The Whiteboys Of Ireland

The World's first non violent rebels of them one can say
The Whiteboys of Ireland their legend lives today
They never harmed another human being in a physical way
Though due to them the colonial landlords because of their cruelty to poor tenant farmers were made for to pay

By damaging their properties to the greedy and oppressive landlords they took up the fight
They levelled their ditches under the cover of night
From threat of evictions by cruel and greedy landlords the poor they did defend
In eighteenth century Ireland the Whiteboys to poor tenant farmers were a good friend

The Whiteboys gave Ireland something of to be proud
Any of them that were captured were hung, drawn and quartered but they refused to be cowed
They carried on with their night time ditch levelling but to  my knowledge it seems sad to say
That there is not any major memorial in their honour in the Ireland of today

The Whiteboys the friends of the poor and oppressed of the Ireland of the long ago
Eventually grew old and time became their foe
In their defence of poor people they left landlords with a huge repair bill
They achieved something great in their time without for it having to kill

For to defend the poor against cruel colonial landlords was their only crime
The Whiteboys of Ireland were men of their time
For a fairer World to live in their part they did play
May they rest in peace now wherever they lay.