113-507: Christopher Andrew " Christy " Moore (born 7 May 1945) is an Irish folk singer, songwriter and guitarist. In addition to his significant success as a solo artist, he is one of the founding members of the bands Planxty and Moving Hearts . His first album, Paddy on the Road was recorded with Dominic Behan in 1969. In 2007, he was named as Ireland's greatest living musician in RTÉ 's People of
226-756: A British Army ceremonial parade at Hyde Park , and a British Army band performance in Regent's Park in London. In 1984, in the Brighton hotel bombing , the IRA tried to assassinate British Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher and her cabinet. She survived, but five people including Sir Anthony Berry , a Conservative Party Member of Parliament , Eric Taylor, the northwest party chairman, and three wives (Muriel Maclean, Jeanne Shattock, and Roberta Wakeham) of party officials were killed. Margaret Tebbit, wife of Norman Tebbit ,
339-737: A campaign of sectarian assassination. Historian Henry Patterson said about Fermanagh "that the killings struck at the Protestant community's morale, sense of security and belonging in the area was undeniable." while Democratic Unionist Party leader Ian Paisley claimed that the IRA campaign in Fermanagh was "genocidal". Rachel Kowalsaki argues that the IRA did not generally engage in sectarian activities but instead targeted those they deemed responsible for British rule in Northern Ireland and that they generally only targeted members of
452-473: A ceasefire based on a compromise settlement within Northern Ireland. The Provisional IRA agreed to a temporary ceasefire from 26 June to 9 July. In July 1972, Provisional leaders Seán Mac Stíofáin, Dáithí Ó Conaill , Ivor Bell , Seamus Twomey , Gerry Adams and Martin McGuinness met a British delegation led by William Whitelaw . The IRA leaders refused to consider a peace settlement that did not include
565-578: A commitment to British withdrawal to be completed by 1975, a retreat of the British Army to barracks and a release of republican prisoners. The British refused and the talks ended. On Bloody Friday in July 1972 in Belfast 22 bombs exploded, killing nine people and injuring 130. Bloody Friday was intended to be a demonstration of IRA strength following the ceasefire, but was a disaster for the IRA due to
678-1038: A different, more political, song set, formed Moving Hearts . Lunny also kept busy producing albums by other artists. The original four-piece line-up played their last show together on 24 August 1982, at the National Stadium in Dublin. Nevertheless, the band (with Whelan and Casey still on board) recorded one final album at Windmill Lane Studios for the WEA label in late October and early November 1982, Words & Music , which also featured contributions from fiddler James Kelly and Moving Hearts bass guitarist Eoghan O’Neill. The divided attention of two bands proved too much and in early 1983, Lunny and Moore left to concentrate on Moving Hearts. Irvine, O’Flynn, and Whelan decided to continue as Planxty, retaining fiddler James Kelly and recruiting Arty McGlynn of County Tyrone on guitar, plus Galway ’s Dolores Keane on vocals and
791-495: A distinct community and thus would perceive the IRA's activities as sectarian. Timothy Shanahan argues that while the IRA did launch attacks against legitimate targets (defined as members of the security services), many members of the security services, such as the RUC and UDR, would themselves be Protestant, and would be presumed to be Protestant by the IRA. Thus any attacks on these legitimate targets would suffice in killing members of
904-451: A five-hour gun battle with the loyalists, in what became known as the Battle of St Matthew's . One of his men was killed, he was badly wounded, and three loyalists were also killed. The Provisional IRA gained much of its support from these activities, as they were widely perceived among nationalists as being defenders of nationalist and Irish Catholic people against aggression. Initially,
1017-648: A formal end to its campaign and had its weaponry decommissioned under international supervision. Other aspects of the Provisional IRA's campaign are covered in the following articles: In the early days of the Troubles (1969–72), the Provisional IRA was poorly armed, with only a handful of old weapons left over from the IRA's Border campaign of 1956–1962 . The IRA had split in December 1969 into
1130-619: A former member of the British Parachute Regiment , to carry out a series of bombings in 1973. A bomb planted by McMullen exploded at a barracks in Yorkshire , injuring a female canteen worker. On 23 September 1973, a British soldier died of wounds six days after being injured while attempting to defuse an IRA bomb outside an office block in Birmingham. Some of the most indiscriminate bombing attacks and killings of
1243-520: A four-piece throughout this period, with Moore occasionally playing keyboards. Since then there has been no further activity; Moore has said he would not participate in another reunion, but gave his blessing to the others for the future use of the Planxty name. Leagues O'Toole documented the history and development of the group in the biography The Humours of Planxty , which was published by Hodder Headline in 2006. Friday, 20 January 2012 ushered in
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#17327916855351356-431: A foursome in the privacy of Moore's house at least once—rumours of putative reunions circulated for over two decades. In late 2002, broadcaster and journalist Leagues O'Toole was working as presenter and researcher for the RTÉ television show No Disco and persuaded the programme editor, Rory Cobbe, to develop a one-off documentary about Planxty. O'Toole interviewed Moore, Irvine, and O'Flynn but Lunny, who
1469-475: A full orchestra and rhythm section, also recorded "Timedance" in 1981 as part of the Eurovision Song Contest ; "Timedance" was the genesis for what Whelan later developed into Riverdance . The six-piece Planxty continued to tour but began to drift apart. O’Flynn took on a project with Shaun Davey , The Brendan Voyage . Moore & Lunny, eager to experiment with a rhythm section and
1582-504: A member of The Bothy Band with Lunny and was also a close friend of O'Flynn's. Beginning rehearsals at Molloy's home on Tuesday, 19 September 1978, the line-up went on a mammoth European tour the following year, from 15 April to 11 June 1979, during which the band played forty-seven concerts in fifty-eight days, in the UK, Germany, Switzerland, Belgium, France and Ireland. From 18 to 30 June 1979, Planxty recorded their fourth album, After
