The Boy from Killanne
I have always intended to do a 1798 rebel image to remember these martyrs who gave their lives for Irish Freedom.
The extraordinarily brave Protestants, Catholics, and Dissenters who founded the ‘United Irishmen’ have always amazed me. With time running out, I decided that Captain John Kelly, remembered forever in that great rebel song, ‘Kelly the Boy from Killanne’, was the one.
I was reared on that old ballad, endlessly played on Irish radio before these old rebel-rousing songs became verboten due to the troubles up north.
If I had another life I would paint more of these heroes of 1798.
Who was Captain John Kelly, ‘the Boy from Killanne’?
John Kelly’s name and deeds were immortalized in the famous ballad “Kelly the Boy from Killanne,” written by the Irish poet Patrick Joseph McCall. The song recounts Kelly’s courage and the hope he inspired during the rebellion, as well as the ultimate tragedy of his death. It has been performed by numerous artists and remains a powerful anthem of Irish resistance.
Key verses of the ballad:
Tell me who is the giant with the gold curling hair
He who rides at the head of your band.
Seven feet is his height with some inches to spare
And he looks like a king in command.
O me boys that’s the pride of the bold Shelmalier
‘Mongst our greatest of heroes a man
Fling your beavers aloft and give three ringing cheers
For John Kelly, the boy from Killane.
Enniscorthy is in flames and old Wexford is won
And tomorrow the barrow will cross
On the hill o’er the town we have planted a gun
That will batter the gateway to Ross.
All the Forth men and Bargy men will march o’er the heath
With brave Harvey to lead in the van
But the foremost of all in the grim gap of death
Will be Kelly, the boy from Killane.
The Dubliners - Kelly The Boy From Killane
John Kelly
John Kelly is remembered as a symbol of defiance, sacrifice, and the struggle for Irish freedom, representing the courage of ordinary men who rose against oppression.
The locals always remembered him as the most handsome young man, his head a mass of blonde curls and it is said he was almost seven foot tall. No idea how true that one is, but there is no doubt he was a powerful imposing presence and fearless too.
John Kelly Of Killane. Irish Rebel. Executed, Beheaded 1798. Jim FitzPatrick 2025
