Finding an Irish Identity in Soul Music

Do you not get it, lads? The Irish are the blacks of Europe. And Dubliners are the blacks of Ireland. And the Northside Dubliners are the blacks of Dublin. So say it once, say it loud: I'm black and I'm proud.

-          Jimmy Rabbitte, The Commitments

From the beginning of the movie, The Commitments, Jimmy Rabbitte is committed to assembling an Irish band that plays Soul music.  Despite its roots in African-American culture, Jimmy sees soul as capturing and Irish identity in a way that even traditional Irish music does not.  While explaining this line of thinking to his fellow band mates he says:

Soul is the music people understand. Sure it's basic and it's simple. But it's something else 'cause, 'cause, 'cause it's honest, that's it. Its honest. There's no fuckin' bullshit. It sticks its neck out and says it straight from the heart. Sure there's a lot of different music you can get off on but soul is more than that. It takes you somewhere else. It grabs you by the balls and lifts you above the shite.

In thinking of soul music in this way, Jimmy points out its universal appeal and its inherent accessibility to people of all walks of life and in all cultures.  But why would a group of Irish guys in the early nineties be so interested in the genre?  And why would their music appeal to so many in the working class neighborhood of Northside, Dublin?

                Prominent in the 1960s, soul music is defined by the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame as, “Music that arose out of the black experience in America through the transmutation of gospel and rhythm & blues into a form of funky, secular testifying.”  The use of gospel-style rhythms and instruments with distinctively secular lyrics takes the genre out of the church and into the mainstream in a way that appeals to anyone looking for a catchy tune and relatable lyrics.  The genre of soul remains a primarily African-American endeavor despite its widespread popularity, suggesting to a certain level that it finds its roots in social oppression.

                If this is the case, then it’s easy to find a connection between the social history of the African-Americans who developed the genre and the Northside Dubliners who made it their own.  After presenting the idea of soul music to his band mates, Jimmy is met with some apprehension.  “Do y'not think, uh - we're a little white for that sort of thing?” is the first response to a video of James Brown that Jimmy is using as an example of what he wants the band to do.  Jimmy is not deterred, however, asserting, “Do you not get it, lads? The Irish are the blacks of Europe. And Dubliners are the blacks of Ireland. And the Northside Dubliners are the blacks of Dublin. So say it once, say it loud: I'm black and I'm proud.”  While the Irish were not enslaved by the British, they were stripped of their lands and oppressed for generations in much the same way that African-Americans were.  For years, Irish citizens inhabited much of the working class and strove to get up to speed with the rest of Europe.  By drawing on the similarities between the African American experience in contemporary America and the Irish experience in Europe, Jimmy is able to get his musicians on his side, and they respond with an enthusiastic, “I’m black and I’m proud!”