1695-592: A member of The Bothy Band . Johnny Moynihan , who had played with Irvine in Sweeney's Men , joined at this point, playing mandolin, bouzouki, fiddle, tin whistle and singing. This line-up, with contributions from Lunny, would record Planxty's third album, Cold Blow and the Rainy Night in Sarm Studios , Whitechapel in London during August 1974. Next to leave, shortly after the making of this album,
1808-590: A number of Protestant civilians and loyalists in the process. On 27 June 1970, the IRA killed five Protestant civilians during street disturbances in Belfast. Three more were shot in Ardoyne in north Belfast after gun battles broke out during an Orange Order parade. When loyalists retaliated by attacking the nationalist enclave of Short Strand in east Belfast, Billy McKee , the Provisionals' commander in Belfast, occupied St Matthew's Church and defended it in
1921-433: A number of retired policemen and UDR soldiers. These tactics produced casualties for both sides and for many civilian bystanders. The British Army study of the conflict later described this period (1970–72), as the 'insurgency phase' of the IRA's campaign. Another element of their campaign was the bombing of commercial targets such as shops and businesses. The most effective tactic the IRA developed for its bombing campaign
2034-468: A one-off concert there in front of 200 people on 11 October 2003. Moore, on stage, credited the No Disco documentary with inspiring the reunion. Pleased with the results and the experience of playing together again, the original Planxty quartet agreed to the longed-for reunion (dubbed "The Third Coming" ) and performed together again, on and off, for a period of just over a year. First, they played
2147-455: A plethora of traditional instruments. Irvine would later dub this line-up "Planxty-Too-Far", as the personnel and musical focus, now more dominated by Whelan, was far removed from the original Planxty. A tour of Ireland in spring of 1983, including the National Stadium in Dublin on 27 April, was the end of the group. In the words of Andy Irvine: I left on a long tour and travelled to
2260-716: A security problem". In addition, RUC Chief Constable Kenneth Newman took advantage of Emergency Powers legislation to subject suspected IRA members to "intensive and frequently rough" seven-day interrogations. British concentration on intelligence-gathering and recruiting of informers, accelerated during the 1975 ceasefire and continued under Mason, meant that arrests of IRA members rose steeply in this period. Between 1976 and 1979, 3,000 people were charged with "terrorist offences". There were 800 republican prisoners in Long Kesh alone by 1980. In 1972, there were over 12,000 shooting and bombing attacks in Northern Ireland; by 1977, this
2373-597: A series of concerts at the Glór Theatre in Ennis , County Clare (on 23 & 24 January 2004) and at Vicar Street in Dublin (on 30 & 31 January and on 4 & 5, 11 & 12 February 2004), which were recorded and from which selected material was released on the CD Live 2004 and its associated DVD. In late 2004 and early 2005, another round of concerts took place at the following venues: Planxty remained
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#17327916855352486-508: A series of live gigs. In December 2011, Moore released the album Folk Tale . His next album Where I Come From was released in November 2013 and features a new protest song called "Arthur's Day". The album peaked at number three in the Irish album charts. On the road was released in November 2017, Magic Nights was released in November 2019, and his most recent album A Terrible Beauty ,
2599-458: A solo album ( Welcome Here Kind Stranger ) including Irvine, Tommy Peoples and Lunny who also produced it. The original four members of Planxty, however, continued to encounter each other socially, on the stage, and in the studio. It eventually led to a reunion encouraged by music promoter Kevin Flynn, who would become their manager. They were joined this time by Matt Molloy , who had been
2712-439: A subsequent live album. Paul Brady performed on the latter, making it a Planxty reunion of sorts. LAPD performed only occasionally, to rave reviews, but never recorded before their final performance, which took place at Sligo Live, on Saturday 26 October 2013. When O'Flynn resigned from LAPD, Irvine, Lunny and Glackin were joined by Michael McGoldrick and John Doyle to form a new group named Usher's Island (a reference to
2825-604: A truce was brokered between the two factions. In the early 1970s, the IRA imported large quantities of modern weapons and explosives, primarily from supporters in the Republic of Ireland and Irish diaspora communities within the Anglosphere as well as the government of Libya . Leader of the Opposition Harold Wilson in 1971 secretly met with IRA leaders with the help of John O'Connell , angering
2938-479: A young Cork fiddler, Nollaig Casey . Shows around this time would feature the four-piece band for the first set, with Whelan and Casey joining in for the second set. This line-up played a week of shows at the Olympia Theatre in Dublin on 18–23 August 1980, taped for a potential live album, which eventually emerged in 1987 as the unlicensed release The Best of Planxty Live . The line-up, augmented by
3051-436: A £50,000 reward for information leading to the arrest of the bombers, was shot dead at his home. The group later made an assassination attempt on Edward Heath . They were eventually arrested after a machine-gun attack on an exclusive restaurant on Mayfair . Pursued by police, they took two hostages (a married couple) and barricaded themselves for six days in a flat on Balcombe Street before they surrendered, an incident known as
3164-538: Is Luka Bloom , is also a singer-songwriter. His nephew, Conor Byrne, is also a traditional flautist and tin whistle player, with Christy appearing on his Wind Dancer album. In October 2004, Moore was stopped and detained by Special Branch officers at the Welsh port of Holyhead, taken into an office and questioned about the lyrics of his songs. The following day, he released a statement saying: "My driver and I were stopped and held for two hours at Holyhead last Monday, under
