Traumatic childhood memories and the adult political visions of Sinéad O’Connor, Bono, and Phil Lynott (Pre-published)

Abstract

Sinéad O’Connor, Paul “Bono” Hewson of U2, and the late Phil Lynott of Thin Lizzy are three of Ireland’s most famous rock musicians, but that is not all that these celebrated singer songwriters have in common. Memories of traumatic events and/or circumstances from their formative years in Dublin greatly influenced the political visions of all three artists in later life, as expressed through their lyrics and live performances. In O’Connor’s songs protesting the handling of abuse cases by the Roman Catholic hierarchy and England’s ill treatment of the peoples it has colonised,1 she has repeatedly returned to the image of the abused or endangered child – a reflection of what she has called the “torture” suffered at the hands of her mother in childhood (qtd in Loughrey). Likewise, the effect of the May 1974 Dublin bombings perpetrated by loyalist paramilitaries on Bono and his best friend’s brother, Andy Rowen, inspired several important U2 songs. Examples include tracks addressing Northern Irish violence, the reconciling of Catholic and Protestant Irishness (which – obviously – also relates to Bono’s half-Catholic, half-Protestant background) and heroin abuse in 1980s Dublin. Finally, while Phil Lynott’s music was not used for political activism in the way – or to the degree – that O’Connor’s and U2’s has been, there is one highly significant political agenda in his work. His experiences of racial prejudice during his Dublin childhood led him to repeatedly (if sometimes subtly) assert the validity and power of a black Irish identity.