The Helicopter Song

"The Helicopter Song" was a number one single in the Republic of Ireland for the Irish traditional folk band the Wolfe Tones.

Background

Originally written by Sean McGinley from Castlefin, County Donegal, the song tells the story of the 1973 escape of three Provisional Irish Republican Army (IRA) prisoners from Dublin's Mountjoy Prison. On Hallowe'en, an IRA member hijacked a helicopter and forced the pilot to fly to Mountjoy where the three prisoners, JB O'Hagan, Seamus Twomey and Kevin Mallon, were lifted by helicopter from the exercise yard of Mountjoy Jail's D Wing at 3.40pm. The incident was a major embarrassment for the government.

Lyrics and style

As with some other Wolfe Tones songs, the lyrics use a certain comical tone to show sympathy with the Irish republican cause and narrate events linked to the Troubles in Ireland without using aggressive or sectarian language, an attribute which contributed to its popularity.

Chart success

The song was immediately banned in the United Kingdom. It peaked in the Irish charts on November 22, 1973, and held that position for four weeks until it was replaced by Slade's Merry Christmas Everybody.