This is an Irish song I have been obsessed with lately. I've listened to almost all the different versions of this song on Spotify and have watched many videos on youtube of different people singing it around the world - from sports stadiums to metro stations!
The Fields of Athenry is a song about the last conversation between a fictional man named Michael and his wife Mary, set in the town of Athenry in Ireland, during the great famine of the 1840s. This was a time of great suffering, where close to a million people died of starvation in Ireland, while large shipments of food continued to be sent to England. Michael’s family was part of the multitudes devastated by this famine. As a father who couldn’t bear to watch his child slowly starve to death and do nothing about it, a desperate Michael stole some corn to feed it. Fate, however, was not going to be kind to them, for Michael was arrested immediately and sentenced to prison in faraway Australia, tearing the helpless family apart.
While The fields of Athenry is a sad song, it is also a song of resistance. The song paints a picture of a dark time in Ireland's past and reminds people today about what their ancestors lived through and survived. It is a song that has come to represent the fighting spirit of the Irish and their dogged determination to overcome adversity. Today, the song is an unofficial anthem for Irish sports fans. I've enjoyed watching videos of Irish fans singing it loudly and proudly from the stands while they faced much stronger teams. My favourite example of this was when Ireland faced New Zealand's acclaimed rugby team, the all-blacks, in 2022. Before the match, when the all-blacks were performing the famous Maori war dance - the Haka, trying to intimidate their opponents, the Irish fans roared out with the fields of Athenry, drowning out the Maori war cries completely!
What I love about the fields of Athenry is how it manages to convey such powerful and primal themes so poetically. Themes like survival, starvation and strength. It's no surprise that this song evokes so much passion in so many people.
I want to leave you with a link to my favourite video of this song. In this video, you can see the people of the town of Athenry coming together as a community and singing this song. As you listen to this, think of how tiny Ireland has survived attempts by stronger nations to wipe out their identity and how they, like us Indians, shook off the shackles of the British empire and are thriving today.
Thanks for reading this post. I'd love to hear your thoughts! Click here to send me your comments.