Amhrán na bhFiann
Sinne laochra Fáil
A tá fé gheall ag Éirinn,
buion dár slua
Thar toinn do ráinig chugainn,
Fé mhóid bheith saor.
Sean tír ár sinsir feasta
Ní fhagfar fé'n tiorán ná fé'n tráil
Anocht a théam sa bhearna bhaoil,
Le gean ar Ghaeil chun báis nó saoil
Le guna screach fé lámhach na bpiléar
Seo libh canaídh Amhrán na bhFiann.
Sunday afternoon and the GAA teams take to the famous Croke Park pitch, lining up before the tricolour.
The drum roll commences and the first line of the Irish anthem – Amhrán na bhFiann – is belted out by all and sundry, proudly standing tall. By line three the decibels have dropped as the crowd's familiarity with it wanes and they try to read it from the large screen in the corner.
Mumbling now takes over, with few people willing to commit to pronouncing 'fhágfar' and many are whispering into their chests. Line nine and you can almost hear President Mary McAleese accompanying the band over the near silent crowd. Finally, with two lines to go the crowd breaks into cheering, drowning out any remaining singers, to the relief of many who secretly feel a little less Irish for not knowing it and vowing to learn it before the next match.
Okay, this might be a slight exaggeration, but to see how slight, the Andersonstown News took to the West Belfast streets to see how well people know their national anthem, or if they believe it is best left unsung.
Heilín Nic Giolla Catháin, a student at Hope University in Liverpool where she's studying primary teaching with theology and religious studies, knows the anthem in Irish, and believes that it is an important part of our national identity. "I think it is good to have. I like singing something in my native tongue. I think it would be good if people were to learn the national anthem, and learn it in Irish. It helps to keep the language alive."
Accepting that some people may be uncomfortable by the Irish anthem being played in rugby matches, she accepts that it should take a back seat to the more neutral song Ireland's Call. Heilín thinks that the Irish anthem is suitable for sporting occasions, particularly GAA matches. "It seems to get a rousing response."
Thomas Thornton of St James' says he regularly attends Gaelic matches with his Armagh wife and believes that the loyal support from the Orchard County know it well.
"All the Armagh fans sing it in Irish, which I wouldn't know. The vast majority of them would know it."
Thomas says that he was never taught it in Irish but knows the words in English. He thinks that it is still appropriate for Ireland describing it as a "rousing anthem". Like Heilín, Thomas understands the need for a neutral anthem for rugby.
"You can't expect Protestants to sing the Irish anthem. It's like us singing God Save the Queen, so the rugby song [Ireland's Call] is fair enough."
Iveagh woman Lorraine Mills knows some of the words in English but is not overly impressed with them.
"It is written in old language, and it is not very up to date. Ireland has changed. It describes an Ireland from the century before the last. It is too militaristic."
In the right situations, she thinks the anthem is needed, such as at sporting events, but she would like it to be more upbeat. "I'd like to have something like Waltzing Matilda, that we could all dance to instead of standing still," smiled the voluntary worker with Féile FM.
Liverpool visitor Susan Gavaghan-Taylor, who was over for the Féile, understandably does not know the song herself but she thinks it is fitting. "I think it is very appropriate after England's oppression of Ireland. My grandfather was in the Orange Lodge and my grandmother was a republican, as her father had to leave Ireland because of the famine, so I think I can see it from both sides. People should put in the effort to learn the words. I mean, people going to church spoke along with the Mass in Latin and didn't always know what that meant," said Susan, a member of the Troops Out Movement.
Mícheál Malone was one of the few we met on the Falls Road who knows the anthem in both English and Irish.
"I was reared with it and I learnt it in school and the area I lived in."
The New Lodge man offers an interesting alternative to the anthem we currently have.
"I have no strong feelings one way or the other. I think that Roisin Dúbh would make a good anthem. We are coming down with thousands of Irish airs and any one of them would do. The national anthem has served us well in the past but I don't know if it is serving us well now."
Dublin theatre director Brid Ó Gallchoir is not deterred by the militaristic aspect of the anthem. "All anthems have to be written at some point in time. You can't go changing it due to change in circumstances. It was written at a legitimate point in history, when the country was in conflict."
She believes that many people do not pick up on what the song is about. "Most people don't understand the words so I don't think it matters. It is a little bit of history, which is what they are about."
She agrees with the GAA's decision to display the words of the anthem on a big board before the matches. "It is a practical solution to the sad reality that people don't know the anthem. It gets everyone singing together and creates a bit of an atmosphere."
