Irish Republican Army (IRA-IRA) (3 photos). Irish Republican Army: European Terror Irish Rep Army

1) - IRA. He traces his ancestry back to the Irish Civil Army of J. Connolly and the National Volunteers (a military organization under the Sinn Fein party, founded in 1905). The IRA is a Sinn Féin military organization that has had this name since 1919, when the Irish Volunteers were subordinate to the Irish Minister of War. In 1917–20, the IRA carried out guerrilla operations against the British in Ireland: it launched attacks on barracks and seized weapons. In 1919–20, the police were forced, under pressure from the IRA, to concentrate in large populated areas. On the night of April 4-5. 1920 The IRA launched an operation to destroy 153 tax offices in 32 counties; end of April - 182 attacks on police stations; 14.5.1920 - 70 barracks were burned; July 1920 - seizure of government mail. M. Collins prepared and organized actions to destroy English spies on November 21, 1920. IRA in the 1920s adhered to non-Marxist socialism. In the fall of 1920, in response to repression by the English police, the Minister of War of the Irish Republic, Cathal Brugga, decided to transfer military operations to the territory of the metropolis. The operations were led by the Chief of Technical Services, IRA O'Connor. The IRA in London, Liverpool, Manchester, Glasgow, and Newcastle attacked industrial and commercial facilities and communications. The militants carried out terrorist attacks against officers, police and soldiers returning from Ireland - “so that the British felt the same as the Irish felt throughout the country during the atrocities of the punitive forces”; attacked the country's leaders and government buildings; organized operations to disrupt communications and electrical networks. The militants were preparing assassination attempts on Winston Churchill and David Lloyd George, but were captured. After the signing of the Anglo-Irish Treaty on December 6, 1921, which granted Ireland dominion rights and split the country, the radical Republicans of the IRA, led by O’Connor, continued to fight. In 1922, the IRA opposed the separation of Ulster from Ireland and launched military operations against the governments of Britain and Eire. Summer 1922 - assassination of Wilson, military adviser in Ireland. In 1922, the British and Irish governments suppressed the movement. The leaders - O'Connor and Mellows - were shot. In 1923–32 the IRA went underground. In the 1930s launches attacks on police and judicial institutions, wealthy Irish people under the slogan of the fight for the republic. In 1935–36, the IRA carried out an explosive campaign against customs posts and police stations located on the Ulster border. In 1936 it was outlawed, the reason for which was the murder in County Cork of Vice Admiral G. Sommerville, committed by an IRA militant. In 1938, a terrorist campaign was carried out: on the night of November 28, 1938, a house exploded near Castlefin in County Donegon (3 people were killed). The next night several customs posts were burned. On the eve of World War II, the idea was spreading in Ireland to take advantage of the upcoming military conflict to win complete independence from Britain. Maurice Twomey said: "Britain should not receive help from Ireland. England's difficulties are Ireland's opportunity. The next war is inevitable, and Ireland must take advantage of it, fighting not for but against England!" On the eve of the war, the IRA leadership developed Plan C, the goal of which was to achieve Irish independence. As part of the plan, on January 15, 1939, an ultimatum from the underground republican government and the IRA was published (it was also sent to Roosevelt, Mussolini, Hitler, the English and Irish governments) (signed by S. Russell, S. Hayes, etc.): “The Government of the Irish Republic is considering those in "English troops in Ulster as a hostile army demands their immediate evacuation and the English government's refusal to interfere in the internal affairs of Ireland." The response time was 4 days. “Otherwise,” the ultimatum said, “we will interfere in the economic and military life of your country, just as England interfered in our life.” There was no satisfactory answer, and on January 17, 1939, a terrorist campaign began that lasted more than 8 months. The IRA carried out a series of explosions of energy, communications, communications, and urban facilities in the metropolis (excluding Scotland and Wales). Up to 1,000 people took part in these actions, and 300 explosions were carried out. The Terror of 1939 was also carried out using time bombs placed in parcels and suitcases. As a result of the activities of the IRA in 1939, 7 people were killed and 137 were injured (continued with variable activity until the fall of 1941). S. Hayes, the IRA chief of staff who led the operations, was shot on 8/9/1941, after which the IRA ceased active activities. Since 1954, a new upsurge has been observed: in 1954–55, individual actions were taken (attacks on military barracks in Arborfield (England) in 1955, etc.). In 1955, two Sinn Féin MPs were arrested and stripped of their parliamentary seats for an attack on a military depot. The social base of the protest is workers, artisans, intellectuals, office workers, and farm laborers. The protest was caused by the activities of the British who had invaded the country and seized a dominant position in the economic and cultural spheres. But the English can be driven out by force of arms, which must be obtained from military depots and police offices. The IRA has been actively fighting for the reunification of Ulster with Ireland since 1956, under the slogan: “Defeat the state, army, police and auxiliary forces.” The IRA Army Council said: "Resistance to British rule in occupied Ireland has entered a decisive stage." Since 1956, more than 600 raids have been carried out. The targets included weapons depots, radio stations, customs and police offices on the Ulster border. In 1957, the British authorities carried out mass arrests. The campaign of terror ended in 1959, which was officially announced in February. 1962. In the 1950s, unlike in 1939, Irish civilians, military personnel and police were not attacked. Since 1962, the leadership of the IRA reoriented itself towards mass activities. In June - July 1969 there were street clashes between Catholics and Protestants in Derry and Belfast. To prevent bloodshed, the government of the United Kingdom in Aug. 1969 brought army units into Northern Ireland. Initially, the presence of the army in Ulster was positively received by the mass of Catholics, but the army was soon compromised by the pro-Protestant position. It was mainly Catholics who were subjected to repression, often without following formal procedures. In 1970, the IRA split into two organizations: the so-called. "official IRA" and "temporary IRA". The split occurred over the issue of the use of armed violence in political struggle. The "Official IRA" assumed the use of weapons only for self-defense. The “Provisional IRA” was focused on conducting active terrorist activities, including on the territory of England.

