My ancestor was incarcerated here when he and his friends vandalised farming machines, so people would have work the next day. He was sentenced to life in Australia for stealing instead, because he took the blame for this young lad who was with them. The boy stole an apple and some bread. What a legend ! Over 2 hundred years later we now call ourselves New Zealanders.
@@jcharissesandberg333 thank you for taking the time to read our families story. I am overcome to hear it inspired you in such a time. Great things come out of sadness and despair if we don’t give up. God bless you during these days of giving. ❤
I like that you said we with Irish blood in our veins are survivors. This attempt over centuries was to break the Irish spirit. Too many people in today's world want to be labeled victims. Not us. ☘
I dont understand when or why being a victim of something has become an insult or that the victim is somehow blamed for what happened to them . If someone gets raped then they are a victim of rape , if they dont get killed during that rape then they are a survivor of rape . It isnt an either or thing , you are both a victim and a survivor . Being raped is a horrific thing that is done to someone , it has physical , mental , emotional effects that last a lifetime and that can change and reoccur over time , at any time , for any reason or for "no" reason , to tell someone to stop crying about it or "get over it " or " move past it " etc and to "stop being a victim" is nothing but absolute sheer ignorance .
Jesus Bless you dear. I’m half direct Irish. Wanna learn so much more about my heritage now :)) God Bless xx Edit: after listening, yes, it Did tick a lot of boxes for genocide, hard to grow up with, I’m England!
Beautiful and informative video. I’ve stumbled upon this song and it has arrested me. Thank you for sharing the history. For remembering the names, the stories, so that we can allow this tragic history to shape us into a more just and merciful people.
Alas, 'tis only my heart that's Irish, but I thank you for this fine video and Pete St. John for the fine song, which I sing often, from my Irish heart.
Many Irishmen joined the Boers in South Africa in their fight against the British Empire. Even though we lost the war due to genocide against our women and children - we still remember, with praise, those volunteers from Eire, Germany, Russia, the USA, Sweden, etc. who fought alongside the Boer militias. To a united Eire! Hail!
Who hasn't the irish helped fight in battle....Argentina, cuba,Mexico, Canada, france,spain, America, Iceland, Scotland, etc etc san patricios battalion in Mexico viva irlande!!!
Che guerva was actually a Lynch not Guerva n was mostly irish ,ireilly with San Patricios in mexico....the wild geese n so forth the English enslaved irish n forced them to fight for them smh....bes example wen Braveheart the Frontline wen Scotland fought England, rhet weren't English nope they were irish ....so many countries used fighting irish men from Mexico, America, Canada, France, England, Argentina, etc I could go on all day long
Most Irish fought for the British, hence why the Irish guards were formed because of the bravery of Irish soldiers fighting in the boer war for the crown
It’s not the English people who did this the British establishment was doing it to it own people right up until the 1950’s Ten pound poms we stand together with our Irish friends
Well I claim Irish ancestry.. but sadly before great grandparents (otherwise I'd apply for an Irish passport)... but also as a ten pound pom... though that was my parents... I was young enough to have gone for free.
I’m sorry, @Mike Rhodes....I don’t remember reading about any English citizens who organized and protested against the genocide which was the Irish potato famine, nor am I aware of protests taking place to ease the harsh laws which sent starving people to Australia for stealing small amounts of food to feed their children. I am wholly of English descent, with an ancestor aboard the Mayflower and two more colonists who fought in the American Revolution-for the British. I married a man who is a third generation child of Irish immigrants on his mother’s side, and I got much of my information from his relatives, as well as reading every history book I could get my hands on. That’s how I know that the majority of English people did not do much in the way of protest for the Irish. Of course, I may be wrong, and would welcome any sources you may have that tell a different story.
Exactly Mark, English people were lied to and misled by the British Establishment about the mentality of Irish people (who are massively respectable and humanistic).
@@voraciousreader3341 I am of Irish stock as well having been born and reared in England during the worst anti Irish feeling. It was due to propaganda of UK media. I think the British people of the time of the famine were also starving and under oppression.
I'm a British man was raised in Ireland married here when I hear this it makes me ashamed of what the British did I apologise from my heart, but I cannot choose my country of birth.
Thank you so much for this. I’ve performed The Fields of Athenry countless times, but never knew the full historical context that you explain so eloquently here. My confirmation name is Éamonn, which was my father’s name, given to him by his father, who fought in Dublin in ‘16, in honour of his CO, Éamonn Ceannt, executed at Kilmainham Gaol. God rest his soul.
I am an Englishman and it was happening here at the same time. The more i digest about the British empire, the more i feel saddened and disgusted about the way it worked and the way this world works, and the sins of our rulers. Every country in the world has to be ruled. Why can it not be done without viciousness and barbarity. All that ever does is breed more of the same.
It's coming again. World wide food shortages orchestrated by the World Economic Forum - an entity controlled by globalists and royalty. Prince Charles is a founding member, and I believe Prince Phillip was too. Better start growing your own food. They are now trying to wipe out farms. They have started with the Netherlands, and Canada too. Germany, Italy, Spain, Poland - all protesting in support of Dutch farmers. They are not showing anything on the mainstream news. World protests are to take place 23 July 2022. Be there. Italians are already standing in bread lines. How can this be when people like Prince Harry and Justin Trudeau are expending jet fuel for their own pleasure while people cannot afford fuel to drive to work? Bill Gates is not your friend.
