Ó Fearail's roar emotion gives Ireland hope
Monday, June 6, 2016
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Stiofán Ó Fearail, singer of the Republic of Ireland's official UEFA EURO 2016 anthem The Irish Roar, is hoping Leicester's example can inspire Martin O'Neill's side in France.
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For Stiofán Ó Fearail, these are busy and exciting times. The singer and his band Seo Linn (translation: Off We Go) have been adding to the growing UEFA EURO 2016 excitement in the Republic of Ireland with passionate renditions of the team's official tournament song The Irish Roar.
"We wanted to represent Ireland in as grand a way as possible," Ó Fearail told EURO2016.com. "The lasting impression for us at [UEFA EURO 2012] was the [Irish] fans and how brilliant they were. That led to us thinking that this had to be a song for the supporters."
Evocative lyrics – like in the song's chorus, 'And now we're on our way down the Champs-Élysées; the EURO's going to hear the Irish Roar' – are mixed with memories of some of Ireland's most treasured moments in international football.
"We looked back at the last tournaments in order to tell a story," Ó Fearail explained. "For example, in the first verse we have: '1990 year of dreams, quarter-finals who'd believe?' We also picked out some match commentary we felt had a strong, high energy from games that people here would remember. The third verse talks about the side as it is now, with '[manager Martin] O'Neill and [assistant Roy] Keane, the perfect team, planning out the Irish dream'."
The song's Irish-language opening, 'Óró sé do bheatha 'bhaile (welcome home)', meanwhile, comes from a traditional song. "These are lines that the majority of Irish people would know from school and we thought we'd put them in as a sort of a chant," Ó Fearail said. "The lyrics that follow in the folk song are 'Anois ar theacht an tsamhraidh', so together you have, 'Welcome home, now that summer is coming', which is quite fitting if you are referring to the EURO trophy coming back to Ireland!"
As part of their build-up to Group E encounters against Sweden, Belgium and Italy, the Republic of Ireland spent several days at a training camp in Cork and it was in the southern Irish city that Seo Linn got to sing The Irish Roar to the players and management.
"We performed at Cork Opera House with Martin O'Neill and Roy Keane sitting in front of us and the whole Irish squad backstage; it was brilliant," Ó Fearail said. "Keane came up to myself and [band mate] Daithí afterwards, shook our hands and congratulated us on the song. That was very special."
Ó Fearail will be at Stade de France on Monday, when Ireland launch their UEFA EURO 2016 campaign against Sweden and believes that – should the Boys in Green enjoy a good start – anything is possible. "If we can grab an opening win, we'll be in a great position to qualify," he said. "Leicester City won the English Premier League based on their focused mindset and fantastic team spirit, traits the Irish are renowned for; so let's see what happens!"
