Boys of Mullaghbawn
Mullaghbawn is a small village in south County Armagh near the town of Newry. Squire Jackson was a popular landlord in the late 18th century. The lads mentioned in the song were deported to Australia for agrarian offenses, perhaps poaching in order to feed their families. Folk memory also connects them to the United Irishmen and to the Defenders, a secret society of anti-landlord peasants. The song first appeared in a broadside in 1867. Mick got this version from the singing of Nancy Curtin of Portland, Oregon.