Art was a huge outlet for many during the Troubles. In class we carefully examined many different murals from both sides. Music during the Troubles was another key outlet for loyalists and nationalist. The music during this period however has not limited to just this. Musicians from Northern Ireland made music that depicted their points of view and different events of the Troubles. This effect was also not limited to Northern Ireland as many artists from the Irish Republic and Brittan took it upon themselves to raise awareness of the issues and plead for peace. “I have decided to focus on music, because I believe that it has always been a major source of public opinion during the restless times of Ireland’s history (Markova, et. Al 2020).” My motivation is like that of Markovas as the music made during the Troubles spoke to people on a different level. The music was a way to express the fear and unrest that was going on and told some very emotional stories. Music as an outlet is nothing new for Ireland. During the Easter Rising in 1916 the Irish national anthem “The Soldier’s Song” was sung religiously and in a sense used as a revolutionary song (Markova, et. Al 2020). This and many other examples show a long period of Irish people using music to carry themselves through violence, oppression, and protest. As Rock and Roll became more popular the people in Northern Ireland began to shift away from these more classic songs. “(Rock and Roll) became an outlet for bands to break barriers, defy rules, and express their sentiments about the world in which they lived (Thomas, 2021).” With the emergence of this new music and new ideas certain Irish and British artists became known for expressing their beliefs about and pain from the conflict. Thin Lizzy and U2 became the best at portraying this message as they “used their platform to defy rules, cross geographical and religious borders, and address the political, religious, social, and economic troubles in Ireland from the 1970s to the 1990s.” The Cranberries, Paul McCartney, the Police, and Elton Jon were other very famous musicians that addressed the conflict in various ways even with them not being from Northern Ireland. Through music artist during this time were able to raise awareness, fight for peace, depict pain, and give the people of Northern Ireland an outlet. This exhibit will cover everything from Nationalist and Loyalist songs to Paul McCartney and Bono.
The Rising of the Moon is a famous Nationalist song. This song was covered by the Clancy Brothers and the Dubliners and that is ultimately what made it more popular during the Troubles. The song however dates to 1798 when United Irishmen fought against the British. This was symbolic during the troubles for obvious reason and became a rally song for the Nationalists. Both the Clancy Brothers and the Dubliners were supporters of the Nationalist movement. The Nationalist also bonded with the song “The Minstrel Boy.” This song was popular during the American Civil War because “It highlights one’s selfless devotion to the country (Markova, et. Al 2020).” This song has withstood the test of time as it is still performed at the funerals of Irish service members. The last popular Nationalist song was “God Save Ireland.” This song was written for three Irish service members who were murdered by British police officers in 1867. This song was sung during the troubles, but it was mainly used in 1916 during the Easter rising. It is not a surprise that the Nationalist songs portray the British in a very negative light.
The Loyalist like the Nationalist have similar go to rally songs. The Song featured above is called “The Sash My Father Wore.” This song has been sung by the Loyalist since 1690. The song talks about the Siege of Derry, Battle of Newtownbulter, Battle of Aughrim, and the Battle of the Bouyne. This song like other Loyalist songs portrays a proud Gaelic culture along with honoring the sacrifice of Loyalist troops. This song is still sung to this day and is a huge part of the July 12th Orange celebration where Loyalist celebrate King William of Orange’s win in the Battle of Bouyne. Other Loyalist songs are still being sung at Northern Ireland and English soccer games. Numerous songs have been banned as they mock Catholics and use hurtful language. Many of these Loyalist hymns originated from the Troubles. Billy Boys is an example of one of these songs. The song Billy Boys has a line that says, “We’re up to our knees in Fenian blood.” This unlike the other Nationalist and Loyalist songs is one that should no longer be sang. This song celebrates the failure and death of Nationalist where the others are simply celebrating their own groups.
The songs above are by John Lennon and Paul McCartney who were both members of the Beatles. Both Lennon and McCartney were born in England. The two artists released these songs after Bloody Sunday in 1972. The songs portray similar messages just in different ways. Lennon’s song is much more critical of the British government. In the song Lennon ultimately sides with the IRA and claims speaks of England very negatively. The song says that Brittan invaded Northern Ireland and provides much more graphic details about what happened compared to the U2 song with the same title. Paul McCartney’s song “Give Ireland back to the Irish” was banned instantly in Brittan. McCartney was fueled by his strong family connections in Ireland, and he ultimately got to the point much faster in his song compared to Lennon. McCartney did not criticize England as Lennon did. However, ultimately the two artist ended up at the same conclusion which was that the British should no longer be involved (Markova, et. Al 2020). Both songs fall in line with other Beatles songs as they are anti-war. Just from reading the lyrics of the songs you can imagine that the Loyalist were not very happy with the messages that the former Beatles members were spreading.