3277-489: Is that it is derived from the Latin planctus , a medieval lament composed in honour of a deceased person or a tragic event. Regardless of its origin, the moniker, which replaced the provisional "CLAD" (Christy – Liam – Andy – Dónal), turned out to be a good fit, as O'Carolan's music would play an important part in the band's repertoire. (see " Influences ", below). A formative influence on Planxty, and in particular on Moore,
3390-462: The 1969 Northern Ireland riots . The Provisionals gained credibility from their efforts to physically defend such areas in 1970 and 1971. From 1971 to 1972, the IRA took to the offensive and conducted a relatively high-intensity campaign against the British and Northern Ireland security forces and the infrastructure of the state. The British Army characterised this period as the "insurgency phase" of
3503-605: The Balcombe Street Siege . They were sentenced to thirty years each for a total of six murders. At their trial, the group admitted responsibility for the Guildford pub bombings of 5 October 1974, which killed five people (four of whom were off-duty soldiers) and injured 54, as well as the bombing of a pub in Woolwich , which killed another two people and injured 28. On 21 November 1974, two pubs were bombed in
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3616-735: The Birmingham pub bombings (an act widely attributed to the IRA, but not claimed by them), which killed 21 civilians and injured 162. An inadequate warning was given for one bomb and no warning for the other. There were no military targets associated with either of the pubs. The Guildford Four and Maguire Seven , and the Birmingham Six , were imprisoned for the Guildford and Birmingham bombings, respectively, but each group protested their innocence. They were eventually exonerated and released after serving lengthy prison sentences, even though
3729-713: The British Army , deployed into Northern Ireland in August 1969 to reinforce the Royal Ulster Constabulary (RUC) and restore government control, was welcomed in Catholic nationalist areas as a neutral force compared to the Protestant- and unionist -dominated RUC and Ulster Special Constabulary . However, this good relationship with nationalists did not last long. The Army was soon discredited in
3842-462: The Dublin quay ). "Planxty" was a word used by people who named works by harper Turlough O'Carolan after his death, and is believed to denote a tribute to a particular person: "Planxty Irwin," for example, would be in honour of Colonel John Irwin of Sligo . "Planxty" is thought to be a corruption of the Irish word and popular toast " sláinte ", meaning "good health." Another possible explanation
3955-707: The Glastonbury Festival in 2005, he sang about the Palestinian solidarity activist Rachel Corrie , whom he also dedicated his album of the same year to, Burning Times . He supported the anti-nuclear movement in Ireland playing in many concerts and at festivals in Carnsore Point for the cause. "They Never Came Home" is a song about the Stardust fire of 1981 where 48 people died. The song
4068-470: The Kingsmill massacre . In similar incidents, the IRA deliberately killed 91 Protestant civilians in 1974–76. The IRA did not officially claim the killings, but justified them in a statement on 17 January 1976, "The Irish Republican Army has never initiated sectarian killings ... [but] if loyalist elements responsible for over 300 sectarian assassinations in the past four years stop such killing now, then
4181-529: The Prevention of Terrorism Act 2002 . My driver and I were held separately in two interrogation rooms. I found the whole experience threatening. I was questioned about the contents of my briefcase." Despite initial reports to the contrary, the singer's van, which was full of musical equipment, was not searched. "I was questioned about lyrics of songs and I was asked a lot of personal questions about members of my family and my children and about my home. At no time
4294-645: The Provisional Irish Republican Army (IRA) conducted an armed paramilitary campaign primarily in Northern Ireland and England, aimed at ending British rule in Northern Ireland in order to create a united Ireland . The Provisional IRA emerged from a split in the Irish Republican Army in 1969, partly as a result of that organisation's perceived failure to defend Catholic neighbourhoods from attack in
4407-476: The Secretary of State for Northern Ireland , were characterised by a falling death rate for many reasons, including a drop in loyalist violence (attributed to the absence of political initiatives under Mason), and a change in IRA tactics after its weakening during the previous year's ceasefire. Mason developed a policy that rejected a political or military solution in favour of treating paramilitary violence "as
4520-458: The University of Ulster , concludes that while the IRA's campaign was unavoidably sectarian, it did not amount to ethnic cleansing. Although the IRA did not specifically target these people because of their religious affiliation, more Protestants joined the security forces so many people from that community believed the attacks were sectarian. IRA volunteer Tommy McKearney argues that due to
4633-402: The imagined community of the Irish nation and were simply deluded into thinking themselves British by colonial oppression – meant that the organisation had an ideological restraint against mass sectarianism. However, the authors note that this same belief could also blind them to the actual effects of their campaign, as they did not acknowledge that Northern Irish Unionists regarded themselves as
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4746-470: The 'Long War', with the eventual aim of weakening the British government's resolve to remain in Ireland. The British Army called this the "terrorist phase" of the IRA's campaign. The IRA made attempts in the 1980s to escalate the conflict with the aid of weapons donated by Libya . In the 1990s they also resumed a campaign of bombing economic targets in London and other cities in England. On 31 August 1994,
4859-714: The B-side of their very first single), played by O'Flynn on the pipes. Much of this music first came to the attention of the band through the work of seminal Irish composer Seán Ó Riada and his group Ceoltóirí Chualann . Provisional Irish Republican Army campaign 1969%E2%80%9397 [REDACTED] Provisional Irish Republican Army (IRA) Supported by: Other loyalist paramilitary groups 1980s 1990s see also: The Troubles in Ireland See also: The Troubles in Britain and Europe From 1969 until 1997,
