He set off with his father's sword

• "His father's sword he hath girded on:" from the Irish patriotic song "The Minstrel Boy" written by Thomas Moore (1779–1852) about teh Irish rebellion of 1788,

   The minstrel boy to the war is gone,
   In the ranks of death ye will find him;
   His father's sword he hath girded on,
   And his wild harp slung behind him;