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about
ALL PROCEEDS FROM THIS TRACK WILL GO TOWARDS LEGAL FEES FOR PALESTINE SOLIDARITY ACTIVISTS
Siren Spring is an attempt to put some of the feelings a lot of us have been having in recent months into song. So many people I know have been struggling with soaring rents or facing eviction. Many of the same people have also been out protesting against Israel’s genocide in Gaza and the Irish Government’s inaction in the face of it. And this week, Leo Varadkar is over in the US to hand a bowl of shamrock over to Joe Biden, Israel’s primary backer
To me, all of these things - our housing crisis here at home, the genocide in Gaza, and our politicians heading over to Washington - are intimately connected. So much of our housing crisis stems from the red carpet being rolled out to big investment funds that have bulk-bought property and jacked up rents. Now Varadkar will engage in a week of Paddy-Washing around St Patrick’s Day to make it clear that, even after 30,000 Palestinians have been murdered largely with American weapons, Ireland is still open for business.
In recent months Gardaí have been cracking down on Palestine solidarity activists who have engaged in protests and direct actions against Israel’s genocide in Gaza.
Two of us were arrested at a peaceful BDS action on Grafton Street in February and charged under the Public Order Act. Another activist has been charged with criminal damage for allegedly throwing washable red paint on the Department of Foreign Affairs. Several others are also now being threatened with criminal charges for the peaceful, symbolic action of attempting to hand an eviction notice into the Israeli Embassy.
This criminalisation of solidarity is happening at a time when the International Court of Justice has found a plausible case that Israel is committing a genocide against the Palestinian people in Gaza. Under the Genocide Convention, there is a legal imperative for states to do everything in their power to stop the genocide. Instead, the Irish State is attempting to target those who are doing what the State should be doing.
We plan to fight the charges and the release of this song is partly to highlight what’s going on. Any money I receive from the sale of this track will go towards legal fees for those who are facing charges for Palestine solidarity action.
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lyrics
Siren Spring
The future is a carrot that they dangle while they ready the stick
A home of your own dining out like all those comfortable pricks
And if you work hard and spend your money someday you might find some meaning
Just ignore all the vultures at the carcass of a city that’s screaming
And it goes a wee-yeah, wee-yeah
It was a goodbye letter that we got from a dear friend
Wee-yeah, wee-yeah
We found her in time but she’s not in the clear yet
I felt sad a few hours before I left you the other night
Before the sun came up and exposed us all in the bright
Oh, the light of the fire sure it shone up your face like a beacon
And I felt a pang cos I knew that soon I would have to be leaving
And it goes a wee-aw, wee-aw
We’ve got housing for all now from Leo and Mícheál
Wee-aw, wee-aw
One person’s rent is another one’s income
Leo, he’s at home, and he’s getting all ready to go
A-sprucing up the shamrocks that he’s putting in a nice little bowl
He’ll fly over the Atlantic to go kissing Genocide Joe’s hole
Even though we’re on the streets now for weeks and we’re telling him no
And it goes a wee-ee, wee-ee
Rent’s coming up and these vultures are greedy
Wee-ee, wee-ee
From the river to the sea, Palestine will be free
There’s a powder keg here just waiting for a spark to be lit
This land is ours, all of ours, not a playground just for the rich
It won’t be long before we all decide it’s GPO time
And I’ll kiss you at the barricades and we’ll sing all those songs about freedom
And it goes a wee-yeah, wee-yeah
It was a goodbye letter that we got from a dear friend
Wee-yeah, wee-yeah
We found her in time but she’s not in the clear yet
Wee-aw, wee-aw
We’ve got housing for all now from Leo and Mícheál
Wee-aw, wee-aw
One person’s rent is another one’s income
Wee-ee, wee-ee
Rent’s coming up and these vultures are greedy
Wee-ee, wee-ee
But from the river to the sea, Palestine will be free
And the siren’s screaming and I just want to hold ya
I just want to hear you sing
credits
released March 15, 2024
Eoghan Ó Ceannabháin: Vocals, Concertina
Anna Mullarkey: Piano, Keyboards, Organ, Vocals
Kaitlin Cullen-Verhauz: Cello, Vocals
Ian Kinsella: Guitar, Vocals
Conor Lyons: Bodhrán
Alex Borwick: Keyboards
Recorded by Alex Borwick at Hellfire Studios.
Mixed and mastered by Alex Borwick.
Eoghan Ó Ceannabháin is a Dublin-based singer, songwriter and multi-instrumentalist with his musical roots in sean-nós
singing.
He has recorded and performed with various bands including Skipper's Alley, Aon Teanga:Un Chengey and Jiggy. He collaborates with Clare fiddler and viola player Ultan O'Brien.
His debut solo album The Deepest Breath was released in November 2022....more
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Absolutely love that deep concertina sound. And the range of expression that Cormac brings out through this instrument, well beyond the intentions of the designers or makers of these instruments. And, feel sorry for his poor bellows and reeds. He has to do a lot of personal repair on them. Cormac's album design and presentation are beautiful works of art as well. See him in concert if you can. You can really feel those bass notes resonate through a hall. balinsky