4972-543: The Balcombe Street group had admitted responsibility long before. After the campaign of the mid-1970s, the IRA did not undertake a major bombing campaign again in England until the late 1980s and early 1990s. However, throughout the intervening period, they did carry out a number of high-profile bombing attacks in England. In October 1981 the IRA carried out the Chelsea Barracks bombing , the nail bomb
5085-609: The Balkans two days later and was in contact with Bill by phone once or twice. We had agreed to do more gigs in the autumn. I didn't get back till the middle of June and I found, to my surprise, that the band hadn't exactly split up, it had just fallen asunder. An unfortunate ending to the second coming... —Leagues O'Toole, The Humours of Planxty . Although Moore, Irvine, Lunny, and O'Flynn continued to meet from time to time and perform occasionally in various combinations during professional engagements—and even play together as
5198-589: The Belfast Brigade, who hijacked four cars in Belfast, fitted them with explosives and drove them to London via Dublin and Liverpool . The team were reported to the London Metropolitan Police and all but one of them were arrested. Nevertheless, two of the bombs exploded, killing one man and injuring 180 people. Thereafter, control over IRA bombings in England was given to Brian Keenan from Belfast. Keenan directed Peter McMullen,
5311-704: The Blanket" about the protests of republican prisoners, "Viva la Quinta Brigada" , about the Irishmen who fought in the Spanish Civil War against Franco , and "Minds Locked Shut" about Bloody Sunday in Derry. Moore has endorsed a long list of leftist causes, ranging from El Salvador to Mary Robinson in the 1990 presidential election. He has incorporated songs about Salvador Allende ('Allende') and Ronald Reagan ('Ronnie Reagon') into his repertoire. At
5424-870: The Break , at the Windmill Lane Studios in Dublin; it was produced by Lunny and released on the Tara Records label. Molloy left the group to join The Chieftains shortly after the album was recorded; he remains with them to this day. In between the Planxty activity, Irvine squeezed in tours in Europe with Lunny, Mick Hanly and Gerry O'Beirne. He also recorded his first solo album, Rainy Sundays... Windy Dreams , at Windmill Lane Studios in late 1979, produced by Lunny and released on Tara Records in 1980. On 28 February 1980, Planxty headlined
5537-519: The British administration and government of the country, striking simultaneously at its economic structure. While most of the IRA's attacks on commercial targets were not intended to cause casualties, on many occasions they killed civilians. Examples include the bombing of the Abercorn restaurant in Belfast in March 1972, in which two young Catholic women were killed and 130 people injured, attributed to
5650-525: The British government far more than the violence in Northern Ireland. The IRA made a point of only striking at targets in England (not Scotland or Wales), although they once planted a small bomb on an oil terminal in the Shetland Isles in May 1981 on the same day that Queen Elizabeth II was attending a nearby function to mark the opening of the terminal. The bomb detonated, damaging a boiler but no one
5763-406: The British government's Ulsterisation policy increasing the role of the locally recruited RUC and UDR, the IRA had no choice but to target them because of their local knowledge, but acknowledges that Protestants viewed this as a sectarian attack on their community. Gerry Adams , in a 1988 interview, claimed it was, "vastly preferable" to target the regular British Army as it "removes the worst of
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#17327916855355876-582: The IRA became involved, in the middle of the decade, in a "tit for tat" cycle of sectarian killings with loyalist paramilitaries. The worst examples of this occurred in 1975 and 1976. In September 1975, for example, IRA members machine-gunned an Orange Hall in Newtownhamilton , killing five Protestants. On 5 January 1976, in Armagh, IRA members operating under the proxy name South Armagh Republican Action Force shot dead ten Protestant building workers in
5989-530: The IRA called a unilateral ceasefire with the aim of having their associated political party, Sinn Féin , admitted into the Northern Ireland peace process . The organisation ended its ceasefire in February 1996 but declared another in July 1997. The IRA accepted the terms of the Good Friday Agreement in 1998 as a negotiated end to the Northern Ireland conflict. In 2005 the organisation declared
6102-711: The IRA campaign as a move from "insurgency" to a "terrorist phase". The highest military death toll from an IRA attack came on 27 August 1979, with the Warrenpoint ambush in County Down , when 18 British soldiers from the Parachute Regiment were killed by two culvert bombs placed by the South Armagh Brigade , a unit that didn't feel the need to adopt the cell structure because of its history of successfully avoiding intelligence failures. On
6215-418: The IRA's bombing campaign were carried out by a unit of eight IRA members, which included the Balcombe Street Gang , who were sent to London in early 1974. They avoided contact with the Irish community there in order to remain inconspicuous and aimed to carry out one attack a week. In addition to bombings, they carried out several assassination attempts. Ross McWhirter , a right wing politician who had offered
6328-413: The IRA's campaign. The IRA declared a brief ceasefire in 1972 and a more protracted one in 1975, when there was an internal debate over the feasibility of future operations. The armed group reorganised itself in the late 1970s into a smaller, cell-based structure , which was designed to be harder to penetrate. The IRA then carried out a smaller scale but more sustained campaign, which they characterised as
6441-512: The IRA, leading to infiltration by British informers, the arrest of many activists and a breakdown in IRA discipline, which in turn led to tit-for-tat killings with loyalist groups fearful of a British sell-out and a feud with fellow republicans in the Official IRA. By early 1976, the IRA leadership, short of money, weapons and members, was on the brink of calling off the campaign. Instead, the ceasefire broke down in January 1976. The years 1976 to 1979 under Roy Mason , Merlyn Rees ' replacement as
