Ireland has a storied tradition of beautiful wistful ballads. “The Fields of Atherny” is a modern one. Written in 1979 by Pete St. John, it recounts the story of a fictional man named Michael from Athenry in County Galway who was sentenced and banished to Australia, for stealing food for his starving family. The song reached the top 10 in the Irish Singles Chart when it debuted in 1979 by Danny Doyle. It remains popular to this day and has become something like an anthem in Irish sports events.

Lyrics of Fields of Athenry

By a lonely prison wall,
I heard a young girl calling
Michael they have taken you away,
For you stole trevelyn’s corn
So the young might see the morn,
Now a prison ship lies waiting in the bay.

Low lie, The Fields Of Athenry
Where once we watched the small free birds fly
Our love was on the wing
We had dreams and songs to sing,
Its so lonely round the Fields of Athenry.

By a lonely prison wall
I heard a young man calling
‘Nothing matters Mary, when you’re free’
Against the famine and the crown,
I rebelled, they brought me down
Now its lonely…

Of the many recordings of the song, this duet is one that I particularly like for the purity of the delivery, both voice and instrument.