A modern-day Irish activist paid tribute to a 19th century Irish activist with the sincere passion she’s famous (and occasionally, infamous) for. We, of course, know a lot about Sinead O’Connor, but outside the Emerald Isle, not many know about Jeremiah O’Donovan Rossa.
A member of the elite Irish Republican Brotherhood, the IRB, also known informally as the Fenians, Rossa fought for Irish Independence from Britain in the latter half of the 1800s. Even from exile in New York City, Rossa called for the armed rebellion of the Irish, but his movement met little success toward attaining Ireland its independence.
Ironically, his death was the spark that finally brought self-rule to most of Ireland. Rossa died on July 29, 1915, at the age of 83. His funeral three days later back in his homeland was marked by a rousing speech by Irish nationalist Padraig Pearse, which was a virtual call to arms against the British hegemony, leading to the Easter Rebellion the following spring.
Sinead O’Connor recorded the old Irish hymn “The Foggy Dew” in honor of a Rossa funeral re-enactment in Dublin, Ireland, that marked its 100th anniversary. Written by Canon Charles O’Neill a few years after the Easter Rebellion, “The Foggy Dew” was another call to take up arms against Britain instead of for Britain in World War I.
O’Connor first covered this ballad with the Chieftains for their 1995 album The Long Black Veil. It was a well-done rendition and, as you might expect with the Chieftains, heavily steeped in the Irish folk style. This 2015 update found Sinead O’Connor voice remaining in top form, and with the production assistance of the Prime and John Reynolds, the echoes of a traditional Ireland came in direct contact with contemporary sonic values connected by rage and fervor.
There’s probably no one better qualified to bridge the sentiments of these two eras from a century apart within one song.
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