O great God, it cannot be
That Gaels could ever bend the knee
To England, their oppressor!
Almost before it was over, the rising became part of the great patriotic tradition of Ireland, and on all sides new songs were heard celebrating it and those who took leading parts in it. Some of these songs were heavy with a sense of the nation's tragedy. Others—those written by men who had taken part in the rising—were often full of wit, that dauntless Irish spirit that does not forsake men even in defeat and imprisonment. But the most moving, now the most popular of them all, was written by a nun. It is sung to the tune of "Who Fears to Speak of '98?" and begins:
Who fears to speak of Easter Week?
Who dares its fate deplore?
The red-gold flame of Erin's name
Confronts the world once more!
So, Irishmen, remember, then,