The tragic story of Dubliner Terence Wheelock, who died in Garda custody is the subject of the new song ‘Summerhill’.
Folk singer Eoghan Ó Ceannabháin’s new song recounts the injustice and death of 20-year-old young man Terence Wheelock, who died in Garda custody in 2005 in Store Street in 2005.
The family have been campaigning for justice through an independent public inquiry into his death for 19 years, and the song itself was actually written by Terence’s brother, Sammy.
“I’ve got to know Sammy quite well over the past 6 months or so as we’ve been knocking doors together to raise awareness of the campaign for justice for Terence. One of the days we were knocking, Sammy mentioned that he had written this song for Terence, showed me the lyrics and said it was meant to go to the tune of Spancil Hill. I think it’s a really powerful song – it sounds like an old ballad but it perfectly encapsulates a modern day struggle: the anger and the pain endured by Terence’s family and friends and their determination to continue fighting for justice after so many years. I was really honoured when Sammy asked me to record it.”
Eoghan Ó Ceannabháin
The song is available on Bandcamp as all proceeds from the sale of the song will go to the Irish Cancer Society in honour of Terence’s older brother Larry, who kept up his fight for Terence even as he was struggling with his own personal battle with brain cancer.
“This song is about the tragic story of what happened to my younger brother Terence whilst he was in Garda custody after being wrongfully arrested and taken to Store Street Garda Station. But as well as telling Terence’s story, I wrote it to honour the memory of my late brother Laurence Wheelock who began the JUSTICE FOR TERENCE WHEELOCK campaign 19 years ago. Laurence led the campaign for Terence for years until he passed away with brain cancer in 2019. Larry always turned up to lead from the front for our family and he was always front and centre of the planning and organising in the campaign, including marches, meeting points to destinations during all the protests that would come.”
Sammy Wheelock
The song was recorded and mixed by Chris Barry at Richmond Studios and mastered by Ivan Jackman at Hellfire Studios. The song features Eoghan on vocals and flute; Ian Kinsella on guitar; Kaitlin Cullen-Verhauz on cello; Ben Strong on fiddle and banjo; and Conor Lyons on bodhrán.
Follow the Justice for Terence Wheelock Campaign on:
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