Michael D'Arcy (Wexford, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

I will make a number of comments before I make my speech. People might be interested to know why the Department of Finance is responsible. In 1933, the Department of Finance paid an awful lot of money to purchase the copyright. It cost £1,000, which is equivalent to millions of euro today. At the time, an acre of land traded for about £3 so the price paid was similar to the price of 200 acres to 300 acres of land. That was in 1933. In 1965, the copyright was extended and the Department of Finance paid £2,500. That is why it is the responsibility of the Department of Finance. When I was writing down the symbol for pounds, I had to stop and think because I had not written one down for so long.

I listened in and out of the debate this morning and one of the things that struck me most in Senator Daly's contribution was his remark about the singing of the national anthem and the number of people who sing it with such pride but do not understand the words. That is the most telling aspect of everything that has been said to date. While we understand it is something to be proud of, we do not know what we are proud of in terms of the words and the song. The Deputy Senator Daly mentioned was Osmond Esmonde. The Esmondes have a longstanding relationship with Ireland. Members of the family were Deputies in the House for an unbroken period until 1977. Prior to that they represented Wexford in Westminster and prior to that they represented their constituencies in Grattan's Parliament and parliaments before that. They came over on a boat from Pembrokeshire with a fellow some people might have heard of - a gentleman by the name of Richard de Clare, who was also called Strongbow. They were in the first boat from Pembrokeshire with Richard de Clare in 1169. I know them quite well because their base was in my parish.

I want to correct the record. Osmond Esmonde was elected a Deputy for Cumann na nGaedheal. However, when the conversation about the anthem arose he was not a member of the Cumann na nGaedheal party. At that time, he was part of the National Party led by Joseph McGrath. He did not stand in the first election of 1927 but stood in the second election of 1927 as a member of Cumann na nGaedheal. That is just a few bits of history.