The Seanad Eireann Public Consultations Committee are currently consulting on the status, treatment and use of the Irish National Anthem. The music and Lyrics of ‘Amhrán na bhfiann” (A Soldier’s Song) are out of copyright, and legislative proposals have been made to address this.
The Anthem was officially adopted in 1926, and legal proceedings were instigated to claim royalties for its use in subsequent years. It cost the Irish state £980 to buy the copyright from composers Peadar Kearney and Patrick Heaney back in 1933, and the copyright ultimately expired in December 2012.
Closing dates for submissions are the 2nd of November 2017.
