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The Rifles of the IRA

Melody ‑

                                                                                   

              In nineteen hundred and sixteen

              The forces of the crown

              For to take Orange, White, and Green

              Bombarded Dublin Town

              But in '21, Britannia's sons

              Were forced earn their pay,

              When the black and tans,

              Like lightning ran

              From the Rifles of the IRA!

              2. They burned their way through Munster

              Then laid Leinster on the rack

              Through Connacht, and through Ulster

              Marched the men in brown and black

              They shot down wives and children

              In their own heroic way,

              But the black and tans,

              Like lightning ran

              From the Rifles of the IRA!

                                                  3. They hanged young Kevin Barry high

                                                  Just a lad of eighteen years

                                                  Cork City's flames lit up in the sky

                                                  But our brave lads new no fear

                                                  The Cork brigade with hand‑grenades

                                                  In ambush wait and lay,

                                                  And the black and tans,

                                                  Like lightning ran

                                                  From the Rifles of the IRA!

                                                  4. The tans were got, taken out and shot

                                                  By a brave and valiant few

                                                  Sean Treacy, Dinny Lacey

                                                  And Tom Barry's gallant crew

                                                  Though we're not free yet we won't forget

                                                  Until our dying day,

                                                  How the black and tans,

                                                  Like lightning ran

                                                  From the Rifles of the IRA!

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