On Liveline, listeners spoke to Colm Ó Mongáin about Amhrán na bhFiann and Irish sporting stars who don't seem to know it. How many of us know the words to sing along?
Some listeners said we should be expected to know the national anthem, including sporting stars. One listener thought we should translate the national anthem into English.
Should we teach the Irish National Anthem in schools and if so, in English or in Irish? 🎤@rteliveline @colmomongain pic.twitter.com/fHHzr9kkUU
— RTÉ Radio 1 (@RTERadio1) May 15, 2023
Bhí formhór na n-éisteoirí den tuairim gur cheart go mbeadh Amhrán na bhFiann ar eolas ag muintir na hÉireann ach nach bhfuil sin amhlaidh.
According to Roinn an Taoisigh:
The national anthem, called 'The Soldier's Song'/‘Amhrán na bhFiann’, was written by Peadar Kearney either early in 1910 or late in 1909 (according to an affidavit signed by him in 1926).
The music, by Patrick Heeney, is understood to have been composed around the same time. The original English text of ‘The Soldier’s Song’ was first published in Bulmer Hobson’s Irish Freedom newspaper in 1912. ‘The Soldier's Song’ was not widely known until it was sung at the GPO during the Easter Rising of 1916.
Liam Ring (Ó Rinn) was responsible for its first translation into Irish in late 1916 and it was published in the Army magazine, An tÓglach, on 3 November, 1923. On 12 July, 1926, the executive council of the Irish Free State decided to adopt the music of ‘The Soldier's Song’/‘Amhrán na bhFiann’ as the official national anthem.
All three men responsible for the national anthem, Peadar Kearney, Patrick Heeney and Liam Ring (Ó Rinn), were from Dublin’s north inner city and lived within 200 yards of each other.
If you'd like to learn the lyrics, here they are in Irish.
Amhrán na bhFiann
Sinne Fianna Fáil, atá faoi gheall ag Éirinn,
Buíon dár slua thar toinn do ráinig chugainn,
Faoi mhóid bheith saor,
Seantír ár sinsear feasta,
Ní fhágfar faoin tíorán ná faoin tráill.
Anocht a théam sa bhearna bhaoil,
Le gean ar Ghaeil, chun báis nó saoil,
Le gunna-scréach faoi lámhach na bpiléar,
Seo libh canaig' amhrán na bhFiann.