2) Irish Republican Army (provisional)

(Provisional IRA, The Provos) - PIRA. In Jan. 1970, in the wake of the civil rights campaign and anti-British protest, the “temporary executive committee of Sinn Fein” was formed, under which the “provisional IRA” (PIRA) was created. The word "temporary" emphasizes the time-limited use of terrorism; The leadership of the PIRA noted the forced transition to the terrorist struggle. The document "Our Strategy. How to Win the War" said: "Military action under certain circumstances in a certain situation is the only type of realistic political action... the partisans know that the time of history is working on them, that the forces of history are on the side of the partisans." The British army was declared the main target of terror. The PIRA found ideological justification for its struggle in the ideas of socialism, nationalism, and the reunification of Ireland. She presented her activities as the defense of “Catholic ghettos from English soldiers and Protestant ultras.” Anti-British terrorism forced the British government in 1971 to try to put an end to the activities of the PIRA by carrying out mass arrests, which caused a retaliatory intensification of armed violence. During the year, the British army and police carried out several large-scale operations, during which up to 2,000 people were arrested. On the night of January 14, 1971, an army force of 700 soldiers was sent to conduct searches in the Irish-populated area of Bollimary, and in response, the terrorists carried out a series of explosions. 3.2.1971 - the army entered Erdain and Clonard, which led to skirmishes between local militants and army units on 6.2.1971, during which 1 soldier and 2 PIRA militants were killed. Since Aug. 1971 In response to "Operation Demetrius" (a repressive action by the British army and police during which 1,500 Irish suspected terrorists were arrested), the PIRA unleashes systematic terror. Since Aug. 1971 The "official IRA" also entered the armed struggle as a self-defense force. At the end of Feb. 1972, at the initiative of the PIRA, a 72-hour truce was announced. In the summer of 1972, the leaders of the Provisional IRA arrived in London for negotiations. On July 7, 1972, the government and the PIRA signed a (soon violated) armistice agreement. From the beginning 1970s until the end of the 1990s. On the territory of Northern Ireland (Ulster), a terrorist war was waged, the opponents of which were, on the one hand, Irish terrorists, on the other hand, the British army and police, militants of armed Protestant organizations. PIRA terrorists carried out attacks on senior British officials, British military and police officers in Northern Ireland, Great Britain and Europe, and members of Northern Irish loyalist (Protestant) paramilitary groups. From 1970 to 1985, about 1,800 people died from the actions of the IRA; to date, the number of victims is approaching 2,000. PIRA in the 1970s. developed the structure of the organization and tactics of struggle. The organization is headed by an “army council”; its leaders are awarded military ranks. Initially, PIRA was divided into brigades, battalions, and companies. The structure of the enlarged combat units did not provide the necessary level of secrecy. In the beginning. 1970s The police managed to introduce informants into the PIRA, thanks to whose activities a number of terrorist operations were prevented, and many militants were arrested. In 1977, PIRA reorganized its internal structure: combat units were divided into small autonomous cells, the members of which did not know the composition of the others. The cells received specialization: reconnaissance, armed attacks, mining, robberies, counterintelligence. Until 1982, when it was again possible to introduce agents into the PIRA, the police had no success in the fight against terrorists. Currently, PIRA, as one of its methods of activity, uses the tactics of mobile combat groups consisting of 3-4 men and a woman. Men prepare a terrorist attack and ensure the safety of a woman, her role is direct murder. PIRA militants operate on the basis of a charter that sets out the organization's tasks, duties and rules of conduct for a PIRA member. Unemployed PIRA members receive a salary of £20 per week. In the 1980s There was a quantitative growth of the organization. The number of active members has doubled since the 1970s, reaching 500 people. In the 1990s vol. There was a slight decrease in the size of the organization - to 300-400 militants. Several hundred more people are engaged in support and intelligence. PIRA in its activities relies on several thousand irregular members and sympathizers. Terrorists receive financial and political assistance from the Irish diaspora in the United States on the condition of non-cooperation with the radical left; The organization is also financed by Libya and self-financed (bank robberies, collecting donations). PIRA budget in the 1970s. reached 1 million pounds per year in the 1980s. rose to 6 million pounds per year. Weapons and explosives are coming to Ireland from Libya and the PLO. The main delivery channel is maritime smuggling. Sometimes the police manage to intercept transports with weapons: in 1973 and 1980, ships carrying Soviet-made weapons coming from Libya were seized. The terrorists are armed with machine guns, Czech Semtex plastic explosives, RPG-7 grenade launchers, and mortars. In other countries, PIRA cooperates with the Basque organization ETA, Revolutionary Cells (Germany), and has supporters in Holland and Belgium. In European countries, PIRA terrorists have repeatedly carried out attacks on British citizens. 1st half The 1990s, like the 1970s and 80s, became a period of incessant terror. In 1992, explosions of hotels, cars, offices, mining of railway stations and metro stations were carried out; Another attack is launched on the Prime Minister's residence on Downing Street. PIRA achieves this, in addition to causing physical damage to the enemy, disorder in communications, as a result of which air and railway flights are delayed and canceled, traffic on highways is interrupted, which leads to economic and political losses. For the same purpose, the tactic of false reports about impending terrorist operations is used. The intensification of terror coincides with the parliamentary election campaigns: on February 28, 1993, an explosion was carried out at London Bridge station. On Sept. 1994 PIRA announced the end of "military actions" and proposed negotiations, to which the British government refused. Soon the PIRA again turned to terror, carrying out a series of bombings and murders during 1996–97; A particularly large-scale terrorist operation was carried out during the 1997 election campaign, which was one of the reasons for the defeat of the conservatives, who did not want to negotiate with the terrorists. Starting with the refusal of the truce in February. 1996, operations included a series of bombings on trains, tube stations and retail businesses in England. PIRA placed mines in crowded places, warning the police, who, in search of explosives, blocked major roads and airports several times, which led to significant losses. Labor leader Tony Blair, who won the election, agreed to hold negotiations, which were conducted on behalf of the terrorists by the leader of the legal wing of the PIRA, the Sinn Fein party, Gerry Adams, while the militant structures of the PIRA were headed by Martin McGuinness. The peace process, which began in 1994 and continued with the 1996 truce, is not a direct path to peace in Northern Ireland. Another escalation of the conflict in Ulster occurred in January. 1998 and was associated with the dissatisfaction of Protestant extremists with the proposed peace terms and the confrontation between Protestant and Catholic extremist groups.

Chronology of terrorist actions:

January 1971 - PIRA terrorists carry out a series of 40 explosions;

6.2.1971 - as a result of shootouts in the towns of Erdain and Clonard, 1 British soldier and 2 PIRA militants were killed;

9-11.8.1971 - PIRA terrorists killed 23 people, in just a month - 35;

10/7/1972 - 146 exchanges of fire between terrorists and army forces take place, during which 10 killed and dozens of wounded are registered;

8.3.1973 - terrorists carry out the first terrorist attack on the territory of the metropolis: an explosion was carried out near the courthouse in the Old Bailey (1 person was killed), as a result of the explosions in Trafalgar Square, 243 people were injured; Subsequently, terrorist attacks were carried out against members of the British cabinet, military and civilians; British Prime Ministers E. Heath, M. Thatcher,

July 1972 - 19 bombs exploded in Belfast, killing 9 people and injuring 130;

1974 - IRA terrorists attempted to assassinate Prime Minister Heath;

February 1974 - a British military bus was bombed, 12 soldiers were killed;

November 1975 - the editor of the Guinness Book of Records was killed;

21.7.1976 - the British ambassador was killed in Dublin;

February 1978 - terrorists bomb a restaurant in Belfast, killing 12 people and injuring 30;

30.3.1979 - Shadow Minister for Northern Ireland E. Neave was killed, his car was blown up while leaving the garage of the Palace of Westminster;

August 1979 - assassination of Lord Mountbatten;

February 1980 - army colonel killed;

November 1981 - priest Robert Bradford was killed;

20.7.1982 - terrorists carried out a series of explosions in London (2 soldiers were killed in Hyde Park; 6 military musicians were killed in Ridges Park);

December 1983 - terrorists staged an explosion in front of the Harradas department store in London, killing 5 people and injuring 37;

1984 - explosion at the Grand Hotel (Brighton), at the Conservative Party convention (32 people were injured and 6 were killed;

February 1985 - terrorists shelled the city of Newry with a howitzer (9 people were killed and 37 were wounded);

March 1987 - the officers' club in Germany was blown up (27 Germans and 4 Englishmen were wounded);

1989 - militants killed 54 people in all operations during the year, in 1990 - 44 people;

25.2.1993 - explosion at London Bridge station (29 injured);

9.2.1996 - explosion in Docklens (London), as a result of which 2 people were killed and 100 were injured.

