Ireland fans and players were spotted singing along to Zombie by The Cranberries at the Rugby World Cup – despite ongoing controversy.
Johnny Sexton and Peter O'Mahony were seen belting out lyrics from the 1993 track, which had also been played after wins over Romania and Tonga earlier in the France-hosted tournament.
The song was written by the Irish rock band's lead singer Dolores O'Riordan in response to a IRA bomb attack in Warrington back in 1993, which claimed the lives of two children – and includes the lyrics: "In your head, in your head, zombie, zombie, zombie."
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Opposition to the track comes from what some perceive its anti-IRA stance in response to a bombing campaign carried out in Britain at the height of The Troubles in Northern Ireland.
The lyrics also reference the 1916 Easter Rising and is considered an anti-war piece of music.
Ireland remain the favourites to lift the World Cup for the first time thanks to the fine work of Andy Farrell, the father of England skipper Owen Farrell.
Singing of the song at sporting events began after the passing of Cranberries frontwoman O'Riordan back in January 2018, with fans giving their rendition at the All-Ireland hurling Championship won by Limerick in 2018.
Former Ireland international Shane Byrne said on Upfront with Katie Hannon: "Everyone there is just happy. Yes, there’s a meaning behind it. Yes, it was originally written as a protest song.
"But sometimes, a good tune is just a good tune."
Irish comedian Tadhg Hickey has called the song a "partitionist anthem" which showed a "complete lack of understanding or even basic compassion in the south for the lived experience of Northern nationalists".
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However, others including Tim Parry's dad, Colin Parry, who in the wake of her death thanked O'Riordan for the "majestic" and "powerful" lyrics, have argued "the song is not partisan – it's a peace song".
O'Riordan had said when the track was released: "I was quite young, but I remember being devastated about the innocent children being pulled into that kind of thing.
"So I suppose that’s why I was saying, ‘It’s not me’ – that even though I’m Irish it wasn’t me, I didn’t do it. Because being Irish, it was quite hard, especially in the UK when there was so much tension."
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