Father Mc Fadden Lyrics

Come all ye Roman Catholics and pray you will be near,
And likewise pay attention and I'll not detain you
long,
Concerning Father McFadden who lies in Lifford Jail,,
He was remanded there for trial, the judge could find
no bail.

The day he was arrested was a Sunday after Mass,
It was Inspector Martin, the man who did arrest,
He caught the collar by the priest with a broadsword in
his hand,
Says he, "Your are my prisoner, sir, and you must come
along".

The congregation seen their priest arrested at the
door,
And David being among the flock, he did one stone
procure,
He stuck the stone into a sling and my the Lord's
command,
He killed Inspector Martin on the ground where he did
stand.

They put Martin on a stretcher and to barracks they did
go,
To see them walkinng down the road, it was a lovely
show,
The congregation booed at them, 'twas glorious for to
tell,
And to see a sub-Inspector on a door going off to hell.

The Devil met them on the road, and he took him by the
hand,
Says he, "Inspector Martin, I've been waiting for you
long,
You being a worthy officer, and you've done your duty
well,
And now I'm going to promote you to the burning pits of
Hell".

Adieu to Ballyshannon, will I never see you more,
And many's the happy day I spent along Bundoran's
shore, To my wife and family, I said farewell,
And now I'm away and I'm bound to stay in the burning
pits of hell.

Some paling [fence] posts were used by those who fought
for liberty,
Their priest they swore for to defend from landlord
tyranny,
No cowardly inspector would take their hero away,
Their 'star and light' they would protect until their
dying day.

The people then proceeded for to knock the villain
down,
His henchman flew before them like the hare flees from
the hound,
The goodly priest called "Order", but alas, 'twas all
in vain,
The Inspector lay there lifeless on the ground where he
was slain.

The Devil met them on the road, Lord Leitrim by his
side,
Says he, "Inspector Martin, we will have a merry ride,
The flames they won't agree with you, your head is very
sore,
You'll curse the day you did stray to a place they call
Gweedore".

I thought that I had the words somewhere, it just toook
me a while to find them. The lyrics are reasonably
historically accurate, except that Lord Leitrim
(William Sydney Clements), a notorious Donegal landlord
and all-round nasty type, was murdered in 1878 and the
murder of Inspector Martin took place in 1889. Father
McFadden was soon released but a number of men served
prison sentences for their paart in the killing.

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