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Irish Mirror
Irish Mirror
Sport
Oisin Doherty

Wolfe Tones 'Celtic symphony' reaches number one after Republic of Ireland Women's team controversy

'Celtic Symphony' by the Wolfe Tones has soared back up the charts and at the time of writing currently sits as the number one song on the Irish iTunes top 100 charts.

Interest in the song has risen amid the furore surrounding the singing of the song by members of the Republic of Ireland women's National team in the aftermath of the sides 1-0 over Scotland at Hampden Park on Tuesday evening.

The playing of the song in the dressing room has ruffled some feathers due to the songs apparent pro-IRA lyric 'ooh, ah, up the Ra.' Members of the women's side have since apologised for the incident, with boss Vera Pauw making no excuses for her players.

READ MORE: Neil Lennon says he hopes Ireland players 'learn their lesson quickly' over pro-IRA song

"I've been talking to the players and they are devastated," said Pauw, who took charge of the Republic of Ireland in 2019. "I've been talking with the CEO and the president.

"For me, it's very important that respect is the first thing that we emit and, as soon as we do not emit respect, we have a problem.

"What we did was wrong because of the history. We know it

"I must admit that if I had been in the dressing room I would not have recognised it because that is the downside of having a foreign coach. I would not have been able to do anything about it.

"But that doesn't mean that I do not have responsibilities. I take full responsibility for what happened and we will address it further."

But Wolfe Tones singer Brian Warfield told Newstalk's Lunchtime Live that the team were free to celebrate however they wanted.

He said: "We live in a country called Ireland. We are Irish people and we have suffered terribly over the years. I am suffering this since the 60s. I started way back in 1963 and ever since then, Irish music and Irish song and Irish ballads – Irish historical songs you might say – have been blackened all over the place and it goes back years.

He added that he believed it to be a "stupid kind of argument" to suggest people should be prevented from singing about the IRA.

"It is a great song, that’s why they sing it," he said.

"They have the right to sing a song of their choice and no crank should be on there telling them what to sing and how to sing it.

"This is a free Ireland. It is not an Ireland where we stop people from singing a song – ‘You can’t sing that because it mentions the IRA; that is a stupid kind of an argument."

The song was originally released way back in 1987 as part of the centenary anniversary for Celtic football club. This is the second time in recent years that a Wolfe Tones song has reached the top of the Irish iTunes charts. In 2020, 'come out ye black and tans,' a famous 'rebel' song, topped the iTunes charts in Ireland and the UK for a short while.

As for the Irish women's team, the FAI has again issued a statement apologising for any offence that may have been caused. Both UEFA and Police Scotland have launched investigations into the singing of the song.

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