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Men’s team should take note of women’s passionate rendition of Amhrán na bhFiann

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1 year ago

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Ireland players singing the national anthem before the EURO 2025 playoff against Wales at the Aviva Stadium in Dublin. Photo: Stephen McCarthy/Sportsfile.

Sadly, the Irish women’s football team looked a little disjointed in their defeat to Wales on Tuesday night, but they were at least singing from the same hymn sheet immediately before kick-off.

Linked together arm in arm, all 11 starters – five of whom were born and raised in foreign lands – belted out Amhrán na bhFiann in unison and with great gusto. It was clear from their passionate rendition and the expressions on their faces that they were delighted to be there representing Ireland on the international stage.

This shouldn’t really be noteworthy. After all, singing the anthem is standard practice for international football teams all over the world.

However, one notable exception to the rule is the Irish men’s team. Some members of the current squad do not sing The Soldier’s Song, instead remaining straight-faced and silent while their teammates and supporters join in. As a fan, I have to say it’s not something I like to see.

It should go without saying but this is obviously nothing like American football players kneeling during The Star-Spangled Banner or a person from the UK choosing not to sing God Save the King. If someone refuses to acknowledge their country’s anthem due to their personal or political beliefs or to highlight a societal issue, more power to them. I think that’s admirable and should be respected.

But that’s not what’s going on with the Irish soccer team. Certain players are simply not participating, perhaps because they don’t know the words in the case of the England-born lads, or because they’re choosing not to sing in the case of the native Irish lads.

Being too patriotic can be a bad thing in the real world, especially if it bleeds into nationalism, but what is international football if not a stage for patriotism? We have our guys. You have your guys. Send them over here and we’ll see who’s best. It’s an exercise in flag waving and showing the world how proud you are of your team and, ultimately, the place you come from.

The whole thing is a show and the anthems are probably the most visceral and emotive part of the pageantry. Frankly, I find it a bit weird that some of the players are opting out. If nothing else, taking part would be a really easy PR win. In fact, if I was an adviser to the manager Heimir Hallgrímsson I’d pull him aside and say, “Come here, do you know what the fans would love…”

If he doesn’t want to learn it, fair enough. He’s Icelandic, not Irish, and, unlike the English media, I wouldn’t consider it an act of treason if he declined. (Good luck to England's new German manager Thomas Tuchel, by the way. He will be doing well to get out of there uncrucified.)

Everyone in Heimir’s squad is Irish, though, and I don’t think it’s too much to ask for the Ireland-born players to sing the anthem, or for the England-born players to learn 11 lines of a song, even if the language is foreign to them. We’re not asking them to master the modh coinníollach. A child can learn Amhrán na bhFiann having little or no command of Irish – we all did it. And so did Courtney Brosnan (born and raised in the USA), Caitlin Hayes (England), Anna Patten (England), Ruesha Littlejohn (Scotland) and Kyra Carusa (USA).

I’m sure the boys who don’t sing the anthem are all proud Irishmen beneath their cold, emotionless glares. I just think it would be no harm if they expressed that pride through the medium of song like the rest of us.

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Home cup tie for St Paul’s could be epic

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4 weeks ago

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7 November 2025

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Paudie O’Connor National Cup (Round 1)

Utility Trust St Paul’s v GCU Brunell

Saturday 7.30pm

Killarney Sports and Leisure Centre

The St Paul’s women’s team will be hoping to get their National Cup adventure off the ground on Saturday when they welcome 2024 champions Brunell to Killarney. Tip-off in the Killarney Sports and Leisure Centre is at 7.30pm.

Paul’s have displayed some fine early season form, although their unbeaten start in the Super League came to an abrupt end last weekend when they lost to the Trinity Meteors in Dublin. James Fleming’s side weren’t at their best on the day but they were well in contention heading into the final quarter with the scores at 47-45 in favour of the hosts. The Meteors pushed on in the fourth, however, eventually running out 63-53 winners.

St Paul’s scorers on the night were Maisie Burnham (13), Tara Cousins (12), Lorraine Scanlon (12), Lovisa Hevinder (9), Denise Dunlea (5) and Leah McMahon (2).

The Killarney club are now joint second in the table alongside the Meteors with both teams holding a 4-1 record. Killester are top having won each of their first five games.

Paul’s opponents on Saturday, Brunell, have won three out of five league matches so far.

LAKERS

The Utility Trust St Paul’s Lakers have now won three of their last four games in Division 1 of the Men’s National League following an impressive home victory over Moycullen in Killarney.

Eoin Carroll and Jack O’Sullivan made significant contributions of the Boys in Black; Carroll hit 17 points and collected 13 rebounds while O’Sullivan had 14 points, 12 rebounds and some spectacular blocks.

Steve Kelly posted 30 points and the durable Sam Grant played every second, adding 21 points along the way.

The Lakers started well before the visitors found their footing and the sides went in level at the half-time break after scores by home captain Carroll. There was still nothing to separate the teams entering the fourth quarter (68-65) but buckets by Carroll, Pablo Murcia and Grant opened up a nine-point lead. Moycullen fought back admirably, however, cutting the deficit to just four, but Luke O’Hea’s charges held firm to prevail by eight (88-80).

Next up is a cup tie against the Tipperary Talons, a side they defeated by 30 points just a couple of weeks ago. The cup can be very different to the league, though, and they will need another solid performance to advance to the next round. Tip-off in in Killenaule is at 6.30pm on Saturday.

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Chances of Kerry v Cork Munster final in 2026 decrease as Munster GAA delay seeding plan

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1 month ago

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7 November 2025

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After facing a backlash from Limerick, Clare, Waterford and Tipperary players, Munster GAA have postponed their plan to keep Cork and Kerry separate in the 2026 Munster Football Championship.

The new seeding system – which gives the two highest ranked Munster teams in the National League byes to separate semi-finals – will now come into play in 2027, twelve months later than initially planned.

This will give Clare and Limerick a chance to earn promotion to Division 2 of the league, potentially overtaking Cork if the Rebels were to get relegated to Division 3.

Despite traditionally being the two main contenders for Munster football honours, Kerry and Cork haven’t met in a provincial decider since 2021. The Kingdom have won each of the finals since then (one versus Limerick and three versus Clare) by an average margin of 15.75 points.

More high-profile Kerry v Cork finals might be desirable for fans of those teams, businesses in Killarney and Cork, and neutrals alike but Munster GAA’s plans to effectively keep the great rivals on opposite sides of the draw understandably drew criticism from the other participating counties. A statement by the GPA confirmed that players from Limerick, Clare, Waterford and Tipp had met via Zoom to discuss the matter. They were said to be “deeply disappointed and concerned” by the decision.

The 12-month delay will at least give two of those disaffected teams an opportunity to benefit from the new seeding process.

The draw for the 2026 Munster Football Championship will take place on November 27 under the old rules. As 2025 finalists, Kerry and Clare will get byes to the last four (but they will not necessarily be kept apart).

Nine members of Kerry’s squad are up for All-Stars at tonight’s awards ceremony in Dublin with Joe O’Connor and David Clifford also in contention for the prestigious Footballer of the Year award.

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