BRAVE ANNE DEVLIN
by
Seamus Robinson ©Seamus Robinson 2007
( In the aftermath of Robert Emmet's Rising of
1803, British Forces captured Anne Devlin. They
subjected her to bribery, terrible torture and cruel
incarceration, all to make her betray her comrades.
Anne Devlin never told. )
Anne Devlin came to Dublin,
In the year Eighteen-and-three,
To help Bold Robert Emmet,
Old Ireland for to free.
But the pikes they were defeated,
By England’s bloodied steel,
And Yeomen caught Anne Devlin,
In the house at Butterfield.
(chorus)
O where is Robert Emmet?
Where did that rebel go?
Come tell us and we’ll free you –
Anne Devlin answered “No”.
O where is Robert Emmet?
Where did that rebel go?
Come tell us and we'll free you --
Anne Devlin answered "No".
They stabbed her with their bayonets,
And Anne with blood ran red –
They tortured and half-hanged her,
‘Til life had nearly fled.
For nigh three years they kept her,
In cruel Kilmainham Jail –
And tho’ they broke her body,
Her brave heart did not fail.
She lived her life in hardship,
In poverty and pain –
And Death came as a mercy,
To Little Elbow Lane.
Eight and forty years had passed,
Since Emmet’s hope lay cold –
But faithful to her comrades still,
Anne Devlin never told.
* * *