Fergal O'Hanlon

Feargal O'Hanlon (Irish: Feargal Ó hAnnluain (2 February 1936 – 1 January 1957) was a member/volunteer in the Pearse Column of the Irish Republican Army.

Background

O'Hanlon was born in Ballybay, County Monaghan, Ireland, into a staunchly republican family, Feargal O'Hanlon was a draughtsman employed by Monaghan County Council. He was a Gaelic footballer and a keen Irish language activist.

Brookeborough raid

Aged 20, O'Hanlon was killed along with Seán South while taking part in an attack on the Royal Ulster Constabulary (R.U.C.) barracks in Brookeborough, County Fermanagh, during the Border Campaign. Several other IRA members were wounded in the botched attack. The IRA fled the scene in a dump truck. They abandoned it near the border. They left South and O'Hanlon, both then unconscious, in a cow byre, and crossed into the Republic of Ireland on foot for help for their comrades. The wounded IRA men were treated as "car crash victims" by sympathetic staff in the Mater Misericordiae Hospital in Dublin. The events and personalities are sympathetically recalled in Dominic Behan's ballad The Patriot Game.

The Patriot Game

"The Patriot Game" is an Irish ballad with lyrics by Dominic Behan and a melody from the traditional tune "The Merry Month of May".

History

The song concerns an incident during the Border Campaign launched by the Irish Republican Army during the 1950s. It was written by Dominic Behan, younger brother of playwright Brendan Behan, to the tune of an earlier folksong, "The Merry Month of May" (recorded by Jo Stafford and Burl Ives as "The Nightingale"). It tells the story of Fergal O'Hanlon, an IRA Volunteer from Ballybay, County Monaghan who was killed at the age of 20 in an attack on Brookeborough Royal Ulster Constabulary barracks in County Fermanagh on 1 January 1957. The operation was devised and led by Sean Garland, an IRA man from Dublin. Another volunteer, Seán South from Limerick, was also killed during the raid.

Behan later became close friends with Sean Garland, officiating as the best man at Garland's wedding. Garland gave the eulogy at Behan's funeral in 1989.

The song is one of the best known to emerge from the Irish nationalist struggle and has been popular amongst the IRA, as well as other groups. "The Patriot Game" has been recorded by numerous artists, including the Kingston Trio, The Bluebells, The Dubliners, The Wolfe Tones, Schooner Fare, and The Clancy Brothers. It also appears on the Judy Collins LP record Whales and Nightingales.

The Patriot

The Patriot(s) may refer to:

See also