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STORIES OF
were not of a disastrous nature. The song was sung in every city? town, and village in the country, and caused a great deal of excitement, which did not abate till long after the French scare was ended and put to rest. Many ver-sions, especially born of the street, have ap-peared of this typical political song.
" Grana Weal," or more strictly, " Graine Uile," was another fanciful name for Ireland. It stood in the first place for Grace O'Malley, a famous Irish heroine who was devoted to her country with a " heart and a half" sincerity that has gained her much renown. She was an accomplished woman, and won the favour of Queen Elizabeth. She was the daughter of O'Malley of the Oules, a district in Mayo, and was successively the wife of O'Flaherty of lar-Connaught and of Sir Richard Burk, styled the MacWilliam Eighter, who died in 1585. The air of the song dates from the same period, though the Jacobite words of a later age are customarily sung to it now.
Of ancient patriotic airs breathing that won-derful fire and fearlessness that has ever ani-mated the Irish when war has been rife, and which has helped Great Britain to win and hold some of her finest possessions, and to thrash the mutual enemy in modern times, there are
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