6554-533: The IRA, which never acknowledged responsibility, as well as the bombing of the La Mon restaurant in County Down in February 1978, which resulted in the deaths of twelve Protestant civilian customers, and others maimed and injured. In rural areas such as South Armagh (which is a majority Catholic area near the Irish border ), the IRA unit's most effective weapon was the "culvert bomb", where bombs were planted under drains in country roads. This proved so dangerous for British Army patrols that virtually all troops in
6667-413: The IRA. In 1992, in Teebane, near Cookstown, an IRA bomb killed eight Protestant building workers who were working on a British Army base at Omagh. The Provisional IRA was chiefly active in Northern Ireland, but from the early 1970s, it also took its bombing campaign to England. At a meeting of the Provisional IRA Army Council in June 1972, Seán Mac Stíofáin proposed bombing targets in England to "take
6780-411: The Irish government; Garret FitzGerald wrote 30 years later that "the strength of the feelings of our democratic leaders ... was not, however, publicly ventilated at the time" because Wilson was a former and possible future British prime minister. As the conflict escalated in the early 1970s, the numbers recruited by the IRA mushroomed, in response to the nationalist community's anger at events such as
6893-556: The Maze Prison in 1983 . On 11 June 1986 they were sentenced for conspiring to cause explosions and received life sentences , Magee was also convicted of the Brighton hotel bombing and received a life sentence with a minimum recommended sentence of 35 years. On several more occasions, the Provisional IRA attacked British troops stationed in England, the most lethal of which was the Deal barracks bombing , in which 11 Royal Marines Band Service bandsmen were killed in 1989. Republicans argued that these bombings "concentrated minds" in
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#17327916855357006-476: The Protestant community, negating any need for sectarian attacks on Protestant civilians. Shanahan thus argues that while the IRA may not have been sectarian as some loyalist paramilitaries, it may not have been as anti-sectarian as popularly claimed. Similar arguments were made by Steve Bruce, who also argued that Catholic RUC members were disproportionately targeted, which Bruce argues is because they were viewed as betraying their community, which only makes sense in
7119-443: The Provisional IRA and Official IRA factions. In the first two years of the conflict, the Provisionals' main activities were defending Irish nationalist areas from attacks by loyalist paramilitaries. In contrast to the IRA's relative inaction during the 1969 Northern Ireland riots , in the summer of 1970, the Provisional IRA mounted determined armed defences of the nationalist areas of Belfast against loyalist attackers, killing
7232-410: The Provisionals continued targeting British soldiers. The first soldier to die was gunner Robert Curtis , killed by Billy Reid in a gun battle in February 1971. 1970 and 1971 also saw feuding between the Provisional and Official IRAs in Belfast, as both organisations vied for supremacy in nationalist areas. Charlie Hughes, commander of the Provisionals' D Company in the Lower Falls, was killed before
7345-495: The Sense of Ireland concert at the Royal Albert Hall in London. When they returned to Ireland, they recorded two programmes for RTÉ at the Pavilion Theatre in Dún Laoghaire , then started rehearsals at Kilkea Castle in Castledermot , County Kildare with two musicians from County Clare : concertina player Noel Hill and fiddler Tony Linnane. The six-member lineup of Moore, Irvine, Lunny, O’Flynn, Hill, and Linnane were joined by Molloy and keyboardist Bill Whelan , to record
7458-433: The Valley , recorded at the Escape Studios in Kent , from 18 June 1973. The group's increasing popularity led to heavy touring throughout Ireland, Britain, France, Germany, Italy, Spain and northern Europe. Tired of constant touring and wishing to explore other musical avenues, Lunny left Planxty at the start of September 1973, playing his last gig with the band at the Edinburgh Festival . He would eventually end up
7571-399: The Year Awards . Moore was born in Newbridge, County Kildare , Ireland and attended Newbridge College . His mother Nancy Moore was a Fine Gael election candidate. He was originally a bank employee who wanted to express himself using traditional music. During a bank strike in 1966, which lasted twelve weeks, he went to England, as many striking officials did, but didn't return when the strike
7684-461: The agony from Ireland" and "diffuses the sectarian aspects of the conflict because loyalists do not see it as an attack on their community". Towards the end of the Troubles, the IRA widened their campaign even further, to include the killing of people who worked in a civilian capacity with the RUC and British Army. These workers were mostly, but not exclusively, Protestant, although Catholic judges, magistrates, and contractors were also assassinated by
7797-448: The area had to be transported by helicopter, a policy which continued until 2007, when the last British Army base was closed in South Armagh. The Provisional IRA declared two ceasefires in the 1970s, temporarily suspending its armed operations. In 1972, the IRA leadership believed that Britain was on the verge of leaving Northern Ireland. The British government held secret talks with the Provisional IRA leadership in 1972 to try to secure
7910-403: The audience nor the band knew what to expect, and both were pleasantly surprised. Irvine, unable to see the audience through the glare of the stage lights, was worried that the crowd might be on the verge of rioting. It took him several minutes to realize that what he was hearing was the expression of their enthusiasm. A rough quality recording of the song " Raggle Taggle Gypsy " from this concert
8023-422: The authorities being unable to deal with so many simultaneous bomb alerts in a small area. By the mid-1970s, it was clear that the hopes of the Provisional IRA leadership for a quick military victory were receding. Secret meetings between IRA leaders Ruairí Ó Brádaigh and Billy McKee with British Secretary of State for Northern Ireland Merlyn Rees secured an IRA ceasefire from February 1975 until January of
8136-415: The band Moving Hearts with Lunny and five other musicians in 1980. In 1987 he appeared on Gay Byrne 's The Late Late Show performing with The Dubliners for their 25th anniversary. In 2000, he published his autobiography, One Voice . Moore's earlier lifestyle resulted in a decline in health and several operations. Moore's battle with alcohol, and subsequent heart operations, have taken their toll. At
