1.Only the chorus is the national anthem. The 1926 decision named the whole song; in 1929 the government authorised Colonel Fritz Brase's arrangement of the chorus alone, after the Minister for Defence had argued that the full song was too long for people to learn and sing. The three verses are rarely heard.
2.The anthem lives in two languages: Peadar Kearney's English original and Liam Ó Rinn's Irish translation of 1923. The Irish version is the one normally sung, and in 2018 a Seanad committee recommended producing a phonetic version for people not familiar with the Irish language.
3.Kearney wrote the music with Patrick Heeney, who died in 1911 before the song became famous, and Kearney himself was the uncle of the playwright Brendan Behan.
Ireland National Anthem Lyrics
Only the chorus is typically performed at official events
Show full poemShow official version
[Curfá]
Sinne Fianna Fáil,
atá faoi gheall ag Éirinn,
Buíon dár slua
thar toinn do ráinig chugainn,
Faoi mhóid bheith saor
Seantír ár sinsear feasta,
Ní fhágfar faoin tíorán ná faoin tráill.
Anocht a théam sa bhearna bhaoil,
Le gean ar Ghaeil, chun báis nó saoil,
Le gunna-scréach faoi lámhach na bpiléar,
Seo libh canaig' amhrán na bhFiann.
Seo dhíbh, a chairde, duan Óglách,
Caithréimeach bríomhar ceolmhar,
Ár dtinte cnámh go buacach táid,
'S an spéir go mín réaltógach
Is fonnmhar faobhrach sinn chun gleo
'S go tiúnmhar glé roimh thíocht don ló
Fé chiúnas chaomh na hoíche ar seol:
Seo libh, canaídh Amhrán na bhFiann.
[Curfá]
Sinne Fianna Fáil,
atá faoi gheall ag Éirinn,
Buíon dár slua
thar toinn do ráinig chugainn,
Faoi mhóid bheith saor
Seantír ár sinsear feasta,
Ní fhágfar faoin tíorán ná faoin tráill.
Anocht a théam sa bhearna bhaoil,
Le gean ar Ghaeil, chun báis nó saoil,
Le gunna-scréach faoi lámhach na bpiléar,
Seo libh canaig' amhrán na bhFiann.
Cois bánta réidhe, ar ardaibh sléibhe,
Ba bhuadhach ár sinsir romhainn,
Ag lámhach go tréan fén sárbhrat séin
'Tá thuas sa ghaoth go seolta
Ba dhúchas riamh dár gcine cháidh
Gan iompáil siar ó imirt áir,
'S ag siúl mar iad i gcoinne namhad
Seo libh, canaídh Amhrán na bhFiann.
[Curfá]
Sinne Fianna Fáil,
atá faoi gheall ag Éirinn,
Buíon dár slua
thar toinn do ráinig chugainn,
Faoi mhóid bheith saor
Seantír ár sinsear feasta,
Ní fhágfar faoin tíorán ná faoin tráill.
Anocht a théam sa bhearna bhaoil,
Le gean ar Ghaeil, chun báis nó saoil,
Le gunna-scréach faoi lámhach na bpiléar,
Seo libh canaig' amhrán na bhFiann.
A bhuíon nach fann d'fhuil Ghaeil is Gall,
Sin breacadh lae na saoirse,
Tá sceimhle 's scanradh i gcroíthe namhad,
Roimh ranna laochra ár dtíre.
Ár dtinte is tréith gan spréach anois,
Sin luisne ghlé sa spéir anoir,
'S an bíobha i raon na bpiléar agaibh:
Seo libh, canaídh Amhrán na bhFiann.
[Curfá]
Sinne Fianna Fáil,
atá faoi gheall ag Éirinn,
Buíon dár slua
thar toinn do ráinig chugainn,
Faoi mhóid bheith saor
Seantír ár sinsear feasta,
Ní fhágfar faoin tíorán ná faoin tráill.
Anocht a théam sa bhearna bhaoil,
Le gean ar Ghaeil, chun báis nó saoil,
Le gunna-scréach faoi lámhach na bpiléar,
Seo libh canaig' amhrán na bhFiann.
[Chorus]
Soldiers are we, whose lives are pledged to Ireland;
Some have come from a land beyond the wave.
Sworn to be free, no more our ancient sireland
Shall shelter the despot or the slave.
Tonight we man the gap of danger
In Erin's cause, come woe or weal;
'Mid cannons' roar and rifles' peal,
We'll chant a soldier's song.
We'll sing a song, a soldier's song,
With cheering rousing chorus,
As round our blazing fires we throng,
The starry heavens o'er us;
Impatient for the coming fight,
And as we wait the morning's light,
Here in the silence of the night,
We'll chant a soldier's song.
[Chorus]
Soldiers are we, whose lives are pledged to Ireland;
Some have come from a land beyond the wave.
Sworn to be free, no more our ancient sireland
Shall shelter the despot or the slave.
Tonight we man the gap of danger
In Erin's cause, come woe or weal;
'Mid cannons' roar and rifles' peal,
We'll chant a soldier's song.
In valley green, on towering crag,
Our fathers fought before us,
And conquered 'neath the same old flag
That's proudly floating o'er us.
We're children of a fighting race,
That never yet has known disgrace,
And as we march, the foe to face,
We'll chant a soldier's song.
[Chorus]
Soldiers are we, whose lives are pledged to Ireland;
Some have come from a land beyond the wave.
Sworn to be free, no more our ancient sireland
Shall shelter the despot or the slave.
Tonight we man the gap of danger
In Erin's cause, come woe or weal;
'Mid cannons' roar and rifles' peal,
We'll chant a soldier's song.
Sons of the Gael! Men of the Pale!
The long watched day is breaking;
The serried ranks of Inisfail
Shall set the tyrant quaking.
Our camp fires now are burning low;
See in the east a silv'ry glow,
Out yonder waits the Saxon foe,
So chant a soldier's song.
[Chorus]
Soldiers are we, whose lives are pledged to Ireland;
Some have come from a land beyond the wave.
Sworn to be free, no more our ancient sireland
Shall shelter the despot or the slave.
Tonight we man the gap of danger
In Erin's cause, come woe or weal;
'Mid cannons' roar and rifles' peal,
We'll chant a soldier's song.
Translations are non-official and intended to convey meaning, not replace originals
Analysis
Editorial
Peadar Kearney wrote the English words of "A Soldier's Song" in late 1909 or early 1910, setting them to a melody he composed with his friend Patrick Heeney. The song first appeared in print in the newspaper Irish Freedom in 1912. It was sung by the rebels in the General Post Office during the Easter Rising of 1916 and came into wide use in the internment camps after the Rising. Liam Ó Rinn's Irish translation, "Amhrán na bhFiann", was published in 1923 and is the version almost always heard today. In 1926 the government adopted the song as the national anthem, and it is the chorus alone, not the verses, that carries that official status.
