Mother of man killed by IRA linked mob calls on The Wolfe Tones to stop singing 'hurtful' Celtic Symphony song
Exclusive: Breege Quinn, whose son Paul was lured to a shed in Co Monaghan and beaten to death says it's 'time The Wolfe Tones realise the hurt' their song causes.
A mother whose son was murdered by an IRA mob has called on the Wolfe Tones to stop performing their “hurtful” hit song Celtic Symphony.’
Speaking after hearing about a crowd of thousands of people chanting the song’s famous “Ooh ah up the Ra,” line at Electric Picnic, Breege Quinn, who’s son Paul was lured to a shed in Co Monaghan and beaten to death by an IRA linked mob said:
“It’s a very offensive song to be singing and it’s not right for young people who weren’t even about during the Troubles to be singing it when they don’t even know what it’s about. It’s time the Wolfe Tones realise the hurt that it causes people that do understand it. They’re a bad example for young people coming up that don’t know anything about them.
READ MORE - Baby mauled in XL Bully dog horror attack
READ MORE - Man in critical condition after one punch attack
“I’m asking them would they refrain from singing it,” she added. Speaking as the mother of a child who was murdered (by the IRA), it’s not a very nice thing to hear.”
Tragic Paul Quinn from Cullyhanna, Armagh, was lured to a shed in Co Monaghan and mercilessly beaten to death on October 20, 2007.
To this day no one has been prosecuted over his murder, which is thought to have occurred after Paul had a confrontation with the son of a prominent IRA member in a bar in the days prior.
Speaking today, Breege, who is still fighting for justice for her son, said it was hurtful to hear that so many young people were singing and dancing to the words “Up the Ra” at the festival in Stradbally, Co Laois over the weekend. “To see all the young ones dancing to it is even more hurtful,” she said. The Wolfe Tones seem to be making it their hit song. It’s an annoyance when we hear it because it brings everything back to you."
“Young people wouldn’t even understand what they’re singing.”
Breege says she is still holding out hope for justice for her son, now 17 years on from his callous murder. It comes after arrests were made in 2022, as the Garda investigation continues. “There’s been nothing since. But we’re still hoping,” Breege said.
She also spoke about the continued support and love she and her family have received from members of the public living both North and South of the border.
“There’s people that still contact us and are sending us cards from all over Ireland north and South even to this day,” she said. It’s unbelievable how kind people are to us. “For people to go out and buy a card, write it and post it - there’s a lot of work that goes into it and it’s unbelievable the amount we are still getting. We can’t thank them enough.”
Recently Brian Warfield of the Wolfe Tones addressed criticism of the song saying: “It's a song, It's a song that people, the kids love it. You can sing ‘Up the Ra’ but that’s what it is, it’s a Celtic football song at the end of the day. “They pick out one line as usual, you know the story, it is more or less to demonise the song or the Wolfe Tones.”
“We've been campaigning for years to let the people sing," he said.
Mr Warfield has claimed the line in the song was taken from graffiti he saw on a wall in Glasgow around that time, which read ‘we’re magic, up the Celts, ooh, aah up the Ra’.
In another recent interview he said: “It's one of the songs I wrote back in the early '70s and it's about the way people want to control what people sing and the way they sing it. Censorship has gone on in this country for years and years and it continued on with the music on the radio and The Wolfe Tones were the victims of that. For young children who like a song, to sing it is not a problem - they don't mean anything by it."
Mr Warfield said people should be able to sing what they want.
"They're not going to go up and injure anybody; if anything they were more injured by the Troubles than anybody else. I think they're expressing something that they like and something that they feel they want to sing. It doesn't matter whether it's Taylor Swift, The Wolfe Tones or Kylie Minogue: if you want to sing a song sing it. Nobody should stop you, there shouldn't be censorship in music".
Sign up to the Irish Mirror's daily newsletter here and get breaking news and top stories direct to your inbox.
Related
Share this page
Guest Posts by Easy Branches