My father's side fled from Ireland to work the gold fields of the ZAR in 1895 & make a life for themself far from the British jackboot having survived An Gorta Mór, Trevelyan's genocide of the Irish people only to face the British again during Anglo-Boer, another shameful chapter in British history. Being a part of the Irish diaspora, your music has helped me learn about my history & keep intought with my roots. Hopefully, one day I'll be able to see the Republic So much martyr blood was shed for & Kinsealy, the town where my Great grandmother & other 4 Brothers lived before departing for the Cape of Good Hope.
I just noted above that I am of Irish stock and live in New Zealand. By a strange twist of filter my Grandfather fought against your lot in the Boer War. What a twist of fate that we were on the side of the British.
I'm german and as all germans I learned early in my life from stories of my grandparents and parents and from the lectures in school that our nation and people commited the worst crimes in history and that we all inherited the sins of our ancestors. It's something we all carry with us and we all are very wary of at all times: Our nation and forefathers have commited the worst crimes in history and we and our children and our childrens children will forever be seen and judged by what they did from all other people in the world. And it is true, whereever you go as a german, there will always be someone to call you a Nazi, even though they have never seen you before and they know nothing about you, just where you originate from. That is especially true when you travel in England. Only recently I learned about all the crimes the British have comminted - those aren't part of history lessons here. I have yet to meet an english person who feels guilt or shame for the actions of their ancestors.
Moose52, I am a citizen of USA. But my mother was entirely of Irish ancestry. And my father? Entirely of German ancestry. And so from the perspective of my unique collective DNA I found your reply to this Athenry clip intriguing. I also found it to be thoughtful and poignantly stated. Thank you. My response to your comment: Foremost to be kept in mind is the importance of recognizing the tragedy of past deeds, and from there learning from them so that going forward, all our actions conducted towards our fellow human beings are sincerely respectful. It looks like that is precisely what you are doing in your life. Kudos to you sir!
I have visited Killmainham Gaol and its an eerie place. As an English person I'm ashamed at what was done to the people of Ireland 🇮🇪 in the past. Not in my name!! Sadly history isn't taught sufficiently in English schools as this part of it is too embarrassing and shameful.
This makes me sad and angry what was done to my Gael people. My ancestor baring my surname, fled famine in Leinster in the 1840s. He married an Irish girl in Wales, then settled in N/E England. He has thousands decendents. Im one! Erin Go Bragh!
Very important in my view to distinguish between the "English" and the government of the "English" not the same thing by a million miles, we need to understand equally in modern times just how money is created, fractional reserve banking is not commonly understand by the man in the street, a fact that is very disturbing as it is economics that largely shapes politicians behaviours
Great video. People need to know this. On a side note, I've seen three great Wolfetones performances in my days, the first in the 70's in Bundoran and the 2nd and 3rd times by complete surprise in a park in Savannah in 2001 and then the young wolfetones outside Tampa Arena before a hockey game in 2015. Thanks for all the beautiful songs and music. The best in the world.
I may not be Irish, but being of Vietnamese descent, I know the horrors of colonial genocide. May there be love and solidarity between our two peoples: survivors and victors over the bloodiest colonial empires of the world!
Beautiful memories and a reminder that what we see today in UKRAINE is nothing new. Every one of us who is a descendant of an Irish person should keep the story alive so it is never forgotten. Thank you Sir for your great memories
@@Kitiwake keep dreaming you fool. What should be remembered is what the Jewish well ill say israelis are doing to the Palestinians and getting away with it atleast ukraine has support. Alot of Ukrainians speak Russian and don't even speak Ukrainian.. that's how much its been ethnically cleansed. Both situations are equally not right. But cannot be any double standards.
We tend to forget that the English criminal class as they were known were also sent to Australia as opposed to the Irish who were sent for political reasons. If you think people in Ireland were sent for stealing an apple I would suggest you are wrong, it was used as a way to keep people down. I came across an interesting number from the Australian government the other day, it was 50/50 Irish and English sent there. The problem is always with the government not the people.
I love the Young Wolfetones (come again to Butte!) and their focus on Irish freedom, history and pride. Learning more and more of my ancestors--yes, they gave so much for Irish freedom for so very long. Every sacrifice is hallowed and sacred to those of us who now carry their blood in our veins. I strive to pass this on to my kids and grandkids now, and to continue to fight for freedom in my own ways.
Thank you for sharing the history of this song.. I love this song very much. I just breaks my heart so much that a boy or a man with young family was imprisoned for life just because of stealing a bread for his family during the famine. I feel so bad or disgusted to all the tyrannys that's happened in the world in the past.
Very well said. I don’t think I have an ounce of Irish blood. We visited Ireland in 2012. Kilmainham goal was one of the places we visited, and I really had no idea about the Irish struggle against England. I’ve never been to England. Now after what I’ve learned of the story of Ireland’s struggle against the British I think England should be ashamed of herself and make reparations.
It was an established elite of the British Empire and not the English per se. In fact, look at WW1 and you will see the barbarity the English Elite used on its own English people the obsolete farmers who were being replaced by machines of the Industrial Revolution.
Question: Should a boy who owns nothing of any value whatsoever, handed down from his ancestors, be punished for his Great, Great, Great Grandfathers generation of wrong doing? Even if his Great, Great, Great grandfather had no influence, knowledge or input into that wrong doing. Arguably his only 'crime' was being born during that time!
My great great grandfather stole a cow and was sentenced at Killmainham and sent to Botany Bay and I love this song Fields of Athenry and I sing it with my band.
I love Ireland, but I am saddened by this story, which is my ancestors' story. Dad offered to travel back to Ireland (and Wales), but grandpa said he had nothing to return for.
Every time I watch this, I feel an overwhelming sorrow thinking about all of the people that were wrongly imprisoned & executed at this place. I love the song, of course, but this makes it hit my heart differently.
