The "National Anthem of the Isle of Man" ( gv, Arrane Ashoonagh Vannin, ) was written and composed by William Henry Gill (1839–1923), with the Manx translation by John J. Kneen (1873–1939). It is often referred to by its

incipit The incipit () of a text is the first few words of the text, employed as an identifying label. In a musical composition, an incipit is an initial sequence of notes, having the same purpose. The word ''incipit'' comes from Latin and means "it be ...

, "O Land of Our Birth". ( gv, O Halloo Nyn Ghooie, ).

History

It is sung to an adaptation of the traditional Manx melody of "Mylecharaine’s March", which had been described as the "Manx national melody" long before Gill's composition. The words that originally accompanied the melody date to around 1800 and concern the impoverishment of a father to pay a dowry. However, those curious words have been identified as disparate pieces of older songs amalgamated together incompletely. The first verse of the song is: ' (O Mylecharaine, where did you get your store? / Did I not get it in the

Curragh The Curragh ( ; ga, An Currach ) is a flat open plain of almost of common land in County Kildare. This area is well known for Irish horse breeding and training. The Irish National Stud is located on the edge of Kildare town, beside the f ...

, deep, deep enough? / Alone you left me''). First performed at the Manx Music Festival on 21 March 1907, there are eight verses in total in the modern anthem, but only the first verse is usually sung. The anthem was given official status by the Isle of Man's legislature,

Tynwald Tynwald ( gv, Tinvaal), or more formally, the High Court of Tynwald ( gv, Ard-whaiyl Tinvaal) or Tynwald Court, is the legislature of the Isle of Man. It consists of two chambers, known as the branches of Tynwald: the directly elected House of ...

, on 22 January 2003, with "

God Save the King "God Save the King" is the national and/or royal anthem of the United Kingdom, most of the Commonwealth realms, their territories, and the British Crown Dependencies. The author of the tune is unknown and it may originate in plainchant, but ...

" being designated as the

royal anthem The anthem for a person, office or rank is music played on formal or ceremonial occasions in the presence of the person, office-holder, or rank-holder, especially by a military band. The head of state in many countries is honored with a prescribe ...

. The National Anthem is used on official and ceremonial occasions and in schools; the Royal Anthem is normally reserved for use additionally on those occasions when the Sovereign, members of the Royal Family, or the Lieutenant Governor are present. The traditional song "" ("Isle of Man") had up to that point vied to be an equal unofficial national anthem, and had been re-popularized by a 1997

Bee Gees The Bee Gees were a musical group formed in 1958 by brothers Barry, Robin, and Maurice Gibb. The trio were especially successful in popular music in the late 1960s and early 1970s, and later as prominent performers in the disco music era i ...

recording of it released as a single. In March 2015, the anthem was mistakenly played instead of the

national anthem of El Salvador The "" () is the national anthem of El Salvador. The lyrics were written by General Juan José Cañas in 1856, with music composed by the Italian Juan Aberle in 1879. It was adopted on 15 September 1879 and officially approved on 11 December ...

at a friendly football match between El Salvador and Argentina at

FedExField FedExField (originally Jack Kent Cooke Stadium) is an American football stadium located in Summerfield, Maryland, east of Washington, D.C. The stadium is the home of the Washington Commanders of the National Football League (NFL). From 2004 u ...

in Landover, Maryland, United States.

Lyrics

Notes

References

{{Authority control Manx music National symbols of the Isle of Man Regional songs