Cliff Notes – BBC denies editing Irish verse out of CMAT song after backlash
- BBC Radio 1 aired CMAT’s new single “Euro-Country,” omitting its Irish-language introduction, which surprised listeners familiar with the track’s significance.
- CMAT clarified on Instagram that the decision to edit the Irish-language portion was made by her record label, not her, and the full version was subsequently played on air.
- The incident sparked discussions about representation and minority languages in popular music, highlighting the ongoing relevance of cultural identity in the industry.
BBC denies editing Irish verse out of CMAT song after backlash
On Tuesday evening, BBC Radio 1 premiered CMAT’s new single, Euro-Country, but the version that aired omitted a significant portion of the track: its Irish-language introduction.
The first 40 seconds of the song, sung entirely in Gaeilge, were missing from the broadcast. It surprised listeners already familiar with the song, particularly given the significance of the language to the artist and the thematic weight it carries within the track.
CMAT – real name Ciara Mary-Alice Thompson – addressed the omission on Instagram shortly after the premiere, stating that the decision to remove the Irish-language segment was not hers.
‘I just want to say really quickly that it was not my decision to have the Irish language edited out of the first ever play of Euro-Country on radio,’ she said in a video.
‘I don’t know if it was a mistake or what happened, however, they have just gotten in contact and said they are going to play the Irish language intro full version tomorrow to make up for it.’
She added: ‘I don’t know who edited that out but it was crazy. Yeah, not my decision but they’re fixing it!’
CMAT explained to fans that it ‘was not her decision’ to omit the Irish language portion of the song.
The BBC later explained that the edited version of the song was created by CMAT’s record label.
BBC Radio 1 later responded to Metro’s request for comment, clarifying that the edit was made by CMAT’s record label, which supplied a radio version of the track that excluded the Irish-language opening.
Their comments read: ‘BBC Radio 1 did not edit the Irish language from this single, we broadcast the radio edit of CMAT’s new song Euro-Country that was supplied by the record label.
‘BBC Radio 1 has already played the full version that includes the Irish language intro today on ‘Rickie Melvin and Charlie’, and it will be played again on ‘Going Home’, and Radio 1’s New Music Show with Jack Saunders.’
The song marks the lead single from CMAT’s upcoming album, also titled Euro-Country, which is due for release at the end of August.
It’s a stylistic shift for the artist, wrapped in Europop kitsch and country flair, but its themes are deeply political.
Among its most pointed lyrics is a reference to former Taoiseach Bertie Ahern: ‘All the big boys, all the Berties, all the envelopes, yeah they hurt me. I was 12 when the dads started killing themselves all around me…’
The line is a stark reflection of the devastation wrought by the 2008 financial crash and the long shadow it cast over communities like CMAT’s hometown of Dunboyne, County Meath.
While the incident appears to have been a miscommunication rather than a deliberate act of censorship, it nonetheless reignited conversation around representation and the place of minority languages in popular music.
CMAT has had a busy summer, performing at Glastonbury and Primavera, and she’s set to appear at All Together Now in Waterford next weekend. A headline show at Dublin’s 3Arena is scheduled for December, marking a major milestone in her popularity in her home country.