John Dolan: 100 years old... Irish National Anthem is in my world top five
STRIKING A CHORD: An emotional Ronan O’Gara during the playing of Amhrán na bhFiann at Croke Park ahead of the Six Nations match against England in 2009. The National Anthem and Ireland’s Call are played ahead of Ireland rugby team’s home matches. Picture: INPHO/Dan Sheridan
A hundred years ago, the head of the Irish government, WT Cosgrave, adopted it as the National Anthem.
That decision on July 12, 1926, put (the Irish translation by Liam Ó Rinn only grew in popularity in the years after) front and centre of the national consciousness.
It had been composed by Peadar Kearney, uncle of Brendan Behan, 15 years or so earlier, in collaboration with Patrick Heeney, who was mainly responsible for the melody.
The stirring song has stood the test of time, with little appetite to replace it or update it with more modern lyrics - although young pretender may challenge it in years to come, as a compromise in a newly-united Ireland.
As a general rule of thumb, I have found that western European anthems tend to be dull, dirge-like, and anachronistic, while African ones can be wonderfully upbeat. Most South American anthems sound like they are threatening to smash our skulls in if we look at them askew.
I have to say, as an Irish citizen, that is among the best of them. Of course, it helps when a song is associated with sporting greats and gold medals on podiums, but it is a belting tune nonetheless, and the fact people born outside of Ireland (like me) don’t understand the words can lend it an air of Gaelic mystery if anything.
It helps too when the nation shows respect for its anthem. UK friends of mine still fondly remember the band at my wedding reception bringing the night to a close with a stirring rendition of , at which all the Irish not comatose stood up and sang lustily along.
Compare that to (90% of English still say Queen by default), which manages to mix two fading institutions in the Church of England and the monarchy to a jaunty tune that dances around without ever hitting a satisfying spot.
It was no surprise to see it come rock bottom in an article ranking all 48 World Cup National Anthems by the recently. The writer said of : “It’s dreadful. The music drones on unforgivingly and the lyrics, unlike every other anthem in this list, are about one old bloke. And it’s not even David Attenborough.”
Ouch.
National Anthems are a great way to start a football match, and the arch-tinkerer, FIFA boss Gianni Infantino, recognised this. In this World Cup, he insisted every player selected in the matchday squad should stand together to sing it, thus wringing out every ounce of pride and emotion on the global stage.
But the anthems are a disparate bunch of tunes, alright. Morocco’s was actually written for the football team, ahead of their qualification for the 1970 World Cup.
The title for the oldest National Anthem depends on various factors.
The Netherlands’ song, , has the oldest melody, tracing back to a French tune first written down in 1574, and pays tribute to that scourge of Irish nationalists, William of Orange.
However, Japan’s anthem features lyrics taken from a 10th-century poem. It is also one of the shortest anthems (a blessing, in most cases), comprising just 21 words.
The oldest National Anthem in continuous use is for Spain, having been played on state occasions since 1770. It is also a rarity in that it has had no words since 1978, in the wake of General Franco’s dictatorship, a quirk it shares with Bosnia and Herzegovina at the World Cup. A neat idea since the words of a National Anthem can often be so triggering!
The newest National Anthem at the World Cup is that of South Africa, officially adopted in 1997 after the end of apartheid. An amalgamation of two previously separate anthems, it is unique in that each verse is sung in five different languages: Xhosa, Zulu, Sesotho, Afrikaans, and English.
There is an argument that the Iraq anthem is younger, but its lyrics and melody date back to a poem written almost a century ago.
The longest National Anthem at the World Cup was the almost two-minute stretch for , although Uruguay’s can take around six minutes in its fullness - FIFA could have squeezed an ad break into that if Uruguay hadn’t wisely decided to shorten it.
The lyrics to many anthems can be startling to modern ears - the “sons of the Gael, Men of the Pale” taking on the “Saxon foe” in being a case in point.
Much is lost in translation, and women are often completely forgotten. For example, “Qatar is the land of the foremost men, who protect us in time of distress.”
A few sound passive aggressive: “No place for betrayers in Tunisia,” indeed.
You have to love the Norwegians at this World Cup, with their unabashed coveting of their Viking heritage and their longboat drum celebration, and one line from their National Anthem really conjures up a misty past: “Yes, we love this country as it rises forth, rugged, weathered, above the sea.”
However, the key, for me, to a good, stirring National Anthem is in the melody rather than the words. After all, how many people really understand every word in Irish of ?
With that in mind, and in honour of the centenary of the Irish one, I have come up with my own top five National Anthems of all time, based partly on the World Cup, and partly on memory. Do you agree?
The melody grabs you in the first two lines and doesn’t let go. It often drives our sporting stars to tears.
Sadly, like Ireland, Italy are missing from the World Cup. This is a beauty. Bombastic, short bursts of orchestral pomp lead into a gorgeous, rousing tune, and when the chorus says “we are ready for death. Italy has called”, you know they mean it.
The best of all the hymn-like anthems, Alanis Morissette smashed it out of the park at the World Cup opening ceremony in Toronto, six days before playing in Cork - did she sing it then too?!
The bagpipes at the start get the goosebumps rising, and the tune would bring a tear to the glass eye of a Sassenach. How their sporting teams fail so often after belting this out is a mystery to match Nessie.
This strikes the perfect note between lachrymose and passion, and the chorus is utterly uplifting and majestic. If you cannot sing this with gusto, you’re dead inside. Forget the World Cup, the French are winners already in my book.
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