A military wife has described herself as “shocked” to learn that Amhrán na bhFiann is not routinely taught in schools.
Written in English in either 1909 or 1910, it was translated into Irish in 1916.
10 years later, it was adopted by the Free State as the national anthem to replace God Save The King.
Amhrán na bhFiann is "the unifying bond and an emblem of our shared nationality" and should be taught in schools, according to Sinn Féin spokesperson for Rural Affairs, Community Development and the Gaeltacht, @McGuinnessConor.
Let us know your thoughts 👇 pic.twitter.com/8O5kr4JPoI
— NewstalkFM (@NewstalkFM) July 17, 2025
A century later, Sinn Féin has called for it to be made a core part of the school curriculum.
“I think it’s very simple really,” Waterford TD Conor McGuinness told Newstalk Breakfast.
“I think that every child who gets an education in Ireland should be afforded the opportunity to learn the national anthem.
“It is the unifying symbol, I suppose, of our shared Irishness, our shared national identity.”
On Lunchtime Live, Wives and Partners of the Defence Forces spokesperson Shelly Cotter said she had been “shocked” to hear that children are not routinely taught the national anthem.
“I’m in my 50s and I was in school, it was automatically taught,” she recalled.
“I will say, my children have gone through primary schooling in Gaelscoileanna and they all have the national anthem.
“I just genuinely assumed, because Irish was on the curriculum in Irish schools, that it was mandatory.
“Why on earth isn’t it? I couldn’t understand it.”
An Irish Tricolour flies at Corke Park duing a 6 Nations matches between Ireland and France. Picture by: PA Images / Alamy.Ms Cotter continued that if people can learn Ireland’s Call for rugby matches, they should be able to learn Amhrán na bhFiann.
“We will have a whole generation that can sing Shoulder to shoulder, word for word at a rugby match.
“But they can’t sing the Irish national anthem? I think something is amiss there.
“If they’re learning Irish in primary school, even in an English speaking school, not a Gaelscoil, Irish is on the curriculum,” she said.
“Children learn so much in primary school through song.”
Main image: Children singing. Picture by: Alamy.com.
