‘The well below the valley’ ; Taken from the collections of well renowned traveller and folk singer ‘Johnny O’Reilly’ from Roscommon. This song addresses the contentious issues surrounding incest and it is featured in a film I did by Peter Mullan last year . The film is called The Magdalene Sisters and it deals with the many cases of mental, physical and sexual abuse that were perpetrated by and covered up by members within the institutions of the Catholic Church. I took part in the making of the film and I hope to see it when it’s released in February (So I’m told!). I organised and played in the band at the start of the film, I was initially offered to play the part of a priest, but somehow couldn’t see myself don the white collar!

‘Bigots scaring children’ ; After witnessing the appalling pictures shown on television of little girls screaming and grasping to their parents while pipes bombs exploded alongside bottles and balloons filled with urine landing around them. I thought making a record of this in song would accompany the suffering those children will endure on a daily basis for a long time to come. The so called ‘Protest’ may well be called off for now, but the memories will live on for years to come, unless we tackle sectarianism from every direction.

‘I don’t know’ ; Written by my brother Gary with music written by myself. This song addresses the many wrong doings by man to his fellow man and Mother Earth. Covering environmental issues, equality and ‘New World Order’.

‘The Rose of Armagh’ ; Written by myself about the life and death of Rosemary Nelson. Need I say more..?

This is not just an Album with words and music, it is an archive from which I hope many will find answers to the many questions within it and our past. I’ve always believed that we must learn from our past, if we choose not to we will continue only to suffer the consequences of the past. We only need to look at places like Nanking, Terezin, and Veitnam, to see history repeat itself in Cambodia, Palestine and Iraq.

Just like the hunger strikes of 1981 Belfast was only 90 miles from Dublin, with the world rapidly developing each day it becomes smaller, Turkey really isn’t far when you consider the fact that they could gain entry to the European union, and like the song says ‘For as long as the Fascists are in control there, they’ll come closer to you and to me’.
Dedicated to Caoimhe.

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