Please remain standing for Amhrán na bhFiann.
Sometimes you can do nothing but love Ireland and all its mishaps.
You only think something like Father Ted is far-fetched and unrealistic and then thousands are forced to stand in silence for over a minute waiting for audio of the national anthem to play – but it never comes.
On Sunday in Tuam Stadium, the Galway champions lined up against the Mayo champions for the Connacht Senior Football Championship final. It was the dream pairing for this provincial decider, Corofin against Castlebar Mitchels, and the stage was set atop the soft Tribsemen grass on the blustery west coast.
From the outside, it looked like just another club final played in the dredges of winter with spectators standing by hoping for any sort of hot drink to work its magic on their system but they wouldn’t have thanked the balls-up of the national anthem forcing them to wait around an extra few moments in the cold.
After the minute’s silence was observed impeccably, fans and players and coaches were asked to remain standing for Amhrán na bhFiann.
People waited. They waited. They waited some more.
It never came.
It started to look like a standoff between both sets of players. The first to flinch would lose. In the end, they just forgot about it and got on with the bloody game.
https://twitter.com/KevinScollain/status/934784396007223296
https://twitter.com/juicybrennan1/status/934784057153646592
National anthem cancelled at Tuam Stadium! #GAA
— Pat Nolan (@pat_nolan) November 26, 2017
