You'll Never Beat the Irish (Wolfe Tones song)

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You'll Never Beat the Irish is a three-part Irish rebel song, written by Brian Warfield and performed by the Wolfe Tones. The lyrics chart the history of Ireland from the Anglo-Norman invasion in 1167 to the Good Friday Agreement of 1998.

The song is actually broken into three similar, yet separate songs. Each of the three parts has the same music, yet covers a different period of Irish history.

[edit] Part One

The first part covers the Anglo-Norman invasion ("In 1167 they came to Ireland...); the Reformation (A fat greedy King called Henry...); the Cromwellian invasion; the Williamite War as far as the Battle of the Boyne.

[edit] Part Two

The second part covers the Siege of Limerick; the Penal Laws; the Protestant Ascendancy; the United Irishmen; the Great Famine of 1845; Daniel O'Connell and the Catholic Association; Young Ireland; the Fenian Brotherhood; Charles Stewart Parnell and the Home Rule movement; the Easter Rising, 1916 and the War of Independence.

[edit] Part Three

The third part covers the Anglo-Irish Treaty; the Civil War; and the era of the Troubles, finally closing with ringing words of praise for the Republic, and the Good Friday Agreement.

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