Terrorism and terrorists, historical reference book. 2012

Foundation and origin

The Irish Liberation Army was founded following the merger of the Citizen Army and the Irish Volunteers in 1919. The latter were armed units of Sinn Féin - an organization that was not originally a political party in the full sense of the word, originating from the nationalist party of the same name by Arthur Griffith, as well as the heirs to the organization of the Fenians - Irish petty-bourgeois revolutionary republicans.

After the conclusion of the treaty between the British and Northern governments, the Liberation Army (aka the Irish Republican Army, IRA) split. A significant part of it took the side of the Irish Free State, others turned their arms against their former allies. However, the first turned out to be stronger and continued to develop their business, while those who disobeyed soon went underground.

The anthem of the Irish Liberation Army is the Celtic song Ev Sistr.

War of Independence of the Irish Republic

The Irish Republic was first declared in 1916 after the Easter Rising in Dublin. Then a new leadership was elected, and the IRA, recognized as the national army, was obliged to obey parliament. In practice, managing paramilitary volunteer forces was very difficult.

The Irish Liberation Army (photo below) took part in the War of Independence against Britain. The most intense fighting lasted from the late autumn of 1920 to the mid-summer of 1921. In general, IRA participation can be divided into three stages:

Reorganization of the army. Formally, the IRA numbered about 100 thousand people, but a maximum of 15 thousand took part in the partisan movement. The most famous “Detachment”, operating in Dublin, killed intelligence police officers and carried out raids on barracks.
IRA attacks on fortified barracks and (subsequently) British columns. Escalation of the conflict on the part of Great Britain: the introduction of martial law in certain parts of the country, the deployment of additional police forces and soldiers.
This stage is characterized by an increase in the British contingent, which led to a change in the tactics of the partisans. IRA soldiers attacked patrols, set up ambushes on roads, killed representatives of an objectionable religion, and then retreated to the mountains.

IRA involvement in intercommunal conflict

The Irish Liberation Army moved its center of activity from Dublin to Northern Ireland. In 1969, urban guerrilla tactics began to be actively used - this is a set of methods of waging guerrilla warfare in urban conditions, which found application, in particular, during the conflict in Iraq and the North Caucasus. In addition, the organization split into a number of separate cells, and some of these groups switched to terrorist methods of war.

To resolve the conflict, on August 14, 1969, London sent troops to the rebel region. The escalation occurred after Bloody Sunday, when the British shot at an unarmed demonstration of civil rights activists in Northern Ireland. As a result of the action, 18 people died.

At the end of May 1972, the Irish Liberation Army announced the cessation of active hostilities. But the British government refused to negotiate with the terrorists, so the militants resumed their attacks.

These attacks are not like those typically carried out by ISIS. Representatives of the organization warned of the danger by telephone 90 minutes before the detonation of a car filled with explosives. This both served as a demonstration of the organization's strength and reduced the number of casualties. The main targets of the IRA were British army soldiers, police officers and court staff.

Reconciliation between Great Britain and the Irish Republic

A truce was concluded in 1985. According to an agreement between Great Britain and the Republic of Ireland, the latter received consultant status in resolving all sorts of issues relating to Northern Ireland. As a result of further negotiations, a “Declaration” was signed, which enshrined the principles of non-violence and suggested the possibility of forming a local parliament. Unfortunately, the implementation of the agreements was frozen due to new terrorist attacks.

In the summer of 1994, the IRA again announced a cessation of operations, but after the British proposed disarmament, the organization's leaders abandoned their commitment. In 1998, the leaders of the governments of Great Britain and Northern Ireland signed an agreement to devolve local government and hold a referendum that would determine the status of the region. The negotiations were disrupted after another terrorist attack on September 10, 1998, which killed 29 people.

A new stage of negotiations began in 2005. The 2006 report of the monitoring commission, which constantly monitors the situation in Northern Ireland, noted that the IRA has undergone significant changes. Most of the organization's structures were dissolved, and the number of others was reduced. According to the commission's experts, the Irish Liberation Army is no longer planning terrorist attacks.

Political wing of the IRA

Sinn Féin is the political offshoot of the IRA. The name of the party directly translated from Irish means “We ourselves.” In 1969, the party (due to an internal split in the Irish Liberation Army) split into “provisional” and “official”. This was facilitated by the escalation of violence in the region. The "official" wing of the party leans towards Marxism and is called the "Sinn Fein Labor Party". By the way, some of the most “red” in the world are not only representatives of the party itself, but also fans of the Celtic football team, who have volumes of Marx and banned books on the history of the IRA on their shelves. the Irish Liberation Army and its football club (formally a club in Glasgow, Scotland, but not in spirit) are not connected in any way except the basic ideas.

Schisms within the liberation army

The "Provisional" Irish Liberation Army formed in 1969 as a result of disagreements over how to respond to escalating violence. The "Official" IRA held most of the structures in the cities of Northern Ireland, except Belfast and Londonderry. "Succession" was formed as a result of contradictions in the Irish Liberation Army. The country (Great Britain) faced difficulties, since now it was necessary to negotiate not with one IRA, but with several, and even often entering into armed conflict with each other. In addition, there was also a “real” IRA, which immediately after separating from the “provisional” IRA began terror. Their last attack took place on October 5, 2010.

Weapons supply

The main supplier of weapons and financing to the organization was Libya. Particularly large arms deliveries took place in the 1970s and 1980s. One UK newspaper then even wrote that for a quarter of a century, virtually every bomb assembled by the IRA contained explosives from the shipment unloaded in 1986. In addition to Libya, funding was provided by Irish Americans, mainly by the NORAID organization, which went to the bottom after the terrorist attack on September 11, 2001.

The Soviet Union, the CIA, Cuba, Colombia, Hezbollah, a paramilitary organization from Libya, the Palestine Liberation Organization, and the Kaiteseliit, a volunteer paramilitary force in Estonia, were accused of supplying weapons to militants who carried out terrorist attacks in Northern Ireland.

