Joe Stanley wrote:
"Ireland has always been rich in ballad and poetry. Throughout the ages its influences have been marked in a special way. It is because of something in our national temperament that we found it necessary to express emotion in verse, Ballads were an integral part of rural life."
Joe had already written "The Frongoch Roll Call" a musical parody regarding an incident in Frongoch where he and other hut leaders had been court-martialled. He would later write the highly acclaimed "A Shawl of Galway Grey" in 1922 and dedicate it to Michael Collins. He also penned "The Flag of Freedom" and "The Prison Grave of Kevin Barry".
The Gaelic Press Song Book was introduced circa 1917 to the present to the public and it contained a list if the popular Irish songs and ballads of the day with the cajoling headline. . . .
Sing the Songs of Your Own Land !