The Wolfe Tones have enjoyed a remarkable resurgence in Ireland in recent years, with their set at Electric Picnic last year drawing staggering crowds to the Electric Arena in Stradbally.
Years after their initial success, the Dublin-based trad band have found a new fanbase among the youth of Ireland. In a surprising turn of events, it seems as though taking over Argentina could be next in store for the Wolfe Tones.
Tuesday, April 2nd marks the Day of the Veterans and Fallen of the Malvinas War in Argentina - colloquially known as Malvinas Day in the country.
The 1982 conflict between the UK and Argentina was ignited by a dispute over control of islands in the South Atlantic Ocean claimed by both countries - the islands are known as 'Las Islas Malvinas' in Argentina, and as the Falklands in the UK.
The Falklands War lasted over two months and resulted in the deaths of 649 Argentinean military personnel. Despite the war ending in an Argentine surrender, the country's constitution was updated in 1994 and declared the islands part of one of its provinces by law.
During the conflict, the Wolfe Tones wrote a song 'Admiral William Brown,' paying tribute to the 19th-century Argentinean navy admiral from County Mayo who played a crucial role in the Argentine War of Independence. The song's lyrics refer to 'Las Islas Malvinas,' and appear to have captured the attention of Argentinean social media users on Malvinas Day.
READ HERE: Irish Actors Shunned As New James Bond Reportedly Chosen
READ HERE: Emotional Scenes As Jürgen Klopp Meets Sean Cox For Final Time As Liverpool Manager
Argentinean TikToker shares Wolfe Tones song on Malvinas Day
Argentinean TikTok creator TheChiacch shared a video on Tuesday explaining the Wolfe Tones' 1982 song 'Admiral William Brown.'
@thechiacchLA BANDA IRLANDESA 🇮🇪 QUE APOYA A MALVINAS 🇦🇷♬ sonido original - TheChiacch
The full English translation of the video is below.
I am referring to the Wolfe Tones, a folk band originally from Ireland which has a very strong commitment to its Irish roots and has a very important contempt for the British crown.
There comes the song William Brown, which is an ode to William Brown, hero of our country with Irish roots. In that song they dedicate part of it to narrating the English invasions and the resistance of our people to them.
In the chorus of the song they let the name of the islands sound this way - Las Islas Malvinas.
On this April 2, eternal recognition to the combatants of our Malvinas Islands for defending our sovereignty. The claim through dialogue has to continue consistently and has to be a State policy.
And of course, I neither forget nor forgive war criminals.
Leaving us in no doubt as to the creator's stance on the conflict with the UK, TheChiacch's video has clearly made an impact with Argentineans, with the video clocking over 100k views and counting as of Tuesday evening.
The comments are filled with Argentinean TikTok users sharing their love for Irish people and the parallels they see between the long-standing British occupation of this island, and the Falklands conflict.
"Ireland the best country in the world"
"Ireland suffered a lot until it was able to emancipate itself from England in the 60s. They understand what colonialism is."
"How great the Irish, always rebels of England.👏👏👏"
Despite their newfound presence on Argentinean TikTok, the Wolfe Tones are not understood to have a huge presence in the Argentine consciousness. Nonetheless, Jamie Ralph tells us that the Wolfe Tones may have something of a foothold among communities of Argentineans with Irish heritage who are invested in Irish culture. Jamie is an Argentinean football expert who has contributed excellent work for Balls.ie in the past on the Irish-Argentinean footballing connection.
The Wolfe Tones' 'Admiral William Brown' was first performed in 1982 (the year in which the war took place), before being included on their 1983 album A Sense of Freedom. It reached number four in the Irish charts. A biographical song about Brown, it serves as a condemnation of British colonialism and imperialism. Because of this, it was never released in the UK - and the group themselves claim it got the band's music banned from British radio stations.
We came across this in an article from late 2022 on the band from an Argentinean newspaper called Clarin which quotes the Wolfe Tones' Brian Warfield as saying:
It (the song) was certainly not something the British applauded, and we received backlash from those in power at the time, who banned our music and blacklisted it on all radio stations, a situation that lasts until today.
There is a long-standing connection between Ireland and Argentina. The William Brown in question was born in Foxford, County Mayo, before emigrating to the Americas at the age of 16. He went on to found the Argentinean Navy and became a national hero for the pivotal role he played in the country's successful War of Independence against Spain.
Another man named Brown, Jose Luís, who scored for Argentina in their 1986 FIFA World Cup final triumph, is said to have had family roots in Kerry or Carlow.
And, of course, we cannot forget the most recent addition to the annals of Irish-Argentinean heroes. During the 2022 World Cup, we dug deeper to tell the story of midfielder Alexis Mac Allister's roots in Donabate, County Dublin.
As Argentina marched on to victory in that World Cup, they caught the eye of the Wolfe Tones unexpectedly. Footage of them singing a song with anti-English lyrics in the dressing room after their semi-final victory over Croatia went viral - with Brian Warfield praising the Argentinean FA for their handling of the incident.
It looks as though the relationship between the Wolfe Tones and Argentina has just seen a new twist.
SEE ALSO: Love/Hate Star Recalls Funny Interaction With Compatriot As He Donned England Jersey