IRA actions: terrorist attacks and shelling

One of the most famous actions of the IRA was “Bloody Friday”. A series of explosions in Belfast resulted in the death of nine people and injured one hundred and thirty city residents. On the fourth of February 1974, a bomb exploded on a bus carrying British troops. In 1982, members of the IRA detonated bombs during a parade in two parks. The explosions killed twenty-two soldiers and injured more than fifty, but left one civilian uninjured.

In 1983, several explosions were heard near a London supermarket, which were prepared by the same organization. The assassination attempt by IRA soldiers on British Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher took place in 1984. In 1994, members of the organization shelled Heathrow Airport in London with mortars, and in 2000 fired several shots on the eighth floor of the British Secret Intelligence Service building.

Irish Liberation Army in films

Perennials are reflected in popular culture. In 1971, the Italian film “A Fistful of Dynamite” was released on big screens, in 1980 - “The Long Good Friday”, in 1990 - “Behind the Veil of Secrecy”, in 1996 - “The Chronicles of Young Indiana Jones”, where the main character finds himself in the most the thick of events of the Easter uprising. The IRA is also mentioned in computer games, for example, in Far Cry 2 or GTA IV, and in animated series - the first episode of the twentieth season of The Simpsons.

The view that is now popular in some circles that terrorism is a purely Eastern phenomenon and necessarily associated with Islam, or rather, with its incorrect interpretation, is refuted by European experience. A radical organization has been operating in the United Kingdom for many decades, which aims to separate one of its parts from Great Britain. The members of this structure were never shy about their means, terrifying millions of residents of Foggy Albion. The name of this terrorist organization, which has recently slowed down, but is still on everyone’s lips, is the Irish Republican Army (IRA).

From the very beginning, the IRA set itself an ambitious goal: to achieve complete independence of Northern Ireland (Ulster) from the United Kingdom, and most importantly, the reunification of Northern Ireland with the Republic of Ireland. The activities of the IRA were initially underground and associated with violence, notes Alexander Tevdoy-Burmuli, associate professor of the Department of European Integration at MGIMO:

"This is one of the elements of the Northern Irish political radical camp, which is fighting for the separation of Northern Ireland from Great Britain. There are legal elements there, and there are illegal ones, such as the IRA. It was created at the beginning of the 20th century in the context of the armed uprising that began in 1916 in Ireland against Great Britain. Then the so-called "Easter Rising" begins in Dublin, and the IRA arises in 1919 as an armed force of the Irish who fight against British rule. Then the Anglo-Irish agreement was signed, according to which the Republic of Ireland was created, but part of it remained. as part of Great Britain. Accordingly, since the late 20s, the IRA continues to fight against British rule, but not in Ireland as such, but in Northern Ireland."

In the late 1960s, the IRA split into a number of well-covered autonomous cells. And some groups switched to purely terrorist methods of struggle in Ulster and the rest of Great Britain. Director of the Institute of Globalization and Social Movements Boris Kagarlitsky said that the second life of the IRA was associated with the economic crisis in the late 70s of the last century:

“Against the backdrop of the worsening economic situation in Northern Ireland, relations between Catholics and Protestants worsened. As a result, the IRA began to actively recruit supporters among the impoverished, marginal part of the Catholic population. Catholics were losing their jobs faster, and in this sense there was a ready social base for recruiting militants. In As a result, during the 70s we saw almost a war in Northern Ireland: murders, bombings, shootings, clashes between militants and the police, British regular troops were sent there."

But then the situation changed. The intensity of passions has subsided, including due to the concerted actions of the British authorities. London did its best to suppress nationalist sentiments in Northern Ireland. He is doing this now, attracting politicians who previously stood on a radical platform to various government bodies, including central ones. Financial flows are flowing from the British capital to ensure job creation and social stability in the region. In the early 2000s, the leaders of the hardline wing of the IRA received long prison sentences. However, this organization still has several hundred members. Their last attack was launched in 2010. The precedent of Scotland, which managed to achieve a referendum on its being part of the United Kingdom, inspired many supporters of the separate existence of Ulster. And let the Scots say “no” to the supporters of sovereignty. The main thing is that they had the opportunity to speak out. So the slogan “Give Ireland back to the Irish,” voiced in one of Paul McCartney’s songs, has still not lost its relevance.

Ireland is the Emerald Isle, the birthplace of James Joyce, Oscar Wilde, U2, Guinness beer and Jameson whiskey.

In recent years, the culture of alcoholic leisure in Irish pubs, which has gained serious popularity, can be added to the set of traditional associations. The question of holding a parade on Novy Arbat on St. Day. Patrick a few years ago was also not put up out of nowhere.

The general image of Ireland among Russians was formed, confirming the validity of the good tradition of cooperation between Moscow and Dublin. The leading Irish party, Sinn Fein, professes the values of socialism, and during the Cold War era this ideological affinity resulted in close contact between our countries in the field of aviation.

Soviet planes on long-distance transatlantic flights refueled at Irish Shannon Airport and were literally swarming there. Subsequently, the former director of the airport, Irishman Mike Guerin, worked for a long time as the honorary consul of the Russian Federation in the southern provinces of the island. Soviet newspapers from time to time published publications exposing the machinations of the aggressive Orange community against the inhabitants of the Catholic quarters of Belfast.

The Russian and the Irish were brothers, if not forever, then for a fairly long foreseeable period of historical time.

After the disappearance of the USSR from the political map of the world, the relations of its successor with Dublin did not change. Having become less dense in some areas, they intensified in others (for example, the import of alcohol).

In Ireland, after the official disarmament of the IRA in 2005, it became calmer, and we in Russia got the opportunity to recognize this country not only from the “International Panorama” or “Time” programs in connection with the next terrorist attack, but also through the musical tradition of the temperamental and lyrical Celts.

In the playlist of the mentioned Irish pubs, no, no, and a very beautiful melody from “Celtic folklore” will flash through, which turns out to be an irish rebel song.

The guests are having fun with a cheerful and beautiful song, not suspecting that it is not sung at all about Sean’s unrequited love for Molly, and not even about the people’s love for the Sinn Fein party, but about how great it is to lie in ambush with a reliable with an Armalite rifle, and wait for the British occupiers in anticipation of imminent reprisals.

Story

The tradition of this kind of folk war anthem lies in the very history of Ireland. The protectorate of the British crown dominated the violent Celts for almost 800 years and was only overcome in the 20th century. Endless extortions, the outrages of lords from a larger island, the famous potato famine and the reaction of local residents to oppression - this historical ferment formed the basis of a powerful song tradition.

Actually, the plots of songs of the genre are exhausted by this theme - a description of successes in the fight against the enemy, glorification of fallen heroes, the mood to fight and win to the end, despite failures and the apparent difficulty of the task.

With the beginning of the liberation struggle in 1916, recognizable images of real historical figures and events appeared in songs. Next, the focus shifts to a description of events in Northern Ireland: Ulster, Derry, South Armagh, and, of course, the IRA and its militants (or as they called themselves - volunteers).