God bless you for bringing this evil place to light, and how mistreated these men and women were! People need to know! Now and always! They have great pride and were protecting their families and what was right! Heart- breaking💔. Now let's hope things will stay better and that we'll always have respect and deep honor for those that had strength to stick up for us all. 🇮🇪😘💔😭🤬😡
wow, very moving, damn i fucking hate all that the English did, and i am English myself, but i will tell you something, i am not the English that would do this to such a wonderful people, the English aristocracy are the ones that we should hate, respect from Yorkshire
Absolutely, I am English and I am ashamed of what we did to these lovely people, having said that, it was the royals and the aristocracy, the politicians that perpetrated these crimes not the ordinary men and women.
It breaks my heart as an Englishman to witness this , these atrocities were not committed in my name , I will be eternally sorry for the sins of my ancestors
And what about the Irish merchants that opposed any relaxation of the corn laws that would have made food cheaper for the Irish people, oh btw the push for changing the corn laws came from the English (British) The Irish merchants were more interested in profit than the well-being of their fellow countrymen. This is not a defence of what the ruling classes of Britain inflicted on Ireland, but an exposure that greed is universal and that there were plenty of Irish villains who oppressed their own people through corruption and profiteering.
My ancestors sailed from Cobh, County Cork for America, and a chance at a new life. Two of them never survived the journey, and were buried at sea. Flash forward to a younger me in my mid twenties, and discovering Irish music, and learning about my heritage. I had never heard the Fields of Athenry before, not a note of it. When I first heard the intro, I just fell into it, singing along, note-for-note, lyric-for-lyric. I'm 55 now, and I cannot explain it to this day. I'd like to think maybe my Irish immigrant family was reaching out and laying a hand on my shoulder.
Erik B. I too had not heard of the tune, and I too stumbled upon it recently. I found it while watching a YT clip about the Rugby team of Ireland and how their fans sing the song in the stadium. 'Tis a beautiful ballad about an important event in history.
Living in the Netherlands I was no victim of British terror. But I've been in Ireland and heard the stories. I wish you all strength in your fight for freedom and independance.
Cheers rob but you’re 100 years late! Ireland is a free independent nation. Ireland beat the British! That’s why Ireland 🇮🇪 is in the EU 🇪🇺 and UK 🇬🇧 is not in the EU. Because they’re separate countries.
I don't really understand why, but when I begin singing Irish songs, The Fields of Athenry is the first song I sing. When listening to the names of Irish patriots who willingly gave their lives in fighting for their country against the British army, Kevin Barry came to mind. Only 18 years when executed, his love for Ireland I heard in the song named for him, and I cried for that poor boy murdered because he fought for Ireland's freedom from British rule. When I listen to The Fields of Athenry, I cry for the countless men and women who were shipped to Botany Bay in Australia for life for stealing food so their children could live. The song does have a beautiful, haunting melody, but tells of what fate brings to many who are forced to steal food so they may live. I may be an American whose family tree is in Germany, but I could not love and admire the spirit of the Irish more than if I was born there.
New Zealanders ridicule Australians, they call us convicts, to embarrass and humiliate. They ignore the cruelty that was perpetuated against the Irish, by the English in Ireland, and the Australian penal colony.
Never underestimate the cruelty and manipulation of the English elite They invented propaganda and are still at it today It was not just Ireland you can include to a lessor extent Scotland India and South Africa and others underestimate them to your peril
I perform from time to time "The Fields of Athenry" but the place in this video is miles away. Also, the line in the song, 'a prison ship lies waiting in the bay"....... the sea is ten miles away from Athenry. It is a great song but it does not relate to any particular place or incident so far as I can see.
Pete St John choose Athenry because it rhymed with Fly in the song. No other reaason. It isn't about any particular incident just a general interpretation of events that happened during the famine.
What everyone seems to forget is that the British were the Nazis of the 16th to the 19th centuries.......they invaded countries, enslaved and impoverished peoples, plundered their countries, and where necessary, murdered sufficient of their populations to assert their rule. Then, they imposed their laws, and made criminals of anyone who resisted them. In Ireland, they disposessed the native population, gave their land to English and Scottish planters, with the proviso that the cost of keeping the land was the suppression of the Croppies. That mentality still exists in the North of Ireland today........it's called the DUP and the TUV. How the Brits can criticise Putin is beyond me................he's doing exactly what they and other Imperial powers did centuries ago.
This was as much a class war as it was an ethnic cleansing. The rich "British" land owners of the empire included English, Irish, Scottish and Welsh families. In Scotland of course there was not quite the same level of famine, but there were the Highland clearances, a brutal ethnic cleansing of a similar sort. "The Countess of Sutherland and her husband the Marquis of Stafford were regarded as the worst landlords of all. By 1811, some 15,000 of their tenants had been moved to make way for sheep, with huge social and economic consequences. The brutal work of thugs such as Sellar only served to increase their notoriety further." Look also to the Empires treatment of the populations of India and Africa. The biggest "crime" of empire was to be born poor, and therefore forced to tug your forelock to your rich landlord. Russia too had its empire, as did the Dutch, the Germans, the French, Italians, Spanish. Speaking of Spanish, as the much plagiarised, misquoted and mis-attributed philosopher George Santayana remarked, “Those who cannot remember the past are condemned to repeat it.”
@@AndyHullMcPenguinAbsolutely right Andrew........if you haven't read them already, I recommend The Great Hunger by Cecil Woodham Smith, and Inglorious Empire by Shashi Tharoor...................both should be compulsory reading for anyone with fond images of "Empire".
