The Patriot Game
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"The Patriot Game" is an Irish ballad about an incident during the Border Campaign launched by the Irish Republican Army during the 1950s to bring about the reunification of Northern Ireland with the Republic of Ireland. It was written by Dominic Behan, younger brother of playwright Brendan Behan, to the tune of an earlier folksong, "The Merry Month of May". It tells the story of Fergal O'Hanlon, an IRA Volunteer from Ballybay, County Monaghan who was killed at the age of 20 in an attack on Brookeborough Royal Ulster Constabulary barracks in County Fermanagh on 1 January 1957. The operation was devised and led by Sean Garland, an IRA man from Dublin. Another volunteer, Seán South from Limerick, was also killed during the raid.
Behan later became close friends with Sean Garland, officiating as the best man at Garland's wedding. Garland gave the eulogy at Behan's funeral in 1989.[citation needed]
The song is one of the best known to emerge from the Irish nationalist struggle and has been immensely popular amongst the IRA, as well as other groups. "The Patriot Game" has been recorded by numerous artists, including the Kingston Trio, The Bluebells, The Dubliners and The Clancy Brothers. It also appears on the Judy Collins LP record Whales and Nightingales.
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[edit] Controversies
Bob Dylan allegedly used the tune when writing his song "With God on Our Side".[citation needed] Behan called Dylan a plagiarist and a thief by claiming the melody as an original composition, in an apparent attempt to goad him into a lawsuit.[citation needed] Behan's argument has some merit, especially when one compares the structure of the song's lyrics; it becomes clear that Dylan lifted the structure of Behan's song to make the song relevant in America during the Vietnam War era. Dylan's refusal to credit Behan's lyrical structure was the main issue at hand, and in response, Behan took the view that the provenance of Dylan's entire body of work must be questioned. Ironically, Behan exercised the same folk tradition as Dylan in writing the song, having himself borrowed the tune from the traditional "The Merry Month of May".
Behan also took issue with the Clancy Brothers, who chose not to sing the verses which sanctioned the murders of Irish police officers or which criticized Éamon de Valera:[citation needed]
This Ireland of mine has for long been half free,
Six counties are under John Bull's tyranny.
And still de Valera is greatly to blame
For shirking his part in the patriot game.
Behan's contempt of the Clancy Brothers was exacerbated by what he saw as their political shallowness which tended to render the traditional message of the Irish ballad somewhat less powerful in their hands.
[edit] Popular culture
American filmmaker Arthur MacCaig named his 1979 documentary after the song, a portrayal of Irish history from a Republican perspective. Tom Clancy's 1987 novel Patriot Games and the 1992 film based on the novel are named for the song.
The song features heavily in Martin McDonagh's play The Lieutenant of Inishmore, where it is used to comment on the character's misunderstanding of IRA splinter groups.
The song "Colony" by Damien Dempsey references the title of the song:
Katie she came from down Townsend street,
Ten in a bed and no shoes on their feet,
1916 came,
They played the patriot's game,
The title was also used as the title of a 1986 book The Patriot Game by Canadian author Peter Brimelow. The book evokes the same cynicism about nationalism, but in a Canadian context.
[edit] Video footage
- Dominic Behan's performance for the radio
- From Dominic Behan's album "Easter Week and After"
- The Dubliner's Rendition
