Sinéad O'Connor has released a new version of Amhrán na bhFiann, claiming that the original is "very war-like" and "all testosterone and not much oestrogen."
O'Connor poster the lyrics to her Facebook page along with a note about her attempts to get the attention of Enda Kenny:
"I wrote to Enda Kenny earlier this year to see could we perchance make the lyrics more appropriate for the 21st century and not so war-like, perhaps have a national competition.
He wrote back "There are no plans to change it"."
Here's a version from her gig last night in Vicar St:
Should you rather read than listen, the lyrics are below:
We declare our right
to ownership of this land
to be sovereign
and indefeasible.
Nothing has extinguished that right
nor can it be extinguished
except by
the destruction of the people
We were promised civil liberty
equal rights and equal opportunity
All lies galore, all we ever got was war
Now we chant for a new country
And we place our cause
before The Most High God
whose blessings
we invoke upon our hearts
In this supreme hour
let us by our valour
prove worthy
of our august destiny
We were promised civil liberty
equal rights and equal opportunity
All lies galore, all we ever got was war.
Now we chant for a new country.
