"The Men Behind the Wire" is a song written and composed by Paddy McGuigan of the Barleycorn folk group in the aftermath of
Operation Demetrius
Operation Demetrius was a British Army operation in Northern Ireland on 9–10 August 1971, during the Troubles. It involved the mass arrest and internment (imprisonment without trial) of people suspected of being involved with the Provisiona ...
. The song describes
police raid
A police raid is an unexpected visit by police or other law enforcement officers, which aims to use the element of surprise to seize Evidence (law), evidence or arrest suspects believed to be likely to Tampering with evidence, hide evidence, res ...
s in Northern Ireland by British security forces during
the Troubles
The Troubles () were an ethno-nationalist conflict in Northern Ireland that lasted for about 30 years from the late 1960s to 1998. Also known internationally as the Northern Ireland conflict, it began in the late 1960s and is usually deemed t ...
, and the "men behind the wire" refers to those
interned
Internment is the imprisonment of people, commonly in large groups, without Criminal charge, charges or Indictment, intent to file charges. The term is especially used for the confinement "of enemy citizens in wartime or of terrorism suspects ...
without trial at
HM Prison Maze
HM Prison Maze (previously Long Kesh Detention Centre, and known colloquially as the Maze or H-Blocks) was a prison in Northern Ireland that was used to house paramilitary prisoners during the Troubles from August 1971 to September 2000. On 15 ...
,
HM Prison Magilligan
HM Prison Magilligan is a medium security prison run by the Northern Ireland Prison Service situated near Limavady, County Londonderry. It was first opened in January 1972 when 50 Irish Republican Army (1922–1969), Irish Republican internees ...
and onboard HMS ''Maidstone''.Chapter 8 , Internment, McGuffin G.
The song was recorded by the Barleycorn in
Belfast
Belfast (, , , ; from ) is the capital city and principal port of Northern Ireland, standing on the banks of the River Lagan and connected to the open sea through Belfast Lough and the North Channel (Great Britain and Ireland), North Channel ...
(produced by Billy McBurney) and pressed in
Dublin
Dublin is the capital and largest city of Republic of Ireland, Ireland. Situated on Dublin Bay at the mouth of the River Liffey, it is in the Provinces of Ireland, province of Leinster, and is bordered on the south by the Dublin Mountains, pa ...
by Release Records in December 1971. After its release on 14 December the song shot into the Irish charts, selling far more copies than any other single until then released in Ireland, and remained in the charts for months. It reached No. 1 position in the Irish charts on 22 January 1972, where it remained for three weeks. After a gap of one week it returned to No. 1 for two weeks on 15 February. Royalties from the recording were donated to families of the internees.
The song was subsequently recorded by many singers and bands in Ireland and abroad, including the
Wolfe Tones
The Wolfe Tones are an Irish rebel music band that incorporate Irish traditional music in their songs. Formed in 1963, they take their name from Theobald Wolfe Tone, one of the leaders of the Irish Rebellion of 1798, with the double meaning of ...
,
Liam Clancy
Liam Clancy (; 2 September 1935 – 4 December 2009) was an Irish folk singer from Carrick-on-Suir, County Tipperary. He was the youngest member of the influential folk group the Clancy Brothers, regarded as Ireland's first pop stars. They achi ...
and the
Flying Column
A flying column is a small, independent, military land unit capable of rapid mobility and usually composed of all arms. It is often an ''ad hoc'' unit, formed during the course of operations.
The term is usually, though not necessarily, appl ...
. British singer/songwriter
Dido
Dido ( ; , ), also known as Elissa ( , ), was the legendary founder and first queen of the Phoenician city-state of Carthage (located in Tunisia), in 814 BC.
In most accounts, she was the queen of the Phoenician city-state of Tyre (located ...
in her song "Let's Do the Things We Normally Do" from the album ''
Safe Trip Home
''Safe Trip Home'' is the third studio album by Dido (singer), Dido. It was released in the United Kingdom on 17 November 2008.
Covers
* The Barleycorn ''Live at the Embankment'' Release DRL 2004 LP (1972)
*
The Clancy Brothers
The Clancy Brothers were an influential Irish folk music group that developed initially as a part of the American folk music revival. Most popular during the 1960s, they were famed for their Aran jumpers and are widely credited with popularisi ...
''Save the Land'' (1972)
* Ray McAreavy on compilation ''The Men Behind the Wire'' (R & O Records, 1972)
* The
Wolfe Tones
The Wolfe Tones are an Irish rebel music band that incorporate Irish traditional music in their songs. Formed in 1963, they take their name from Theobald Wolfe Tone, one of the leaders of the Irish Rebellion of 1798, with the double meaning of ...
on their first album, ''Let the People Sing'' (1973)
* Patsy Watchorn on ''Irish Republican Jail Songs'' (re-released 2001)
* The Devil's Advocates on ''Snipers In Derelict Houses'' (1999, Triage Records)
*
Steve Coogan
Stephen John Coogan (; born 14 October 1965) is an English-Irish actor, comedian, screenwriter and producer. His accolades include four BAFTA Awards and three British Comedy Awards, and nominations for two Academy Awards and a Golden Globe Aw ...
performed a version of the song on the
BBC
The British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) is a British public service broadcaster headquartered at Broadcasting House in London, England. Originally established in 1922 as the British Broadcasting Company, it evolved into its current sta ...
Sligo
Sligo ( ; , meaning 'abounding in shells') is a coastal seaport and the county town of County Sligo, Ireland, within the western province of Connacht. With a population of 20,608 in 2022, it is the county's largest urban centre (constituting 2 ...
on episode 4 of the television programme ''
This Time with Alan Partridge
''This Time with Alan Partridge'' is a British sitcom first broadcast in 2019 on BBC One. It stars Steve Coogan as the inept broadcaster Alan Partridge in a parody, spoof of day-time magazine programmes such as ''The One Show'' and ''Good Mornin ...