Election Ballad
Men of Leitrim one and all,
Harken to the Nation’s call,
Say the manly word and do the manly deed,
Raise the war cry of Sinn Fein
O’er every hill and plain
Where our fathers fought in Ireland’s hour of need.
Chorus
On for Ireland men of Leitrim
On for Freedom once again
For the land in bondage long
For the right against the wrong
On for Ireland, on for Dolan and Sinn Fein.
In their Halls beneath the wave,
Our foes would have us crave
While the life blood of our native land they spill
Now its ours to let them know that we yet can strike a blow
Let them see there’s life in poor old Ireland still.
Not for party strife stand we,
Our aim is Ireland free,
Ireland rich in Irish brains, and blood, and bone,
Begging not from English knaves, trusting not in Irish slaves
Fight for Ireland, fight on Irish soil alone.
Notes
Ballad which appeared on the occasion of the Sinn Fein Election in Co. Leitrim in 1908. Francis Meehan, Redmond’s Party v. Charles Dolan, Sinn Fein. Dolan got 300 votes which Arthur Griffith claimed as a moral victory.
Published on page 35 of the 1976 Leitrim Guardian.