"The Men Behind the Wire" is a song written by Paddy McGuigan and
originally recorded by an Irish traditional music and rebel music
band, The Barleycorn, in the aftermath of Operation Demetrius. The
song describes police raids in Northern Ireland by British security
forces during what was known internationally as the Northern Ireland
conflict. The "men behind the wire" refers to those interned without
trial at Prison Maze, Prison Magilligan and onboard HMS Maidstone.
Operation Demetrius was a British Army operation in Northern Ireland
on 9–10 August 1971, during the Troubles, an ethno-nationalist conflict
in Northern Ireland that lasted for about 30 years from the late 1960s
to 1998. It involved the mass arrest and internment (imprisonment
without trial) of 342 people suspected of being involved with the
Irish Republican Army (IRA), which was waging a campaign
for a united Ireland against the British state.
In 1972, The Wolfe Tones, an Irish rebel music band that incorporated
Irish traditional music in their songs, covered "The Men Behind the Wire".
They would include it on their fifth album Let the People Sing.
A Playlist of all HT Class of '73 Songs of the Day is available by clicking below:
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