Mark Daly (Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

I thank the Chairman. The national anthem belongs to everyone. It is one of the key symbols of our State and is worthy of respect and protection. It was written by Peadar Kearney and translated into Irish by Liam Ring, while the music was composed by Patrick Heeney. We are deeply honoured and indeed humbled to have descendants of the Ring and Kearney families here today.

The national anthem has been sung on some of the most important State occasions.

Last year, on the 100th anniversary of the 1916 Rising, it was sung outside the General Post Office, GPO, and it was sung inside the GPO during the Rising by the members of Cumann na mBan, the Irish Volunteers and the Irish Citizen Army.

The Irish flag, harp and anthem are important symbols of the State. The flag is protected and enshrined in Article 7 of our Constitution and is protected by international copyright law. The harp has a patent placed upon it by the State for its protection. However, the national anthem does not have any formal recognition in legislation by the State and is no longer protected by the law of the land. In fact, the Irish language version was never formally adopted by the State.

I thank my fellow Kerry man, Senator Paul Coghlan, for chairing the Seanad Public Consultation Committee and the other committee members who have worked on this issue over the past number of months, Senators Buttimer, Byrne, Conway, Ardagh, Freeman, Ó Céidigh, Devine and Kelleher. I also thank the Senators who are present for this meeting. I thank the clerk of the committee, Bridget Doody, for her work on the issue as well as Grace Coyle and Alani Caridan for their work in my office on this issue over many years. I also thank those who made submissions to the public consultation process.

The Lord Mayor of Cork, Tony Fitzgerald, has been working since his election to ensure that the children of Cork receive a copy of the national anthem and learn the words as Gaeilge. He will talk to us about his experience with this important imitative. He has provided the copies of the lyrics in both Irish and English to students so they can be taught the national anthem by teachers. His involvement has led to the involvement of Alain Newstead, a student from Bishopstown who is a member of the deaf community and will participate in the meeting later.

Lieutenant Colonel Mark Armstrong is the director of the Defence Forces School of Music. He will give us a history of the Army's association with the national anthem. The Army is custodian of our national anthem and has been since the foundation of the State. He has provided us with copies of the sheet music that have been used over time. His submission is important because it will give us a comprehensive history of the State's involvement with the national anthem.

Joseph Nugent is the chief administrative officer at Garda headquarters but he is here today in his capacity as the former director of the passport service. He was involved in ensuring that the lyrics of the national anthem have been included in the passport. His submission outlines how and why the national anthem was chosen to be showcased in the passport as a representative symbol for all Irish men and women.

Conal Kearney is a grandson of Peader Kearney. He will read into the record an affidavit on the national anthem given by his grandfather in 1926 and outline other key issues around the national anthem.

Councillor Niall Ring is a councillor from Dublin City Council. He is a grand-nephew of Liam Ring who translated the "Soldier's Song" into "Amhrán Na bhFiann". Councillor Ring's submission is important as it connects the history of the national anthem with one of the families central to it.

Raymond Daly is an author of historical songbooks. His submission will outline the importance of legislation and copyright. He will talk about the need for the Department of Education and Skills to make the teaching of the national anthem part of the primary school curriculum. He also recommends that sporting organisations should encourage players to learn the words of the national anthem.

I thank all our guests for their attendance. On 1 January 2013, some 70 years after the death of Peadar Kearney, the national anthem fell out of copyright protection and is therefore no longer protected by the laws of the land. I introduced the National Anthem (Protection of Copyright and Related Rights) (Amendment) Bill which would ensure, for the first time, that the national anthem would receive official formal legislative recognition and protection. I also suggested that we carry out this Seanad public consultation process to get the people's views on what should happen with our national anthem. In the second session, we will hear from students, the Department of Finance and experts in patent and copyright law.

Finally, when this public consultation process is completed I will produce a report and, if necessary, draft legislation, guidelines and protocols for the people's song, our national anthem, "Amhrán na bhFiann".