About: The Shan Van Vocht
The Shan Van Vocht, (a phonetic rendering of the Irish phrase An tSean bhean Bhocht - "The Poor Old Woman") was the name of a song, dating to the period of the Irish rebellion of 1798 that, once printed, gained notoriety in nineteenth century Ireland as a seditious text. In the 1890s it was adopted as the title of a popular historical novel and of a nationalist magazine, both of which, in the face of the growing sectarian division over Irish Home rule, sought to vindicate the republican legacy of the United Irishmen.
