Boolavogue (song)

Wexford insurgents fought well against government troops but were eventually defeated at the Battle of Vinegar Hill on 21 June.

He changed his opinion and became a reluctant rebel leader after government soldiers burned down the homes of his parishioners whom they suspected of rebellion.

McCall, who also composed the popular ballads "Kelly the Boy from Killanne" and "Follow Me up to Carlow", wrote "Boolavogue" to the old air "Eochaill" (in English, "Youghal Harbour").

The tune had previously been borrowed for the Irish/Australian traditional song "Moreton Bay" (1830), about an Irish convict's brutal treatment in Australia, and would later be used by Seán Ó Riada as part of the film score for Mise Éire (1959).

Gaul notes that "Boolavogue" was not published in any of McCall's literary works, and was first printed in the Irish Independent on 18 June 1898 under the title Fr Murphy of the County Wexford.