,
Matthew Keogh,
Philip Roche – Rebel leaders hanged on Wexford bridge, 25/28 June 1798
References
External links
*
{{DEFAULTSORT:Kelly, John
Year of birth missing
1798 deaths
People from County Wexford
United Irishmen
People executed by the Kingdom of Ireland by hanging
Executed Irish people
Ballads of the Irish Rebellion of 1798