While their squad was behind 4 to nothing against an overwhelmingly dominant Spain in the European Championship yesterday, the Irish fans still kept supporting their team and sang the famous Irish folk ballad ‘The Fields Of Athenry’ loudly and proudly.
During the extra time, knowing full well there wasn’t even the slightest chance of winning, the Irish kept singing the song, a 1970 ballad depicting the tale of a man sentenced for stealing food for his starving family during the Irish famine of the 1840s. The Irish supporters have adopted the song as their anthem for two decades now, and used it to amazing effect yesterday. There were even Irish supporters seen amicably hugging Spanish supporters while they sang along to the anthem, an act that ensured every Irishman would leave the stadium with their head held high, no matter the loss.
