Lets scrap our National Anthem

G

gebbel

Registered User
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With Euro 2008 now in full swing, I have listened to some of the uplifting and patriotic anthems of other nations. This, in my opinion, really contrasts with our own morbid composition, which makes me feel....nothing really. Heard our anthem on TV today at the start of the munster final. 50,000 people there. I was left wondering at the end, how many of them were singing? It sounded like a few thousand at most. But the reality is that most people don't even know the words!
I'm not sure how people feel about it but I would be in favour of getting rid of it and having another one composed with a more positive tone and using the English language.
 
I'm not sure how people feel about it but I would be in favour of getting rid of it and having another one composed with a more positive tone and using the English language.
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Good luck with that.
 
why not teach people? they'll have to learn a new one if they scrapped the current one....
 
gebbel said:
With Euro 2008 now in full swing, I have listened to some of the uplifting and patriotic anthems of other nations.
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Are you some sort of polyglot who understood exactly what all of the lyrics of all of these meant? Or did you just like the tunes?
 
ClubMan said:
Are you some sort of polyglot who understood exactly what all of the lyrics of all of these meant? Or did you just like the tunes?
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I did'nt understand them, but then again like the majority of Irish people I don't even understand our own. Hell I don't even know all the words. It the way they are sung, that's the key. With a bit of pride. The melody also helps. Ours couldn't be more downbeat and depressing. If you don't believe me, check the French anthem at 5pm and the Italian one at 7.45pm on RTE2 today. They are proper anthems.
 
gebbel said:
I did'nt understand them, but then again like the majority of Irish people I don't even understand our own.
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You can speak for the rest of the nation on this can you?

gebbel said:
It the way they are sung, that's the key. With a bit of pride.
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What we don't sing ours with pride? Did you not witness the recent Rugby World Cup then?

gebbel said:
Ours couldn't be more downbeat and depressing.
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You're fully entitled to your opinion but I'm also entitled to call that complete and utter rubbish. Maybe if you bothered to understand ours you'd actually take a bit more pride in it and find that it is see that it is anything but downbeat and depressing - then again maybe that would involve too much effort when it's easier to just slag it off.
 
Ceist Beag said:
You can speak for the rest of the nation on this can you?
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No of course not, but from having attended many sporting events where the anthem has been played, I can say that the majority don't know it...and a significant number just mumble and mutter to the tune.

What we don't sing ours with pride? Did you not witness the recent Rugby World Cup then?
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Were we not singing Ireland's Call? I'm talking about Amhran na Bhfiann.
Maybe if you bothered to understand ours you'd actually take a bit more pride in it and find that it is see that it is anything but downbeat and depressing - then again maybe that would involve too much effort when it's easier to just slag it off.
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Just compare it to the French, Italian or even the Portuguese one I heard on Saturday. Much more inspiring than our own that's all.
 
as I say - thanks for the offer but I'll pass. Now the english one is woeful - why not try to get them to scrap that one?
 
the italian one is tunetastic(I call it the ferrari song)but what are the words about how can it be inspiring when you don't know what they are singing? I have no idea. I personally always sing the national anthem when it was being played and distinctly remember learning the words in 4th class in school.
 
Surely you have to admit when the anthem was played in croke park before we played (and beat) England last year in the six nations was pretty awesome, 80,000 Irish people singing with pride. hair raising stuff.
 
DavyJones said:
, 80,000 Irish people singing with pride. hair raising stuff.
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It was better and louder than usual for sure....but at lesser sporting occassions the anthem is normally downbeat and I say again...a large number of Irish people don't even know it. As for Ireland's Call, I have no respect for this either as it was created only to appease a minority of people in the North.
 
if you've been to lots of sporting events then surely you must know the words by now ? if you've ever been to Croke park, they even display them on the big screens and print it in the program ... but if you missed them too have a read here - http://www.taoiseach.gov.ie/index.asp?locID=194&docID=241 - you can even listen to it being played. And if you don't understand the words - have a read of the English translation and see if it makes sense in terms of it's origin.

Sorry Gebbel - assumed you didn't know the words- it's not clear from your post whether you're one of the masses you say don't know them.
 
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The natural conclusion to a suggestion that we change our national anthem would be a referendum on the issue.

...and I just can't be doing with that right now.
 
There are no words to the Spanish national anthem, so they never have to sing it.

Anyone remember the Liechtenstein v England football match a few years ago? Both anthems have the same tune, but different words. There were some real confused England supporters in the stadium !
 
Caveat said:
The natural conclusion to a suggestion that we change our national anthem would be a referendum on the issue.

...and I just can't be doing with that right now.
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Or we just vote Yes on Thursday and cede our right to a national anthem in place of a U.S.E. anthem.
 
if you've been to lots of sporting events then surely you must know the words by now ? if you've ever been to Croke park, they even display them on the big screens and print it in the program
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I generally try to avoid watching sporting events (preferring to actually do the sport myself), so I certainly don't know the words.
I'm not that interested in learning them either, no matter what language they're in. I don't go in for all that patriotism stuff, it causes nothing but problems.

At the moment there's is still little hope of changing the language to something people in general can understand. Maybe in another 20-30 years.
 
gebbel said:
Just compare it to the French, Italian or even the Portuguese one I heard on Saturday. Much more inspiring than our own that's all.
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Chorus of the Portuguese national anthem:

To arms, to arms
On land and sea!
To arms, to arms
To fight for our Homeland!
To march against the enemy guns!


Uplifting stuff indeed
 
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