The emergence of "Zombie" by The Cranberries as an Irish sporting anthem

Nobody is singing Zombie to talk about health or housing or education.

Some of them are singing Zombie because they like the song, others are singing the song because we should never forget that bombing children in Warrington is wrong. That you have a problem with that says more about you than it does about anyone singing the song. Does that make sense to you? Or do you want to remain offended by people singing a song about children being bombed being wrong?

The people complaining about the song are the ones stoking the fires of the past.

You can vote for whoever you like, that is your business. However, that won't stop people reminding you of the blood and suffering on their hands. If you struggle to cope with that, not my problem. It seems to me that the only reason you don't like reminders of what the PIRA did is that it makes you less comfortable voting for Sinn Fein. Close your ears, you don't want to hear it. Shout down the reminders. I feel sorry for you.

You can still vote for SF on the basis of their housing, health and education policies ( as you say you will) but do not forget SF are not only not honest (from G.A. "I was not in the IRA" down) but many in it are not the sharpest tools in the box and know little about building things, whatever about destroying things. One thing to set off most of the 16,200 bombs during the troubles ( which killed and maimed, that is what bombs do ). Another thing to manage a country and economy successfully.

Take the Murders of the very elderly Mountbatten for example. He was the only royal who was pro-united Ireland and yet they kill him. Not very bright, was that? And the person pressing the button to detonate the bomb on the boat saw there was a very elderly lady and innocent children also on the small boat. Yet they pressed the button. And you want people like that, who defend that, running the country? People who only got 1 or 2% of the vote during the troubles here south of the border. You are very misguided.

I think Zombie is great, it reminds people that the murder of children is wrong and was never done in our name. It is a very anti-violence, anti war song.

Something like Uh Ah Up the RA was a very pro-war song, so a huge difference.

I agree, but I do think the same principle applies to the Celtic Symphony. I think we have to learn to overlook some stuff, not take it as seriously — and in fact be glad that these songs are sung in different contexts today.

And for the record, I'll happily apply that to Unionists too. Maybe it's just a function of where I grew up. I worked in a shop in the local town alongside lads who were Orangemen and bandsmen — and I considered them friends. I presumed that when out with their loyal brethren mates there would be all sorts of songs sung about people like me. But you could always more or less tell who were the guys who actually really meant it and who were the guys just going along with it. Same for me — I've sung all the rebel songs in my time, and I still will, and yet still can comfortably say that I don't believe the IRA campaign was justified even if I understand the grievances that existed and will never accept pontification about good and evil from people who do so from positions of comfort.

That's the complexity of the North that I think people outside of it might never understand. But overlooking, understanding, not taking it too seriously that history (both good and bad) creates cultural legacies — these are all key ingredients as to why the peace has lasted. Most people don't take these songs seriously, they don't mean the words literally or meaningfully, so just learn to overlook it.

There you go with one of those leaps of logic again.

I brought up use of the n-word to show that the meaning of our words, actions, songs change depending on context.

It seems to you, me singing 'Happy Birthday' to my dear old nan, is the same as when Marilyn Monroe sang it to JFK.

But I guess you'll dismiss that as unreasonable too?

I think the controversy is a bit daft, but as a history teacher and historian, I think it provides a nice gateway into looking at a group of people that actually rarely get any airtime for their point of view. The people who supported the armed stuggle of the IRA, I actually didnt support it but we have to remember that the active volunteers who actually planted bombs, made bombs, were behind the logistics, those who planned different attacks or fundraised in USA etc then you have the families of these people, these men / women were usually 19-40 age group that were the main ASU members so in 2023 they are relatively young people, especially those in thier early 20s from 1986-1996, these people are now only 50s age group.

We need to understand thier viewpoints if we are to ever find what makes Northern Ireland tick and IRA stronghold areas in particular like South Armagh and East Tyrone. I think its really important that we know there are still people who actively supported and continue to do so. Maybe we need to think about these families who actually lost sons and daughters to them being volunteers in the Long War in the same way that we think of those volunteers who lost their lives from 1916 to 1923. What is the difference.

As a historian, I am sure that you will understand that differences in historical context lead to different conclusions about similar events and incidents separated by decades?

Bad comparison. A much more accurate one was they were the good guys the same way the Old IRA and the Easter rising participants were compared with the British armed forces in the 1920's.

Yes, his comments about stoking the fire did refer to Celtic Symphony, and it is clearly a song that stokes the fires of the past.

However, Zombie is different. It speaks for victims. As he says

""I don’t often listen to music to be honest. I’m more of a news fan, rather than a music fan but I certainly wouldn’t switch it off. I didn’t know the song was allegedly written in the wake of the Warrington bombing. I only found that out until Dolores died.

"We would’ve applauded her for it. We would’ve loved to have met her to talk about it, but it never happened."

Essentially, what you are trying to do is shout down anything that looks bad for Sinn Fein, simple as that.

All from the CAIN website. Are you disputing that the British side murdered over 1,000 innocent people?

The uvf started their bombing campaign in 1966, before the PIRA even existed. They and other loyalists continued a murder and bombing campaign. They were aided by the British armed forces, specifically in the Dublin and Monaghan bombings.

This is all basic information on the war, have you read any books or anything on it to try to inform yourself?

Not at all. I'm happy to discuss sf politics. I'd just like to keep it separate from enjoying a match.

As for his comments, it's not clear at all which song he's referring to, but I think it's quite fair to assume from the interviews he's concerned about either being used to 'stoke the fires of the past'.