“I FEEL LIKE I’m going to ruffle some feathers here, but… my toxic trait is that I think Ireland’s Call is a banger.”
That’s the final word from comedian, musician and social media sensation Michael Fry, speaking on The42′s new rugby show The Front Row in partnership with Guinness.
Michael joined our all-star panel – fellow comedian Seán Burke, Irish international Eimear Considine, and The42′s own Murray Kinsella – for a chat about the Ireland-Italy match and his own dark rugby past. So given his well-known musical chops, we asked him to rank every national anthem in the GUINNESS SIX NATIONS from best to worst.
His first priority was an impassioned musical defence of Ireland’s sometimes-divisive all-island anthem. “I love it. Look, I love hooks, and Ireland’s Call has a killer hook,” he said. “You can hum it back. Purely as a piece of music, it’s a banger.”
This sparked intense discussion. For the players in a major international, Eimear said, the musical experience can be something of a mixed bag. “When you’re stood there singing it, the key change is horrendous,” she said.
Ireland’s Call is one of the most stressful things. The RTE cameras are right in your face… And when the cameras come in front of you, you’re miming because you don’t want to be caught singing out of key, off key, too high, too low.
Murray, meanwhile, revealed that Ireland’s Call was a former party piece of his – but one he’d rather not remember. So moving swiftly on… Michael’s favourite anthem?
“I think everyone is in agreement that the French is the best national anthem. Even if you don’t know the words – when you do, it’s actually quite bloody. But it’s lovely, it’s such a nice tune. That’s my favourite.”
And the worst? ”God Save The Queen is so lazily written. They just say God Save The Queen like, three times. It’s like someone’s job is to write the national anthem, and they wrote it in the car on the way over. It goes nowhere.”
After intensive debate, the final ranking was as follows:
- France (La Marseillaise)
- Italy (Il Canto degli Italiani)
- Ireland (Amhrán na bhFiann)
- Ireland (Ireland’s Call)
- Scotland (Flower of Scotland)
- Wales (Hen Wlad Fy Nhadau)
- England (God Save The Queen)
Michael also discussed his life as a schoolboy rugby player who “looked the same from age 12 to age 22″; the challenges of having a rugby referee as a dad; and his namesake, the formidably-moustachioed Bristol Bears prop Mike Fry.
In a packed show, we also tackled the rule everyone was talking about after Ireland-Italy; why Johnny Sexton is still the boss despite Joey Carbery’s best efforts; and which Ireland player has the best haircut.
New episodes of The Front Row, in partnership with Guinness, drop on Mondays after Ireland’s big games. To get the latest episodes in your feed, subscribe wherever you get your podcasts. Or you can listen to the full show below.
Listen to The Front Row in partnership with Guinness:
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