Irish Rebel Songs: A Timeline
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What even is an “Irish Rebel Song”?
Scholars and musicians use the term “Irish rebel song” to describe a variety of music in a range of styles and themes. Irish rebel songs stylistically can be traditional, folk, ballads, punk, or rock; and thematically, martyrs, have a humorous/satirical/mock-heroic tone, call to arms, or memorialize an important event.
These songs are not just objects to study, they are woven into political activism and hold a life of their own. There has been a lot disagreement in defining what an Irish rebel song is, even though the term “Irish rebel song” is the term most used in both academia and every day life. The term “Irish rebel song” took on a negative connotation during the Troubles, a period roughly from 1968 to 1998, from the occupation by British troops in Northern Ireland to the signing of the Good Friday Agreement. Performers especially have tried to distinguish the difference between performing “traditional” Irish music (music that is not violently anti-British, or issues a call to use violence) and performing music with an overtly violent theme. Many artists would argue that their song is not a rebel song (see U2’s “Sunday, Bloody Sunday”), however once a song is released there is very little control over how it is used. Some performers recount that members of the IRA pressured them to perform certain songs and to perform them in a certain way. However, there is not a lot of evidence that people felt a pull to join the IRA after listening to Irish rebel songs. Regardless, some people have or have had strong feelings about these songs, which increases the difficulty in discussion and defining.
In general, Irish Rebel songs can be anti-British and/or anti-establishment in general (e.g. anti-treaty, or issues with Northern Ireland). Common themes include: Irish nationalism (Irish pride, Irish traditions, Irish history), martyrs, call to arms, events, or people. Common techniques include: “recycling” or reusing popular tunes, having a humorous, satirical, and/or mock-heroic tone, ballads, or rock.
Why create a timeline?
The timeline focuses mainly on the 20th century, especially focusing on the contrast between the Rising and the Troubles. The continuation of the popularity of Irish songs in the nineteenth century show how they changed meaning within the context of events of the period. With the difficulty of defining what an Irish rebel song even is, it is more important to put these songs in historical context in order to understand them.
While the timeline focuses on the twentieth century, it is important to note that many songs originated in the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries. Many songs were created during the Rebellion of 1798 and rebellions in the mid through late 1800s. It is not that the earlier rebellions are not important – there is just simply not enough time in a single semester to study “800 years” of Irish rebel songs and do the complexity of the events justice.
What is particularly interesting are songs that have been long lived, have changed in use, or have changed lyrics based on events. One example: “The Foggy Dew” was written sometime in the 1840s honoring the events of the 1798 Rebellion. This song continues in popularity through the twentieth century, and the song as most people know it today was written in the 1910s. It has several other renditions such as “The Soldiers of ’22” (unknown artist, most famous recording is by Declan Hunt) and “Over the Hills” (artist: Pete Seeger).
This site’s goals are to visually map out when songs came out in relation to events that helped secure Ireland’s freedom and the Troubles that followed. In addition, this site will provide resources that not only connect events to songs, but show important people that frequently come up in songs, important events, and further your knowledge on Irish nationalism and the Troubles.