@@ratheanach5545 You can add "The Highland Clearances" (John Prebble), to your reading list, and perhaps "Who Owns Scotland" might enlighten everyone to the true nature of land ownership, both in Scotland and elsewhere.
@@ratheanach5545 Thanks for the suggestions. My wife and her family are Indian, and she is a historian, so I'm very much aware of the impact of Empire there and elsewhere.
GOOD MAN YOU WONT HEAR THAT NOW I KNOW ALL ABOUT THE BLACK AND TANS FROM MY GRANFATHER HE ALWAYS SED THE PITY WAS THAT SOME OF THEM GOT AWAY THE BASTARD S FORGIVE U MUST B JOKING
No no no. May God not forgive them for their wickedness until they repent of their sins and beg God and the survivors of their holocaust, the Irish people, for forgiveness. Only then will they have absolution.
Why do so many Irish people refer to 'The English' with such contempt. It was the English aristocracy, not the majority of English, who treated every one else appallingly. Think of the Scottish Clearings, the English people from the North who marched on London in despair etc. Huge numbers were treated badly and died because of the few who had the wealth. I know the Irish were treated appallingly but so was everyone else by the so called elite minority.
You're quite right Pete, but the problem for most of the world is that the English people have allowed this "elite" to govern them (and the Welsh, and the Scots) for centuries, knowing what they are and what they do......in acquiescing in the brutality of Empire, and continuing to celebrate it, they have to share the guilt of the "elite's" excesses...............and we need look no further than the repeated electoral success of the Tory party to see that little has changed. If you can, check out how much of GB land is in private hands, then find out who they are, and how few of them there are........you might be shocked.
Because it wasnt the French, The Austrians, or the Japanese… surely its fair to say the English as thats who it was… Nobody in their right mind would consider it to be the whole of the English people, thats ridiculous.. If you dont know why theres so much contempt for the English in Ireland (and most have moved on with their lives independently TBH) then I suggest you do more than a little reading, and perhaps look at what the “British” Empire got up to on their worldwide gallavants… particularly in Ireland. Erin go Bragh ☘✊☘
As I listen to this and read the comments As n American Patriot I am appalled at what I'd happening to our Patriots in DC in prison for over a year now with NO trial no rights ..our country is being overthrown by a government not of the people..I see my beautiful country in turmoil and lies an deceit and I think about my Irish ancestors the Finnertys and Lonergans who came here in the 1840s what amazing strong proud people they were and help make the proud Americans today. Just had to vent ..world please do NOT believe the current administration in the US..they are calling American mothers and fathers terrorists and Christian Republicans labeled terrorist..we are fighting so hard against the left idiocracy..we truly need help .
The British imperialism was like many other countries imperialism, horrid and as unchristian as any terrorist action on earth. It still lingers in many ways in my country of Canada and is in fact supported by the system of government installed by the British.
Why do the Irish remember things from years ago as I'd it was yesterday blyme I'm english I like the Irish people but why do some of them keep on about there history regarding the English my uncle was in killed in action 2nd World War but I hav no bitterness towards the germans but that's just me people carnt help wot country thay are born in for god sake
We will never forget, long live the free people of united Ireland 🇮🇪
Grettings from Italy 🇮🇹 ❤💪
" It is not those who can inflict the most but those that can suffer the most
who will prevail."
Philip Clarke. Irish Martyr 1916
My ancestor was incarcerated here when he and his friends vandalised farming machines, so people would have work the next day. He was sentenced to life in Australia for stealing instead, because he took the blame for this young lad who was with them. The boy stole an apple and some bread. What a legend ! Over 2 hundred years later we now call ourselves New Zealanders.
💚Aw, it's great to hear of the happy result from such heartbreak at the outset of a long journey.☘️💚🇮🇪💚☘️
Thank you for that. I'm feeling pretty oppressed right now, & it helps.
@@jcharissesandberg333 thank you for taking the time to read our families story. I am overcome to hear it inspired you in such a time. Great things come out of sadness and despair if we don’t give up. God bless you during these days of giving. ❤
@@blueneptune825 thank you we have never forgot our roots and are proud to be connected to Ireland ☘️
You, Andy, are a disgrace to New Zealand
I like that you said we with Irish blood in our veins are survivors. This attempt over centuries was to break the Irish spirit. Too many people in today's world want to be labeled victims. Not us. ☘
I dont understand when or why being a victim of something has become an insult or that the victim is somehow blamed for what happened to them . If someone gets raped then they are a victim of rape , if they dont get killed during that rape then they are a survivor of rape . It isnt an either or thing , you are both a victim and a survivor . Being raped is a horrific thing that is done to someone , it has physical , mental , emotional effects that last a lifetime and that can change and reoccur over time , at any time , for any reason or for "no" reason , to tell someone to stop crying about it or "get over it " or " move past it " etc and to "stop being a victim" is nothing but absolute sheer ignorance .
Jesus Bless you dear. I’m half direct Irish. Wanna learn so much more about my heritage now :)) God Bless xx
Edit: after listening, yes, it Did tick a lot of boxes for genocide, hard to grow up with, I’m England!
@@shari9721 I'd have set it myself but not half as well as you have done. Thank you.🇮🇪☘️💚✌🏼
Not us
god bless you for telling this story and thanks you.
Derek has his PHD in Republican and Irish Studies...with a Major into its Songs and tales.
PHD's are baloney. They started out for folks who split the atom, found the DNA spiral, not for folks who make notes in libraries.
Beautiful and informative video. I’ve stumbled upon this song and it has arrested me. Thank you for sharing the history. For remembering the names, the stories, so that we can allow this tragic history to shape us into a more just and merciful people.
Alas, 'tis only my heart that's Irish, but I thank you for this fine video and Pete St. John for the fine song, which I sing often, from my Irish heart.
