Larry Kirwan
Larry Kirwan (born 1954, Wexford) is an expatriate Irish writer and musician, most noted as the lead singer for the rock band, Black 47, and conceiver/co-writer of Paradise Square, the Broadway Musical for which he received a Tony Award nomina ...
and recorded by Irish-American
folk rock
Folk rock is a hybrid music genre that combines the elements of folk and rock music, which arose in the United States, Canada, and the United Kingdom in the mid-1960s. In the U.S., folk rock emerged from the folk music revival. Performers suc ...
band
Black 47
Black 47 was an American Celtic rock band from New York City, formed in 1989 by Larry Kirwan and Chris Byrne, and derives its name from a traditional term for the summer of 1847, the worst year of the Great Famine in Ireland.
History
Beginn ...
. It was the first track on their 1994 album '' Home of the Brave''. The song details the political career of Irish politician and soldier
Michael Collins Michael Collins or Mike Collins most commonly refers to:
* Michael Collins (Irish leader) (1890–1922), Irish revolutionary leader, soldier, and politician
* Michael Collins (astronaut) (1930–2021), American astronaut, member of Apollo 11 and Ge ...
, nicknamed "The Big Fellah." The song begins in the
GPO GPO may refer to:
Government and politics
* General Post Office, Dublin
* General Post Office, in Britain
* Social Security Government Pension Offset, a provision reducing benefits
* Government Pharmaceutical Organization, a Thai state enterpris ...
and ends with Collins' death at
Béal na Bláth
Béal na Bláth or Béal na Blá (anglicised Bealnablath or Bealnabla)"Béal na Blá/Bealnablath" . It is written from the viewpoint of an Irish republican soldier against the
Anglo-Irish Treaty
The 1921 Anglo-Irish Treaty ( ga , An Conradh Angla-Éireannach), commonly known in Ireland as The Treaty and officially the Articles of Agreement for a Treaty Between Great Britain and Ireland, was an agreement between the government of the ...
.
The lyrics begin with a stanza in Irish, sung by Mary Martello.
The song was featured at the beginning of the episode " Lochan Mor" of ''
Sons of Anarchy
''Sons of Anarchy'' is an American action crime drama television series created by Kurt Sutter for FX. Originally aired from September 3, 2008 to December 9, 2014, ''Sons of Anarchy'' follows the lives of a close-knit outlaw motorcycle club ope ...
''.
See also
*
Easter Rising
The Easter Rising ( ga, Éirí Amach na Cásca), also known as the Easter Rebellion, was an armed insurrection in Ireland during Easter Week in April 1916. The Rising was launched by Irish republicans against British rule in Ireland with the a ...
*
Irish War of Independence
The Irish War of Independence () or Anglo-Irish War was a guerrilla war fought in Ireland from 1919 to 1921 between the Irish Republican Army (IRA, the army of the Irish Republic) and British forces: the British Army, along with the quasi-mil ...