Give Ireland Back to The Irish

Give Ireland back to the Irish was Paul McCartney's 5th single as an ex-Beatle. It was his first single with his new group Wings. The single was released February 25, 1972. This Single was written by the McCartney's and performed by Wings, which had increased by one. Lead Guitarist Henry McCullough (far right) was added to the group, which was now a five piece band.

The song was written as a reaction to the "Bloody Sunday" massacre in Northern Ireland on January 30th, 1972. The BBC banned the song almost immediately, which actually helped sales of the single (people were curious). BBC press officer Rodney Collins said the "song was banned because it made a political point rather than telling listeners that there was suffering and sadness resulting from the political situation. "

Henry McCullough was Irish. His brother, who lived in Ireland at the time, was actually beaten up because of the song.

Denny Laine, in an interview in the late 80's, said that he thought that "Paul was a bit naive" about the whole thing. Laine said none of them knew enough about the situation to comment publicly or to take a political stand.

Give Ireland back to the Irish reached number 16 on the British Charts, number 21 was the high point on the charts in the U.S., It made it to number 1 in both Ireland and Spain.

The B-side was an instrumental version of the A-side. (John Lennon also wrote a song about the massacre called Sunday Bloody Sunday.