If you are a fan of Dropkick Murphys then you might have listened to this song a countless times. It was actually suggested by a friend from Northen Ireland and after listening to it in several renditions, I could say that it is powerful. I mean there’s even a reggae version of this song recorded around 2003 .  I haven’t seen Veronica Guerin starring Cate Blanchett and I would be looking forward seeing it after realizing that this song also appears in that movie.

  The Fields of Athenry is a folk ballad written by Pete St. John in the 70s,  set on a great famine(1845-50).According to Wiki: about a fictional man from near Athenry in County Galway who has been sentenced to transportation to Botany Bay, Australia, for stealing food for his starving family. It is a widely known and popular anthem for Irish sports supporters and fans of Celtic FC.

  Here’s the lyrics:

By a lonely prison wall,
I heard a young girl calling:
“Michael, they have taken you away,
For you stole Trevelyn’s corn,
So the young might see the morn.
Now a prison ship lies waiting in the bay.”

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 cut me down.
Now you must raise our child with dignity.”

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 harbor wall,
She watched the last star falling
As the prison ship sailed out against the sky
For she lived to hope and pray
For her love in Botany Bay
It’s so lonely round the fields of Athenry.

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.