8249-405: The band's fifth album, The Woman I Loved So Well , at Windmill Lane Studios for two sessions: 23–29 April and 16–19 May. The album was wrapped up with a reception at Windmill Lane Studios on 9 June 1980. The band began touring as a four-piece during the summer of 1980, playing a tour of Italian castles in July and returning to The Boys of Ballisodare Festival on 9 August, joined by Whelan and
8362-598: The break-up, Moynihan retreated into obscurity, continuing to perform occasionally, but rarely recording. Irvine and Brady toured together as a duo and, in August 1976 recorded an album at the Rockfield Studios , Andy Irvine/Paul Brady , produced by Lunny who also plays on most tracks, and with Kevin Burke on fiddle. For a while, Irvine continued to tour with Brady in Ireland and in the UK, and also with Mick Hanly, predominantly in Europe. In 1978, Brady released
8475-408: The early years of the conflict, it became less common for the IRA to use large numbers of men in its armed actions. Instead, smaller but more specialised groups carried out sustained attritional attacks. In response to the 1975 ceasefire and the arrest of many IRA volunteers in its aftermath, the IRA re-organised their structures in 1977 into small cell-based units. While these were harder to infiltrate,
8588-545: The end of the 1990s, Moore reduced his workload for medical reasons. Some of Moore's songs are heavily influenced by drink and the effects of drink, his song "Delirium Tremens" being a good example. Listening to Johnny Mulhern's song "Hard Cases" caused Moore to recall the Galway drinking scene with local musicians Mickey Finn , Pete Galligan, Corky and Terry Smith. On 17 April 2009, Moore released his first new studio album in four years, entitled Listen , and promoted it through
8701-546: The eyes of many nationalists by incidents such as the Falls Curfew of July 1970, when 3,000 British troops imposed martial law conditions on the nationalist lower Falls area of west Belfast. After a gun and grenade attack on troops by Provisional IRA members, the British fired over 1,500 rounds of ammunition in gun battles with both the Official IRA and Provisional IRA in the area, killing six civilians. Thereafter,
8814-527: The following Saturday, 22 January 1972, and played their first show on 6 March 1972, a 30-minute set at The Mugs Gig on a bill that included balladeer Paddy Reilly . They then assumed a weekly residency at The Mugs Gig, began rehearsing, and started playing live around Ireland . The group's first major performance–opening for Donovan at the Hangar in Galway , at Easter 1972–was a huge success. Neither
8927-411: The greater secrecy also caused a distance to develop between the IRA and sympathetic civilians. They also embarked on a strategy known as the "Long War" – a process of attrition based on the indefinite continuation of an armed campaign until the British government grew tired of the political, military and financial costs involved in staying in Northern Ireland. The British Army characterised this change in
9040-467: The heat off Belfast and Derry". However, the Army Council did not consent to a bombing campaign in England until early 1973, after talks with the British government the previous year had broken down. They believed that such bombing would help create a demand among the British public for their government to withdraw from Northern Ireland. The first IRA team sent to England included eleven members of
9153-522: The inaugural gig at Dublin's Vicar Street , of a quartet including three members of the original Planxty. They called themselves 'LAPD', after the initials of their first names: Liam O'Flynn, Andy Irvine, Paddy Glackin , and Dónal Lunny. They played a set combining tunes and songs from the repertoires of: In June of 2012, at a pair of concerts to mark Andy Irvine's 70th birthday , LAPD performed two songs that had been Planxty standards, "The West Coast of Clare" and "The Blacksmith", which were included on
9266-499: The introduction of internment without trial and Bloody Sunday , when the 1st Battalion, Parachute Regiment of the British Army shot dead 14 unarmed civil rights marchers in Derry . The early 1970s were the most intense period of the Provisional IRA campaign. About half the total of 650 British soldiers to die in the conflict were killed in the years 1971–73. In 1972 alone, the IRA killed 100 British soldiers and wounded 500 more. In
9379-405: The late 1980s, when the loyalist groups began killing Catholics again in large numbers. After the British introduced their policy of " Ulsterisation " from the mid-1970s, IRA victims came increasingly from the ranks of the RUC and Ulster Defence Regiment , including off-duty and retired personnel. Most of these were Protestant and unionist, thus the killings were portrayed and perceived by many as
9492-532: The military and police and made efforts to avoid civilian deaths. However, Kowalsaki notes that the IRA did not recognise that while they may have thought of themselves as fighting for a united Ireland, their actions were often perceived by the Northern Irish Unionists as sectarian attacks against Protestants. A similar argument was made by Lewis et al., who argue that the IRA's ideology – which held that Irish Protestants and Unionists were part of
9605-479: The nature of a sectarian conflict. James Dingley argues that the IRA's focus on the idea of a united and independent Ireland made it de facto sectarian, as it did not recognise Ulster Unionists as a legitimate group and wanted to use violence to pursue goals that were opposed by the majority of the Northern Irish population. Protestants in the rural border areas of counties Fermanagh and Tyrone , where
9718-467: The next year. The republicans believed initially that this was the start of a long-term process of British withdrawal. However, after several months, many in the IRA came to believe that the British were trying to bring the Provisional movement into peaceful politics without giving them any guarantees. Critics of the IRA leadership, most notably Gerry Adams, felt that the ceasefire was disastrous for