Bless you. Good health & peace of mind your way. 🇮🇪
Thank you for illuminating history so well.
Thanks for the history lesson, I never knew the whole story behind this epic song "The Fields of Athenry"
Many Irishmen joined the Boers in South Africa in their fight against the British Empire. Even though we lost the war due to genocide against our women and children - we still remember, with praise, those volunteers from Eire, Germany, Russia, the USA, Sweden, etc. who fought alongside the Boer militias. To a united Eire! Hail!
Viva Ireland…laat hulle sterk staan soos Ukraini….🍀
Who hasn't the irish helped fight in battle....Argentina, cuba,Mexico, Canada, france,spain, America, Iceland, Scotland, etc etc san patricios battalion in Mexico viva irlande!!!
Che guerva was actually a Lynch not Guerva n was mostly irish ,ireilly with San Patricios in mexico....the wild geese n so forth the English enslaved irish n forced them to fight for them smh....bes example wen Braveheart the Frontline wen Scotland fought England, rhet weren't English nope they were irish ....so many countries used fighting irish men from Mexico, America, Canada, France, England, Argentina, etc I could go on all day long
Most Irish fought for the British, hence why the Irish guards were formed because of the bravery of Irish soldiers fighting in the boer war for the crown
It’s not the English people who did this the British establishment was doing it to it own people right up until the 1950’s Ten pound poms we stand together with our Irish friends
Well I claim Irish ancestry.. but sadly before great grandparents (otherwise I'd apply for an Irish passport)... but also as a ten pound pom... though that was my parents... I was young enough to have gone for free.
I have more friends in England than Ireland. Live in the North West. Love it
I’m sorry, @Mike Rhodes....I don’t remember reading about any English citizens who organized and protested against the genocide which was the Irish potato famine, nor am I aware of protests taking place to ease the harsh laws which sent starving people to Australia for stealing small amounts of food to feed their children. I am wholly of English descent, with an ancestor aboard the Mayflower and two more colonists who fought in the American Revolution-for the British. I married a man who is a third generation child of Irish immigrants on his mother’s side, and I got much of my information from his relatives, as well as reading every history book I could get my hands on. That’s how I know that the majority of English people did not do much in the way of protest for the Irish. Of course, I may be wrong, and would welcome any sources you may have that tell a different story.
Exactly Mark, English people were lied to and misled by the British Establishment about the mentality of Irish people (who are massively respectable and humanistic).
@@voraciousreader3341 I am of Irish stock as well having been born and reared in England during the worst anti Irish feeling. It was due to propaganda of UK media. I think the British people of the time of the famine were also starving and under oppression.
I'm a British man was raised in Ireland married here when I hear this it makes me ashamed of what the British did I apologise from my heart, but I cannot choose my country of birth.
Thank you so much for this. I’ve performed The Fields of Athenry countless times, but never knew the full historical context that you explain so eloquently here. My confirmation name is Éamonn, which was my father’s name, given to him by his father, who fought in Dublin in ‘16, in honour of his CO, Éamonn Ceannt, executed at Kilmainham Gaol. God rest his soul.
This is the best history lesson I've ever had
great lesson in history but dont forget the hiland clearens of scotland this is one of my old time songs
I am an Englishman and it was happening here at the same time. The more i digest about the British empire, the more i feel saddened and disgusted about the way it worked and the way this world works, and the sins of our rulers. Every country in the world has to be ruled. Why can it not be done without viciousness and barbarity. All that ever does is breed more of the same.
It's coming again. World wide food shortages orchestrated by the World Economic Forum - an entity controlled by globalists and royalty. Prince Charles is a founding member, and I believe Prince Phillip was too. Better start growing your own food. They are now trying to wipe out farms. They have started with the Netherlands, and Canada too. Germany, Italy, Spain, Poland - all protesting in support of Dutch farmers. They are not showing anything on the mainstream news. World protests are to take place 23 July 2022. Be there. Italians are already standing in bread lines. How can this be when people like Prince Harry and Justin Trudeau are expending jet fuel for their own pleasure while people cannot afford fuel to drive to work? Bill Gates is not your friend.
Because it’s the human condition . Sad but true !
It's still happening mate. CV and CC is their new weapon and this time the war is against all of us.
Amen to that..
A history lesson from my favourite musician of all time,thanks Derek 👍🏻🇮🇪🇮🇪🇮🇪
Thank you for this story! Never knew this but what a sad story for those that loved Ireland 🇮🇪.
Thank you for this video. There was so much knowledge that it brought me to tears.
Thank you for sharing this history lesson. Respect!
My father's side fled from Ireland to work the gold fields of the ZAR in 1895 & make a life for themself far from the British jackboot having survived An Gorta Mór, Trevelyan's genocide of the Irish people only to face the British again during Anglo-Boer, another shameful chapter in British history. Being a part of the Irish diaspora, your music has helped me learn about my history & keep intought with my roots. Hopefully, one day I'll be able to see the Republic So much martyr blood was shed for & Kinsealy, the town where my Great grandmother & other 4 Brothers lived before departing for the Cape of Good Hope.
I just noted above that I am of Irish stock and live in New Zealand. By a strange twist of filter my Grandfather fought against your lot in the Boer War. What a twist of fate that we were on the side of the British.
