HAPPY SAINT PATRICK’S DAY! From People’s Favorite Magazine in 1916 to Argosy in the 1930s, the saga of Irish pirate and mercenary soldier Denis Burke unfolded from the pen of H. Bedford-Jones. The fictional buccaneer deserves to be remembered in the same breath with his fellow fictional Irish pirate Captain Peter Blood.
H. Bedford Jones created plenty of characters during his 40-year career as a pulp writer extraordinaire. His Captain Burke claimed descent from the real-life Iron Dick Burke and his wife Grace O’Malley, pirate queen of Ireland, who was featured in Balladeer’s Blog’s 2023 Saint Patrick’s Day post.
As for Burke, his tales were collected in The Royal Vagabond and again in Buccaneer Blood. Among the short stories that starred this hard-fighting, hard-drinking Irishman:
ESCAPE! – Set in 1703, this very first Denis Burke adventure finds him serving as a mercenary soldier for French King Louis XIV. Having his era’s Irish antipathy for kings, Denis badmouths Louis among the wrong company and is designated for prison at a minimum.
Burke must fight and think his way out of the country, one step ahead of the authorities. He feels his luck is always better when he’s been at sea freebooting, so he wants to return to swashbuckling with a fine ship under him. When none are up for purchase, he steals one.
LUCK OF THE SEA BURKES – Captain Burke takes his first Spanish frigate as commander of his new pirate vessel. Rumors of fertile seas and more ships for the plundering lure Denis and his crew into a dangerous venture. Our hero’s weakness for women lands him in difficulties, too.
SPANISH GOLD – Pirates of all nations have heard of a sunken Spanish galleon lying in shallow water with its cargo of gold waiting to be taken. With so many buccaneers after the treasure cannon balls fly, swords clang and double-crosses abound. A mysterious woman from Denis Burke’s past becomes involved, but can she be trusted?
BUCCANEER BLOOD – Captain Burke decides to risk his usual bad luck on solid ground when the opportunity arises to impersonate a French nobleman. Denis tries for the biggest score of his entire black-hearted career but gets distracted by a beautiful lady who actually fills him with thoughts of marriage.
SPANISH BLOOD IS PROUD BLOOD – Denis Burke enacts a plan to get away clean after one last killing, leaving his sordid past and various aliases behind him for good. Recycling some of the best elements of his previous “cunning plans” the captain feels success within his grasp. His tendency to trust the wrong people gets in the way.
*** FOR PREVIOUS SAINT PATRICK’S DAY BLOG POSTS SEE BELOW:
THE IRISH WILD GEESE – My examination of the scattered Irish mercenary soldiers (1580s – 1800s) who lived the old lines of poetry “War battered dogs are we/ Gnawing a gnarled bone/ Fighting in every land and clime/ For every cause but our own.” Click HERE.
GRACE O’MALLEY: THE PIRATE QUEEN OF IRELAND – A look at the real-life female pirate leader Grace O’Malley and her escapades. Click HERE.
A MODERN DAEDALUS (1887) – A science fiction tale about a young Irish inventor who creates individual flying devices. He goes on to mass-produce them and leads an Irish uprising against the British. Click HERE.
GOD SAVE IRELAND FOR SAINT PATRICK’S DAY – The old Irish rebel song. Click HERE.
NOT STRICTLY ST. PATRICK’S DAY, BUT THE BOOK OF THE DUN COW, A TREASURY OF ANCIENT IRISH MYTHOLOGY. Click HERE.
Balladeer's Blog 
May God protect Ireland and Happy Eid. I loved the story. Thanks for sharing, dear Edward. I wish you happiness and success always. 🙏🏻💞🇮🇪
Thank you and Happy Eid! I wish you happiness and success, too!
Captain Burke ! Has super power! Good stories 👍 well shared 💐
Thank you very much! I appreciate it!
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https://notionpress.com/write_contest/details/637/tiger
Thanks.
Please go through the link by Google. It’s a short story competition so put your valuable opinion 😄
Ha! Okay, I will take a look as soon as I can.
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😀 😀
https://notionpress.com/write_contest/details/637/tiger
Thanks!
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Thanks! Happy St. Patrick’s Day to you, too!
A swashbuckling post about Captain Burke’s escapades! 😊
Thank you for saying so!
Wonderful posts as always. I have never heard about Captain Burke before. I’m not familiar with Irish history but I found this to be a very engaging post to read. Captain Burke seems to be a fascinating hero with much potential for adventures in movies. He reminded me a lot of Jack Sparrow. With their charismatic persona, sense of humour and love for adventure, the two characters are quite similar. I am a huge fan of Sparrow and love the way he was depicted in films. Johnny Depp did such an incredible job of portraying the character in the Pirates of the Caribbean franchise. Love all the films in the franchise but the first one “The Curse of the Black Pearl” is definitely my favourite.
Here’s why I loved it:
Thanks very much! I like that movie too!
Fantastic post 💯 I hope you have a happy Thursday afternoon 🌅 Best regards 🇪🇦🌎
Thank you! The same to you!