Hot Press have announced the release of a new single to coincide with the Women’s World Cup. The song, written by Maria Walsh and recorded by Zrazy, is titled ‘Come On Ireland (Giving Us The Right To Dream)’ and is available from Friday, 7 July for sale on iTunes and to stream on Spotify, Apple Music, Bandcamp and all other relevant online platforms.
Zrazy previously went to No.1 in Ireland with the hugely successful 1990 World Cup song, ‘Watch Your House (Ooh Ah, Paul McGrath)’, which featured a spoken word contribution from Paul McGrath – who was, for many, the leading light in an Irish team of real, top level stars. Zrazy are Maria Walsh and Carole Nelson.
“I had been following the Irish women’s team for a long time,” Maria Walsh of Zrazy says, “and it was really inspiring to see them battle their way through to the World Cup finals in Australia. It was a truly extraordinary moment when Amber Barrett scored that winning goal against Scotland. I couldn’t resist the feeling that we should do something special to celebrate that – and ‘Come On Ireland (Giving Us The Right To Dream)’ is the result. Hopefully it’ll give Irish fans something unique and memorable to sing on the terraces during the remainder of the build-up, and at the World Cup finals in Australia.”
The track is being released on the Hot Press Records label.
“When Maria spoke to me about the idea of releasing a track, I immediately felt that it fitted brilliantly with Hot Press’ mission,” Hot Press editor Niall Stokes says. “Irish women were written out of history after the war of independence, when the Catholic Church effectively took control of so many aspects of Irish life. We’ve always fought against that marginalization of women – and the extraordinary successes achieved by Irish sports women have been a vital aspect of empowering Irish women in general to express themselves, and their talents, to the full, free from the stifling inhibitions imposed on them more or less since the foundation of the State.”
With the millions of Irish fans all over the world who will follow the fortunes of the Irish team in Australia with bated breath in mind, the track contains a sample from the speech made by President Michael D. Higgins on St. Patrick’s Day this year.
“We are all part of a rich and vibrant global community that is bound together by a shared love of life,” the President says.
There is also a contribution from the broadcaster and vlogger Shebahn Aherne – twin-sister of Irish international footballer Ruesha Littlejohn, who has been part of the Irish set-up since 2012 and has 70 senior caps to her credit – whose spoken word piece tells of her pride, as a member of the Irish diaspora, observing the success of the Irish team in personal close-up.
In its incantatory middle section, the song becomes the ultimate celebration of Irish sportswomen, with Katie Taylor, Sonia O’Sullivan, Kellie Harrington, Leona Maguire and Rhasidat Adeleke also being name-checked among those successfully going toe-to-toe with the best on the planet.
“I really wanted the song to properly celebrate the extraordinary Irish women, who have represented us so powerfully on the world stage,” Maria Walsh adds. “For so long Irish women were sidelined, but the success of our female heroes in sport has demonstrated just how profoundly wrong all of that was. And the Irish women’s football team are the latest – and potentially most far-reaching – expression of the reality that Irish women are entitled to equal respect and equal treatment in every aspect of Irish life, without exception.”
The track is mixed by Ruadhri Cushnan, a Grammy Award-winning engineer, who has had a huge level of international success working on No.1 hits by the likes of Ed Sheeran, Mumford & Sons and Shawn Mendes, as well as with mega-selling artists like Sugarbabes, All Saints , Coldplay, Snow Patrol, Bjork and George Michael.
“We’ve always seen a strong connection between music and sport – and the extent to which, as aspects of popular culture, they both can make a powerful contribution to the equality agenda,” Niall Stokes reflects. “A lot of the great heroes of rock ’n’ roll and folk music are working class. The same is true of football. But beyond that again is the fact that once you step across the line onto a football pitch, the only thing that matters – or that should matter – is what you can do for the team. And the Irish women’s team have shown that collective spirit in a way that is reminiscent of the great days when the Irish men’s team first made their breakthrough under Jack Charlton.”
You can listen to the song on Soundcloud.
‘Come On Ireland (Giving Us The Right To Dream’ by Zrazy, featuring President Michael D. Higgins and Shebahn Aherne is released on Hot Press Records and is available from Friday, 7 July on all online platforms.