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Father of IRA bombing victim praises The Cranberries lyrics for being 'majestic and very real'

The dad of a child who was killed in an IRA bombing has praised Dolores O’ Riordan’s song ‘Zombie’ – which was written about the 1993 incident in Warrington, Cheshire.

Colin Parry, whose son Tim lost his life during the terror tragedy aged just 12, said that he only realised The Cranberries song ‘Zombie’ was about the attack after discovering the band’s lead singer has suddenly passed away in London.

Dolores O’Riordan was found dead in a London hotel room on January 15 (PA)
Dolores O’Riordan was found dead in a London hotel room on January 15 (PA)

Speaking on Good Morning Ulster, Mr Parry said: ‘Only yesterday did I discover that her group, or she herself, had composed the song in memory of the event in Warrington in which my son Tim and young Jonathan Ball died.

‘I was completely unaware what it was about. My wife came home from the police centre where she worked I got the song up on my laptop, watched the band singing, saw Dolores and listened to the words.’

Colin Parry at the 20th anniversary of the Warrington Bombing. (PA)
Colin Parry at the 20th anniversary of the Warrington Bombing. (PA)

He added that the lyrics were ‘very real’ and ‘majestic’ and also said: ‘The event at Warrington, like the many events that happened all over Ireland and Great Britain, affected families in a very real way and many people have become immune to the pain and suffering that so many people experienced during that armed campaign.’

Colin’s son Tim was 12 when he was killed alongside three-year-old Johnathan Ball in 1993 when two IRA bombs detonated in Cheshire.

School photo of Tim Parry, the 12-year-old victim of the 1993 Warrington IRA bombing. (PA)
School photo of Tim Parry, the 12-year-old victim of the 1993 Warrington IRA bombing. (PA)

Meanwhile, since news of Dolores’s death broke, sales of The Cranberries album Something Else rose by 900,000%.

She was found dead in a hotel room at The Hilton Park Lane while in London with the band Bad Wolves.

Her family in Ireland are said to be ‘devastated’ and the cause of death is still unknown.

Dolores had been vocal in the past about her struggles with mental health and in 2013 revealed she suffered from bi-polar disorder.

Cranberries lead singer Dolores O’Riordan performs during the European Border Breakers awards, or EBBA awards, in Cannes, southern France.
Cranberries lead singer Dolores O’Riordan performs during the European Border Breakers awards, or EBBA awards, in Cannes, southern France.

According to TMZ, a source claimed that mother-of-three Dolores had been ‘dreadfully depressed’ recently.

Her publicist confirmed the sad news in a statement yesterday, saying that ‘No further details are available at this time’ and that the family were ‘devastated’ to learn of the tragedy and requested privacy.