"There Were Roses" is an Irish folk song based on a true story. It was written by the Northern Ireland folk singer and songwriter Tommy Sands. It was first recorded in 1985 by Robbie O'Connell, Mick Moloney and Jimmy Keane as the title track of their first joint album titled There Were Roses and incorrectly credited to "Moloney, O'Connell & Keane" on the Green Linnet label. Tommy Sands had also recorded his own song and it was the opening track of his 1985 album Singing of the Times. Context "There Were Roses" has been described as one of the best songs ever written about the Irish conflict known as The Troubles. The song recounts the true story of two men, "Allan Bell" from Benagh, a Protestant and "Sean O'Malley" from South Armagh, a Catholic. The two were very close friends despite the political strife between the Catholic and Protestant communities and they would meet at Ryan Road, near Mayobridge in South County Down, where the Sands family have a farm. The Sands family were all musicians and singers and their house was a focal point for Catholic and Protestant neighbours to enjoy music and craic. That's how Sands had met them and "who were both good friends of mine" as in the lyrics. Sands had originally recorded the song using the real names of the two men, Scott and McDonnell, and did so with the agreement of their families. But just prior to the release of the album there was a change of heart on the part of one of the families. The already pressed LPs were destroyed and a new version of the song recorded using the fictitious names Bell and O'Malley. The song recounts the murder of 'Allan' just outside Newry Town by the Republican paramilitaries. In the aftermath, Loyalist paramilitaries "came prowling 'round the lonely Ryan Road' for a Catholic to kill in retaliation; ironically, the man they selected for the revenge killing ("to even up the score" as in the lyrics), was 'Sean' who pleaded for his life but he was not spared. Sands comments in the song lyrics: "I wonder just how many wars are fought between good friends / And those that give the orders are not the ones to die / It's Bell and O'Malley and the likes of you and I", concluding: The 'roses' in the title and chorus reflects Sands's memory