The Helicopter Song

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Up and Away (The Helicopter Song) was a hit single in Ireland by the Wolfe Tones. It was written by Sean McGinley from Castlefin, County Donegal, and tells the 1973 escape of three Provisional IRA prisoners from Dublin’s Mountjoy Prison. On Halloween, an IRA member hijacked a helicopter and forced the pilot to fly to Mountjoy, where the three prisoners, including Seamus Twomey, were lifted from the exercise yard. The song uses a light, humorous tone to describe events from the Troubles and show sympathy for the Irish republican cause without harsh language, which helped its popularity. The song was banned or restricted by RTÉ. Despite this, it sold about 12,000 copies in its first week and reached number one on the Irish Singles Chart on 22 November 1973, staying there for four weeks until Slade’s Merry Christmas Everybody took the top spot.