Acclaimed Irish songwriter Fiach Moriarty releases his powerful new single ‘The Death of MacNeill’ on January 5th, 2026 – a moving, historically grounded song that confronts one of the most contested and painful episodes of the Irish Civil War.
Renowned for his ability to weave personal storytelling with wider social history, Moriarty turns his focus to the death of Brian MacNeill, one of six Anti-Treaty IRA volunteers killed by Free State forces on Benbulben, Co. Sligo, on September 20th, 1922. The circumstances surrounding the deaths of the so-called “Noble 6” remain disputed to this day, and Moriarty’s song gives voice to the human cost behind the political fracture.
Brian MacNeill was the son of Eoin MacNeill, the revolutionary leader who famously countermanded the 1916 Easter Rising at the eleventh hour. At the time of Brian’s death, his father served in the newly formed Dáil Éireann, while his two brothers were soldiers in the National Army – placing the MacNeill family tragically on opposing sides of the Civil War. Brian had abandoned his medical studies at UCD to fight for Irish independence and, just months before his death, had been involved in the capture of General Seán McKeon’s armoured car, The Ballinalee – an act that intensified Free State efforts in the region.
‘The Death of MacNeill’ is structured as a series of imagined and historical voices:
Verse 1 is drawn directly from a real letter written by Brian to his mother shortly before his death.
Verse 2 imagines a letter to his father, reflecting the emotional complexity of a family divided by ideology but bound by love.
Verse 3 depicts a final exchange between Brian and his captor.
The chorus captures the tragic paradox of the Civil War – two sides seeking the same freedom, but unable to agree on the path to reach it.
The release continues a prolific period for Moriarty, following his 2024 album Liberties, and comes amid unprecedented global attention. As of January 2025, his cover of E.L.O.’s ‘Mr. Blue Sky’ has surpassed 65 million views on TikTok, introducing his work to a vast new international audience.
Fiach Moriarty’s songwriting talents have previously led to collaborations with the RTÉ Concert Orchestra, Paul Brady, Declan O’Rourke and Eddi Reader, as well as appearances as host and musician on Virgin Media’s 6-part musical travel series Jingle Jangle, alongside Fiachna Ó Braonáin (Hothouse Flowers) and Jim Lockhart (Horslips). More recently, he has recorded and performed with Harry Connick Jr., Mundy, Marti Pellow, Christy Dignam, Chesney Hawkes, Úna Healy, Brian Kennedy, John Sheahan, Paddy Moloney, Gerry Leonard (David Bowie), and appeared on Other Voices with Grammy-nominated Beoga.
Moriarty has released three studio albums to date: So i (2010), The Revolution (2015) and Liberties (2024). He also plays guitar with trad-fusion group ALDOC and the pioneering Irish rock band HORSLIPS.
With ‘The Death of MacNeill’, Fiach Moriarty delivers a song that is both intimate and national in scope – a reminder that history is not only shaped by ideology, but by families, letters, and lives cut short.