Michael D Higgins le "seasamh síos"... Katie Taylor le bheith ina hUachtarán ar Éirinn by popular acclaim?

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Ar chuala sibh Amhrán na bhFiann á chanadh ag an slua san ExCel i Londain? - cumhachtach!
(If only they were actually singing our National Anthem which is officially in English - but nobody seems to care except me!)

Dúirt John Prescott, iar-leas-Phríomhaire na Breataine, (Thweetáil sé!): “Maith thu Katie Taylor. From one amateur boxer to another you were brilliant.”

If you mean the Irish version should be recognised as the official version instead - agreed.

If you mean they shouldn't be singing the Irish version because it is not the "official" one - as we say in Oz "Fa-a-a-a-r cough!"

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[hr]Múinteoir Gaeilge - Irish Teacher[/hr]
My "specialty" is Connemara Irish, particularly Cois Fhairrge dialect, but I can also speak Ulster and Munster Irish with native-level pronunciation.
Is fearr Gaeilge ḃriste ná Béarla cliste, cinnte, aċ i ḃfad níos fearr aríst í Gaeilge ḃinn ḃeo na nGaeltaċtaí.
Gaeilge Chonnacht (GC), go háraid Gaeilge Chois Fhairrge (GCF), Gaeilic Uladh (GU), Gaelainn na Mumhan (GM), agus Gaeilge an Chaighdeáin Oifigiúil (CO).

Yes to both!

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I think the Irish version should be the official one. And it's nice to hear the Irish language being proudly sung by Irish people (especially when abroad).

Is it on any curriculum that students have to learn the words in school? Primary? Secondary? A number of Leaving Cert students recently told me that they never learned it, but picked up bits and pieces on the stands in Croke Park! Presumably that means that have an idea of the sounds, but don't really know the words.

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Not when I was going to school anyway, but it should be.

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Please wait for corrections/ more input from other forum members before acting on advice

It may not be on the curriculum, but I was taught it in primary school by a self-confessed fanatic Gaeilgeoir (who was on the Late Late Show as a result and also was regularly sent to prison, albeit for very short spells, for refusing to pay his TV licence or the resultant fine due to the lack of Gaeilge being broadcast at the time). Anyway, sin scéal eile as they say.

I came home with the National Anthem to learn. Sinne laochra Fáil.. was the beginning according to my teacher, who did not like the idea of the name of a political party being used. My Dad nearly went mad - who was this teacher to change the words of our beloved National Anthem?

But he didn't, did he? There are no official words, not enshired in any law, statute or whatever. Sure, there's an Irish version on the Dept of Foreign Affairs website. I emailed them before asking about the status of the Irish version. I got a standard reply saying that I would be contacted with a response...then nothing. A parent of a boy I teach is a politician. He mentioned that he was related in some way to Peadar Kearney who wrote the English version (the Soldier's Song) - the chorus of which was adopted as the National Anthem. He brought this up because I am an Irish teacher, and seemed very interested when I asked him about the status of the Irish version. He promised he would look into it and get back to me. Guess what - he too has run for the hills and I haven't heard anything from him since.

One of our local politicians was getting very worked up about the idea that some people wanted to change the Anthem to a less militaristic one (around the time of the Presidential election). The idea that our 'tradition' would be tinkered with was out of the question. I'll bet you any money this guy was talking about the Irish version i.e. he and many other were getting worked up about the sacrilege of wanting to change what was in fact not our National Anthem!

I have mentioned this topic before. Yes, I do go on a bit about it but I think that a song which represents us, our identity in the eyes of the rest of the world, should be in our native language. What we actually sing is not our National Anthem at all - how farcical is that?! Reminds me of that Borat video clip of him supposedly singing the American National Anthem, ye know the one!

Now, why isn't that surprising! It might make for a good TY project - to follow up on that with various people!

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