“The Ballad of Joe McDonnell” is the focus of this week’s Story Behind the Song Column as we mark 40 years since his passing. The Story Behind the Song Column is a weekly feature on The Gaelic American where we examine the true meaning and stories behind Ireland’s most iconic songs.
Oh me name is Joe McDonnell
From Belfast town I came
That city I will
Never see again
For in the town of Belfast
I spent many happy days
I love that town in oh so many ways
For it’s there I spent my childhood and found
For me a wife
I then set out to make
For her a life
But all my young ambitions met with bitterness and hate
I soon found myself inside a prison gate
And you dare to call me a terrorist
While you looked down your gun
When I think of all the deeds that you had done
You had plundered many nations divided many lands
You had terrorised their peoples you ruled with an iron hand
And you brought this reign of terror to my land
Through those many months internment
In the Maidstone and the Maze
I thought about my land throughout those days
Why my country was divided, why I was now in jail
Imprisoned without crime or without trial
And though I love my country I am not a bitter man
I’ve seen cruelty and injustice at first hand
So then one fateful morning I shook bold freedom’s hand
For right or wrong I’d try to free my land
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And you dare to call me a terrorist
While you looked down your gun
When I think of all the deeds that you had done
You had plundered many nations divided many lands
You had terrorised their peoples you ruled with an iron hand
And you brought this reign of terror to my land
Then one cold October morning trapped in a lion’s den
I found myself in prison once again
I was committed to the H-blocks for fourteen years or more
On the Blanket the conditions they were poor
Then a hunger strike we did commence for the dignity of man
But it seemed to me that no one gave a damn
But now, I’m a saddened man I’ve watched my comrades die
If only people cared or wondered why
And you dare to call me a terrorist
While you looked down your gun
When I think of all the deeds that you had done
You had plundered many nations divided many lands
You had terrorised their peoples you ruled with an iron hand
And you brought this reign of terror to my land
May God shine on you Bobby Sands
For the courage you have shown
May your glory and your fame be widely known
And Francis Hughes and Ray McCreesh who died unselfishly
And Patsy O Hara and the next in line is me
And those who lie behind me may you’re courage be the same
And I pray to God my life is not in vain
Ah but sad and bitter was the year of 1981
For everything I’ve lost and nothing’s won.
The Ballad of Joe McDonnell was written by Brian Warfield as a tribute to the fifth hunger striker of 1981. The song is an excellent example of storytelling through song, as it charts the life of a young man growing up in The Troubles, “trapped in a lion’s den”. It also points out the hypocrisy of the British government, a foreign power holding six counties captive by physical force while condemning those who use physical force to defend their communities. Joe McDonnell experienced sectarian discrimination growing up and was later interned, influencing his decision to join the republican movement upon his release. He was arrested alongside Bobby Sands and others, being given 14-year sentences for the possession of a single handgun in the car they were in. He died after 61 days on hunger strike to regain political status for his comrades, leaving behind his wife and two children in an act of selfless sacrifice. He is buried in Milltown Cemetery, Belfast, alongside Bobby Sands.
By Micheál Ó Colm. Micheál is an alumnus of Iona College and serves as Chief Financial Officer of The Gaelic American.