Over the eventful years, a huge amount of musical material has accumulated, which has now been successfully selected, classified and sold in the format of the collections “The 50 Best Irish Rebel Songs”.

There is no point in listing all the performers of the genre - the list of only more or less significant ones is approaching 60, the most famous songs include about 100 compositions.

Occasionally, rebel songs become the subject of international recognition: in 2002, the song of the iconic Wolfe Tones, a rehash of the nationalist hit A Nation Once Again, was voted song of the year by BBC radio listeners.

Rebel songs are not only sung in Ireland. Many of today's popular genre bands - Saoirse, Éire Óg, Athenrye, Shebeen, Mise Éire and Pádraig Mór - come from Glasgow, Scotland, from the large local Irish diaspora.

There is also such an exotic story as the group Bog Savages from San Francisco, whose frontman is a former IRA prisoner who escaped from Long Cash prison in 1983.

The leader of the most popular English band Oasis, Noel Gallagher, confessed his love for Irish rebel songs. In an interview with one of the music publications of Foggy Albion, he said that despite being born and growing up in Manchester, England, his mother firmly instilled in him the idea of his 100% Irish blood, the call of which he felt, singing “The boys of” from childhood. the old brigade" and other rebel hits.

Explicit lyrics of the genre's songs became the subject of scandals in Great Britain and the Republic of Ireland. Some compositions and performers are prohibited from broadcasting on the radio.

The prepared selection is just a modest and shallow slice of the truly rich tradition of rebel folk art.

1.Tiocfaidh ár lá (“Our day will come”, pronounced “Chaki ar la”).

This statement in Irish (Gaelic) along with another - Erin go bragh (“Ireland forever”), is one of the main slogans of the liberation movement in general and the IRA in particular.

It's more than just a slogan, it's an imported cultural brand - like militant graffiti on firewalls in Belfast or the IRA itself. The saying first appears in writing in James Joyce's A Portrait of the Artist as a Young Man, where the nationalist hero Michael Davin says: “They died for their ideals, Stevie. Believe me, our day will come!”

Later, in the 20th century, one of the symbols of the IRA and leader of the hunger strike at Maze prison, Bobby Sands, repeatedly used the motto Tiocfaidh ár lá in his messages to his comrades in Gaelic. In terms of status, it is on a par with Vive la France, God bless America, Viva Cuba libre and “Glory to Russia!”

There is a good version of this song performed by the Irish Brigade.

Тiocfaidh ár lá, our day will come

It"s been a long 800 years
Of English scorn, of Irish tears
And only freedom, it will suffice
For bein" too long a sacrifice

Our glorious day, for Ireland's fightin' sons
The day will come, we will be free
Tiocfaidh ár lá, the dawn of liberty

And those who hold the power today
A full account you"ll have to pay
To those held down by unjust laws
Because they loved our freedom"s cause

Tiocfaidh ár lá, our day will come
Our glorious day, for Ireland's fightin' sons
The day will come, we will be free
Tiocfaidh ár lá, the dawn of liberty

And those who make the prisons hell
Who holds the key to lock the cells
Your time will come, oh, it's long due
We"ll have our chance to turn the screw

=================================

Translation:

Tiocfaidh ár lá - our day will come!
A glorious day for all the fighting sons of Ireland
Our day will come, we will be free
Tiocfaidh ár lá - the dawn of liberation!

For 800 long years the British mocked
Shedding Irish Tears
And only complete freedom is acceptable to us,
who have been sacrificed for too long

And those who are in power today
will pay in full
those who suffer from unjust laws
for the love of the common cause of freedom!

And those who turn prisons into hell
and in whose hands are the keys to the cameras -
their time will come, it was decided long ago
and we'll get a chance to unlock the bolts

A common song that is in the repertoire of any self-respecting Irish rebel band.

2. Black and Tans

This is the name of special units of the British military, called upon to restore order in Dublin in the 1920s. Veterans of the First World War fought the IRA on the streets of the Irish capital, earning the nickname "Black and Tans" due to the color of their uniforms. Although, if you find fault with the translation, then tan is more tanned, “with tan marks,” than traditional brown.

They were brought in as auxiliary police units - in the event of the official entry of military units into rebellious Dublin, the operation to restore order on British territory would formally turn into a full-fledged war of independence. London understood this nuance and created paramilitary formations from experienced soldiers - the very Black and Tans.

The fighters of these units became famous for their brutality against local residents - the epithet Tans is still a derogatory term for the British in Ireland, and the war of independence of the early 20th century is sometimes called the Tan War. The song was written by Dominic Behan, a famous Irish patriotic poet and writer.

The text has changed many times - verses on the topic of the day were added to the base, modern bands perform it with an insertion about Bloody Sunday 1974 in Londonderry, and Dublin in the first verse is replaced by Belfast.

One of the most common rebel songs, which almost every genre performer has in their repertoire. We listen to the concert version of the same Irish Brigade.

Black and tans

I was born on a Belfast street where the Royal drums did beat,
And the loving English feet walked all over us;
And every single night, when me Da would come home tight,
He"d invite the neighbors outside with this chorus:

Oh, 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 I.R.A. made you run like hell away
From the green and lovely lanes in Killeshandra.

Come, let us hear you tell
How you slandered great Parnell,
When you thought him well and truly persecuted,
Where are the sneers and jeers
That you bravely let us hear,
When our heroes of sixteen were executed.

Come, tell us how you slew
Them ol" Arabs two by two;
Like the Zulus, they had spears and bows and arrows;
How you bravely faced each one,
With your sixteen pounder gun,
And you frightened them poor natives to their marrow.

Oh, come out ye English Huns;
Come out and fight without yer guns;
Show yer wife how you won medals up in Derry.
Ye murdered free young men,
And you"ll do the same again,
So get out and take yer bloody army with ye

The day is coming fast
And the time is here at last,
When each shoneen will be cast aside before us;
And, if there is a need,
Sure my kids will sing "Godspeed!"
With a bar or two of Stephen Behan's chorus.

==================================
Translation:

I was born on the streets of Belfast, to the beat of loyalist drums,
Where loving Englishmen wiped their feet on us
And every evening when my father came home drunk,
he invited neighbors outside with this chorus

Come out, Black-Browns,
Come out and fight me like men
Show your wives why you received medals in Flanders (World War I - Ed.)
Tell them how the IRA drove you to hell
From the green fields of Killeshandra (the region of Ulster, now part of the Republic of Ireland - Ed.).

Tell us how you slandered the great Parnell (Charles Stewart Parnell, Ireland's leading political figure of the late 19th century, against whom London carried out two PR campaigns in the media, one of which ended his career - Ed.)