This song by U2 is perhaps the most famous song about the troubles. This live show was at a time when there was not yet peace. U2 has always been anti-war as they also have a song about the Vietnam War. The lead singer of U2 is Bono and because of his background he represents how Protestants and Catholics can get along. Bono’s father is catholic, and his mom is protestant. This video depicts just one song from an entire concert where Bono makes references to the troubles. In the video Bono takes a break from the song twice to chant “No More” and “Wipe your Tears Away.” This concert was also significant because it was in America. Bono was raising awareness for the conflict in places that did not have as much knowledge about it. While this may not have influenced any American action in Northern Ireland it is still important because America had a presence at the Good Friday Agreement talks. U2 at the time was much bigger than just Ireland, they were one of the biggest rock bands in the entire world and the fact that they cared about the troubles so much helped people start moving towards a non-violent solution.
Paul Brady is a singer from Northern Ireland. He was born in Strabane which is a town that was affected greatly by the troubles as it was the most bombed town in all Northern Ireland (Markova, et al, 2020). Brady credits his Irish heritage as being the influence of most of his music. The above song is one of Brady’s most popular songs and the music video speaks volumes as it shows many images on violence. The song was written in 1985 and it resonated with so many because Brady compares the events in Northern Ireland to the civil war in Lebanon. Brady’s message throughout the rest of the song is a great one as he begs people to stop giving into the extremes and favor the middle (Thomas, 2021).
“Everything I have tried to express in this time, whether in traditional music or in contemporary rock/ pop has been strongly coloured by my Irish environment and primarily aimed at Irish people no matter what creed or political persuasion. I am not a ‘Political’ songwriter… if that means someone whose main aim is to push a particular political line and uses the medium of music to do it. Nonetheless all good music is in a sense political with a small ‘p’ in that it highlights the beauty and pain of all existence and strives to communicate across all borders, be they political or in the mind. My song ‘The Island’ has been called a political song. In fact it is a love song sung by one person to another in a context where neither has any power to change the way things are or trust in those people whose policies of conflict claim to lead us out of the darkness. In time it became a kind of anthem for many people in Ireland who, like me, couldn’t see how hatred, violence, death and destruction would lead to anything but… more of the same.”
Paul Brady on his inspiration for his music
Thin Lizzy was different than U2 during the Troubles. They were not as politically active, but they still played a role in helping Irish people through the conflict. Thin Lizzy broke barriers because of their racial, geographical, and religious differences. Thin Lizzy favored the Nationalist movement. This is yet another difference from U2 as they were more on the loyalist side. In the song “Erie” Thin Lizzy even points out how they thought the Irish were heroic for fighting the British
In 1998 U2 made history. They were playing at the Say Yes concert in Belfast. Say Yes of course was referring to the Good Friday Agreement that was going to be voted on shortly. The picture above is Bono with the Unionist leader at the time David Trimble and the SDLP leader John Humme. This picture is now famous as an image of peace and is used when talking about the end of the conflict. Bono said U2 would only play at the show if the two shook hands first (Reid, 2023). Bono stated later during the concert that Bob Marely was the inspiration for the move as he did something similar 20 years earlier. The concert was wildly successful and “The Rockers did their Part” was the quote from William Booth (Booth, 2023).
This video is from the Omagh Memorial concert. This was a low after the high of the Say Yes concert just months previous. This was after the Omagh Bombing which happened after the Good Friday Agreement. In the video Bono pleads with people for this to be the end. He recognizes that peace is a process and that it’s not all going to happen at once. At this time you can only imagine the uncertainty as the people of Northern Ireland simply did not want to go back to how things were during the Troubles. Over u£200,000 was raised from the concert and the donations were matched by some of the artist that performed. All of the money went to victims of the Omagh Bombings (Irish Times, 2000).
This is not an artifact, but instead something you can take with you from this exhibit. These are songs from the artists mentioned above and others that helped the people of Northern Ireland get through the Troubles
Bibliography
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