First issued by TOPIC 1958
Recorded by Bill Leader 1958
Notes by Paddy Tunney 1965
New sleeve design by Derrick McRobert 1976
Sleeve photograph Popperfoto
In the years since this record was first issued and since its notes were written, some of its subject
matter may have acquired references that were originally neither intended nor forseen. It remains in the
TOPIC catalogue because of its documentary interest, and both music and notes should be understood
in the terms of their period.
TOPIC RECORDS 1976
Topic Records Ltd. London
Dominic Behan, playwright, balladeer, satirist into a brilliant family of Dublin rebels. His ancestors were
Fenians and his uncle, Peadar Kearney, was author of our "A Soldier's Song" and many other spirited
rebel ballads.
Big brother Brendan projected the image of romantic Irelad beyond her shores and, thanks to his Republican
views, his fine singing voice was well known, behind the prison bars of England and Ireland as in the drinking
bars of his name city.
So it is easy to see that Dominic is very well qualified to sing the songs of the Irish Republican Army.
Now that his giant of a brother no longer bestrides the Irish literary scene like a colossus, the full weight
of the Beahn bardic tradition falls on the shoulders of little Dominic. But God made the back for the burden
and surely he carries his load lightly.
The songs he has selected for this record number sixteen and all tell the story of the Irish Republican Army
from the Easter Rising of 1916 to the present day. It is the story of the hope and aspirations, the heartbreaks
and bitterness of a race that strove hard but stopped short of full nationhood.
There are four of his uncle's compositions included and two his own. The remaining ten are the spontaneous
heart-cry of a people in revolt.
Dominic's peculiar singing style lends itself to the interpretation of rebel ballads. It is shorn of intricate
ornamentation and depends on a directness of form and a simplicity of phrase rarely found among Irish
traditional singers. There also is a jauntiness about it reminiscent of the Orange songs and singers of Ulster.
These qualities, coupled with the delightful incisiveness inherent in the man, make a moving and immediate
impact.
