Sands announces new album with powerful track
Over the haunting drone of uilleann pipes, the immortal words of poet Refat Alareer ring out, bringing hope and solidarity in dark times: “If I must die, you must live to tell my tale.”
This is our first taste of fearless Cork folk warrior Clare Sands’ new album ‘They Tried to Bury Us’, which has just been announced and is due for release in October.
With the announcement comes the release of the album’s powerful title track and accompanying video in which the chorus’ inspired lyrics: “They tried to bury us; they didn’t know we were seeds,” shines brightly to the track’s marching rhythm and layers of cello, fiddle, flute, and uilleann pipes.
The single’s bilingual lyrics draw on the work of three Palestinian poets, Refaat Alareer, Mohammed el-Kurd, and Rafeef Ziadah, and the ancient Irish folk song ‘Oró, Sé Do Bheatha 'Bhaile’ which has become a rallying call at Palestinian solidarity protests. The closing lines whisper in Arabic, English, and Irish: “Nahnoo senabel, we are all seeds.”
Sands says: “This song is a song of hope and resilience. I wrote it to amplify the voices of Palestinian poets.”
The track’s official video was filmed on Beann Mhadagáin (Cave Hill) in Belfast, County Antrim, an iconic and historic location where the United Irishmen used to hold their meetings for the Irish rebellion. The video, directed and filmed by twin sisters Kasia and Liadain Kaminska, features Mustafa Al-Saidi, founder of Belfast Dabke. He was taught by his father Osama, who was tragically killed in an Israeli airstrike in Gaza in August 2025, along with his brother Yousef.
Sands recalls: “It was so special to create this alongside some of the best musicians in the north or Ireland and to witness Mustafa’s Palestinian Dabke dancing up the Cave Hill Mountain in Belfast, somewhere with huge cultural significance for all religions and cultures.”
Mustafa continues to fulfil his vow to his father to use Dabke dance to deliver his message that Palestinians are a proud people who love life.
He says: “I feel that my father’s spirit lives within me. Everything I do is a continuation of what he loved. Before he passed away, he once told me that he saw himself through me, and that he was deeply proud of my commitment to sharing our Palestinian heritage, culture, and identity through dabke and folklore."
Sands’ upcoming album, ‘They Tried To Bury Us’, is a collection of songs that, as she puts it, gives voice to the silenced: the endangered curlew; Lí Ban of Lough Neagh; lost words of our native tongue; the Rostrevor oak; those seeking refuge on our shores; and the Palestinian poets whose words embody defiance and inspire generations.
Originally from Cork and now based in Belfast, Sands is a sixth generation fiddle player and bilingual singer. She is known to draw deeply from the music of her ancestors to weave traditional Irish roots with contemporary sounds and influences. Her songs are connected to the place where folklore, language, and activism meet melody. Known for raw, infectious energy, she embodies a fearless warrior-like spirit that inspires and unites.
Her first single from the album, ‘They Tried To Bury Us’, is available now on Spotify and other streaming services. The full album comes out in October. In the meantime, Sands has three shows coming up in Cork this month. She plays Hollyhill Library in Cork city on 25 March, followed by a show in the Church of the Resurrection, Farranree, the following evening. She then plays Levi’s Corner House in Ballydehob on 28 March.