Irish rebel song

In Ireland, a rebel song is a folk song whose lyrics extol the deeds of actual or fictional participants in any of the various armed rebellions against English, and later British, rule in Ireland. Songs about older rebellions were long popular with most Irish nationalists; more recent songs are associated with supporters of physical force Irish republicanism.

History
The tradition of rebel music in Ireland dates back many centuries, dealing with historical events such as uprisings, describing the hardships of living under oppressive British rule, but also strong sentiments of solidarity, loyalty, determination, as well as praise of valiant heroes.

As well as a deep-rooted sense of tradition, rebel songs have nonetheless remained contemporary, and since 1922, the focus has moved onto the nationalist cause in Northern Ireland, including support for the IRA and Sinn Féin. However, the subject matter is not confined to Irish history, and includes the exploits of the Irish Brigades who fought for the Republican side in the Spanish Civil War, and also those who fought during the American Civil War.

Over the years, a number of bands have performed "crossover" music, that is, Irish rebel lyrics and instrumentation mixed with other, more pop styles. Damien Dempsey is known for his pop-influenced rebel ballads and bands like Seanchai and the Unity Squad and Beltaine's Fire combine Rebel music with Political hip hop and other genres.

Contemporary music
Irish rebel music has occasionally gained international attention. The Wolfe Tones' version of A Nation Once Again was voted the number one song in the world by BBC World Service listeners in 2002. Many of the more popular groups recently such as Saoirse, Éire Óg, Athenrye, Shebeen, Glasnevin, Mise Éire and Pádraig Mór are from Glasgow. The Bog Savages of San Francisco are fronted by an escapee from Belfast's Long Kesh prison who made his break in the September 1983 "Great Escape" by the IRA.

Music of this genre has often courted controversy with some of this music effectively banned from the airwaves in the Republic of Ireland in the 1980s. More recently, Derek Warfield's music was banned from Aer Lingus flights, after the Ulster Unionist politician Roy Beggs Jr compared his songs to the speeches of Osama bin Laden. However, a central tenet of the justification for rebel music from its supporters is that it represents a long-standing tradition of freedom from tyranny.

List of notable artists

 * Black 47
 * Charlie and the Bhoys
 * The Clancy Brothers and Tommy Makem
 * The Dubliners
 * Go Lucky Four
 * David Kincaid
 * Christy Moore
 * Dermot O'Brien
 * Seanchai & the Unity Squad
 * Shebeen
 * Tuan
 * Derek Warfield
 * Wolfe Tones
 * Wolfhound a.k.a. The Wolfhounds
 * Young Dubliners
 * The Irish Brigade
 * Declan Hunt

List of notable songs

 * A Boy Called Williams
 * Amhran nabhFiann
 * Arbour Hill; about the place.
 * Belfast Brigade
 * Back Home in Derry, by Bobby Sands
 * The Bold Fenian Men a.k.a. Down by the Glenside
 * Boys of Kilmichael
 * The Broad Black Brimmer
 * Connolly Was There
 * Come All You Warriors
 * Come Out Ye Black And Tans
 * Connaught Rangers (a.k.a. The Drums Were Beating), about the regiment
 * Erin Go Bragh
 * Fergal O'Hanlon; about the man.
 * Follow me up to Carlow
 * Four Green Fields by Tommy Makem
 * Freedom's Sons
 * Give Ireland Back To The Irish
 * God Save Ireland
 * Go on home, British soldiers
 * Grave of Wolfe Tone
 * The Great Fenian Ram; about the submarine.
 * Green in the Green
 * The Helicopter Song
 * Hurrah for the Volunteers
 * Irish Citizen Army; about the organisation.
 * Irish Volunteers; about the organisation.
 * Johnston's Motor Car
 * Join the British Army
 * Lay Him Away On the Hillside
 * My Little Armalite
 * Maurice O'Neill
 * The Men Behind the Wire
 * The Minstrel Boy
 * Northern Gaels/Crumlin Jail; about the prison.
 * Old Howth Gun
 * Old Fenian Gun
 * Ole'
 * Oró Sé do Bheatha 'Bhaile
 * The Peeler and the Goat
 * Rebel Hearts
 * The Rifles of the IRA
 * Rock On, Rockall
 * Roll of Honour
 * Signal Fires
 * Some Say the Devil is Dead
 * Soldiers of '22
 * Teddy Bear's Head
 * Tiocfaidh ár lá (a.k.a. SAM song))
 * The West's Awake
 * You'll Never Beat the Irish

Ballads

 * 3rd West Cork Brigade
 * Ambush At Drumnakilly
 * Amhrán na bhFiann (a.k.a. The Soldier's Song) – The Irish National Anthem
 * A Nation Once Again
 * Arthur McBride
 * The Ballad of Mairead Farrell; about the woman.
 * Banna Strand (a.k.a. Lonely Banna Strand)
 * Boolavogue
 * The Boy from Tamlaghtduff
 * The Boys of the Old Brigade
 * The Boys of Wexford
 * The Croppy Boy
 * Dunlavin Green
 * Dying Rebel
 * Éamonn an Chnoic (a.k.a. Ned of the Hill)
 * The Fields of Athenry
 * The Foggy Dew (Irish ballad)
 * Four Green Fields
 * Gerard Casey; about the man.
 * Ireland Unfree; named for the oration.
 * James Connolly; about the man.
 * Joe McDonnell; about the man.
 * Kevin Barry
 * Martin Hurson; about the man.
 * Only Our Rivers Run Free; by Mickey MacConnell.
 * Pat of Mullingar
 * The Patriot Game
 * Pearse Jordan; about the man.
 * The People's Own MP
 * The Rising of the Moon
 * Sean South
 * Seán Treacy; about the man.
 * Skibbereen
 * Streets of Sorrow/Birmingham Six
 * Take It Down from the Mast
 * Tom Williams; about the man.
 * Tone's Grave (a.k.a. Bodenstown Churchyard)
 * The Town I Loved So Well
 * There Were Roses, by Tommy Sands
 * The Valley of Knockanure
 * The Wearing of the Green
 * The Wind that Shakes the Barley
 * Women of Ireland (a.k.a. Mná na h-Éireann)
 * Young Roddy McCorley

Sunday Bloody Sunday
The 1983 U2 album War includes the song "Sunday Bloody Sunday", a lament for the Northern Ireland troubles whose title alludes to the 1972 Bloody Sunday shooting of Catholic demonstrators by British soldiers. In concert, Bono began introducing the song with the disclaimer "this song is not a rebel song". These words are included in the version on Under a Blood Red Sky, the 1983 live album of the War Tour. The 1988 concert film Rattle and Hum includes a performance hours after the 1987 Remembrance Day bombing in Enniskillen, which Bono condemns in a mid-song rant. In response, Sinéad O'Connor released a song with the title of 'This is a Rebel Song', as she explains in her live album How About I Be Me (And You Be You)?.

Many years before U2 wrote a song about the Bloody Sunday massacre it was John Lennon who wrote, recorded and performed a song called 'Sunday Bloody Sunday' (included, along with another song about Ireland, 'The Luck Of The Irish', in the album 'Some Time In New York City', 1972). Lennon had Irish roots, as did his songwriting partner Paul McCartney, who also wrote a song about British imperialism in Ireland ('Give Ireland Back to the Irish').