Training in Tipperary 2009
The support for the Irish Team in the run up to the Euro’s has been phenomenal. One topic of conversation though has been ‘how well can you sing the Irish National Anthem?’. For those educated in Ireland and familiar with the native language … you have a head start …. however there are many supporters of all that is Irish spread far and wide throughout the globe that may not be lucky enough to be able to fully belt out the Irish National Anthem with pride.
I know that when growing up in a very proud Irish Community in Manchester during the Eighties, the anthem was played to mark the end of an event, a gig, a session or just to signal that the bar was about to close! Whatever the occasion, the process of standing with arms firmly held behind the back or by the sides belting out Amhrán na bhFiann was integral to the occasion and the spirit of the Community.
Damian Duff
When at University in Hull, East Yorkshire the ethos amongst the Irish and Irish descent was the same yet a constant conversation was frustration over the inability to pronounce the words of the National Anthem. That was until Liam O’Sullivan, from the County of Coventry via a staunch Mayo and Kerry heritage, devised a plan to enable anyone to learn the Anthem phonetically. He made a video of himself verbalising the anthem line by line and it was so successful that even the Irish Manager of the time, Mick McCarthy, used the video to teach the lads of Irish descent on the Irish team at the time. This they did and the feedback was amazing.
Now to the present and as the Irish team prepare to slam the ball in the net at the Euro’s the topic of the anthem has surfaced yet again. This week Liam has taken on the challenge to teach the National Anthem on RTE Radio’s ‘The Mooney Show which airs on the 7th June. Along with this he has set up a range of video’s that will help anyone brush up their pronunciation of the National song. Take a look at www.afewbars.com and see how well you can sing the Anthem that will be sung in gusto with total pride in Poland this month.
COME ON YOU BOYS IN GREEN !
