Irish rugby fans singing the Cranberries' hit song "Zombie" in the Stade de France after Ireland's win over South Africa in the Rugby World Cup on Saturday has caused a divisive debate on social media.
Footage of thousands of Irish fans belting out the rock song shortly after the full-time whistle emerged on social media on Saturday night with many people praising the atmosphere and claiming that "Zombie" has become the new anthem of Irish rugby.
However, others criticized the song's message, stating that it is disrespectful to nationalists in Northern Ireland and their experiences living through The Troubles.
Zombie des Cranberries chanté par tout un stade 🔊#RWC2023 pic.twitter.com/mrHG635Bqy
— Rugby World Cup FR 🇫🇷 (@RugbyWorldCupFR) September 24, 2023
The song, which was released in 1994, centers around the Warrington Bombings, which saw the Provisional IRA murder two young boys in England.
“We were on a tour bus and I was near the location where it happened, so it really struck me hard – I was quite young, but I remember being devastated about the innocent children being pulled into that kind of thing," Cranberries frontwoman Dolores O'Riordan recounted to Songwriting in 2017.
"So I suppose that’s why I was saying, ‘It’s not me’ – that even though I’m Irish it wasn’t me, I didn’t do it. Because being Irish, it was quite hard, especially in the UK when there was so much tension.
"It’s so different now. If you told a teenager now what it was like back then they wouldn’t believe you, but it wasn’t such a long time ago."
Many people who claimed the singing of "Zombie" on Saturday night was disrespectful to nationalists have taken issue with the line "it's not me, it's not my family," stating that O'Riordan could not have understood the plight of nationalists in Northern Ireland having grown up in Limerick.
The song, however, has been regularly sung at Munster Rugby matches in a nod to the Cranberries' connection to Limerick.
Others took issue with the song's iconic refrain "in your head," claiming that O'Riordan insinuated that nationalists were imagining loyalist and British oppression in Northern Ireland.
"What has 'zombie' got to do with Ireland, a song mocking the men and women of Easter week and telling the nationalist people of the 'six counties' it was all in their head....sorry not for me but sums up an element of the Irish rugby support," wrote one person on X, formerly Twitter.
What has 'zombie' got to do with Ireland, a song mocking the men and women of Easter week and telling the nationalist people of the 'six counties' it was all in their head....sorry not for me but sums up an element of the Irish rugby support .... https://t.co/M3rIfTGB4O
— Ronan Sheehan (@newryhurler1) September 23, 2023
Irish comedian Tadhg Hickey described the song as the "perfect partitionist anthem," saying it "encapsulates the complete lack of understanding or even basic compassion in the south for the lived experience of Northern nationalists. 'But you see, it's not me It's not my family."
Zombie is the perfect partitionist anthem. It encapsulates the complete lack of understanding or even basic compassion in the south for the lived experience of Northern nationalists.
"But you see, it's not me
— Tadhg (@TadhgHickey) September 23, 2023
It's not my family"
Others complained that Irish media outlets had framed the singing of "Zombie" as the antithesis of singing "Celtic Symphony," which has become popular among youths in Ireland in recent months.
Irish journalist Kevin Doyle described the song as the "antidote" to the singing of "Celtic Symphony," angering many nationalists.
On the other side of the argument, several people claimed that the song was an "anti-war" anthem that called out a single IRA atrocity.
SDLP MP Colum Eastwood criticized those who condemned the singing of Zombie, claiming that they were making the song into "something it isn't."
"Zombie is an anti-war song written after the IRA killed 2 children in Warrington. Stop trying to make it something it isn’t. And stop pretending opposing IRA brutality is the same as supporting British brutality. Most of us opposed both," Eastwood wrote on X.
Eastwood added that the debate around "Zombie" was "testing" his nerves.
Zombie is an anti-war song written after the IRA killed 2 children in Warrington.
Stop trying to make it something it isn’t.
And stop pretending opposing IRA brutality is the same as supporting British brutality.
Most of us opposed both.
— Colum Eastwood 🇺🇦 (@columeastwood) September 24, 2023
Newstalk presenter Shane Coleman said he did not support the idea that the song was partitionist, adding that to take that position would assume that every nationalist in Northern Ireland supported the IRA's campaign of violence.
"There was widespread revulsion after that (the Warrington Bombing)," Coleman said on Newstalk. "That's Dolores saying that 'you didn't do that in my name'.
"There was widespread rejection of the IRA campaign of violence by the nationalist community."
Others said there was no deep meaning to the singing of "Zombie" in the Stade de France on Saturday night.
"Rugby fans are singing ‘Zombie’ because they know the words. I think it’s the same with people singing along to the Wolftones. There’s no deep meaning to it. Most of us have sung along to songs at some point without a second thought about what any of the lyrics mean," Irish reporter Barry Whyte said on X.
Rugby fans are singing ‘Zombie’ because they know the words.
I think it’s the same with people singing along to the Wolftones.
There’s no deep meaning to it.
Most of us have sang along to songs at some point without a second thought about what any of the lyrics mean…
— Barry Whyte (@BarryWhyte85) September 24, 2023
"I honestly don't believe there's any deep meaning to Zombie becoming so intertwined with Irish rugby," Irish sports journalist Sylan O'Connell posted.
"The Cranberries are from Limerick. Munster, who have a stadium in Limerick play it. It's good for energizing a crowd. Ireland took it on. That's it. There's no deep meaning."
I honestly don't believe there's any deep meaning to Zombie becoming so intertwined with Irish rugby. The Cranberries are from Limerick. Munster, who have a stadium in Limerick play it. It's good for energising a crowd. Ireland took it on. That's it. There's no deep meaning.
— Dylan O'Connell (@JudgeDyl) September 24, 2023
Comments