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Men who wanted a cause
The appeal of a cause
Gusty Spence and his friends were the kind of men who hang around the pub talking about the old days and trying to find something to do. Jobs were scarce, life seemed shabby and disappointing, and a story of outlaw violence and adventure, told through songs, fiddles, and family stories, promised excitement. The same sense of romance ran through people on the Republican side and in the IRA.
Ballads of the old days
Spence described it as being for the cause, in the manner of the old Ulster volunteers. You would fight and die for it. The ballads from the Irish War of Independence are all about fighting and dying, and nobody writes ballads about fighting and killing, though someone has to do the killing.
Fear added in
Add fear of the other side to that appetite and it becomes very potent. People were willing the violence back into being, and nothing about the Troubles was inevitable.
Why do Irish rebel songs shape politics?
Rebel ballads were a way of memorializing executed rebels and lost causes, so songs about the 1798 rebellion and the 1916 Rising were sung in homes and pubs for generations. The Foggy Dew, for example, honors the men of Easter 1916. Orange songs such as The Sash play the same role on the other side, recalling the victories of 1690.
How did the 1916 anniversary feed fear in 1966?
Nelson's Pillar in central Dublin was blown up by republicans in March 1966, weeks before the anniversary. On Easter Sunday, 10 April 1966, the Irish army marched past the General Post Office in Dublin, the main rebel headquarters in 1916. Many Northern Protestants watched the celebrations with alarm, and the fiftieth anniversary of the Somme followed that summer.