The Fields Of Athenry by Sandra Milliken SSA - Digital Sheet Music

SKU: A0.1589464

The Fields of Athenry was written in 1979 by Pete St. John, real name Peter Mooney, an Irish folk singer-songwriter, who was born in Dublin in 1932 and died recently in March 2022.

In the style of an Irish folk ballad, The Fields of Athenry tells the story of Michael, a young man from the Athenry area of County Galway who, during the Great Famine of the 1840s, was accused of stealing food to feed his starving family. He was subsequently sentenced to transportation to the penal colony of Botany Bay in far-off Australia, leaving behind his wife Mary and their young child.

“Trevelyan’s corn” is a reference to Charles Edward Trevelyan, a senior English civil servant in the administration of the Lord Lieutenant of Ireland. He is reported to have said "the judgement of God sent the calamity (the Famine) to teach the Irish a lesson".

Since 1979 the song has been performed and recorded by a great many artists, appearing in the Irish charts on several occasions during the 80s and 90s. But it has probably become most widely known as a popular anthem amongst Irish sports supporters, including the Galway County hurling team, the Republic of Ireland national football team at the 1990 World Cup, and supporters of Celtic Football Club, based in Glasgow, which has a large following in Ireland.

This arrangement of The Fields of Athenry is for SSA voices, with piano and violin accompaniment.