Irish football fans are among some of the most passionate in world football, and as such, they have plenty of songs that can be heard echoing around the terraces whenever their team plays.
With the Boys in Green welcoming England to the Aviva Stadium in Dublin on September 7, here are the best Ireland football chants that you need to know, including their iconic Fields of Athenry tune.
The best Ireland football chants you need to know
Contents
Fields of Athenry
Released by ‘The Dubliners' in 1983, Field of Athenry is a traditional Irish song that takes us back to the hard times of the Irish Famine between 1845 and 1850.
Sung to invoke comradery and lift the spirits of the players and fans alike, the full lyrics of Field of Athenry are as follows:
By a lonely prison wall,
I heard a young girl calling,
Michael, they are taking you away,
For you stole Trevelyn’s corn,
So the young might see the morn,
Now a prison ship lies waiting in the bay.
[Chorus] Low lie the Fields of Athenry,
Where once we watched the small free birds fly,
Our love was on the wing,
we had dreams and songs to sing,
It’s so lonely 'round the Fields of Athenry.
By a lonely prison wall,
I heard a young man calling,
Nothing matters Mary when you’re free,
Against the Famine and the Crown,
I rebelled, they ran me down,
Now you must raise our child with dignity.
Chorus
By a lonely harbour wall,
She watched the last star falling,
As that prison ship sailed out against the sky,
Sure she’ll wait and hope and pray,
For her love in Botany Bay,
It’s so lonely ’round the Fields of Athenry.
Chorus
Boys in Green
The Boys in Green was originally written by the late Irish journalist, Michael Carwood, as the nation's official anthem for the 1988 European Championships.
It is a catchy tune that has now been sung for decades, although the lyrics do differ ever so slightly every time a new Euros or World Cup tournament comes around for Ireland. Below are the official original lyrics of the Ireland football chant:
We are the boys in Green,
The best you've ever seen,
We've just made history,
We're going to Germany,
We had to wait 'till now,
Big Jack he showed us how,
You'll wonder where we've been,
When you see the boys in Green,
[Chorus] You'll say Ireland, Ireland,
Show them what you've got,
Ireland, Ireland.
We're going to beat the lot,
You’ll say Ireland, Ireland,
We can celebrate,
Ireland, Ireland.
In Euro '88.
We are the boys in Green,
We'll be on your T.V. screens,
Everyone will see,
Our lads in Germany,
We have a lot to prove,
Big Jack he's found the groove,
You'll wonder where we've been,
When you see the boys in Green.
Chorus
We are the boys in Green,
And now we've set the scene,
For Germany next June,
It can't come too soon,
We're going to sing our song,
And you can sing along,
You'll wonder where we've been,
When you see the boys in Green.
Chorus x2
Stand up for the Boys in Green
A lot shorter than the previous two Ireland football chants, ‘Stand up for the Boys in Green' is fairly basic and you would likely have heard the tune in one of its various forms around the world at some point.
The official lyrics for this simple mood lifter contain just seven different words, which are as follows: Stand up for the Boys in Green.
That line is simply repeated as many times as required on the day.