The ballad tells the story of one victim of Colonial 'justice', where a sentence without compassion compounded the misery of the Famine by cruel application of the law.
The song narrates the horrible story of one aspect of the heartless colonial system, where helpless orphans were abused and seen as breeding animals at the behest of the aristocracy.
The reflection could be applied to thousands of wasted lives, in thousands of wars. In this case the 'casualty' was a young local man, another victim of wars made by others.
The grave is situated in Leagh cemetery, not far from Graigue, Carlow.
The poem is a collection of snapshots from times past, places and people now gone; but, we must continue to make new memories for ourselves and our loved ones.
The text, to the melody of Biddy Mulligan, is a nostalgic trip down memory lane to the people and ways of the past, and, to cultural practices now gone.
The poem carries on the ancient Celtic festival of imbolg, marking the rebirth of the year. Before the Church imposed the feast of St. Brigid the imbolg festival marked the rebirth of nature, under the mantle of the goddess Brigid, of Danú.
