Poetry Explorer- Classic Contemporary Poetry, THE BATTLE OF DUNDEE, by ANONYMOUS


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Classic and Contemporary Poetry

THE BATTLE OF DUNDEE, by                    
First Line: "on the mountain-side the battle raged, there was no stop nor stay"
Last Line: That ''twas the english fought the dutch' at the battle of dundee
Subject(s): "dundee, Scotland;navy - Great Britain;war;" English Navy


ON the mountain-side the battle raged, there was no stop nor stay;
Mackin captured Private Burke and Ensign Michael Shea;
Fitzgerald got Fitzpatrick, Brannigan found O'Rourke;
Finnigan took a man named Fay — and a couple of lads from Cork;
Sudden they heard McManus shout, "Hands up, or I'll run you through!"
He thought he had a Yorkshire "Tyke" — 't was Corporal Donoghue!
McGarry took O'Leary, O'Brien got McNamee,
That's how the "English fought the Dutch" at the Battle of Dundee.

Then some one brought in Casey, O'Connor took O'Neill;
Riley captured Kavanaugh, while trying to make a steal.
Hogan caught McFadden, Corrigan found McBride,
And Brennan made a handsome touch while Kelly tried a slide.
Dacey took a lad named Welsh; Dooley got McQuirk;
Gilligan turned Fahey's boy — for his father he used to work.
They had matched to fight the English — but Irish were all they could see
—
That's how the "English fought the Dutch" at the Battle of Dundee.

Spillane then took O'Madigan; Shannahan took Magee.
While chasing Jerry Donovan, Clancy got shot in the knee.
He cursed the Queen's whole army, he cursed the English race,
Then found the man who fired the shot, 't was a cousin — Martin Grace.
Then McGinnis caught an A. O. H. who came from Limerick town;
But Sullivan got an Orangeman from somewhere in County Down.
Hennessey took O'Hara — Hennigan took McFee.
That's how the "English fought the Dutch" at the Battle of Dundee.

The sun was sinking slowly; the battle rolled along;
The man that Murphy handed in was a cousin of Maud Gonne.
Then Flannigan dropped his rifle, shook hands with Bill McGuire,
For both had carried a piece of turf to light the schoolroom fire.
Then Rafferty took in Flaherty; O'Connell got Major McCue;
O'Keefe got hold of Sergeant Joyce and a Belfast lad or two.
Some swore that "Old Man" Kruger had come down to see the fun;
But the man they thought was "Uncle Paul" was a Galway man named Dunn.
Though war may have worse horrors, 't was a frightful sight to see
The way the "English fought the Dutch" at the Battle of Dundee.

Just when the sound of firing in the distance fainter grew,
Ryan caught McCloskey, and Orderly Donegon, too.
O'Toole he found McCarthy; O'Mahoney got Malone.
Duffy got a pair of lads from Connaught, near Athlone.
Then Dineen took O'Hagan; Phelan got Kehoe.
Dempsey captured Callahan, but Gallagher let him go.
You'd have thought that "Belfast Chicken" had tackled the "Dublin Flea,"
The way the "English fought the Dutch" at the Battle of Dundee.

Then Powers began to intervene, the Waterford Powers, I mean,
And took a lad named Keenan and a captain named Mulqueen.
Then Brady captured Noonan; Maher got McIdoo;
McGovern got O'Hanlon and Colonel McLoughlin, too.
'T was now the hour of sunset, the battle was nearly o'er,
When McCormick came in with Hoolan and Lieutenant Roger Moore.
But't was a great day for Ireland, as you can easily see;
That's how the "English fought the Dutch" at the Battle of Dundee.

They marched them all to Kruger's town for supper and a bed,
O'Halloran was the rear guard; the way, McNulty led.
When they got them to the race-course the Boers were full of glee,
While Kruger never expected "so many Englishmen to see."
They told him they were Irish; it puzzled the old man's head,
For the Irish he'd seen were dressed in green, while these were togged in red;
But't is a passing story; on history's page you'll see,
That "'t was the English fought the Dutch" at the Battle of Dundee.





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