Paul McCartney Shares First Message With Fans Following UK Coronavirus Outbreak
Words by Riley Fitzgerald
Graphic by Press
Paul McCartney has made his first official statement following the outbreak of the coronavirus pandemic in the UK.
“Even in difficult times like these,” McCartney writes via his official Instagram account, “let’s wish each other a Happy St. Patrick’s Day.”
Having grown up in Ireland-adjacent British port city of Liverpool, McCartney has always felt a strong affinity with the Irish culture.
“Half of Liverpool comes from Ireland,” Paul McCartney shared with Classic Rock in 2016.
Both of Paul’s parents, Jim and Mary McCartney, were also descended from Irish immigrants.
Paul McCartney would also write one of his biggest hits ‘Give Ireland Back to the Irish‘ about the Emerald Isle.
“‘Give Ireland Back to the Irish’ was written after Bloody Sunday,” McCartney shares of the 1971 song in book Wingspan. “British soldiers had fired at a crowd of demonstrators and there were deaths. From our point of view, looking at it on the TV news, it was the first time people questioned what we were doing in Ireland.”
“lt was so shocking,” he continues, “I wasn’t really into protest songs – John [Lennon] had done that – but this time I felt that I had to write something… It was just on of those things you have to do in life because you believe in the cause. And protest was in the context of the times.”
After Paul’s first wife Linda McCartney pass away from breast cancer in 1998, he would marry second wife Heather Mills in a remote castle in Glaslough, Ireland in 2002.
Paul McCartney 2020 Tour Dates
05/23 – Lille, FR @ Pierre Mauroy Stadium
05/26 – Paris, FR @ Paris La Défense Arena
05/29 – Nijmegen, NL @ Goffert Park
05/31 – Bordeaux, FR @ Stadium Matmut
06/04 – Hannover, DE @ HDI Arena
06/07 – Lyon, FR @ Groupama Stadium
06/10 – Naples, IT @ Piazza Plebiscito
06/13 – Lucca, IT @ Mura Storiche
06/17 – Barcelona, ES @ Olympic Stadium
06/21- Werchter, BE @ TW Classic Festival
06/27 – Pilton, UK @ Glastonbury Festival
