“Zombie” by The Cranberries describes the bombs detonated by the IRA on March 20, 1993, killing Johnathan Ball, three, and Tim Parry, twelve. Johnathan Ball was killed instantly and Tim Parry died from his injuries five days later. 50 others were injured.
“Zombie” refers to the tensions in Ireland that were never fully resolved, particularly in the line “In your head, in your head, they are fighting.” The song was recorded in 1994.
Following the bombing, the police interviewed 10,000 people. Despite former Irish Republican Army (IRA) commander Martin McGuinness “describing the bombings as a ‘shameful act’ and expressing his personal regret in 2013,” (Britton).
The IRA used Englishmen to carry out the attacks, as security footage later displayed: John Hayes and Patrick Taylor avoided arrest for thirty years because authorities believed the culprits were Irish. (BBC). Hayes was a member of Red-Action, “a British ultra-left anti-fascism group in support of the IRA” (BBC).
It is expected that the IRA selected Hayes and Taylor to detonate the bombs because they would be less likely to fit the description of sympathizers to their cause.
The Provisional IRA claimed involvement in the attacks.
“Police Release Pictures of Warrington Bomb Suspects.” UPI, UPI, 10 Sept. 1993, www.upi.com/Archives/1993/09/10/Police-release-pictures-of-Warrington-bomb-suspects/6708747633600/.
“Warrington Bombing Linked to Red Action Group.” BBC News, BBC, 1 Sept. 2013, www.bbc.com/news/av/uk-england-23632246.