I'm german and as all germans I learned early in my life from stories of my grandparents and parents and from the lectures in school that our nation and people commited the worst crimes in history and that we all inherited the sins of our ancestors. It's something we all carry with us and we all are very wary of at all times: Our nation and forefathers have commited the worst crimes in history and we and our children and our childrens children will forever be seen and judged by what they did from all other people in the world. And it is true, whereever you go as a german, there will always be someone to call you a Nazi, even though they have never seen you before and they know nothing about you, just where you originate from. That is especially true when you travel in England. Only recently I learned about all the crimes the British have comminted - those aren't part of history lessons here. I have yet to meet an english person who feels guilt or shame for the actions of their ancestors.
Moose52,
I am a citizen of USA. But my mother was entirely of Irish ancestry. And my father? Entirely of German ancestry.
And so from the perspective of my unique collective DNA I found your reply to this Athenry clip intriguing. I also found it to be thoughtful and poignantly stated. Thank you.
My response to your comment: Foremost to be kept in mind is the importance of recognizing the tragedy of past deeds, and from there learning from them so that going forward, all our actions conducted towards our fellow human beings are sincerely respectful. It looks like that is precisely what you are doing in your life. Kudos to you sir!
Thank you Derek we all love ya Many thanks fer all the live streams over lockdown yer all legends Tíocfaidh ár Lár
No r. Just Lá. Lár means 'middle' in English.
I have visited Killmainham Gaol and its an eerie place. As an English person I'm ashamed at what was done to the people of Ireland 🇮🇪 in the past. Not in my name!! Sadly history isn't taught sufficiently in English schools as this part of it is too embarrassing and shameful.
This makes me sad and angry what was done to my Gael people. My ancestor baring my surname, fled famine in Leinster in the 1840s. He married an Irish girl in Wales, then settled in N/E England. He has thousands decendents. Im one! Erin Go Bragh!
It was a great privilege to hear you speak and sing along with The Young Wolftones yesterday at the Irish Hooley in Dubuque Iowa.
Thank you sir! I’m so proud of my ancestors! 🇮🇪🙏
My Dad was from Cabra, Dublin. My grandfather was a volunteer in Killanny. I am an American but Irish blood runs through my veins. God Bless Ireland!
Very important in my view to distinguish between the "English" and the government of the "English" not the same thing by a million miles, we need to understand equally in modern times just how money is created, fractional reserve banking is not commonly understand by the man in the street, a fact that is very disturbing as it is economics that largely shapes politicians behaviours
Thomas Francis Meagher would lead the 69th New York infantry (Irish Brigade) which was an all Irish brigade in the American Civil War.
Fear no noise
Thank you for you sharing with love from your heart
We will remember them.
Thank you for this!!! One of my favorite songs of all time.
The song led me here to learn. What a great crime. Crying now. From Canada with love.
Sad Story indeed. Thanks for sharing this facts behind the song. Greetings from Brazil 🙏
Absolutely brilliant Sir
Great video. People need to know this. On a side note, I've seen three great Wolfetones performances in my days, the first in the 70's in Bundoran and the 2nd and 3rd times by complete surprise in a park in Savannah in 2001 and then the young wolfetones outside Tampa Arena before a hockey game in 2015. Thanks for all the beautiful songs and music. The best in the world.
I may not be Irish, but being of Vietnamese descent, I know the horrors of colonial genocide. May there be love and solidarity between our two peoples: survivors and victors over the bloodiest colonial empires of the world!
Beautiful memories and a reminder that what we see today in UKRAINE is nothing new. Every one of us who is a descendant of an Irish person should keep the story alive so it is never forgotten. Thank you Sir for your great memories
My thoughts too. Ukraine's people are being treated as disposable by Putin.
What's happening in Ukraine is the relief and liberation of the Donbass.
@@Kitiwake keep dreaming you fool. What should be remembered is what the Jewish well ill say israelis are doing to the Palestinians and getting away with it atleast ukraine has support. Alot of Ukrainians speak Russian and don't even speak Ukrainian.. that's how much its been ethnically cleansed. Both situations are equally not right. But cannot be any double standards.
Get your facts straight. The propaganda that your swallowing is coming from the same fuckers that is being spoke of on this video
@@Kitiwake Freeing a part of a nation from itself for the benefit of Russia, LIAR!
Beautifully narrated
We tend to forget that the English criminal class as they were known were also sent to Australia as opposed to the Irish who were sent for political reasons. If you think people in Ireland were sent for stealing an apple I would suggest you are wrong, it was used as a way to keep people down. I came across an interesting number from the Australian government the other day, it was 50/50 Irish and English sent there. The problem is always with the government not the people.
God bless you sir.
I just had a visit to this prison. Amazing and horrible place. To see where Irish heroes died.
I’m irish and I’m still here ,but I live far away!
I love the Young Wolfetones (come again to Butte!) and their focus on Irish freedom, history and pride. Learning more and more of my ancestors--yes, they gave so much for Irish freedom for so very long. Every sacrifice is hallowed and sacred to those of us who now carry their blood in our veins. I strive to pass this on to my kids and grandkids now, and to continue to fight for freedom in my own ways.
Big up to you Derek. Legend.
Thank you for sharing the history of this song.. I love this song very much. I just breaks my heart so much that a boy or a man with young family was imprisoned for life just because of stealing a bread for his family during the famine. I feel so bad or disgusted to all the tyrannys that's happened in the world in the past.
Very well said. I don’t think I have an ounce of Irish blood. We visited Ireland in 2012. Kilmainham goal was one of the places we visited, and I really had no idea about the Irish struggle against England. I’ve never been to England. Now after what I’ve learned of the story of Ireland’s struggle against the British I think England should be ashamed of herself and make reparations.
It was an established elite of the British Empire and not the English per se. In fact, look at WW1 and you will see the barbarity the English Elite used on its own English people the obsolete farmers who were being replaced by machines of the Industrial Revolution.
