God Save Ireland: The Story Behind An Old Celtic FC Anthem

God Save Ireland is a song of historical importance in terms of Celtic Football Club. It was the song sang at the conclusion of the reception held in St Mary’s Church Hall for Hibernian after their 1887 Scottish Cup triumph; a reception that Brother Walfrid and many other future founding fathers of Celtic were at. The song was also performed by TD Sullivan during a sports day to open the new Celtic Park in 1892, meanwhile it was the tune that reverberated around Hampden in the early 1900s as Celtic and Hibs fans sang in unison – one of the earliest references to the Celtic faithful ever singing at matches.

God Save Ireland is not just a song expressing affinity for the country that played such a key role in the club existing and having early support, it had a real story behind it and one of great contemporary political significance at that.

The story dates back to the 1860s and depicts three men who would be known as the Manchester Martyrs: Michael Larkin, William Allen and Michael O’Brien. Larkin was the son of a tailor, who followed in his father’s footsteps by emigrating to Manchester after the famine and working in the trade himself. Allen moved to Manchester from Tipperary at a young age. Michael O’Brien had a much more extraordinary story, having originally left Ireland for America, where he fought on the Union side of the Civil War. Thereafter, O’Brien returned home before moving to England in 1866.

The three men became members of the Irish Republican Brotherhood (IRB), which had organised itself all over the globe in the 1860s due to the far reaching support that it enjoyed thanks to the mass exodus of Ireland during the famine years. In 1866, Thomas Kelly of Galway was its leader and he soon organised a rebellion known as the 1867 Uprising. Commencing in February that year, the IRB launched a raid on Chester Castle in England, attempting to secure weapons. However, betrayed by an informer, these plans came to nothing. Similarly, a number of attempts in Ireland a month later quickly failed. Undeterred, Kelly left Ireland and attempted to re-organise the movement in England. It is that action which would eventually entwine Kelly with the three men depicted in God Save Ireland.

Larkin was a periphery figure, coming to police attention for collecting money. However, William Allen and Michael O’Brien had more central roles in the IRB. Indeed, Allen was one of the organisation’s senior figures, whilst O’Brien had already been arrested in Liverpool for gun running, yet those charges did not stick due to poor evidence.

In September 1867, Thomas Kelly and another key IRB man, Timothy Deasy, held a meeting in Manchester. As the pair departed, they were captured by local police and arrested. This spelled disaster for the movement and thus an escape plan was hatched as it was implausible to think that the leader of the IRB would be held behind bars in England for over 20 years.

On 18 September 1867 an opportunity presented itself when the two men were due to appear in a magistrates court in Manchester. It was widely expected that the two men would be remanded at Hyde Road jail in the city. Manchester enjoyed an Irish population which made up 10% of the city, therefore there were a number of IRB members in the area and this was their chance to strike.

The convoy would be vulnerable when transferring the prisoners between the courthouse and the jail. The IRB picked their spot, close to a railway bridge on the route. 40-50 men were involved in the operation to free Kelly and Deasy and half of those had pistols in their possession. The convoy was split into two carriages, with the prisoners handcuffed inside one wagon, whilst 11 unarmed police men provided security, as well as one police man inside the carriage with Kelly and Deasy.

As the convoy approached the railway bridge, the IRB launched their ambush. They shot the horses to immobilise the carriages and the police immediately fled. However, the door to the carriage containing the prisoners was much stronger than anticipated and thus the attempts to break it down with a sledgehammer didn’t work. As such, the decision was made to blow the lock. A shot was fired and whilst this worked, it accidentally resulted in the death of a Policeman, Sergeant Charles Brett, who was looking out the lockhole to see what was going on. Brett became the first police officer ever to die on duty in the UK and a monument in tribute to him stands inside his local St Barnabas’ Church to this day.

Thomas Kelly and Timothy Deasy escaped, however, many volunteers were captured by prison wardens, police reinforcements and outraged locals who soon appeared on the scene. Among the captured were William Allen, Michael Larkin and Michael O’Brien. The trio were in real bother given the public outrage at the death of a policeman. The City of Manchester offered a £200 reward for information, whilst the government offered £300! This was big money at the time.

The police launched raids on Irish communities within weeks and soon arrested 50 men, 23 of whom were sent to trial. Larkin, Allen and O’Brien were tried under the Treason Felony Act, which allowed the judge to attribute equal blame to each individual regardless of who actually pulled the trigger. The case lasted for two weeks and attracted international attention. Its outcome was that 5 men were sentenced to death: Thomas McGuire, Edward Shaw, Michael Larkin, William Allen and Michael O’Brien. No proof had been produced to show that any of them had fired the shot that killed Brett and it was almost certain that Michael Larkin didn’t even have a gun. One of the men, Edward Shaw, famously shouted to the court “God Save Ireland!” It was a cry that was repeated by each of the prisoners and was used by Irish Republican prisoners up until the 1916 Easter Rising.

