Broadside ballad entitled 'O'Connell the Brave!'

Commentary

This ballad begins: 'You sons of Old Scotia, now show yourselves true, / Hoist up the thistle, with the buff and the blue, / All for the sake of the shamrock so green, / M. P. O'Connell he soon will be here'. The piece was written by John McLean, coalminer. It was published by Sanderson of Edinburgh.

This piece appears to have been written specially to announce the arrival in Edinburgh of the Irish politician and rebel Daniel O'Connell (1775-1847). O'Connell was a campaigner for Catholic Emancipation and the Repeal of the Irish Union with Great Britain, subjects which would have struck a chord with many Scots.

Early ballads were dramatic or humorous narrative songs derived from folk culture that predated printing. Originally perpetuated by word of mouth, many ballads survive because they were recorded on broadsides. Musical notation was rarely printed, as tunes were usually established favourites. The term 'ballad' eventually applied more broadly to any kind of topical or popular verse.

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