The story behind Franks’ classic Cork anthem After All is told

When did the classic song by The Frank And Walters, After All, become the unofficial anthem of their beloved home city of Cork?

Released in December, 1992, it was a hit in Ireland and the UK, where it earned them an appearance on Top Of The Pops the first Cork band to do so.

By the end of 2004, the tune was being played to sing-along crowds on the banks of the River Lee as Cork had a party to usher in its year as European Capital of Culture.

In the years since, After All has become an anthem for Corkonians young and old, at home and abroad, sung lustily whenever and wherever Rebels gather.

Now, the love story behind the Frank And Walters’ iconic hit will be told, in a new series of Aistear An Amhráin.

The series strives to tell the stories behind some of Ireland’s best-loved songs - the tunes and ditties we all know and love.

You’ve heard them sung at parties, across the airwaves, on TV, and in film. But do you know the stories behind them?

The Franks feature in episode two on June 10, and in the first episode of Aistear An Amhráin on RTÉ1 on Tuesday at 7pm, we hear about the story behind the iconic song, Grace.

With more than 100 versions recorded, from Jim McCann, who first had a hit with it in 1986, to Rod Stewart to Kellie Harrington, everyone knows Grace.

Based on the tragic love story of Grace Gifford and Joseph Mary Plunkett, who was executed in 1916, it is a song that feels firmly rooted in the Irish ballad canon; as if it has been around as long as the tale it tells.

In the programme, reporter Sinéad Ní Churnáin meets the song’s composers, brothers Frank and Seán O’Meara, who wrote it in 1985, to explore the origins and impact of the song and asks the question: who was Grace?