"Tone’s Grave” is an Irish song about the revolutionary figure in Irish history, Theobald Wolfe Tone. It is also referred to as “The Ballad of Bodenstown Churchyard.” It is all about Wolfe Tone’s grave as well as about the failures of the United Irishmen.
Wolfe Tone was born on June 20, 1763. He took his own life on November 19, 1798, in the Royal Barracks,
Dublin, Ireland. His body was returned to lie in the family plot in Bodenstown,
Co. Kildare. He was buried in the grave with his brother. The grave was
unmarked until 1844.
50 years after Wolfe Tone’s death, his grave was damaged.
Thomas Davis, a journalist, writer, and Young Irelander, saved the grave with
his song, "The Ballad of Bodenstown Churchyard.” He stumbled across Wolfe
Tone’s unmarked grave that was guarded by a blacksmith.
Even after a proper stone was erected, pilgrims would come
and take pieces of the tomb as a remembrance. The Wolfe Tone Band had a new stone
made, but people seeking relics are also dismembering this new stone as well.
The song was written after Davis visited the grave.
Davis was a member of the Young Ireland movement, and the lyrics first appeared
in their newspaper, “The Nation.” The song mourns the failure of the United
Irishmen and the loss of leaders like Wolfe Tone. It is also a call to arms for
future rebellions.