Artistic Reactions To The 1981 Irish Hunger Strike - Songs

Songs

A number of songs were written in response to the hunger strike by artists and groups such as Christy Moore and the Wolfe Tones, including some songs based on the poetry Sands wrote, Some of the songs are memorials to specific participants in the strike, such as The Boy from Tamlaghduff, written by Christy Moore in 1983 in memory of Francis Hughes. A few songs were written by Sands such as McIlhatton, a song about a moonshiner, and Back Home in Derry, a ballad about deportees. The British government has at times banned some of these song, such as The Time has Come and Joe McDonnell. In 2006, a proposed bill which would outlaw promotion or glorification of terrorist or violent acts raised concerns that performance of Irish songs such as The H-Block Song, which had become an anthem of the Irish Republicans following the hunger strike, could lead to imprisonment.

Many Irish rebel songs focus on a person or persons viewed as a martyr, with themes of endurance, daring, loyalty, and the artistic, moral and intellectual qualities of the subjects. The notion of endurance has been associated with the belief that sufferers, rather than those at whose hand they suffer, will ultimately triumph in seen in the songs about the ten hunger strikers. In Bobby Sands, MP, Sands is portrayed as an artist and poet. The theme of sacrifice also plays a role, such as the hunger striker asking his family to let him go in The Time has Come, written by Christy Moore and Donal Lunny about the final meeting between Patsy O'Hara and his mother. As Brian Warfield of the Wolfe Tones "A lot of our songs deal with Ireland's history, the many revolutions, the many heroes, its misty romanticism and its people, as well as the brutality of England's involvement in our struggle for freedom."

• The Boy from Tamlaghduff, written and performed by Christy Moore
• Back Home in Derry, by Bobby Sands, performed by Christy Moore
• McIlhatton, written by Bobby Sands performed by Christy Moore
• On the Blanket, written and performed by Mick Hanly and Christy Moore
• The Roll of Honour - Gerry O'Glacain (The Irish Brigade)
• Death Before Revenge - Pangur Ban
• The H-block Song, written by Francie Brolly
• The People's Own MP - Christy Moore
• Song For Marcella - Bik McFarlane
• 10 Years On - Blaggers I.T.A.
• Bobby Sands - Soldat Louis
• Bobby Sands - Meic Stevens
• Inspiration - Easterhouse: Written in honour of the hunger strikers, the sleeve for the release bore an image of Bobby Sands.
• Bobby Untitled - Nicky Wire on his album "I Killed The Zeitgeist"
• It's Going To Happen! - The Undertones: This song contains a "vague" appeal to Margaret Thatcher to reverse her position in the face of the hunger strike. Although the Undertones were reluctant to engage in politics, after the death of Sands in 1982, guitarist Damian O'Neill wore a black armband honouring Bobby Sands when the band performed on Top of the Pops.
• The Sign, written by Eric Bogle
• The Time Has Come - Christy Moore
• The Ballad of Joe McDonnell - The Wolfe Tones
• Kevin Lynch - The Irish Brigade
• Farewell to Bellaghy - Gerry O'Glacain
• He's Gone - Jerry Garcia
• The Story of Thomas McElwee - Crucifucks