''H Block'' is an album recorded by various
Irish folk artists, and produced by
Christy Moore in 1978.
The album's title refers to the "H blocks" at
Maze Prison (also known as "Long Kesh") in
Northern Ireland
Northern Ireland ( ; ) is a Countries of the United Kingdom, part of the United Kingdom in the north-east of the island of Ireland. It has been #Descriptions, variously described as a country, province or region. Northern Ireland shares Repub ...
, where
Irish republican prisoners were held during
the Troubles
The Troubles () were an ethno-nationalist conflict in Northern Ireland that lasted for about 30 years from the late 1960s to 1998. Also known internationally as the Northern Ireland conflict, it began in the late 1960s and is usually deemed t ...
. 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 textile, 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 Thermal conduction, condu ...
and
dirty protests at Maze and at
Armagh Women's Prison. The launch of the album was raided by the
Special Detective Unit ("Special Branch") of the
Republic of Ireland
Ireland ( ), also known as the Republic of Ireland (), is a country in Northwestern Europe, north-western Europe consisting of 26 of the 32 Counties of Ireland, counties of the island of Ireland, with a population of about 5.4 million. ...
.
BBC Radio 4 - Desert Island Discs, Christy Moore
/ref>
Track listing
# "Rights of Man" (Traditional) - Matt Molloy
# "Guest of the Queen" (Brian Ua Baoill) - Stephen Ray
# "On The Blanket" ( Mick Hanly) - Mick Hanly
# "H. Block Song" ( Francie Brolly) - 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) - Christy Moore
# "A Retort" - Stephen Ray
# "Lucy Campbell/Patsy Tuohy" (Traditional) - Noel Hill and Tony Linnane
Personnel
* Christy Moore – vocals, guitar, bouzouki, bodhrán
The bodhrán (, ; plural ''bodhráin'') 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 (material), goatskin head is tacked to one side (synthetic heads or ot ...
* Declan Sinnott - guitar
* Dónal Lunny - 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