The tragic true story behind The Cranberries number one song 'Zombie'.

On Tuesday morning, news broke that Dolores O’Riordan, 46, lead singer of Irish rock-band The Cranberries, had died after travelling to London for a recording session.

During the mid 90s, The Cranberries released a string of hits including Dreams and Linger, making them the second best selling Irish band after U2.

It was, however, their song Zombie released in 1994, that would become their only number one worldwide hit.

Written by O’Riordan, the song was based on a tragic true story that took place in England the year before.

On March 20, 1993, the Irish Republican Army (IRA) planted two bombs inside two separate bins- about 90 metres apart – in Warrington cite centre, Cheshire. The IRA wanted British troops to withdraw from Northern Ireland, and this was one in a series of attacks.

At 12:25pm, when the area was crowded with shoppers, the bombs exploded within one minute of each other.

The bins were made from cast-iron, meaning shrapnel flew towards passers-by.

Dozens were injured as a result of the attack, and two children were killed.

The first was three-year-old Johnathan Ball who was being minded by a babysitter as they looked for a Mother's Day card. Ball died at the scene.

The second casualty was 12-year-old Tim Parry. After sustaining serious injuries, he was rushed to hospital, but five days later his life support machine was switched off.

With the death of two children came enormous international media coverage, and a peace rally was soon held in Dublin, desperately seeking an end to IRA violence.

The lyrics of Zombie read:

She wrote the song in her apartment, alone, between tour dates.