Paddy McGuigan, who wrote the successful ballad ‘The Men Behind The Wire,’ has died.

He was a member of Barleycorn group when he wrote the song about internment and defiance in the early 1970s in Northern Ireland.

The group had a huge success with the song but it did not get airplay on RTE radio because of its overt political content.

He also wrote rebel songs such as ‘The Boys of the Old Brigade’ and ‘Irish Soldier Laddie’.

McGuigan, a native of the Falls Road, Belfast, lived in later years in Portrane, Co Dublin.

He is survived by his wife Cecilia, a daughter, and two grandchildren.

He died on St Patrick's Day following a short illness.

Online Editors