Are Oasis actually more Irish than Mancunian?
If you were to – hypothetically – cut either of Oasis in half, you would find Manchester through and through. But closer to the heart, the Irish tricolour would also make its welcome appearance.
It’s a well-known fact that despite Liam and Noel Gallagher being almost painfully Mancunian to their absolute core, Ireland has always been a place of second homecomings for the pair, even if they have never permanently lived on its soil. The north of England may lap them up as their bespoke musical revolution, but it’s the Irish who know the real truth.
Of course, it’s not entirely uncommon for many British people to have ancestral links to the country just across the sea, but in the case of the Gallaghers, with both their parents hailing from County Meath and County Mayo, respectively, their ties are probably stronger than most. It’s a place they have always been pulled to, whether by blood or by choice.
Noel told chat show legend Gay Byrne in 1996 on The Late Late Show that his mother used “to drag us religiously by the earhole for six weeks because we had never seen the likes of nettles. We run around the fields throwing things at cows. She was determined to introduce us to Irish culture.”
It probably goes without saying that the inner city heights of Longsight in Manchester didn’t bear any comparison to the vast and open countryside of Ireland; the perfect environment, as it happened, for two rowdy boys to start plotting their plans for a life of stardom ahead. But they barely had any interest in that at the time.
Ultimately, Ireland has, in some ways, proven to be a conflicting muse for Oasis. On one hand, it is their home away from home that they are inherently proud of. On the other hand, it also bears the reminiscent memories of their father, with whom they had a turbulent relationship until they completely cut contact in adulthood at the height of their fame.
In that regard, while Manchester is credited with bringing out the bite and baring teeth of their quintessential Britpop sound, you could say it was more so Ireland that hammered home the blazing spirit of who they wanted to be. It’s a country of independent spirit, full of people who aren’t shy of their opinions, and where the brothers had to learn how to stand on their own two feet.
It’s not difficult to see how that influence rubbed off, and it was never better exemplified than by the time Noel was asked about the England men’s football team. “I’m not an England fan, I’m Irish,” he replied. “Good night!” With that flourish, it was clear where exactly his true territorial alliances lie.
Naturally, when the band took to stages all over the world over the span of their reunion tour last year, it was Manchester that generated the biggest roar of the crowd as the two sons of the city came home. Yet when they headed over to Dublin in their Celtic second home, the party was only just getting started.