Question: Should a boy who owns nothing of any value whatsoever, handed down from his ancestors, be punished for his Great, Great, Great Grandfathers generation of wrong doing?
Even if his Great, Great, Great grandfather had no influence, knowledge or input into that wrong doing.
Arguably his only 'crime' was being born during that time!
My great great grandfather stole a cow and was sentenced at Killmainham and sent to Botany Bay and I love this song Fields of Athenry and I sing it with my band.
I love Ireland, but I am saddened by this story, which is my ancestors' story. Dad offered to travel back to Ireland (and Wales), but grandpa said he had nothing to return for.
The English are doing it to there own now as well
So powerful. Thank you.
Thanks for this. Heartbreaking story of genocide and oppression.
No drops of Irish blood in me. Just massive respect. James Connoly and Seamus Costello are some of my favorite people of all time.
Good fenian men, thank you mo chara
Every time I watch this, I feel an overwhelming sorrow thinking about all of the people that were wrongly imprisoned & executed at this place. I love the song, of course, but this makes it hit my heart differently.
This man is a true patriot.
they locked the wrongs ones up, and their still in power, god save us, and god bless my ancestral blood.
God bless you for bringing this evil place to light, and how mistreated these men and women were! People need to know! Now and always! They have great pride and were protecting their families and what was right! Heart- breaking💔. Now let's hope things will stay better and that we'll always have respect and deep honor for those that had strength to stick up for us all. 🇮🇪😘💔😭🤬😡
Thank you for your beautiful music and information of history. It gives me hope and makes me know why I am an American who feels out of place.
wow, very moving, damn i fucking hate all that the English did, and i am English myself, but i will tell you something, i am not the English that would do this to such a wonderful people, the English aristocracy are the ones that we should hate, respect from Yorkshire
Unfortunately it was not just England. Scots and Welsh, plus Irish with pro British affiliations all contributed to the atrocities.
Absolutely, I am English and I am ashamed of what we did to these lovely people, having said that, it was the royals and the aristocracy, the politicians that perpetrated these crimes not the ordinary men and women.
It breaks my heart as an Englishman to witness this , these atrocities were not committed in my name , I will be eternally sorry for the sins of my ancestors
And what about the Irish merchants that opposed any relaxation of the corn laws that would have made food cheaper for the Irish people, oh btw the push for changing the corn laws came from the English (British) The Irish merchants were more interested in profit than the well-being of their fellow countrymen. This is not a defence of what the ruling classes of Britain inflicted on Ireland, but an exposure that greed is universal and that there were plenty of Irish villains who oppressed their own people through corruption and profiteering.
@@normansidey5258 Protestant Irish Merchant's Might I Add
How tragic to be sent to Australia for stealing an apple. So far away from their beloved country. 💔
Stole an apple in Ireland worked hard in Australia and owned orchards.
@@davidrixon3549 Excellent turn around.😉
This genocide has been done to all indigenous people, all over the world. We currently live in the collective result😔
Tomorrow I will once again vote Sinn Fein.
Never forgive, never forget.
Yes a good history lesson, but it is history so treat it as such learn from it and move on
My ancestors sailed from Cobh, County Cork for America, and a chance at a new life. Two of them never survived the journey, and were buried at sea. Flash forward to a younger me in my mid twenties, and discovering Irish music, and learning about my heritage. I had never heard the Fields of Athenry before, not a note of it. When I first heard the intro, I just fell into it, singing along, note-for-note, lyric-for-lyric. I'm 55 now, and I cannot explain it to this day. I'd like to think maybe my Irish immigrant family was reaching out and laying a hand on my shoulder.
Erik B.
I too had not heard of the tune, and I too stumbled upon it recently. I found it while watching a YT clip about the Rugby team of Ireland and how their fans sing the song in the stadium.
'Tis a beautiful ballad about an important event in history.
Paddy Reilly arguably sings the best version.
@@mr.neqtanThe best.
Living in the Netherlands I was no victim of British terror. But I've been in Ireland and heard the stories. I wish you all strength in your fight for freedom and independance.
Cheers rob but you’re 100 years late! Ireland is a free independent nation. Ireland beat the British! That’s why Ireland 🇮🇪 is in the EU 🇪🇺 and UK 🇬🇧 is not in the EU. Because they’re separate countries.
@@burn1898 and what about Northern Ireland??
Never Never forget. And now Ireland is the better for its economy and attraction of young people and businesses
Cheers man telling truthful historic facts about that inchicore south dublin jail, shameful who doesn't commited crime jailed there and exucuted
well put
Well said good sir
I don't really understand why, but when I begin singing Irish songs, The Fields of Athenry is the first song I sing. When listening to the names of Irish patriots who willingly gave their lives in fighting for their country against the British army, Kevin Barry came to mind. Only 18 years when executed, his love for Ireland I heard in the song named for him, and I cried for that poor boy murdered because he fought for Ireland's freedom from British rule. When I listen to The Fields of Athenry, I cry for the countless men and women who were shipped to Botany Bay in Australia for life for stealing food so their children could live. The song does have a beautiful, haunting melody, but tells of what fate brings to many who are forced to steal food so they may live. I may be an American whose family tree is in Germany, but I could not love and admire the spirit of the Irish more than if I was born there.
New Zealanders ridicule Australians, they call us convicts, to embarrass and humiliate. They ignore the cruelty that was perpetuated against the Irish, by the English in Ireland, and the Australian penal colony.
I have Irish ancestry & although it was long ago,it makes me feel ashamed to be British!
A lot of English Politicians still show contempt for Ireland
AMEN.
