''H Block'' is an album recorded by various

Irish folk Irish traditional music (also known as Irish trad, Irish folk music, and other variants) is a genre of folk music that developed in Ireland. In ''A History of Irish Music'' (1905), W. H. Grattan Flood wrote that, in Gaelic Ireland, there we ...

artists, and produced by

Christy Moore Christopher Andrew "Christy" Moore (born 7 May 1945) is an Irish folk singer, songwriter and guitarist. In addition to his significant success as an individual, he is one of the founding members of Planxty and Moving Hearts. His first album, ...

in 1978. The album's title refers to the "H blocks" at

Maze Prison Her Majesty's Prison Maze (previously Long Kesh Detention Centre, and known colloquially as The Maze or H-Blocks) was a prison in Northern Ireland that was used to house alleged paramilitary prisoners during the Troubles from August 1971 to ...

(also known as "Long Kesh") in

Northern Ireland Northern Ireland ( ga, Tuaisceart Éireann ; sco, label=Ulster Scots dialect, Ulster-Scots, Norlin Airlann) is a part of the United Kingdom, situated in the north-east of the island of Ireland, that is #Descriptions, variously described as ...

, where

Irish republican Irish republicanism ( ga, poblachtánachas Éireannach) is the political movement for the unity and independence of Ireland under a republic. Irish republicans view British rule in any part of Ireland as inherently illegitimate. The developm ...

prisoners were held during

the Troubles The Troubles ( ga, Na Trioblóidí) were an ethno-nationalist conflict in Northern Ireland that lasted about 30 years from the late 1960s to 1998. Also known internationally as the Northern Ireland conflict, it is sometimes described as an "i ...

. The subject matter of several of these songs (particularly Moore's "90 Miles From Dublin") specifically centers on the period of the

blanket A blanket is a swath of soft cloth large enough either to cover or to enfold most of the user's body and thick enough to keep the body warm by trapping radiant body heat that otherwise would be lost through convection. Etymology The term ...

and

dirty protest The dirty protest (also called the no wash protest) was part of a five-year protest during the Troubles by Provisional Irish Republican Army (IRA) and Irish National Liberation Army (INLA) prisoners held in the Maze Prison (also known as "Long ...

s at Maze and at

Armagh Women's Prison Armagh Prison in Armagh, Northern Ireland, is a former prison. The construction of the prison began in the 1780 and it was extended in the style of Pentonville Prison in the 1840 and 1850s. For most of its working life Armagh Gaol was the prim ...

. The launch of the album was raided by the

Special Detective Unit , headquarters = Harcourt Street, Dublin (D2) , formed = as the Criminal Investigation Department (CID) , preceding1 = Garda Special Branch , preceding2 = , jurisdiction = Ireland , employees = Undisclosed~ 300 , budget = Undisclose ...

("Special Branch") of the

Republic of Ireland Ireland ( ga, Éire ), also known as the Republic of Ireland (), is a country in north-western Europe consisting of 26 of the 32 counties of the island of Ireland. The capital and largest city is Dublin, on the eastern side of the island. ...

.BBC Radio 4 - Desert Island Discs, Christy Moore
/ref>

Track listing

# "Rights of Man" (Traditional) -

Matt Molloy Matt Molloy (born 12 January 1947) is an Irish musician, from a region known for producing talented flautists. As a child, he began playing the flute and won the All-Ireland Flute Championship at nineteen. Considered one of the most brilliant ...

# "Guest of the Queen" (Brian Ua Baoill) - Stephen Ray # "On The Blanket" ( Mick Hanly) - Mick Hanly # "H. Block Song" (

Francie Brolly Francis Brolly (13 January 1938 – 6 February 2020) was an Irish musician, teacher and Irish republican politician from Dungiven, Northern Ireland. Brolly was a Sinn Féin Member of the Northern Ireland Assembly (MLA) for East Londonderry fro ...

) - Francie Brolly # "Repeal the Union" (Traditional) - Matt Molloy # "Bright Star" - Stephen Ray # "Patrick's Arrival" # "Taimse I Mo Chodladh" (Traditional) - Dan Dowd # "90 Miles from Dublin" (

) - Christy Moore # "A Retort" - Stephen Ray # "Lucy Campbell/Patsy Tuohy" (Traditional) - Noel Hill and Tony Linnane

Personnel

* Christy Moore – vocals, guitar,

bouzouki The bouzouki (, also ; el, μπουζούκι ; alt. pl. ''bouzoukia'', from Greek ), also spelled buzuki or buzuci, is a musical instrument popular in Greece. It is a member of the long-necked lute family, with a round body with a flat top and ...

bodhrán The bodhrán (, ; plural ''bodhráin'' or ''bodhráns'') is a frame drum used in Irish music ranging from in diameter, with most drums measuring . The sides of the drum are deep. A goatskin head is tacked to one side (synthetic heads or oth ...

* Declan Sinnott - guitar *

Dónal Lunny Dónal Lunny (born 10 March 1947) is an Irish folk musician and producer. He plays left-handed guitar and bouzouki, as well as keyboards and bodhrán. As a founding member of popular bands Planxty, The Bothy Band, Moving Hearts, Coolfin, Mozai ...

- bouzouki, guitar *Dan O'Dowd - uilleann pipes on "Taimse I Mo Chodladh" *Noel Hill - concertina on "Lucy Campbell/Patsy Tuohy" *Tony Linnane - fiddle on "Lucy Campbell/Patsy Tuohy" *Matt Molloy - flute on "Rights of Man" and "Repeal the Union"

References

External links

Christy Moore's description from his official websiteAlbum information
{{DEFAULTSORT:H Block Christy Moore albums 1978 albums Political music albums