And they thought that he was really guilty and got justice,
And where are your smiles and mockery now, which accompanied the execution of our heroes in 16 (the beginning of the struggle for Irish independence from London, the Easter Rising)

Tell us how you shot Arabs two by two (Iraqi uprising of 1920),
and the Zulus, with their spears, bows and arrows (Anglo-Zulu War)
How bravely did you fight them with 16 pound guns?
And how the poor aborigines were completely intimidated

Come out, English savages, and fight without your guns
Show your wives why you got medals for Derry (Londonderry, site of the death of 14 Catholic protesters at the hands of British constables - Bloody Sunday 1974 - Ed.)
You killed free young people and you will do it again
So get your damn army out of the British borders

Time goes fast
And finally it has come - every sing-along (Protestant Loyalist - ed.) will soon answer to us
And if necessary, my children will sing to them “Go away with God!”
And the quatrains of Stephen Beaham (the father of the song's author - ed.).

3. "My Little Armalite"

A song about the American Armalite automatic rifle. American weapons were among the popular ways to replenish the arsenals of IRA fighters.

It was supplied to the Emerald Isle from the States itself, where it was purchased with donations from members of the huge Irish diaspora in the United States. Another popular supply channel was the low-key focus on the late Libyan Colonel Muammar Gaddafi's conflict. The USSR, the Palestinian Authority, Hezbollah, and even the Estonian paramilitary organization Kaiteseliit (already in the post-Soviet period) were under suspicion.

The Armalite AR-15 is the world famous M16 and was the IRA's most popular weapon during the Ulster conflict, along with the AR-18.
The song was written in the early 1970s, at the height of the import of weapons into the country by the leadership of the Provisional IRA - this was the official name of the group after the split in 1969 in those years. It was the Provisional IRA militants who carried out most of the fighting in the region on the part of the Republicans; they were called “provo” for short. The "Provisional" in the name signifies allegiance to the Provisional Parliament of the Irish Republic during the War of Liberation in 1919.
The structure of the song is simple - the hero receives a beating from an RUC employee (Royal Ulster Constabulary, that is, “dirty Britons and their henchmen”), obtains an AR-15 and takes convincing revenge.
Each verse identifies as the ambush site a landmark town in the history of the conflict - Falls Road, Belfast, Bogside, New Lodge, Ballaghy, Narrow Water and Crossmaglen in South Armagh. This county is a stronghold of republicanism and nationalism in Northern Ireland, its most restless region with a huge number of British military bases per square kilometer.

My Little Armalite is the latest from the Irish Brigade, a worthy band in every sense

And it"s down along the Falls Road that"s where I long to be

I wish I was somewhere in Falls Road.
Lying in the dark with a group of IRAs (Provo is a member of the Provisional IRA, remember!)
One comrade on the right, another comrade on the left
And a clip of cartridges for my little Armalite!

I was stopped by a soldier he said "you are a swine"
He hit me with his rifle and he kicked me in the groin
I begged and I plead oh my manners were polite
but all the time I"m thinking of me little Armalite!

A soldier stopped me and told me, “You’re a pig!”
Hit with a rifle, hit right in the groin
I asked to “take it easy”, I apologized - I respected my manners,
And all the time I thought about my little Armalite!

And it"s down in the Bogside that"s where I long to be
Lying in the dark with the Provo company
A comrade on me left and another one on me right
And a clip of ammunition for me little Armalite!

Well this brave RUC man came marching up our street
600 British soldiers he had lined up at his feet,
Come out ya cowardly Fenians come on out and fight
he cried I"m only joking, when he heard the Armalite!

And then this brave RUC man marched through our streets
Lined up 600 British soldiers:
“Come out, cowardly Fenians (Fenia is a territorial community of Republicans - ed.), we will fight!”
And he cried out “I was joking” as soon as he heard my little Armalite!

And it’s down in Bellaghy that"s where i long to be
lying in the dark with the provo company
a comrade on me left and another one on me right
and a clip of ammunition for me little Armalite!

Well the army came to visit me "twas in the early hours
With saracens and saladins and ferret armored cars,
They thought they had me cornered but I gave them all a fright
With the armourpiercing bullets of me little Armalite!

So, the soldiers came to visit me, early in the morning
In "Saracens", "Saladin" (British infantry fighting vehicles for street fighting - editor's note) and police armored vehicles
They thought they had me cornered, but I scared them
Armor-piercing ammo from my little Armalite!

And it"s down in The New Lodge that"s where I long to be
Lying in the dark with the Provo company
A comrade on me left and another one on me right
And a clip of ammunition for me little Armalite!

Well when the premier came to Belfast says he the battles won
The generals they have told him we"ve got them on the run,
But corporals and privates while on patrol at night
They remember Narrow Water and the bloody Armalite!

When the Prime Minister arrived in Belfast, he announced that the war was over
The generals told him: “We drove them away!”
But corporals and privates on night patrols
Remember Narrow Water and the damned Armalite! (at Narrow Water the IRA carried out one of the most successful ambushes against the British military in the history of the conflict).

And it"s down in Crossmaglen that"s where I long to be
Lying in the dark with the Provo company
A comrade on me left and another one on me right
And a clip of ammunition for me little Armalite!

4. Go On Home British Soldiers

Now we come to the most poignant songs from the rebel repertoire - "Go Home British Soldiers" will be the first of them. Written during the period of those same The Troubles (the name of the Northern Irish conflict of the second half of the 20th century in the British tradition, in Russian historiography it is simply called “The Conflict in Northern Ireland”), which from the 1970s to the late 1990s supplied news to front pages of the British and world press.

Go on home British soldiers go on home,
Have you got no fucking homes of your own?
For eight hundred years we"ve fought you without fear
And we will fight you for eight hundred more.

Go home British soldiers, get lost
Don't you fucking have your own home?
For 800 years we fought with you without fear
And we will fight for another 800 years

If you stay British soldiers, if you stay
You"ll never ever beat the IRA
The fourteen men in Derry are the last that you will bury
So take a tip and leave us while you may.

And if you, British soldiers, stay here
You will never defeat the IRA
14 Derry men were the last people you buried
So listen up and get out while you can

No! We"re not British, we"re not Saxon, we"re not English
We"re Irish! and proud we are to be!
So fuck your Union Jack we want our country back
We want to see old Ireland free once more.

We are not British, not Saxons and not English
We are Irish and proud to be!
So fuck your Union Jack - we want our country back
We want to see old Ireland free again!

We fight with British soldiers for a cause
We will never bow to them because
We are historically born to be free
So go away you British bastards and leave us alone!

Performed by the band Éire Óg – those same Scottish Irish. The band's style is a kind of march, almost all songs are in the same rhythm, which allows you to move on to the next one without stopping the previous one. It turns out to be long 10-minute sets of 3-4 things. The rhythm is chosen in such a way that it is very convenient to chant “The I, the I, the I.R.A!”

Éire Óg is a good opportunity to talk about rebel artists such as football fans. The Irish Championship is a rather weak championship; even a fairly advanced football fan cannot name the leading club of the Emerald Isle offhand.

