Opinion

Tom Kelly: Learning to walk in the shoes of another

The Republic of Ireland women's football squad celebrate after qualifying for the 2023 World Cup
The Republic of Ireland women's football squad celebrate after qualifying for the 2023 World Cup The Republic of Ireland women's football squad celebrate after qualifying for the 2023 World Cup

I have a confession to make. When imbibing with best friends I have been known to rattle out a few rebel songs.

My favourites are Boolavogue, An Irish Soldier Laddie, The Rising of the Moon and, if in fine fettle with my friend Felix, a rousing duet of Slievenamon.

In a way it’s part of my DNA. (Over the years, much to the amusement of family, I have added The Sash and The Auld Orange Flute.)

None of the rousing Irish songs are offensive but some could take offence. They are all in historical context.

None commemorate the IRA. Certainly not the IRA of my lifetime. The Wolfe Tones wrote the lyrics to some of my favourite songs but as a band they are not my favourite songsters. That’s just a preference. I also like Elton John’s music but can’t watch the guy perform.

The Wolfe Tones know what turns their audiences on. They don’t shy from controversy. So it’s little wonder they were defending the chanting of “Ooh ah, up the Ra" in the changing rooms of the national women’s team after the latter’s stunning victory.

Qualifying for the World Cup is a big deal so it’s little wonder that the team were in high spirits.

This in no way excuses their choice of celebrating anthem. Do I believe they meant to cause offence? Certainly not. Did each one of them think by chanting “Ooh ah, up the Ra” that they were expressing wholehearted support for the IRA campaign? I doubt it.

The chant was an embarrassment. It was a blunder. It was wrong and it was just plain silly.

That said, the team manager, Vera Pauw, profusely apologised. It was awkward but also unnecessary and avoidable.

Of course, there was the usual chorus of faux outrage from some segments within loyalism. Some of those criticising would do well to take a closer look at their own behaviour. Unfortunately that would require a measure of maturity and a modicum of self awareness.

Criticism from victims' groups about the ‘Up the Ra’ chant is understandable. The players had no deliberate intention of heaping more hurt onto the barely-healed wounds of IRA victims. But anything which appears to glorify an unwarranted and unwanted campaign of violence is bound to cause offence and there is no point in trying to explain it away or defending it.

Northern Ireland is a divided society. Sometimes I feel it’s not a post-conflict society. The cultural clashes exist as much on the terraces of soccer stadia as they do in golf clubs around the north.

Prejudices remain. Hatred simmers. Scars are all-too-visible and time has not melted hard hearts.

The ladies on the national soccer team are too young to remember how bad it was. Some were not even born. They could do well to meet with some survivors and families of victims of paramilitarism.

This is not an exercise in learning about history. It’s about developing a sense of empathy. Awakening a consciousness. Learning to walk in the shoes of another.

Without this the unity of Ireland will never come about.

In 1994, the Washington Post columnist Deeson Howe published a column called ‘Fanatics’. He examined and contrasted the songs of soccer supporters across the world.

Whilst “Ooh ah, up the Ra’ is catchy, it certainly can’t compete with a hearty rendition of "You'll never walk alone” or “Ritorna Vincitor-e!" from Verdi’s Aida sung by Italians soccer fans. Though Howe remarks that one of the funniest choruses from soccer followers is the Lone Ranger theme music “Ta-ra-rum ta-ra-rum-tum-tum”. (But we can’t adopt that because it too as a reference to the ‘Ra’.)

Frankly, when Irish soccer was at its international zenith and was led by an Englishman, we were more than content to sing “Ole, Ole Ole” and “Ooh ah, Paul McGrath”. Perhaps it’s time for a rethink on lyrics.