Éire (i/ˈɛərə/; Irish: [ˈeːɾʲə] ( listen)) is the Irish name for the island of Ireland and the sovereign state of the same name.
The modern Irish Éire evolved from the Old Irish word Ériu, which was the name of a Gaelic goddess. Ériu is generally believed to have been the matron goddess of Ireland, a goddess of sovereignty, or simply a goddess of the land. The origin of Ériu has been traced to the Proto-Celtic reconstruction *Φīwerjon- (nominative singular Φīwerjū < Pre-Proto-Celtic -jō). This suggests a descent from the Proto-Indo-European reconstruction *piHwerjon-, likely related to the adjectival stem *piHwer- (cf. Sanskrit pīvan, pīvarī and pīvara meaning "fat, full, abounding"). This would suggest a meaning of "abundant land".
This Proto-Celtic form became Īweriū or Īveriū in Proto-Goidelic. It is highly likely that explorers borrowed and modified this term. During his exploration of northwest Europe (circa 320 BCE), Pytheas of Massilia called the island Ierne (written Ἰέρνη). In his book Geographia (circa 150 CE), Claudius Ptolemaeus called the island Iouernia (written Ἰουερνία). Based on these historical accounts, the Roman Empire called the island Hibernia.
In the land of Eireann
Where sat the high king
Faced with the problems
The dreaded vikings
Gather all the men folk
Speaking the Celtic tongue
The land is Eireann
The land is young
Stands Red O'Donnell
Fighting the Saxon foe
With Hugh O'Neil
All along the north land
They fight bitterly
The land is eireann
And as I lay my soul to rest,
I hear you calling.
And it is the saddest song of all,
The song of Eire.
Softly you cry, not a tear, not a tear in your eyes.
As the fire burns low, where shall we go now?
Rest now, oh formless one, your spirit in the sun.
Rest now, oh formless one, your spirit in the sun.
Wake now and seem, your children still fight.
Once we were strong,
but you raped our honour and our song.
Once we were free,
now were bound in chains of misery.
We are proud,
and our hearts have always been free.
Once we were strong,
but you raped our honour and our song.
Once we were free,
now were bound in chains of misery.
We are proud,
and our hearts have always been free.
Rest now, under the stars so bright,