John Fogarty
It’s 14 months since this blog raised the issue of the match-day experience in the GAA and what could be done to improve it.
While much work has been done in that department, its concerns about the treatment of Amhrán na bhFiann remain as strong as ever.
For some reason only known to the GAA, what should be a most rousing, pitch-heightening national anthem is now delivered as a lonesome lament at several GAA games.
Over the course of this year’s National Leagues, plenty of capable singers stood up to perform what can only be described as renditions unbefitting of the occasion.
Last Sunday in Dr Hyde Park was no different. A fine singer delivered The Soldier’s Song but her single voice failed to ignite a crowd full of expectancy.
Watching those in the stadium, it was amazing to see how many failed to join in. Anthems are anthems: they are about the communal, the chorus, not silent admiration.
In effect, such performances of Amhrán na bhFiann are tantamount to minute’s silences. They’re there to be respected and observed. Nothing else. Yet patrons had come to Roscommon town primed. They had known this date since last October. And then the air is let out of their tyres.
Little stirs the blood more than a belting version of the national anthem but it seems only on provincial final day or games in Croke Park that we get them.
It’s no reflection on the singers themselves – the anthem simply doesn’t suit them or any other soloist — but a pipped-in version of it would be far better.
Now, we appreciate some of the versions played on tannoys across the country have left a lot to be desired.
Getting the Artane Boys Band or Garda Band into a studio to record Amhrán na bhFiann and distributing a copy to every county board and club in the country would solve that problem.
Bands are just so much better at delivering it because that’s the way it had been intended – to be marched to. Nowadays, done properly, it contributes to the fever of the occasion.
As much as it is a joyous sound, The Sunday Game theme tune has only recently become a staple part of the GAA diet compared to the national anthem. But like RTÉ’s song, it can only be digested in the way it was intended to be played.
It must be said no other organisation does more to maintain the importance of Amhrán na bhFiann in the national psyche. Fianna Fáil might want to introduce it in schools but it remains an institution nurtured first and foremost by the GAA.
But, celebrating its 105th birthday this year, Amhrán na bhFiann is no Star-Spangled Banner. It is something that should be bellowed, not beautified.
As Ireland changes, it is an indelible link to our past not to mention a reminder of the GAA’s contribution to Irish society.
It is also a foil to the welcome razzmatazz that the Association’s marketing and PR departments are attempting to generate on match day.
Last Sunday in Dr Hyde Park, the new, portable big screen was unveiled. It worked a treat. To see the amount of heads turned towards it as footage of previous Galway v Roscommon meetings rolled was evidence enough that it will be a success.
The booming PA system which played modern day hits added to the buzz as well. There was Calvin Harris, there were the Saw Doctors – a mixed bag attempting to cater for everyone.
Speaking to Newstalk last weekend, GAA director general Páraic Duffy admitted more had to be done about improving the match-day experience via big screens.
Talking a leaf out of American football’s book, he said while there were things in the NFL the GAA couldn’t emulate because of its amateur status there were elements such as the promotion value of big screens that could be replicated.
“At the end of last year, I was at the New England Patriots’ game against Kansas City in the Gillette Stadium on a Monday night and they made huge use of the big screen.
“I did come back and say here that’s something. Even in Croke Park, in the past we haven’t made enough use of the screens to interact with the crowds, to get pre-match discussion, half-time analysis and so on. That’s something we’re going to concentrate on this year.
“We’re trying out the big screen in Hyde Park. We’re putting it in other venues. It doesn’t make a lot of financial sense unless the screen is permanent but we want to see how it works and it’s all part of trying to improve the match-day experience.”
He added: “Over the next few years, we want people to know that when they go to a big GAA game there will be more than just a game.”
Even if there is the odd hiccup along the way, any attempt to enrich the GAA match-day experience must be applauded. Getting the national anthem right is a major part of that.
Source: http://feeds.examiner.ie/~r/iesportsblog/~3/9P-9-ubU7L4/post.aspx
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