The Indignant Muse: Poetry and Songs of the Irish Revolution 1887-1926

This landmark work by Terry Moylan contains a remarkable selection of 560 of the thousands of songs and poems created during, and reflecting upon, the most extraordinary decade of Ireland’s history. This opened with the Dublin Lockout of 1913 and ended with the post-independence civil war, embracing World War I, the Rising of 1916, and the Anglo-Irish war. The Indignant Muse also includes 177 musical airs and 136 illustrations.

‘Terry Moylan’s compilation surpasses in scale, variety and historical interest anything that’s been attempted to date … the glory of the collection is the large number of items published here for the first time … a herculean effort by a lifetime collector of songs with an encyclopaedic knowledge of his material.’ — from the Foreword by Gearóid Ó Tuathaigh

“What is of interest in the material presented here is simply that it is a response in verse to the events of that time. No viewpoints are favoured other that the viewpoints of song-maker and poet. Poems and songs condense experience and afford the reader an opportunity of sharing another’s perceptions in a more or less pleasing way. Delight in verse can be – and often is – combined with an interest in history, particularly the history of one’s own spot on earth.” – from the Introduction by Terry Moylan