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"The Men Behind the Wire" is a song written and composed by Paddy McGuigan of the Barleycorn folk group in the aftermath of Operation Demetrius. The song describes police raids in Northern Ireland by British security forces during the Troubles, and the "men behind the wire" refers to those interned without trial at HM Prison Maze, HM Prison Magilligan and onboard HMS Maidstone.

The song was recorded by the Barleycorn in Belfast (produced by Billy McBurney) and pressed in Dublin by Release Records in December 1971. After its release on 14 December the song shot into the Irish charts, selling far more copies than any other single until then released in Ireland, and remained in the charts for months. It reached No. 1 position in the Irish charts on 22 January 1972, where it remained for three weeks. After a gap of one week it returned to No. 1 for two weeks on 15 February. Royalties from the recording were donated to families of the internees.

The song was subsequently recorded by many singers and bands in Ireland and abroad, including the Wolfe Tones, Liam Clancy and the Flying Column. British singer/songwriter Dido in her song "Let's Do the Things We Normally Do" from the album Safe Trip Home used a few lines from this song. This included the lyrics "Armoured cars and tanks and guns, came to take away our sons. But every man must stand behind, the men behind the wire."

Covers

• The Barleycorn Live at the Embankment Release DRL 2004 LP (1972)
• The Clancy Brothers Save the Land (1972)
• Ray McAreavy on compilation The Men Behind the Wire (R & O Records, 1972)
• The Wolfe Tones on their first album, Let the People Sing (1973)
• Patsy Watchorn on Irish Republican Jail Songs (re-released 2001)
• The Devil's Advocates on Snipers In Derelict Houses (1999, Triage Records)
• Steve Coogan performed a version of the song on the BBC as Irish doppelgänger Martin Brennan from Sligo on episode 4 of the television programme This Time with Alan Partridge.

References

1. "A History of Ireland in Song: Internment". ireland.dyndns.org. Archived from the original on 24 March 2013.
2. Chapter 8 Archived 2008-05-09 at the Wayback Machine, Internment, McGuffin G.
3. "Irish History: Internment". www.triskelle.eu. Archived from the original on 14 August 2007. Retrieved 27 December 2008.
4. 15 January 1972 issue of Spotlight magazine
5. "The Barleycorn in America 1973 – Rex Records Stereo LP 798". Archived from the original on 29 March 2012. Retrieved 19 March 2014.
6. "Barleycorn". www.irish-showbands.com. Archived from the original on 17 September 2010. Retrieved 13 October 2011.
7. Lindo, Natalie (11 December 2008). "Dido slammed for republican riff". BBC News. Archived from the original on 17 April 2021. Retrieved 26 October 2021.
8. Hughes, Brendan (20 March 2019). "Alan Partridge fans hail comedy 'genius' as Irish alter-ego sings rebel songs on BBC". The Irish News. Archived from the original on 25 March 2019. Retrieved 26 October 2021.

• Irish songs
• 1971 songs
• Songs written by Paddy McGuigan
• Songs about The Troubles (Northern Ireland)
• Irish rebel songs