Mr. Mark Armstrong:

I am delighted to be here to give a brief summary of the genesis of our anthem and the role that the Defence Forces School of Music played. I apologise for the broadcast quality; I am suffering from the remains of a virus. I ask that the committee be patient.

I listened with great interest to Councillor Tony Fitzgerald's account of singing Amhrán na bhFiann in school. As an aside, being a member of the Church of Ireland I was not taught the national anthem in primary school in the late 1960s, early 1970s. When I joined the Scout Association as a young boy I learned it as béarla. There is a nice symmetry to the fact that I appear to be the de factocustodian of the official version of the anthem - or should I say unofficial version.

The official adoption by the Irish State of the song entitled "The Soldier's Song" as the national anthem followed a somewhat tortuous route. I am indebted to Dr. Karol Mullaney-Dignam, whose doctoral thesis, "State, Nation and Music in Independent Ireland, 1922-1951" has provided much detail backed up by primary sources from State archives. Information has also been provided by an article written by Ms Ruth Sherry, Professor of English at the University of Trondheim in Norway.

The words of "The Soldier's Song" were written either in late 1909 or early 1910. We know this from the affidavit, already referred to, from Peadar Kearney, dated August 1926. Peadar Kearney was a member of the Irish Republican Brotherhood, IRB, and an author of many popular songs and verses. It is understood that the music, written by Patrick Heeney, was written around the same time. The original text was in English and was first published in Bulmer Hobson's Irish Freedom in 1912. The song was adopted as a marching song by the Irish Volunteers in 1913 and after the Rising became the anthem of the independence movement. By general account, it was in the internment camps after the Easter Rising that The Soldier's Song became widely used. The song consequently became strongly associated with the army after the establishment of the Free State.

During the years following the establishment of the Free State there was no officially adopted national anthem. Thomas Moore's "Let Éireann Remember" was often played on formal occasions abroad, and T.D. Sullivan's "God Save Ireland" was favoured by the Irish Parliamentary Party. It was the participation of Irish athletes at the 1924 Olympic Games which initially raised the question of a suitable national anthem for the newly independent State. On the recommendation to W.T. Cosgrave, President of the Executive Council, by Seán Lester, director of publicity at the Department of External Affairs, "Let Éireann Remember" was played at the 1924 Olympic Games. In his recommendation, he mentioned "A Nation Once Again" and "The Soldier's Song", which in his opinion were not suitable for the purpose. This would indicate that both of these songs were in current usage in the absence of an officially adopted national anthem.

The involvement of the Defence Forces School of Music - or the Army School of Music, as it was at the time - was key in this story. Colonel Wilhelm Fritz Brase, the first director of the Defence Forces School of Music, was appointed by the Irish Government in 1923 to establish a music service for the Irish Army. The first performance of the newly formed Army No. 1 Band took place in the Theatre Royal, Dublin, in October 1923. He had arrived in the country in April 1923, so that was quite an achievement. Four months after the first concert the band performed again in the Theatre Royal in Dublin. On that occasion, following requests for an encore, the band obliged with the recent composition of Colonel Brase, entitled "Irish March No. 1". This medley included songs such as "The Minstrel Boy", "Who Fears to Speak of '98?" and "The Soldier's Song". It is understood that members of the audience, including the Governor General of the Irish Free State, Timothy Healy, and the head of the Executive Council, W.T. Cosgrave, stood up on the playing of "The Soldier's Song" in recognition of the song as an anthem.

Between 1924 and 1926 it appears that the music of "The Soldier's Song" was informally adopted by the Government for use as an anthem. In 1926 the Government of the Free State was compelled to make a formal decision on the anthem following requests from the United States of America for the supply of printed copies of Ireland's official anthem. The minutes of an Executive Council meeting on 12 July 1926 indicate that a decision was made to adopt "The Soldier's Song" as the official anthem. This decision was not formally promulgated at the time but was simply put into effect for official purposes. In 1926 The Irish Timesreported that when the Governor General visited the Dublin Horse Show "The Soldier's Song" was played. The version of "The Soldier's Song" played by the Army No. 1 Band was that arranged by Colonel Brase. The custom was for the song to commence with the verse followed by the refrain, which we recognise today as Amhrán na bhFiann.

In 1928, Desmond Fitzgerald, Minister for Defence, wrote to the Executive Council, suggesting that some changes be made to the national anthem. In his memo to the council, dated 19 October 1928, he offered the opinion that it was, "too long to permit of the words being generally known and sung by the people". He was correct in that. Fitzgerald suggested to the Cabinet that the Irish national anthem open with its refrain - that which we are familiar with today - and be published and taught as such. He added that Colonel Brase could be asked to arrange it for school singing in one, two, three and four voices. Colonel Brase was tasked with the rearrangement, and the Executive Council approved his version as played by the Army No. 1 Band.

The band was recorded by His Master's Voice, which became the record label HMV, performing a number of pieces in the Theatre Royal in 1931, including the national anthem. The anthem was recorded in two versions; firstly the long version, commencing with the verse, and secondly the short version, which consisted of the refrain. That recording of the refrain was used for many years - up to the 1970s or 1980s - by theatres and cinemas at the close of entertainments. In 1932 it was agreed that the short version of the anthem, as recorded by Colonel Brase by HMV in 1931, should be recognised as the official arrangement played by places of entertainment. It was also agreed that Colonel Brase would be commissioned to prepare instrumental parts for the short version of the anthem for bands and orchestras in order to secure uniformity in the playing of the anthem throughout the country.

The current arrangement of the national anthem used by Defence Forces bands was made by a former director of the Defence Forces School of Music, Colonel James R. McGee. Colonel McGee acted as director between 1987 and 1988. Not only did McGee rearrange the Irish anthem, but he scored many international anthems for modern instrumentation for use by army bands. These arrangements are still in use today at events such as the Dublin Horse Show and visits of foreign Heads of State. They are robust and stand up to outdoor usage. Colonel McGee also scored a number of ceremonial salutes used by the military for full military bands which have not been improved upon and which are still used. Colonel McGee's rearrangement of the national anthem, if it could be described as a rearrangement, is minimal. He retained Brase's essential harmonic structure while simplifying much of the high woodwind, which in Brase's version was fast moving and not always effective outdoors. Band instrumentation had changed over the decades, and Colonel McGee adjusted this accordingly. Colonels McGee and Brase's arrangements are essentially one and the same, having no material difference from a musicological point of view

The music adopted by the Executive Council on 12 July 1926 as the Irish national anthem, as performed by the Army No. 1 Band, remains substantially the same as that performed today. As Senator Daly has mentioned, I have provided full scores of the Brase and McGee versions for the information of the committee. I note that one of the objectives of the committee is to decide whether the anthem should be enshrined in the Constitution, like other national symbols such as the harp and the flag. I am not speaking for the Defence Forces, but I would personally agree with doing that. It is important to secure it for the State in the future.

I would be happy to advise on the actual musical arrangement to be adopted. If it is formally adopted, the musical arrangement would have to be determined at the same time.