9831-590: The north of England from Dublin in 1967, they assisted Moore to get a higher profile by giving him contacts and support slots on their concerts. 1973 brought his first major release, Prosperous , which brought together the four musicians who shortly thereafter formed Planxty : Liam O'Flynn , Andy Irvine and Dónal Lunny . For a time they called themselves "CLAD", an acronym of their names, but soon decided on Planxty . After leaving Planxty in 1975, Moore continued on his solo career, reforming his old band on occasion (which he has been doing ever since). He also formed
9944-449: The number of members of the security forces killed was high, viewed the IRA's campaign as ethnic cleansing . These views have been challenged. Boyle and Hadden argue that the allegations do not stand up to serious scrutiny, while nationalists object to the term on the grounds that it is not used by unionists to describe similar killings or expulsions of Catholics in areas where they form a minority. Henry Patterson, professor of politics at
10057-649: The other three guys. Definitely the time is right. Let's go for it". On Tuesday, 7 October 2003, O'Toole received a postcard from Moore reading: "There might be something of interest happening on Saturday. I'll be in touch". It turned out that Paddy Doherty, owner of the Royal Spa Hotel in Lisdoonvarna (and co-founder of the Lisdoonvarna Festival), had arranged for the band's use of the hotel's old dining room for rehearsals, which led to
10170-500: The panic bar which gave the impression of it being locked to those inside, another exit was partially blocked by a portable stage, and one exit had been locked but was unlocked by a bouncer after the fire alarm went off who then wedged the door open with a doormat. This doormat became dislodged and the doors closed over and had to be forced open from the inside. His solo style includes driving rhythms on guitar and bodhrán as well as slower ballads. Moore's brother Barry, whose stage name
10283-590: The police, and The Spirit of Freedom . He has also recorded songs by the hunger striker Bobby Sands , including "Back Home in Derry" which is based on Gordon Lightfoot 's song " The Wreck of the Edmund Fitzgerald ". He ceased supporting the military activities of the IRA in 1987 as a result of the Enniskillen bombing . Political songs he has performed throughout his career include Mick Hanly 's "On
10396-410: The question of retaliation from whatever source does not arise". In late 1976, the IRA leadership met with representatives of the loyalist paramilitary groups and agreed to halt random sectarian killings and car bombings of civilian targets. The loyalists revoked the agreement in 1979, after the IRA killing of Lord Mountbatten, but the pact nevertheless halted the cycle of sectarian revenge killings until
10509-568: The same day, the IRA killed one of their most famous victims, The Earl Mountbatten of Burma , assassinated along with two teenagers (aged 14 and 15) and The Dowager Lady Brabourne in County Sligo , by a bomb placed in his boat. Another effective IRA tactic devised in the late 1970s was the use of home-made mortars mounted on the back of trucks which were fired at police and army bases. These mortars were first tested in 1974 but did not kill anyone until 1979. The IRA argued that its campaign
10622-607: The same year, they carried out 1,300 bomb attacks and 90 IRA members were killed. Up to 1972, the IRA controlled large urban areas in Belfast and Derry, but these were eventually re-taken by a major British operation known as Operation Motorman . Thereafter, fortified police and military posts were built in republican areas throughout Northern Ireland. During the early 1970s, a typical IRA operation involved sniping at British patrols and engaging them in firefights in urban areas of Belfast and Derry. They also killed RUC and Ulster Defence Regiment (UDR) soldiers, both on and off-duty, and
10735-458: The shops, and costs were awarded against Moore. "Another Song Is Born" was recorded for the album's re-release. "They Never Came Home" later appeared on his box set and on the album Where I Come From . In 2024, the jury at the Stardust tribunal found that one exit was locked at the time of the fire and blocked from the outside by a parked van, another exit was unlocked but had chains tied across
10848-1623: Was I given any explanation as to why I was being held and interrogated in this manner", he added. He said the fact that Irish people are still being treated this way on their way to Britain is very "saddening". "I had hoped to deal with this matter out of the public domain. But seeing as it has become a news item, I feel the need to offer my side of the story. I found the whole affair quite frightening." In 2010, Christy Moore's song "Lisdoonvarna", which he wrote, gained entry in The Penguin Book of Irish Poetry . Other Live and compilation Other Planxty Planxty were an Irish folk music band formed in January 1972, consisting initially of Christy Moore (vocals, acoustic guitar, bodhrán ), Andy Irvine (vocals, mandolin, mandola , bouzouki , hurdy-gurdy , harmonica), Dónal Lunny (bouzouki, guitars, bodhrán, keyboards), and Liam O'Flynn ( uilleann pipes , tin whistle). They transformed and popularized Irish folk music , touring and recording to great acclaim. Subsequently, Johnny Moynihan , Paul Brady , Matt Molloy (flute), Bill Whelan (keyboards), Nollaig Casey ( fiddle ) and briefly, Noel Hill ( concertina ) and Tony Linnane (fiddle) were also temporary members. Planxty broke up twice, first in December 1975 and again in April 1983. The original quartet reunited in October 2003 and their final performance
10961-628: Was Moore, who had a desire to return to his solo career and perform from a larger repertoire of songs. The split was amicable, and while Paul Brady was recruited to fill the gap in September 1974, Moore stayed on with him in the band until October. After his departure, the Irvine/Moynihan/Brady/O’Flynn line-up toured extensively, but released no recordings before playing their final show in Brussels on 5 December 1975. After
11074-486: Was aimed at soldiers returning to Chelsea Barracks , but the blast killed two civilians passing by, 40 people were injured in the attack including 23 British soldiers. The same month a British bomb disposal expert Kenneth Robert Howorth , was killed trying to defuse an IRA bomb on Oxford Street , London. In 1982 the Hyde Park and Regent's Park bombings killed 11 soldiers and wounded some 50 soldiers and civilians at
11187-399: Was aimed not at Protestant and unionist people, but at the British presence in Northern Ireland, manifested in the state security forces. However, many unionists argue that the IRA's campaign was sectarian and there are many incidents where the organisation targeted Protestant civilians. The 1970s were the most violent years of the Troubles. As well as its campaign against the security forces,
