Overview

During the Civil War, when capitalists exploited their labor, especially in the coal mines of Pennsylvania, there was one colony of irascible Irish who joined with union organizers, and then went on a tear when a mine collapsed and killed half a dozen compatriots. The leader called a strike, and the owner accepted the terms�providing the leader would give himself up as the killer of a company man during one of the riots. This encounter was the basis of the formation of the notorious Molly McGuires, and from here to the end it is a headlong lunge through history, as men fight for bread and clothing, and authority fights for law and order. In the end, the leader readies himself for the gallows, with another tankard and another song.