Mr. Nial Ring:

Ar dtús, táim an-bhuíoch bheith anseo chun labhairt faoin aighneacht a chuir mé isteach don choiste. Mar a mhínigh mé san aighneacht, tá an-spéis ar leith agam i stádas agus úsáid "Amhrán na bhFiann", ár n-amhrán náisiúnta. Is údar mór bróid dom an ceangal atá agam leis. Tháinig an triúir fear atá bainteach leis ó thuaisceart lár na cathrach, an áit inar rugadh agus tógadh mise. Ba é mo sheanuncail, Liam Ó Rinn, a d'aistrigh é ó Bhéarla go Gaeilge.

Chairman and members, it is an honour and privilege for me to be present to speak about my family's role in "Amhrán na bhFiann". Let me outline the background of Liam Ring or Liam Ó Rinn, as he became known.

He was born and reared in Sackville Gardens in Ballybough in the north inner city, less than 100 m from Croke Park, as Mr. Kearney mentioned so eloquently. His four brothers, including my grandfather Joseph, Leo, Christopher and Patrick, were members of C company of the second battalion of the Irish Volunteers that took part in the Easter rebellion of 1916 as part of the GPO garrison. They were all subsequently interned in Frongoch and Liam was also interned at Ballykinler during the War of Independence. He was with Peadar Kearney in a famous photograph at Ballykinler.

Although he left formal education at 14, again in a connection with Peadar Kearney, they both went to St. Joseph's school in Fairview. He worked for the Gaelic League before becoming a member of staff at the translation department in the Oireachtas. He was chief translator there at the time of his death in 1943. In his spare time he was a prolific writer in Irish under the pen name Coinneach. He won the President's Prize in 1941 and was a translator of major works into Irish. He was a linguist, speaking ten languages, and an accomplished artist, with his paintings accepted for exhibition in the Royal Hibernian Academy. His life and work was the subject of Scoil Gheimhridh Cumann Merriman in 1985.

Given this background, I point out some of the contextual inaccuracies in the committee's briefing documentation. The major disappointment is that the role of Liam Ring in translating "The Soldier's Song" to "Amhrán na bhFiann" was not mentioned. I would argue the role of Peadar Kearney, Patrick Heeney and Liam Ó Rinn should be highlighted equally. They are a triumvirate of men from the north inner city, all living within 200 yards of one another and responsible for our national anthem. My constituents in the north inner city and the people of the North Inner City Folklore Project set the example of recognising the triumvirate responsible for the national anthem by erecting a plaque in 2011 to mark the centenary of the death of Patrick Heeney. It is on the corner of Railway Street and Gardiner Street. Patrick Heeney died in 1911, although the committee mentions that he received payments in respect of the national anthem. I do not think he could have or the State did. Patrick Heeney died penniless in Railway Street.

My grand-uncle, Liam Ring, never sought or received payment for his translation work as he did it as a contribution to the fledgling State. He did not, as some suggest, do the translation as part of his employment, as he started working on the translation while in Frongoch in 1916. It was mentioned earlier by Senator Daly and Mr. Kearney that "The Soldier's Song" was sung in the GPO. It was also sung before the evacuation on the Friday evening when all of them stood up. It is in my family's lore. Liam Ring's daughter is still alive, but unfortunately she cannot be here because she is ill. He turned to his brother, Christopher, when they sang and said it should be in Irish. It was the genesis of "Amhrán na bhFiann".

I would like the committee to take into account some specifics mentioned in my submission. There should be no change to either the Irish or English version. I have read and heard of proposals to change the wording to lessen the militaristic tone of the anthem, but in deference to those who wrote and translated it, we should not interfere with the work. Some people have quite mistakenly assumed that the first line of the chorus, "Sinne Fianna Fáil", was written after the foundation of the Fianna Fáil political party in 1926, and somehow the name of the fledgling party could have influenced Liam Ó Rinn's translation work. It is absolutely untrue as the first translation was done in 1916 and completed before 1923, well before the foundation of the political party, Fianna Fáil. This is not just based on family knowledge or lore. Historian, Professor Ruth Sherry, in her article, entitled The Story of the National Anthem, published in History Ireland in 1996, states that Liam Ó Rinn's translation was published in the Army magazine, An tÓglach, on 3 November 1923. More persuasive and significant is the fact that an almost identical text was printed in the Freeman's Journalon 3 April 1923 under Liam Ó Rinn's pen name, Coinneach. The Government should issue guidelines for the use of the national anthem. As Senator Daly mentioned, there are guidelines for the use of the flag and harp. I have an excellent document outlining the protocols and guidelines for the national flag, which was put together by Senator Daly. Something like that should be put together.

Lieutenant Colonel Armstrong and Councillor Fitzgerald mentioned standing to attention for the anthem. It is galling for me to see people standing ar áis, or at ease, and not standing to attention for the anthem. Otherwise they put their arms around one another. We need to give the anthem the due respect it deserves by informing people. That is what the committee should bring with its guidelines as to how to stand to attention for the national anthem.

I would support the national anthem being enshrined officially in legislation and for it to be formally adopted as such, like the flag and harp. I urge the committee to recommend that the national anthem be made a compulsory part of the educational curriculum and enshrine this in legislation to ensure its implementation. I have spoken to many school principals over the past week or so in preparation for today's meeting, and although it seems to be part of the curriculum, this is up to individual principals. Luckily, there are many principals in the country who ensure it is taught, mainly in sixth class.

If the guidelines are agreed and published, they should be in booklet format and distributed to every household in Ireland. With regard to what the Lord Mayor of Cork has done with schools, the presentation of the national flag and the Proclamation last year for the centenary celebrations was a magnificent success and it allowed schoolchildren appreciate their flag and the Proclamation. I hope the committee will recommend a similar programme of events for the national anthem. I acknowledge the excellent initiative of the Lord Mayor of Cork, Councillor Tony Fitzgerald, in doing that in his area. If I were lucky enough to be elected Lord Mayor of Dublin, I would be on the phone to him, find out how he did it and do the very same in Dublin.

I wish the committee well in its deliberations and I thank the Chairman and rapporteur, Senator Daly, for setting this up. Nuair atá an coiste ag déanamh a chuid machnaimh, tá súil agam go ndíreoidh sé ar an tábhacht a bhaineann leis an amhrás náisiúnta i gcultúr, stair agus oidhreacht na tíre. I hope the committee will be mindful of the important place for the national anthem in the culture, history and heritage of our country. The last line of "Amhrán na bhFiann" is "Seo libh canaídh Amhrán na bhFiann". I say "Seo libh, cuimhnígí ar Amhrán na bhFiann".