Stand-up comedian Tadhg Hickey describes rock song Zombie as 'the perfect partitionist anthem' amid furore over singalong by Ireland rugby fans

Tadhg Hickey made the remarks after a large number of Ireland rugby fans sang the song at the end of the squad’s victory over South Africa at the weekend.

Widely regarded as being an anti-war song, and frequently as an anti-IRA song (given its lyrics and the fact it was written in condemnation of the Warrington bombing), its use in a sporting setting has divided opinion.

The song is from the Irish band’s 1994 album ‘No Need to Argue’, and was written by its Limerick-born singer Dolores O'Riordan.

Details of the song, including the lyrics, are at this link.

Mr Hickey is in the midst of a tour called “the Marxist terrorist supporting scumbag tour”, which saw him perform at The Ulster Hall last week, and which will take him in the coming weeks to Liberty Hall, Dublin, Cork Opera House, Leicester Square Theatre in London, and the National Museum of Cardiff.

He is known for the republican slant on his comedy sketches, such as mocking the idea that the old IRA of the civil war era was “good” but the IRA in Northern Ireland was “bad”.

The Cork man told his 67,400 followers on Twitter: “Zombie is the perfect partitionist anthem.

"It encapsulates the complete lack of understanding or even basic compassion in the south for the lived experience of Northern nationalists.

"’But you see, it's not me It's not my family’...

“State sponsored murder, pogroms, second class citizenship, complete abdication of responsibility from the South – that's all ‘in your head’.”

His upcoming London gig describes Mr Hickey as having won the “acclaim of esteemed comedians, journalists and academics all over the world, as well as a sprinkling of death threats”, and quotes approving reviews from fellow Irish comic Chris O’Dowd and LBC radio host James O’Brien.

Meanwhile on Sunday, SDLP leader Colum Eastwood (55,100 followers) added his voice to the general discussion around the song.

“Zombie is an anti-war song written after the IRA killed two children in Warrington,” he said.

"Stop trying to make it something it isn’t. And stop pretending opposing IRA brutality is the same as supporting British brutality.

"Most of us opposed both.”

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