The Observer
World 11.08.19 31It was the anthem everyone loved to
hate, a musical concoction derided
as an affront to patriotism and taste.
The lyrics of Ireland’s Call urged
the Irish to stand tall “shoulder to
shoulder” before every rugby match,
but many preferred to stay seated and
mock the injunction.
The Irish Rugby Football Union
Fans sing
Ireland’s Call at
the 2015 Rugby
World Cup
quarter-fi nal;
above, the song’s
composer, Phil
Coulter. GettyIreland’s Call: how a derided rugby
dirge became a song hailing unity
Composed as a blander
alternative to the Irish
anthem, it has taken on
new political meaning,
reports Rory Carroll
united Ireland – and how it should
accommodate unionists – imbues
Ireland’s Call with prescience.
Last week the taoiseach, Leo
Varadkar, said a united Ireland would
necessitate a “different state” to make
unionists feel welcome. And the Irish
Times U-turned on the song , calling it
“a noble example of the compromises
a united Ireland would involve”.
Coulter is claiming vindication.
“The rugby fraternity did not fall
in love with the song. It was a long
process with a serious amount of
begrudgery,” he told the Observer. “As
a race, we don’t like being told what to
do or what to sing. It was a slow burn.”
Crowds at Dublin’s Aviva Stadium- which yesterday hosted a World
Cup warm-up game against Italy –
now heed Ireland’s Call, he said. “The
proof of the pudding is when the band
starts up and people sing their heads
off. People vote with their larynx.”
Players have also become more
enthusiastic. Brian O’Driscoll , a for-
mer captain, told a documentary he
used to stay shtum during Ireland’s
Call, which at home games is played
after the national anthem. “I was like
‘pffft, Amhrán na bhFiann is really my
anthem.” His mother convinced him
of a responsibility to sing both. “She
was right ... it was my duty to try and
be part of something that incorpo-
rates everyone.”
Cricket and hockey, which like
rugby operate on an all-Ireland basis,
have also adopted Coulter’s song.
With Brexit and demographic
shifts in Northern Ireland putting a
united Ireland – and the need to woo
unionists – on the political agenda,
even Sinn Féin has signalled open-
ness to changing the fl ag and anthem.
Unionists have long recoiled at
Amhrán na bhFiann, an expression
of Irish nationalism sung by repub-
lican rebels during the 1916 Rising.
Rugby players from Northern Ireland
tended to not sing it – a reluctance
deepened in 1987 when an IRA bomb
aimed at a judge injured three play-
ers travelling from Belfast to Dublin.
An improvised alternative at that
year’s World Cup – a scratchy record-
ing of The Rose of Tralee – was
deemed a disaster. So the IRFU com-
missioned Coulter to come up with
something rousing and inclusive.
He avoided the word “united” and
instead invoked four proud provinces
“together standing tall, shoulder to
shoulder”. He anticipated resistance,
especially from southerners who
feared a northern plot. “It didn’t sur-
prise me. I didn’t take to my bed or
sulk in a corner. I knew it would take
time.”
A breakthrough came in 2007 when
Ireland hosted England at Croke
Park , a stadium steeped in republi-
can lore, for a rugby match that came
to symbolise reconciliation between
both countries. There was respect-
ful silence for God Save the Queen,
thunderous singing for Amhrán
na bhFiann – and thunder again
for Ireland’s Call. “The song fi nally
earned its place,” said the composer.
A decade later some people “still
think it’s a piece of shit”, but history
seems to be on its side, said Coulter.
“It was never meant to earn a Grammy
or a Pulitzer. It was calculated to be
inclusive. It was a compromise.”(IRFU) commissioned the song in
1995 as an alternative to the repub-
lic’s anthem, Amhrán na bhFiann
( The Soldier’s Song) , to accommo-
date players and supporters from
Northern Ireland who tended to come
from a unionist background.
Phil Coulter , the Derry-born writer
of Puppet on a String and other
UK chart-toppers, responded with
Ireland’s Call. Critics were harsh.
“ Passive-aggressive audio water-
boarding ,” said the Irish Times.
But the tide has turned. Athletes
and sports fans are showing increas-
ing affection for the song, which is
now sung with gusto in stadiums.
And growing speculation about aRussia’s opposition held its largest
protest in years in central Moscow
yesterday in a show of strength and
defi ance after recent similar rallies
were forcefully dispersed with mass
arrests.
Monitors from the White Counter
group reported that nearly 50,000
people attended the demonstration,
making it the largest opposition rally
since 2013. Chanting “Dopuskai!”, or
“Let them through!”, members of the
opposition called for independent
Record numbers protest in
Moscow over election bans
candidates to be allowed to stand in
Moscow’s municipal elections.
Shortly before the demonstration,
police in masks detained Lyubov
Sobol , an activist who is on hunger
strike over her disqualifi cation from
the elections. “I won’t make it to the
protest. But you know what to do
without me ... Russia will be free!”, she
said. The police said she was planning
a “provocation” at the rally.
The demonstration – the fourth in
a month – was sanctioned by the city
government. Once the rallies had offi -
cially ended, 10 people were detained
in Moscow and 55 in St Petersburg.The monitors, allied with the oppo-
sition, said they recorded the size of
the crowd at about 4pm. Police esti-
mated the number attending at a
much lower 20,000.
Municipal election fraud is an
unlikely cause in Russia, and several
months ago few expected the city
elections to attract much attention.
But the disqualifi cation of independ-
ent candidates, and then thousands
of arrests at unauthorised rallies in
the past few weeks, served to bolster
attendance at yesterday’s event.
“Everyone has their own reason to
be here,” said Maria Ostozheva, 53,
wearing a plastic poncho on the rainy,
cold afternoon. “The elections are just
part of it. Nothing is changing. We
need change.”
Many at the protests held signs
saying “I have a right to a choice”, orphotographs of those charged with
inciting protests in the past two
weeks.
Police have cracked down on the
protesters from recent rallies more
forcefully than usual, opening crimi-
nal cases, checking debt and military
service records, and even initiating a
process to take one infant son from
her protesting parents, though the
case was later dropped.
“It’s a police state,” said one youngp rotester, who gave his name as
Mikhail. “My parents know I am
here today. They support me. And
I wouldn’t forgive myself if I didn’t
protest.”
The protest was also attended by
a number of prominent musicians,
including the Russian rappers Face
and Oxxxymiron , the popular video
blogger Yur y Dud , and others with
mainstream appeal among younger
people. “I honestly don’t get politics,”
said the rapper Face, whose real name
is Ivan Dryomin. “But I believe that
freedom is life. And I hope that we’ll
have it one day.”
The average age of those attending
protests has fallen in recent years, with
high-school and college students,
who grew up under Vladimir Putin,
now more vocal in their calls for
change, and more likely to attend.Andrew Roth
MoscowLyubov Sobol,
on hunger strike
over being
barred from city
elections, was
arrested before
yesterday’s rally.
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