In Ireland and the rest of the Celtic world, Scottish Celtic is supported. From the name it is clear what target audience the club is aimed at - the Catholic Irish diaspora of Glasgow and the rest of Scotland, Wales and the whole of Ireland - this is the true number of fans of this club. The tradition of celebrating the heroes and exploits of the IRA at football matches through rebel songs is alive to this day.

The second main club in Scotland, Glasgow Rangers, is also based in Glasgow, for which the Protestant, Unionist community of the city supports. The degree of hatred during head-to-head confrontations between teams is off the charts.

By a strange coincidence, on YouTube, after the Celtic owners announced that they would do their best to combat the glorification of terrorists at the team’s matches, videos with a selection of rebel songs performed by fans in the stands (a grandiose spectacle, it must be said) disappear with cosmic speed. You can find either completely harmless things, or footage from the Rangers stands under the headline “Scotland’s shame glorifies terrorism.”

Apparently such a massive public demonstration that not everyone in this world considers the IRA to be an absolute evil in the Conflict and is going to forget history does not suit someone very much. About two years ago there were a lot of similar videos, now we can only find something like this http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IRgErZEAjMo Which, of course, does not mean that they stopped singing IRA songs in the stands.

5. SAM Song

SAM is an acronym for Surface-to-Air Missile.

The British Army in Northern Ireland, unable to cope with the ambush and sniper tactics of the IRA, switched to air patrols in the 1970s, particularly in South Armagh.

Realizing that the elimination of at least one helicopter would be an excellent PR move and a tangible blow to the morale of the British, the IRA leadership decides to purchase anti-aircraft systems - SAM.

The first purchase in 1982 in the USA fell through - the FBI intervened. However, then the “green alliance” of the Libyan Jamahiriya and the IRA led to the appearance of about seven Soviet SA 7 (“Strela-2”) complexes, a portable heat-seeking air defense system, among the provo.

It is noteworthy that in the entire history of the Conflict, the IRA has never successfully used purchases. Some said that Gaddafi planted a defect, others said that the fighters did not have the qualifications to deal with complex weapons.

If the second explanation is simply naive, then the first is refuted by the discovery in 2004 of at least two complexes in absolutely working condition among Basque ETA militants. Both were purchased from the IRA.

Be that as it may, the news about the purchase and the opening prospects inspired the writing of one of the best songs of the era. Here it is, performed by Éire Óg:

Well I have been a Provo now for fifteen years or more
Of armalites and mortar bombs I thought I knew the score
Now we have a weapon we"ve never used before
The Brits are looking worried, and they"re going to worry more

SAM missiles in the sky...

Well I started out with petrol bombs and throwing bricks and stones
There were a hundred more lads like me I was never alone
Soon I learned that bricks and stones won't drive the Brits away
It wasn"t very long before (who did I join?) I joined the IRA
Tiocfaidh ár lá, sing up the "RA (Ooh, ah, up the "RA! Ooh ah up the "RA!)

SAM missiles in the sky...

Then there came interment in the year of "71
The Brits thought we were beaten that we were on the run
On that early August morning they kicked in our back door
But for every man they took away (how many did they miss?) they missed a hundred more
Tiocfaidh ár lá, sing up the "RA (Ooh, ah, up the "RA! Ooh ah up the "RA!)

SAM missiles in the sky...

I spent eight years in the cages had time to think and plan
Although they locked away a boy I walked out a man
There's only one thing that I learned while in a cell I lay
The Brits will never leave us (until when?) until they"re blown away
Tiocfaidh ár lá, sing up the "RA (Ooh, ah, up the "RA! Ooh ah up the "RA!)

SAM missiles in the sky...

All through the days of hunger strike I watched my comrades die
And in the streets of Belfast you could hear the women cry
I can't forget the massacre that Friday at Loughgall
I salute my fallen comrades as, I watch the choppers fall
Tiocfaidh ár lá, sing up the "RA (Ooh, ah, up the "RA! Ooh ah up the "RA!)

SAM missiles in the sky...

We find an excellent poetic translation on the Bartfart blog at
http://bartfart.livejournal.com/22916.html.

Yes, I was a terrorist for almost fifteen years.
He gave the enemy an answer with a rifle and a grenade.
Now we have rockets, we didn’t have them before.
The British are worried
they will be hot.
Tiocfaidh ár lá! Remember the IRA!
Rockets to the skies!
Once upon a time I also walked along a peaceful path,
I wanted to bring freedom to Ireland,
But very soon I realized that it was time for us to fight.
I took up arms -
I joined the IRA.
Tiocfaidh ár lá! Remember the IRA!
Rockets to the skies!
Irish patriots were left to rot in camps.
But we did not retreat, because we know no fear.
English soldiers broke into our houses,
Fighters and civilians,
Prison awaited us all.
Tiocfaidh ár lá! Remember the IRA!
Rockets to the skies!
But the years behind bars were not in vain for us.
Having gone to prison as a boy, I came out as a man.
Now I know for sure, now I'm convinced:
The British will not give up.
They need to be kicked out.
Tiocfaidh ár lá! Remember the IRA!
Rockets to the skies!
I remember the faces of my friends who fell in battle,
I remember the grief of women and the tears of their children.
But freedom is dear to our people,
Irish rockets
They will find the enemy everywhere.
Tiocfaidh ár lá! Remember the IRA!
Rockets to the skies!
Some details are missing (dates, significant events), but overall the translation is so good that you simply don’t want to go into it with an encyclopedia.

6. Roll of Honor

One of the brightest pages of the conflict and one of its greatest tragedies is the hunger strike of imprisoned IRA fighters in Maze prison.

The prisoners, led by Bobby Sands, put forward five demands: the right not to wear a prison uniform; the right not to do prison work; the right to freedom of communication with other prisoners, as well as to organize educational and recreational activities; the right to one visit, one letter and one parcel every week; full right to pardon. That is, they completely refused to recognize themselves as ordinary criminals after they were deprived of their special status as political prisoners - Special Category Status.

The then British Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher in this situation fully demonstrated her character as an iron lady, and, despite the crazy PR and pressure (“they will die of hunger”), she stubbornly repeated “No!” in response to all admonitions and reproaches.

During the hunger strike, Sands managed to be elected to the British Parliament from the county of South Tyrone in Northern Ireland.

On May 5, 1981, after 66 days of hunger strike, he died, soon followed by 9 more people. Full list - Bobby Sands, Francis Hughes, Ray McCreesh, Patsy O'Hara, Joe McDonnell, Martin Harson, Kevin Lynch, Kieran Doherty, Thomas McElwee, Michael Devine.

By the way, not all of them were IRA militants - O’Hara and Lynch were members of the Irish National Liberation Army (INLA), an organization extremely close to the IRA.

Actually, these 10 names are the very “List of Honor” that the song is about. In Irish tradition these people are known as hunger-strikers.
Of these, Bobby Sands became a true Republican icon. Films were made about him, streets in different cities of the world bear his name. This episode deserves a long and detailed book, but for now we'll give it a nice song from The Players Brigade.

