Ireland National Anthem — Amhrán na bhFiann

"Amhrán na bhFiann" is a soldier's marching song from the era of the Irish struggle for independence. Its chorus — the part used as the anthem — declares "soldiers are we, whose lives are pledged to Ireland", welcoming even those who have "come from a land beyond the wave" to the cause.

They are "sworn to be free", vowing that their "ancient sireland" will no longer "shelter the despot or the slave". The famous image of manning "the gap of danger" (the "bearna bhaoil") amid "cannons' roar and rifles' peal" captures the defiant, martial spirit of the song.

Peadar Kearney wrote the English lyrics around 1907, setting them to music composed with his friend Patrick Heeney. The song spread among Irish nationalists and was sung during the 1916 Easter Rising and the War of Independence. Liam Ó Rinn's Irish translation appeared in the early 1920s. The chorus was adopted as the national anthem of the Irish Free State in 1926, replacing "God Save Ireland"; today the Irish-language version is the one usually sung.

Peadar Kearney was an uncle of the writer Brendan Behan, and the anthem carries the memory of Ireland's revolutionary generation. Because only the chorus is official, the verses are rarely heard. It is sung at state occasions and, famously, before Ireland's international sporting fixtures.

"Amhrán na bhFiann" ("The Soldier's Song") is the national anthem of Ireland, part of the world's family of national anthems. The English lyrics are by Peadar Kearney (1907) with music by Patrick Heeney; the Irish version is by Liam Ó Rinn.

It was adopted as the national anthem in 1926. Only the chorus is official. The words and music are in the public domain.