William Allen expanded on the notion of God Save Ireland. He said: “I will die proudly in defence of Republican principles and the liberty of an oppressed and ensalved people.” On the flip side, Michael Larkin claimed that he had been coerced into taking part, which many saw as an attempt to shoulder the blame elsewhere.

The decision to execute the five men after what was a farcical, sham trial, was very controversial. International condemnation surrounded the severity of the punishment and the terrible nature of the trial. Meanwhile, philosophers even spoke out and a British aristocrat even donated £100 to Michael Larkin’s family!

Thomas McGuire soon had his execution revoked as it was proven that some of the evidence used against him was based on false testimonies. There was still no evidence that any of the remaining four men had fired the shot that killed a police officer. Pressure to reverse the punishment for those additional four individuals piled in from lawyers and politicians but the British establishment was desperate to press ahead in order to send out a message to the Irish Republican movement.

As the execution date approached, Manchester was gripped by fear as the local people were terrified of another IRB attack, in order to break the four men free. Anti-Irish sentiment was rising as a result and the British politicians played on this to win support for the executions. Two days before the executions were due, Edward Shaw had his punishment changed to life in prison after an appeal from the American ambassador, as Shaw had been born in Ohio. This gave great joy to the Irish community and incredible hope that the remaining three men would be saved.

It wasn’t to be. On Saturday 23 November 1867, Allen, Larkin and O’Brien were brought to the gallows. They were watched by a hostile crowd, who had turned up in their thousands at 8am! A local police officer, Samuel Page, wrote an account of the event as he had stood in front of the gallows. Incredibly, the document survives to this day and enables historians to have a wonderful primary source account of what unfolded. According to Page, Allen was first to appear at two minutes past eight. Next out was Michael O’Brien, at which point Allen had a hood placed over his head. O’Brien turned to Allen and said “Goodbye Allen,” before kissing him and repeatedly saying “Jesus have mercy on me.” Last out was Larkin and he was paid no notice to, by other two. Undoubtedly, they viewed him as a traitor for claiming he was coerced into becoming involved. A cap and rope were placed over Larkin and he fell to his knees.

Over 2000 policemen were present, units of the British Army and a thousands strong crowd. There was no hope of escape as the executioner pulled the leaver to send the men to their deaths. Noted by Page as a man who was not good at his job, the executioner did not perform well. Page stated “They did not appear to jerk but rather to slide down. O’Brien died at once, Allen kicked a little, but Larkin’s struggles were very serious. In fact, Larkin would struggle at the end of that rope for a full 45 minutes before he eventually died.”

The three men were buried inside the New Bailey Prison in Salford and immediately shot to international fame. They gave the IRB the one thing they had been missing – martyrdom. The executions were greeted with outrage, mock funerals were held in Ireland and by the Irish disapora, and Timothy Daniel Sullivan wrote the song God Save Ireland in tribute to the men. The song title was obviously inspired by the words of the prisoners at their trial, whilst the opening lyrics tell the story of their fate:

High upon the gallows tree, swung the noble hearted three, by the vengeful tyrant stricken in their bloom, but they met him face to face with the courage of their race, and they went with souls undaunted to their doom. God Save Ireland cried the heroes…

This was to become the most popular Irish song of the 19th century and an unofficial anthem for Irish Nationalists of the era. The three men involved became household names in Irish history, being remembered as the Manchester Martyrs. The three martyrs have a tombstone at the Republican plot in Glasnevin Cemetery, Dublin. Although, their bodies remain buried in England at a mass grave in Manchester, where they were moved after the Prison closed.

As mentioned at the top of this piece, 20 years after the executions, Brother Walfrid and a host of future Celtic founding father’s sang God Save Ireland at a reception. The song was then played at the club’s request, to open the new stadium in 1892, when TD Sullivan was invited to perform it since as he was the songwriter.

It’s a song that holds significance in the history of Celtic Football Club and the identity of our founding fathers.

About Author

Hailing from an Irish background, I grew up on the English south coast with the good fortune to begin watching Celtic during the Martin O'Neill era. I have written four Celtic books since the age of 19: Our Stories & Our Songs: The Celtic Support, Take Me To Your Paradise: A History Of Celtic-Related Incidents & Events, Walfrid & The Bould Bhoys: Celtic's Founding Fathers, First Season & Early Stars, and The Holy Grounds of Glasgow Celtic: A Guide To Celtic Landmarks & Sites Of Interest. These were previously sold in Waterstones and official Celtic FC stores, and are now available on Amazon.

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