Ireland's Call-why was it written?

CHRIS GREER

A serious question- Was Ireland's Call (which I hate, by the way) written for the very reason that "certain sections of our community" (You know what that means!) found it difficult to sing "The Soldier's Song"?

PS. At half-time at home games, I LOVE joining in when the PA plays "The Fields Of Athenry" and I'm a Northern Protestant!!!

Sangre

The Fields of Athenry was a song written around the 70's which was turned into a Republican song by the terarraces. Amrán na bhFianna (sp?) is a very republican song, because thats what it was written to be.

Its great that you love singing the Fields of Athenry but obviously some people dont feel comfortable singing the national anthem, probably mostly designed for the rugby players from Ulster.

ballooba

Eh what about the third verse (excluding chorus)..

'By a lonely prison wall, I heard a young man calling

Nothing matters, Mary, when you’re free

Against the Famine and the Crown, I re-belled, they

Cut me down

Now you must raise our child with dignity'

Not republican?

ballooba

Full words incase anyone is interested ::

By a lonely prison wall I heard a young girl calling
Michael they are taking you away
For you stole Trevelyn’s corn, so the young might see the morn
Now a prison ship lies waiting in the bay.

CHORUS:

Low lie the fields of Athenry
Where once we watched the small free birds fly
Our love was on the wing, we had dreams and songs to sing
Its so lonely round the fields of Athenry.

By a lonely prison wall, I heard a young man calling
Nothing matters, Mary, when you’re free
Against the Famine and the Crown, I re-belled, they
Cut me down
Now you must raise our child with dignity.

By a lonely harbour wall, she watched the last star Falling
As the prison ship sailed out against the sky
For she lives in hope and praise, for her love in Botany Bay
Its so lonely round the fields of Athenry.

Sangre

Hmmm forgot about the crown bit.

Anyway the bottom line is obviously some people feel uncomfortable singing the song.

daveirl

This post has been deleted.

Borzoi

Exactly what Daveirl said.

I like Ireland's call...

but not as much as The Fields....

Hairy Homer

I posted much of this elsewhere but can't remember where.

Rugby in this country has thrived as a cross-community all-ireland sport because of the sensitive, tolerant and reasonable (in my view) attitudes that recognise the fact that most Northern rugby players come from the Unionist tradition.

There had long been an arrangement regarding the anthem that Amhran na bhFiann would only be sung at home matches. Corrolary: when Ireland played away from home no anthem was played, and when Ireland played at home the visiting team's anthem was not played.

This pertained until quite recently when changing circumstances forced a rethink. First of all, games started to be played on neutral grounds at the World Cup. I believe during the first World Cup in 1987 one of Moore's melodies (the Last Rose of Summer or something like that) was pressed into service as the Irish anthem. In 1991 all our matches bar the away fixture in Scotland were played in Dublin so the situation didn't arise.

For the 1995 World Cup in South Africa, they felt they needed to bite the bullet and get a compromise anthem. the issue had also been forced the season before when the Welsh team visiting Dublin had complained about their anthem not being played and actually sang the anthem themselves without accompaniment before the game, delaying the kick off accordingly.

Enter Phil Coulter and the lyrically uncontroversial, if musically excruciating Ireland's Call.

Nice idea. Shame about the song. (IMHO)

PH01

...Molly Malone? They used to sing that all the time. And don't say '...she died of a fever...'

Yavvy

what happened to her mother and father ? I heard they were unwell ?

Seriously, I like Irelands call and it makes sence .
But it doesnt have a national anthem feel about it like the
great National anthems of the world

France, Italy, Ireland and a few slect others