The Wild Colonial Boy


"The Wild Colonial Boy" is a traditional anonymous Irish-Australian ballad of which there are many different versions, the most prominent being the Irish and Australian versions. The original was about Jack Donahue, an Irish rebel who became a convict, then a bushranger, and was eventually shot dead by police. This version was outlawed as seditious, so the name in the song was changed to Jack Doolan. The Irish version is about a Jack Duggan, young emigrant who left the town of Castlemaine, County Kerry, Ireland, for Australia in the early 19th century. According to the song, he spent his time "robbing from the rich to feed the poor". In the song, Duggan is fatally wounded in an ambush when he is shot in the heart by Fitzroy.

Irish lyrics

The lyrics are as follows:

Australian lyrics

The Australian version is quite different. It is about a boy named Jack Dolan, born in Castlemaine. The poem then continues on to tell of his exploits without mentioning his moving to Australia, which implies that the Castlemaine in question is that in Victoria.
Here is one version of the "Jack Dolan/Doolan/Duggan" poem:

Chorus:

In popular culture

"The Wild Colonial Boy" has been recorded by Rolf Harris, Larry Kirwan, John Doyle, The Irish Rovers, The Brothers Four, Oliver Reed and The Clancy Brothers, among others, and was featured in the film The Quiet Man.