"Zombie" is a protest song by Irish alternative rock band the Cranberries, written by the band's lead singer Dolores O'Riordan in memory of Johnathan Ball and Tim Parry, who were killed in the 1993 Warrington bombings. It was released on 19 September 1994 as the lead single from their second studio album, No Need to Argue, two weeks ahead of the album's release.
Music critics have long recognised "Zombie" as "a masterpiece of alternative rock", as well as a grunge number uncharacteristic of the band's other work.
During the Troubles, more than 3,500 people died and tens of thousands were injured in more than 30 years of the complex and often brutal conflict. The IRA, which was devoted both to removing British forces from Northern Ireland and to unifying Ireland, killed almost 2,000 people during this time.
During this time, over 10,000 bomb attacks were perpetrated in Northern Ireland, the Republic of Ireland and England, in an armed conflict fought between the Provisional IRA, the Ulster loyalist paramilitaries, and the British security forces.
The song was written in response to the death of Johnathan Ball, 3, and Tim Parry, 12, who had been killed in the IRA bombing in Warrington, northwest England, when two devices hidden in litter bins were detonated.
Ball died at the scene of the bombing as a result of his shrapnel-inflicted injuries and, five days later, Parry lost his life as a result of head injuries. 56 others were injured, some seriously. Parry died in his father's arms in Liverpool's Walton hospital. The two boys had gone shopping to buy Mother's Day cards on one of the town's busiest shopping streets.