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I stood by the wall in Kilmainham at dawn
Where the echo of rifles still lingers on
A man from Mayo with fire in his veins
Who fought for the Boers on the African plains
He led Irish Brigade against the Empire's might
Then came home to Dublin on a family's glad night
When the Rising broke out, he never turned away
Took command at Jacob's and stood for the fray
Oh Major John McBride, your courage cuts like steel
You faced the guns of England with a heart that would not yield
From the Transvaal dust to the Dublin street
You carried the dream that no tyrant can defeat
No man can claim authority to barter away
The immutable rights of our nation today
Irishmen have fought, suffered and died
In defence of those rights with unbreakable pride
He ran into MacDonagh leading his men
Offered his service there and then
Second in command when the bullets flew hot
He held Jacob's factory till the fight was near lost
They dragged him to trial in a mockery of law
But McBride stood tall, never once bowed his jaw
In the cell with the priest on that final dark day
He spoke words that still burn in the old Irish way
No man can claim authority to barter away
The immutable rights of nationhood, he'd say
Irishmen have fought, suffered and died
In defence of those rights and thank God they'll never hide
We will snatch up the torch from the slumbering fire
Hold it aloft as a guiding light higher and higher
And hand it on blazing afresh to the succeeding generation
Till Éire is free at last
They offered him blindfold and cuffs for his hands
He refused them both with a calm, steady glance
I have looked down the muzzles of too many guns
In the South African war, now carry out what's done
No tremble, no fear as the firing squad formed
He met death like a soldier, upright and warm
At forty-eight years the Major laid down
But the flame he defended still lights Dublin town