The Rising of the Moon - wikipedia The Rising of the Moon For other uses, see The Rising of the Moon ( disambiguation ). A rebel with a pike `` The Rising of the Moon '' is an Irish ballad recounting a battle between the United Irishmen and the British Army during the Irish Rebellion of 1798. Description The ballad 's singer is told that the `` pikes must be together at the rising of the moon '' to engage in rebellion. The pikemen gather, but are defeated. Despite the loss, the listener is told that there are those who will `` follow in their footsteps '' to again revolt. The ballad has taken the tune of another Irish ballad, `` The Wearing of the Green '', and was first published in John Keegan Casey 's 1866 collection of poems and songs, A Wreath of Shamrocks. The lyrics were written by Casey ( 1846 -- 70 ), the `` Fenian Poet '', who based the poem on the failed 1798 uprising in Granard, County Longford. The ballad has been in circulation since circa 1865. The earliest verifiable date found in publication is 1867. The ballad refers to the outbreak of the 1798 rebellion, as United Irish rebels convey the order to rise. The air of hope and optimism associated with the ultimately doomed rebellion was intended to provide inspiration for rebels preparing to take to the field in another ill - fated venture, the Fenian rebellion of 1867. Multiple variants of the lyrics have been published in folk music collections. In the late 19th century, the ballad was also published through the printing of broadsides. The song remains popular and the tune is widely recognised in Ireland today, as it is often taught in schools, played regularly at official and sporting events, and has been covered by a wide variety of musicians, including The Dubliners, The Clancy Brothers, The High Kings, Tommy Makem and Peter, Paul and Mary. If they are n't able to destroy the desire for freedom, they wo n't break you. They wo n't break me because the desire for freedom, and the freedom of the Irish people, is in my heart. The day will dawn when all the people of Ireland will have the desire for freedom to show. It is then we 'll see the rising of the moon. -- final lines of the final entry of Bobby Sands ' hunger strike diary References ^ Jump up to : Casey, John Keegan ( 1867 ). A wreath of shamrocks : : ballads, songs, and legends. Dublin : Robert S. M'Gee, 35 Lower Sackville Street ( next the General Post Office ). pp. 31 -- 33. Jump up ^ Waltz, Robert B. ; Engle, David G. `` Rising of the Moon, The ''. The Traditional Ballad Index. California State University, Fresno. Retrieved 21 October 2010. Jump up ^ Zimmermann, Georges Denis ( 1967 ). Songs of Irish rebellion : political street ballads and rebel songs, 1780 -- 1900. Hatboro, Pa. : Folklore Associates. p. 260. Jump up ^ O'Conor, Manus ( 1901 ). Irish come - all - ye 's : a repository of ancient Irish songs and ballads -- comprising patriotic, descriptive, historical and humorous gems, characteristic of the Irish race. New York : L. Lipkind. p. 111. Jump up ^ Galvin, Patrick ( 1955 ). Irish songs of resistance. New York City : Folklore Press. p. 35. Jump up ^ Zimmermann ( 1967 ), pp. 259 -- 260 Jump up ^ Silber, Irwin ; Silber, Fred ( 1973 ). Folksinger 's wordbook. New York, NY : Oak Publications. p. 322. ISBN 978 - 0 - 8256 - 0140 - 8. Jump up ^ Sparling, Henry Halliday ( 1888 ). Irish minstrelsy : being a selection of Irish songs, lyrics, and ballads. London : W. Scott. pp. 21 -- 22. Jump up ^ Kenedy, Patrick John ( 1898 ). The universal Irish song book : a complete collection of the songs and ballads of Ireland. New York : P.J. Kenedy. p. 134. Jump up ^ `` 2806 b. 10 ( 189 ) ''. Bodleian Library Catalogue of Ballads. University of Oxford. Retrieved 28 October 2010. Jump up ^ `` 2806 b. 10 ( 205 ) ''. Bodleian Library Catalogue of Ballads. University of Oxford. Retrieved 28 October 2010. Jump up ^ `` Bobby Sands ' Diary ''. Irish Hunger Strike 1981. Irishhungerstrike.com. Retrieved 29 Oct 2010. Wikisource has original text related to this article : Pieces People Ask For / At the Rising of the Moon Irish rebel songs Gaelic Ireland Óró sé do bheatha abhaile Follow Me up to Carlow O'Donnell Abú Mná na hÉireann United Irishmen The Wind that Shakes the Barley The Rising of the Moon Kelly from Killanne Boolavogue Highland Paddy The Wearing of the Green The Croppy Boy The Boys of Wexford Come All You Warriors Tone 's Grave Famine & Young Ireland The Fields of Athenry Skibbereen Back Home in Derry God Save Ireland A Nation Once Again Join the British Army The Peeler and the Goat The Black Velvet Band 1916 & Tan War Amhrán na bhFiann Come Out, Ye Black and Tans The Foggy Dew Down by the Glenside ( The Bold Fenian Men ) The Boys of the Old Brigade The Valley of Knockanure Tri-Colored Ribbon The Broad Black Brimmer Old Fenian Gun Rifles of the IRA Who Is Ireland 's Enemy ? Man from the Daily Mail Grand Old Dame Britannia Erin Go Bragh Kevin Barry Johnston 's Motor Car Pat of Mullingar Banna Strand Dying Rebel Civil War & Anti-Treaty Take It Down from the Mast The Patriot Game Sean South from Garryowen The Troubles The Men Behind the Wire The Ballad of Joe McDonnell Only Our Rivers Run Free The People 's Own MP Little Armalite Roll of Honour Writers Patrick Joseph McCall Timothy Daniel Sullivan Peadar Kearney Patrick Pearse Seán O'Casey Brian O'Higgins Bryan MacMahon Paddy McGuigan Dominic Behan Pete St. John Derek Warfield Mickey MacConnell Retrieved from `` https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=The_Rising_of_the_Moon&oldid=845248038 '' Categories : Ballads of the Irish Rebellion of 1798 Irish folk songs The Dubliners songs Peter, Paul and Mary songs 1865 songs Hidden categories : EngvarB from October 2013 Use dmy dates from October 2013 Talk About Wikipedia Brezhoneg Euskara Français 한국어 Edit links This page was last edited on 10 June 2018, at 13 : 41 ( UTC ). 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Question: when was the rising of the moon written
Answer: circa 1865