You Can’t Separate the Irishman from the Rebel: Exploring the link between Irish music and activism
This February, Annie Lennox wowed viewers with a powerful tribute to Sinead O’Connor at the 2023 Grammy Awards. Performing O’Connor’s iconic cover of “Nothing Compares 2 U,” Lennox, alongside Wendy & Lisa, paid homage not only to O’Connor’s musical legacy but to her legacy as a social activist. Lennox ended her performance holding a fist in the air stating, “Artists for ceasefire. Peace in the world.” in a nod to the ongoing conflict in Gaza. While the Grammys broadcast quickly cut the screen from Lennox’s act of protest, many people have noted that it was perhaps the most fitting tribute for the Irish singer, whose career was marked by several acts akin to Lennox’s on February 4th.
Annie Lennox raises a fist in favor of a ceasefire in Gaza at the 2023 Grammy Awards
Image credit: CBS via DEADLINE
Sinead O’Connor, who passed away in July of 2023, has been remembered for her pioneering idea that musical artists must also act as social role models and activists. She was an outspoken proponent of this in public statements and also in her actions. Most monumental, and attributed to the fall of her mainstream music career, O’Connor used a Saturday Night Live performance to speak out against the Roman Catholic Church’s - then alleged - child abuse scandal. O’Connor tore up a photo of Pope John Paull II stating, “Fight the real enemy.”
Recently, a video of a performance of O’Connor’s song “Famine” has been circulating on Instagram and TikTok. The song calls out the dark impacts of British colonial and imperial rule on Ireland. In the song, O’Connor asserts that the infamous “Irish Potato Famine” was manufactured by the British. The song, which is more of a melodic poem, illustrates how British imposition over the country caused a loss of national identity, contributed to substance abuse issues in the country, and ultimately led to the violence of The Troubles. Though controversial during her time, O’Connor, posthumously, has been championed for her activism.
Lyrics from Sinead O’Connor’s song, “Famine”
Okay, I want to talk about Ireland
Specifically I want to talk about the famine
About the fact that there never really was one
There was no famine
See Irish people were only allowed to eat potatoes
All of the other food
Meat, fish, vegetables
Were shipped out of the country under armed guard
To England while the Irish people starved
And then, in the middle of all this
They gave us money not to teach our children Irish
And so we lost our history
And this is what I think is still hurting me
…
And this leads to massive self-destruction
Alcoholism, drug addiction
All desperate attempts at running
And in its worst form
Becomes actual killing
There is an undeniable trend in Irish music of dissent and protest. May McCann, an Irish social anthropologist, illustrates that Irish music has held political significance since the 1700s when the British banned musicians, minstrels, and performers because of the risk their rebellious tunes had for the sustainability of British control. McCann specifically looks at Irish music from British occupation through the time of The Troubles and asserts that many of the songs act as an “orally transmitted tradition.” for the Irish. Some scholars have also noted that traditional Irish folk music allowed the Irish to cling to a sense of national identity under both British occupation and during The Troubles, when Irish identity was called into question, or actively erased.
The divisions of the Republic of Ireland and Northern Ireland, illustrating the density of religious groups in each county.
Source: Central Statistics Office Ireland; Northern Ireland Statistics and Research Agency. VIA: Council on Foreign Relations
The Troubles refers to a period of conflict in Northern Ireland lasting from the 1960s until a peace deal was passed in 1998. The conflict had religious roots in the independence of the Republic of Ireland. When the Republic gained independence, the northern counties of the country that were dominated by Protestants, remained a part of the United Kingdom. In the 1960s, Catholic discontent in Northern Ireland regarding unequal economic and social opportunity for Catholics was violently suppressed by British police, leading to the eruption of violence in Northern Ireland that would last for the next 30 years.
Combatants in front of pro-IRA graffiti
Image Credit: PBS
Both pro-British and pro-Irish paramilitary groups engaged in terrorism, attempting to remain a part of the United Kingdom or unite with the Republic of Ireland, respectively. More than 3,500 people died in bombings, shootings, and violence that occurred throughout Northern Ireland as well as in the Republic of Ireland and Britain. The Irish Republican Army (IRA) was the predominant pro-Irish force in Northern Ireland and has become well known for not only the extreme violence employed by its members but by the popularity of “rebel songs”. These songs, reminiscent of traditional Irish folk tunes, became a rallying cry for pro-Irish forces.
Today, the continued use of IRA rebel songs is debated in Irish society and politics. Some Irish argue that the ruthlessness of the IRA makes these songs a dangerous political tool, and resurfaces the violent and dividing ideology that dominated the Irish island for so many years. But others, like Jack Sheehan who researches Irish music of the 20th Century, argue these songs are indispensable to Irish history and the experience of Irish people. Regardless of their content, Sheehan says that their similarity to the folk music of the 1700s alone is demonstrative of their historical and cultural significance.