Read the roll of honor for Ireland's bravest men
We must be united in memory of the ten
England you"re a monster, don"t think that you have won
We will never be defeated while Ireland has such sons

Read the list of Ireland's bravest people
We must unite in memory of those ten
England - you're a monster, don't think you've won
We will never lose as long as Ireland has sons like these

In those dreary H-Block cages ten brave young Irishmen lay
Hungering for justice while their young lives are ebbed away
For their rights as Irish soldiers and to free their native land
They stood beside their leader the gallant Bobby Sands

In the dreaded H-blocks (an H-shaped prison block - a typical form factor for such buildings), ten brave young Irishmen perished
Starving for justice while their young lives faded away
For the rights of Irish soldiers and the freedom of their native country
They stood to the death with their leader, the gallant Bobby Sands.

Now they mourn Hughes in Bellaghy, Ray McCreish in Armagh's hill
In those narrow streets of Derry they miss O"Hara still,
They so proudly gave their young lives to break Britannia's hold
Their names shall be remembered as history unfolds

And now Hughes is mourned in Ballaghy, Ray McCreesh on the hills of Armagh
And in the narrow streets of Derry they yearn for O'Hare
They proudly gave their lives to loosen Britain's grip
And their names will be remembered as long as history is written

Through the war torn streets of Ulster the black flags did sadly wave
To salute ten Irish martyrs, the bravest of the brave
Joe McDonnell, Martin Hurson, Kevin Lynch, Kieran Doherty
They gave their lives for freedom with Thomas McElwee

On the war-torn streets of Ulster, black flags flutter sadly
Hailing the ten Irish martyrs, the bravest of the brave
Joe McDonnell, Martin Harson, Kevin Lynch, Kieran Dougherty
Gave their lives for freedom with Thomas McElwee

Michael Devine from Derry you were the last to die
With your nine brave companions, with the martyred dead you lie
Your souls cry out "Remember, our deaths are not in vain
Fight on and make our homeland a nation once again"

Michael Devine from Derry, you were the last one to die
With nine brave comrades, dead martyrs, you lay in the same grave
Your souls scream "Remember, our deaths were not in vain
Fight on and make our homeland one nation again!”

And they really are remembered. And how. Still undeleted video of Roll of Honor from Celtic fans

7. The Boys of the Old Brigade

"The Boys of the Old Brigade", a song written by Paddy McGuigan about the Revolutionary War period for the anniversary of the Easter Rising in 1916. Continuing the theme of football, Celtic and various prohibitions, it is impossible not to mention it.

In 2006, Celtic chairman Peter Lawwell said he was embarrassed by the "offensive" pro-Provisional IRA songs played in the stands at the club's home matches, even though they were political rather than overtly religious. (that is, they do not emphasize the confrontation along the “Catholics-Protestants” vector, which is relevant for modern history).

In 2007, the club's chairman Brian Quinn said the song "has no place at Celtic Park".

An investigation launched by UEFA in 2008 ended “for lack of evidence.” What’s strange is that before the cleanup of video hosting services, there were plenty of videos of the song being performed.
The topic was returned to in April 2011, when Glasgow police chief Andy Bates told Celtic fans before the Celtic-Rangers match: “If you sing The Boys Of The Old Brigade, we will arrest you and you will get a real sentence for the song.” .
However, there were no arrests, and already in May 2011, BBC commentator Rob McLean live accused the fans of inciting religious intolerance for performing a pension at a Scottish championship match, and later the court recognized that public expression of sympathy for the IRA through a song is not an insult to religious the feelings of other, non-Catholic religious communities in Scotland.
Let's see what was prohibited here. The song is cheerful, perky, bright.

Oh, father why are you so sad
On this bright Easter morning
When Irish men are proud and glad
Of the land that they were born?
Oh, son, I see in few memories
Of far off distant days
When being just a lad like you
I joined the IRA.

Father why are you so sad
This bright Easter morning,
When the Irish are proud and happy for the country
In which they were born
Oh son I see some distant days in my memories
When, being a guy like you, I joined the IRA

Where are the lads that stood with me
When history was made?
A Ghra Mo Chroi, I long to see
The boys of the old brigade.

And where are all the guys who stood next to me?
When was history made?
The love of my heart I want to see
Guys from the old brigade

From hills and farms a call to arms
Was heard by one and all.
And from the glen came brave young men
To answer Ireland call.
`T wasn't long ago we faced a foe,
The old brigade and me,
And by my side they fought and died
That Ireland might be free.

From the hills and farms - a call to the gun
Was heard by everyone at once
and from the valleys came brave young men
Answer Ireland's call
Not long ago we fought with the enemy,
The old gang and me
And next to me they fought and died
So that Ireland can be free

And now, my boy, I’ve told you why
On Easter morning I sigh,
For I recall my comrades all
And dark old days gone by
I think of men who fought in glen
With rifle and grenade.
May heaven keep the men who sleep
From the ranks of the old brigade.

And now, my boy, I told you
Why am I sighing on this Easter morning?
I remember all my comrades
And the old dark days pass before my eyes
I think about the people who fought in the valleys
With rifles and grenades
May heaven protect all those who sleep there
From the ranks of the old brigade

It's an amazingly radical thing - after the ban I want to sing it even more.

Boys from the Old Brigade song before the Celtic - Manchester City match

Conclusion

Let us emphasize once again that this material is not exhaustive. Irish music is a whole universe, its rebel direction is at least a galaxy, which is impossible to classify in one note.

Let us note that, despite the pronounced political overtones, IRA songs have never lost their main characteristic - musicality: on the contrary, the musical aspect in them has been developed to the level of quite strong independent songs, with which it is not a shame to perform at an evening of Irish folklore in any world capital .

This only enhanced the propaganda effect: IRA songs are not only propaganda material, they can also be listened to as examples of Irish music.

Perhaps this combination provided the Irish Republicans with an additional trump card in the liberation struggle - throughout the world, Ireland is associated with the green clover leaf, the IRA and the pub frenzy that are characteristic of the Catholic community of the island. And very few people know what the UVF (Ulster Volunteer Force, a Protestant militant organization in Northern Ireland created in opposition to the IRA) is, who Lenny Murphy is, what colors they use and what their meaning is.

And victory in the information war, and even in the confrontation between images, is expensive - you will hardly find a store selling things with UVF symbols, but with IRA symbols you will be offered to buy anything. Explanation? UVF things are needed only by the UVF members themselves; IRA is an international cultural and political brand, in the formation of which a living musical tradition dating back hundreds of years played a major role.

To find out more about it, you can study the list of musicians working in the genre - http://www.martindardis.com/irish_lyrics_chords_a_e.html, with lyrics and chords, you can clarify it, but for now video services do not delete the original songs from their servers, you can even watch some live performances, although some particularly patriotic videos with fragments of archival footage of the IRA still disappear without a trace.