11300-432: Was down to 2,800. In 1976, there were 297 deaths in Northern Ireland; in the next three years the figures were 112, 81, and 113. An IRA man contended that "we were almost beaten by Mason", and Martin McGuinness commented: "Mason beat the shit out of us". Mason's policy of 'criminalisation' led to the blanket protest in the prisons. When Mason left office in 1979, he predicted the IRA were "weeks away from defeat". After
11413-469: Was featured on Planxty's 1983 album Words & Music . ("Baker" appears to be a mondegreen for the "Beichan" of earlier versions.) Reilly died in 1969 at the age of 44, shortly after being found beneath his coats in the top room of his dwelling in Boyle by Tom Munnelly , who had originally collected his songs for archiving. The music of Turlough O'Carolan appeared on a number of Planxty albums (including
11526-638: Was included on the 2004 retrospective, Christy Moore – The Box Set: 1964–2004 , complete with the audience's reaction. Planxty's first single, "Three Drunken Maidens", was released by their manager Des Kelly's label, Ruby Records, reaching no. 7 in the Irish charts. The next single, a re-recording of " The Cliffs of Dooneen ", previously recorded for the Prosperous album, made it to no. 3. Two full albums followed: Planxty , recorded at Command Studios in London during September 1972, and The Well Below
11639-553: Was injured and the ceremony continued. During the IRA's 25-year campaign in England, 115 deaths and 2,134 injuries were reported, from a total of almost 500 incidents. In the early 1990s the IRA intensified the bombing campaign in England, planting 15 bombs in 1990, 36 in 1991, and 57 in 1992. In February 1991 three mortar rounds were fired at the British Prime minister's office in Downing Street in London during
11752-537: Was left permanently disabled . In 1985 the IRA planned a sustained bombing campaign in London and English seaside resorts including Bournemouth , Southend and Great Yarmouth . The IRA planned for bombs to explode on sixteen consecutive days beginning in July, excluding Sundays. As well as damaging the tourist industry , the IRA hoped to take advantage of police resources being stretched and launch an assassination campaign against political and military targets including General Frank Kitson . Patrick Magee , who
11865-470: Was living in Japan was unavailable. After also shooting links at key landmarks from the Planxty history, the programme aired on 3 March 2003, receiving a phenomenal response from the public and very positive feedback from the Planxty members themselves. In a final comment about the constant speculation of the original line-up regrouping, Moore had said on camera: "There's nobody longs for it more than myself and
11978-499: Was on 31 January 2005. Christy Moore and Dónal Lunny had been friends since school days in Newbridge , County Kildare , Lunny having taught Moore how to play both guitar and bodhrán . Before the formation of Planxty, Lunny had been playing in a duet with Andy Irvine after the latter's return from Eastern Europe and they had also launched their own folk club, downstairs at Slattery's, called The Mugs Gig. Liam O'Flynn
12091-624: Was playing in public and on the radio, and was well respected in traditional folk circles. All members were familiar with one another's work to varying degrees, but were first brought together during the summer of 1971 to record Moore's second solo album, Prosperous , at his sister's house, in the village of the same name . In January 1972, the four joined forces to form Planxty, recording their first single, "Three Drunken Maidens"/"Sí-Bheag, Sí-Mhór", in Trend Studios on 18 January 1972. The band performed on RTÉ 's The Late, Late Show
12204-559: Was recorded on the Ordinary Man album and was released on the B-side of a single in 1985. The song achieved notoriety when Moore was taken to court over claims in the song prejudicial to an ongoing court case determining compensation. For instance, the song claimed, "hundreds of children are injured and maimed, and all just because the fire exits were chained". Mr Justice Murphy ordered the Ordinary Man album to be withdrawn from
12317-461: Was released in November 2024. Inactive Defunct Moore is best known for his political and social commentary which reflects a left-wing, Irish republican perspective, despite the fact that his mother was a Fine Gael county councillor and parliamentary candidate in Kildare. He supported the republican H-Block protestors with the albums H-Block in 1978, the launch of which was raided by
12430-462: Was settled. "I had a wild and wonderful time in England, with no bank manager looking over my shoulder," he said. Doing general labouring work, he frequented the folk clubs and the Irish music pubs where he met Seamus Ennis , Margaret Barry , Luke Kelly , Martin Byrnes and many other traditional musicians. When Irish singing trio The Grehan Sisters , with whom Moore was previously acquainted, moved to
12543-439: Was the car bomb , where large amounts of explosives were packed into a car, which was driven to its target and then detonated. Seán Mac Stíofáin , the first Chief of Staff of the Provisional IRA , described the car bomb both as a tactical and strategic weapon. From the tactical point of view, it tied down a great number of British troops in Belfast and other cities and major towns across Northern Ireland. Strategically, it hampered
12656-475: Was the singing of Irish Traveller John "Jacko" Reilly who hailed from Boyle , County Roscommon . It was from Reilly that Moore learned " Raggle Taggle Gypsy ", which was recorded for the first Planxty album, in addition to " The Well Below the Valley ," which appeared on The Well Below the Valley. Moore later dipped into Reilly's songbook again for an updated version of the lengthy ballad " Lord Baker ," which
12769-516: Was wanted in connection with the Brighton hotel bombing after his palm print was found on the hotel register, was under police surveillance, with police hoping he would lead them to other IRA members. He met with an IRA member at Carlisle railway station , and they were followed to Glasgow , where they were arrested on 24 June 1985 at a safe house along with three other people, including Martina Anderson and Gerry McDonnell, who had escaped from
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