Francie Brolly

Francie (formally Francis) Brolly is a musician, retired teacher and republican politician from Dungiven, Northern Ireland. He was first elected to the Northern Ireland Assembly in 2003 and was re-elected in 2007 as a Sinn Féin member for the East Londonderry constituency. He resigned in 2010.

His wife, Anne Brolly was the first Sinn Féin Mayor and the first female Mayor of Limavady between 2003 and 2004, the council to which she was elected in 2001.

In 2005, he was arrested by the Police Service of Northern Ireland (PSNI) and questioned about a bombing incident in the village of Claudy in 1972. An official complaint was lodged with the Police Ombudsman regarding the lawfulness of the arrest and this investigation is ongoing. Brolly mounted a legal challenge in relation to the arrest against the PSNI, which settled out of court.

Interests

Brolly is an Irish culture enthusiast. A lyricist and musician, he has written many well-known Irish republican songs, most famously The H-Block Song. His daughter, Nollaig, is also a well-known singer and Celtic harpist. He served as the Assembly spokesperson for Sinn Féin on Culture, Arts and Leisure, sitting on that Department's oversight committee. He is also an Irish language enthusiast and is a fluent speaker of the language.

H Block

H Block is an album recorded by various Irish folk artists, and produced by Christy Moore in 1978.

The album's title refers to the "H blocks" at Maze Prison (also known as "Long Kesh") in Northern Ireland, where Irish republican prisoners were held during the Troubles. The subject matter of several of these songs (particularly Moore's "90 Miles From Dublin") specifically centers on the period of the blanket and dirty protests at Maze and at Armagh Women's Prison. The launch of the album was raided by the Special Detective Unit ("Special Branch") of the Republic of Ireland.

Track listing

Personnel