OPINION (AN COLUN): Learning the national anthem during Lockdown

The Lockdowns during the Pandemic were horrible things, in the main, and there's very little of a positive nature that you could say about them.
One of the positive things which they did bring about was the absence of drunken people stumbling around our streets, dishing out verbal abuse, vandalising things or engaging in physical confrontations. Less drunken yobbery is a win-win for decent, lawabiding citizens everywhere.
Another positive thing was it enabled many of us to pursue some hobbies or undertake some long-held ambitions. One of my own long-held and often put off ambitions was the very humble one of learning our national anthem. I am very proud of my Irish identity and I often felt a bit ashamed that I didn't know our national anthem. It felt like a rough corner in my Irish persona which needed some smoothing over. Singing along with crowds I'd belt out the first few words, “Sinne Fianna Fáil, atá faoi gheall ag Éirinn,” before subsiding into mumbling and silent mouthing with the odd burst of a couple of words - “mumble, mumble, mumble, SEANTÍR ÁR SINSEAR FEASTA, mumble, mumble, BHEARNA BHAOIL, mumble, mumble, LE GUNNA-SCRÉACH, mumble, mumble, AMHRÁN NA BHFIANN.” However, a few hours of an afternoon during Lockdown grappling with memorising the words saw me straight. Shame was averted from here on in.
Some are uncomfortable with the song's martial nature. Not me. It is of course a rebel song rallying everyone to stand up and take on the English oppressor. At the time this desire for freedom was a noble aspiration. Every nation deserves the right to self-governance. However, some feel the mood and words of the song are well past their sell-by date. The British Empire is no longer our oppressor. For many years we have enjoyed a healthy relationship, a decent friendship with Britain, and no sane person would want to jeopardise that or see it come to an end.
I think we should be very slow and careful about what we do with Amhrán na bhFiann. Any replacement anthem would want to be a damn good song, with a rousing melody and excellent lyrics. Amhrán has a very good melody which is enjoyable to sing. Its lyrics are, in a way, always in vogue because they remind us, with a considerable amount of potency, of bully boy nations and the minnows they are subjugating or wish to subjugate. (Think China's attitude to Taiwan, or Russia's troops massed on the Ukraine border). Sometimes diplomacy fails and a stand must be taken against the arrogant and cruel oppressors.
While I disagree with those who don't like Amhrán na bhFiann, I completely agree with those who can't abide our other national anthem, “Ireland's Call.” The bar was set low when Ireland's Call was being written and it's obvious that those behind it wanted the piece to be a populist number, a people pleaser, something which would be simple and catchy. Well, the words are too simple and the tune isn't at the standard that a national anthem should be at.
Another oft-asked question is, what will happen to Amhrán if we unite with the North? Will it become an all-island anthem? Or will a whole new song be written? Probably the latter. However, I'm a pretty laidback chap and I'd have no problem singing both Amhrán and God Save The Queen at the same event, a sort of joint effort representing our two largest religious denominations and traditions. I know many readers would rather jump into a lion's den than sing God Save The Queen, but really, where is the issue? All we'd be doing is wishing the Queen a good future while mentally dissociating ourselves from the lyrics - we'd be singing the words but we wouldn't be paying any heed to them. Perfectly innocent and harmless. Swearing allegiance to the Queen would, however, be another matter entirely.
So far our Woke generation has thankfully kept its ugly mitts off the world's national anthems. National anthems are not meant to be sober, rational, po-faced affairs. Their aim is to engage our emotions, to bring about a tightness in our throat and a moistness in our eyes. They remind us of better instincts in humanity's heart, such as freedom rather than oppression, compassion rather than vilification, and justice systems which protect the weak rather than the strong. When we sing them we should sing them with a free conscience, because we are not giving vent to some dark, fascistic impulse; we are expressing our love for our native country in a healthy and positive way. Songs like the Marseillaise or Land of My Fathers create goosebumps, a tingling of the skin. If you can't sense the power of these songs then you are, perhaps, emotionally dead.
The Marseillaise was written in 1792 following the declaration of war by France against Austria - “tyranny's bloody standard is raised, Do you hear, in the countryside, The roar of those ferocious soldiers? They're coming right into your arms To cut the throats of your sons, your women!”
Land of My Fathers was written in 1856 by father and son James James and Evan James. My Dad sometimes attended the international Rugby matches in Cardiff Arms Park / Millennium Stadium and he said it was an incredibly powerful experience hearing this wonderful composition being sung with complete commitment and gusto by 74,000 people. After such emotion it's always hard to imagine how any Welsh team couldn't play their hearts out.