the band that best addrsses 'Irishness' and the subject of Ireland

And yes the lyrics do address what it's like to live in late '10s Dublin

listening to them for the first time coincidentally. keep reminding me of the hold steady.

I definitely think Republic of Loose were responding to some idea of ''Irishness" in a more complex and nuanced way than Bono would have you believe:

"The Celtic twilight turned into Celtic soul with Van Morrison. Republic of Loose grabbed the Celtic tiger by the tail, swung it around their heads and threw it out the window into the cosmos. They're sophisticated soul bootboys."

Cruelty Man

Once there was the cruelty man
The whip of the state in his hands
Creeping round the halting site to steal their infancy
If they held out in the ditches well then come the morn
They had to move on again
Brush that history down the shore, disinfect the corridors
Mother she is fallen & the father is unknown
Superior vile she burnt the files, left a generation in tatters

They’re rising, they’re rising, their chances of surviving
What’s really after happening in the fields?

A young one that was raped so young
Took decades to discover her tongue
Touch me daughter sergeant & I’ll break your fucking knees
You’re the bastion of misogyny
Protected by the baton of ignorance

They’re rising, they’re rising, their chances of surviving
What’s really after happening in the fields?

The parish is rising, the parish is rising
In the diocese & the villages that were poisoned
The parish is rising, the parish is rising
To find out what has happened in the fields

What kind of mind debased & rank
Buries babies in a septic tank

If there’s a heaven father then you’re going to fuckin hell
You may not have signed off the heinous crimes
But pulled down the blinds when they came for the answers

They’re rising, they’re their chances of surviving
What’s really after happening in the fields?

They’re rising, they’re rising but no-one’s televising
What’s really after happening in the fields?

I'm posting this here because this is one of the few threads that's ever mentioned Christy Moore. I did a bit of a rabbit-hole dive on him recently — I was aware of him and love "Ride On," but hadn't really listened to much. In the course of that, the song that really leapt out at me was "Bright Blue Rose," which (like "Ride On") is a Jimmy MacCarthy song. Apparently kind of a modern standard in Ireland? Anyway, it's a beautiful tune and just wanted to call attention to it. I guess it somewhat fits this thread because its soaked in a sort of mystical literary Catholicism that feels very Irish to me. This is Christy and Jimmy singing it together.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=glGdAwGBt8s

Anyone listening to Kneecap from Ireland

https://www.nytimes.com/2022/03/16/arts/music/kneecap-irish-rap-celtic-revival.html

Yeah I like them

ctrl-F "Planxty"
HWAT/?