A song that perfectly captures a nation

A SONG sometimes sums up a nation and its people.

RTÉ’s programme, The Fields of Athenry, captured the essence of Irish sport and our people’s spirit.

The song captivates our imagination as a nation and fuses our troubled past with the current national situation.

The kind of emotion expressed through the singing of that song at Irish sporting events embodies the spirit of every Irish soul on this island.

The words seep through our skin, into our blood and the tune itself floats above the very soil on which we stand.

The collective Irish heart will beat true as we endure financial crisis or personal tribulations and we will never cease to be.

The Fields of Athenry is an Irish anthem for that very reason.

Justin Kelly

Edenderry

Co Offaly