Lyrics from the Irish Descendants’ “Come Out Ye Black and Tans,” a well-known IRA rebel song about the pro-British forces nicknamed the ‘Black and Tans’
I was born in a Dublin street where the loyal drums do beat
And the loving English feet, they walked all over us
And every single night when me Da would come home tight,
He'd invite the neighbors out with this chorus
Come out you Black and Tans,
Come out and fight me like a man
Show your wife how you won medals down in Flanders
Tell her how the IRA made you run like hell away,
From the green and lovely lakes of Killeshandra
Outside of rebel tunes and hundred-year-old trends in folk music, Ireland has produced some of the more prominent musicians of the last 70 years. What's more, is the handful of those musicians who have also been prominent change makers. Sinead O’Connor was just one of those iconic voices, but she is not alone as a chart-topping Irish artist, among whom activism seems to be embedded into the fabric of their music.
Bob Geldof, famous for leading the Boomtown Rats and founding the musical charity supergroup, Band Aid, is another Irish artist who rose to fame not only through his music but through his activism. Geldof shared in an interview with CNBC International that much of his inspiration came from his childhood in Ireland. Geldof attributes his career of activism to his proximity to poverty and its adverse effects on individuals he met working on community service projects. Geldof’s founding of Band Aid and subsequent coordination of the Live Aid concert as well as recording of “Do They Know It’s Christmas” raised funds for famine relief in Ethiopia.
One of the most famous bands of all time, U2, hails from Ireland. Unlike Geldof, whose experiences influenced his music and activism, lead singer Bono credits his music with the band finding its purpose. “Sunday Bloody Sunday,” Bono says, is the song that gave the band direction. The song, about a Troubles massacre of Irish protestors by British troops, decries the violence of the conflict and addresses the feelings of those involved who didn’t align with either side. U2 also participated in Geldof’s “Do They Know It's Christmas”.
U2 has devoted songs, concerts, and band proceeds to several causes over the years. They have even continued their activism within Ireland, participating in the debate over abortion rights, which were only legalized in 2018. Outside of musical pursuits, Bono founded the organization (RED), devoted to fighting HIV/AIDS, which has raised $750 million for the Global Fund.
The cover of U2’s album “War", the record that “Sunday, Bloody Sunday” was on. The cover was intended to bring awareness to the mental impacts of violence.
Image courtesy of: U2.com
Similarly to U2, the Cranberries found their music’s ethos in the aftermath of a tragedy. Their popular song “Zombie” was written in response to an IRA bombing that killed 2 young children. Lead singer Dolores O’Riordan pushed back against criticism of the song stating, “I don't care whether it's Protestant or Catholic, I care about the fact that innocent people are being harmed.” The Cranberries, like U2 were pushed into the spotlight that Sinead O’Connor was so desperately trying to create for all musicians.
Even since the end of the Troubles, Irish musicians continue to use their music to convey complex social topics. Hozier, who has risen to global fame is inspired by various societal dynamics including religion, sexuality, and self-reflection. Hozier is also the host of the podcast, “Cry Power,” a show focused on how artists can take social action. The show has hosted Bono and Annie Lennox, among others. Hozier’s 2013 song “Take Me to Church” resonated deeply with the global LGBTQ community. More than that, it continues to act as a protest song around the world in support of LGBTQ rights.
The Shan Vans, a newly formed band that sings in the Irish language, have recently gained attention. The band calls their music “indigenous indie” because of the connection they have to elevating the Irish language and culture through their work. The Shan Vans recently spoke with NPR about a song they wrote highlighting the similarities of Palestinian and Irish experiences on hunger strikes in protest of occupation. Many Irish people feel connected to Palestinians given that Ireland was once under a British mandate as well. And, in Northern Ireland, some Irish nationalists compare today’s situation with that of Palestinians in Israel.
The experiences of Ireland are what have formed the rebellious and yet caring nature of their culture. For hundreds of years, that culture has been communicated through their music. Music has persisted for the Irish through the depletion of their native language, famine, and violence as a way to pass on their history and cultural ethos. Despite the hardships that many Irish people have faced, their experiences have given way to this rather impressive understanding of how to alleviate suffering for others. Among Irish musicians, this translates not only into producing media about these topics but also taking action that translates into change. The empathy that the Irish hold for those experiencing similar things as their country has acted as a model for others, one that can only expand exponentially. Perhaps, as O’Connor’s “Famine” asserts, you cannot separate the Irish from their political experiences, and music becomes a reflection of that.