Amhrán na bhFiann

"Amhrán na bhFiann" (Irish pronunciation: [ˈəuɾˠaːn̪ˠ n̪ˠə ˈvʲiːən̪ˠ]) originally composed in English as "The Soldiers' Song", is the Irish national anthem. The music was composed by Peadar Kearney and Patrick Heeney, the original English lyrics (as "A Soldiers' Song") by Kearney, and the Irish language translation by Liam Ó Rinn. The song has three verses, but only the choral refrain was officially designated the national anthem.

The Presidential Salute, played when the President of Ireland arrives at an official engagement, consists of the first four bars of the national anthem immediately followed by the last five.

History

Origins

"A Soldiers' Song" was composed in 1907, with words by Peadar Kearney and music by Kearney and Patrick Heeney. The first draft, handwritten on copybook paper, sold at auction in Dublin in 2006 for €760,000. The text was first published in Irish Freedom by Bulmer Hobson in 1912. It was used as marching song by the Irish Volunteers and was sung by rebels in the General Post Office (GPO) during the Easter Rising of 1916. Its popularity increased among rebels held in Frongoch internment camp after the Rising, and the Irish Republican Army (IRA) in the Irish War of Independence (1919–21). After the establishment of the Irish Free State in 1922, a large proportion of the IRA's men and apparatus became the National Army. The "Soldiers' Song" remained popular as an Army tune, and was played at many military functions.