My great grandfather was from Killkenny. And I suppose my family are survivors of the potato famine. 🇮🇪🏴
Never underestimate the cruelty and manipulation of the English elite
They invented propaganda and are still at it today
It was not just Ireland you can include to a lessor extent Scotland India and South Africa and others
underestimate them to your peril
🍀❤️🍀
GOD MAY forgive them, but I never will
I’m totally with you. But it was the British, not English
I perform from time to time "The Fields of Athenry" but the place in this video is miles away. Also, the line in the song, 'a prison ship lies waiting in the bay"....... the sea is ten miles away from Athenry. It is a great song but it does not relate to any particular place or incident so far as I can see.
Pete St John choose Athenry because it rhymed with Fly in the song. No other reaason. It isn't about any particular incident just a general interpretation of events that happened during the famine.
Have you never heard of artistic license?
Is that Louis CK at 4:50?
And now the Irish people need to fight for their country again.
Ireland forever!
Ernest morais duplessi
What everyone seems to forget is that the British were the Nazis of the 16th to the 19th centuries.......they invaded countries, enslaved and impoverished peoples, plundered their countries, and where necessary, murdered sufficient of their populations to assert their rule. Then, they imposed their laws, and made criminals of anyone who resisted them. In Ireland, they disposessed the native population, gave their land to English and Scottish planters, with the proviso that the cost of keeping the land was the suppression of the Croppies. That mentality still exists in the North of Ireland today........it's called the DUP and the TUV. How the Brits can criticise Putin is beyond me................he's doing exactly what they and other Imperial powers did centuries ago.
This was as much a class war as it was an ethnic cleansing. The rich "British" land owners of the empire included English, Irish, Scottish and Welsh families.
In Scotland of course there was not quite the same level of famine, but there were the Highland clearances, a brutal ethnic cleansing of a similar sort.
"The Countess of Sutherland and her husband the Marquis of Stafford were regarded as the worst landlords of all. By 1811, some 15,000 of their tenants had been moved to make way for sheep, with huge social and economic consequences. The brutal work of thugs such as Sellar only served to increase their notoriety further."
Look also to the Empires treatment of the populations of India and Africa. The biggest "crime" of empire was to be born poor, and therefore forced to tug your forelock to your rich landlord. Russia too had its empire, as did the Dutch, the Germans, the French, Italians, Spanish.
Speaking of Spanish, as the much plagiarised, misquoted and mis-attributed philosopher George Santayana remarked, “Those who cannot remember the past are condemned to repeat it.”
@@AndyHullMcPenguinAbsolutely right Andrew........if you haven't read them already, I recommend The Great Hunger by Cecil Woodham Smith, and Inglorious Empire by Shashi Tharoor...................both should be compulsory reading for anyone with fond images of "Empire".
@@ratheanach5545 You can add "The Highland Clearances" (John Prebble), to your reading list, and perhaps "Who Owns Scotland" might enlighten everyone to the true nature of land ownership, both in Scotland and elsewhere.
@@ratheanach5545 Thanks for the suggestions. My wife and her family are Indian, and she is a historian, so I'm very much aware of the impact of Empire there and elsewhere.
@@AndyHullMcPenguin Andrew, many thanks................just bought Prebbles book......will work my way to Wightman's in due course.
WHY is the gentleman's name delivering this important message NOT identified? Have I somehow missed it? Bothers me a lot.
Derek Warfield, of the Wolfe Tones.
@@lauranam5266, thank you!!!
inpaindaily
He is miles and miles away from Athenry!!!!
++
Who is doing the commentary?
EXACTLY!!! How can they post such a wonderful video without it???
Derek Warfield
No criminals? What tosh. Take off the rose tinted glasses.
GOOD MAN YOU WONT HEAR THAT NOW I KNOW ALL ABOUT THE BLACK AND TANS FROM
MY GRANFATHER HE ALWAYS SED THE PITY WAS THAT SOME OF THEM GOT AWAY THE BASTARD S FORGIVE U MUST B JOKING
No no no. May God not forgive them for their wickedness until they repent of their sins and beg God and the survivors of their holocaust, the Irish people, for forgiveness. Only then will they have absolution.
Why do so many Irish people refer to 'The English' with such contempt. It was the English aristocracy, not the majority of English, who treated every one else appallingly. Think of the Scottish Clearings, the English people from the North who marched on London in despair etc. Huge numbers were treated badly and died because of the few who had the wealth. I know the Irish were treated appallingly but so was everyone else by the so called elite minority.
You're quite right Pete, but the problem for most of the world is that the English people have allowed this "elite" to govern them (and the Welsh, and the Scots) for centuries, knowing what they are and what they do......in acquiescing in the brutality of Empire, and continuing to celebrate it, they have to share the guilt of the "elite's" excesses...............and we need look no further than the repeated electoral success of the Tory party to see that little has changed. If you can, check out how much of GB land is in private hands, then find out who they are, and how few of them there are........you might be shocked.
Because it wasnt the French, The Austrians, or the Japanese… surely its fair to say the English as thats who it was… Nobody in their right mind would consider it to be the whole of the English people, thats ridiculous.. If you dont know why theres so much contempt for the English in Ireland (and most have moved on with their lives independently TBH) then I suggest you do more than a little reading, and perhaps look at what the “British” Empire got up to on their worldwide gallavants… particularly in Ireland. Erin go Bragh ☘✊☘
@@Midland_Wolf_71 Like he said it was the English aristocracy, it's the equivalent of saying all Americans supported Trump
Your paranoid .
@@keithrobertson5110 about what exactly
As I listen to this and read the comments As n American Patriot I am appalled at what I'd happening to our Patriots in DC in prison for over a year now with NO trial no rights ..our country is being
overthrown by a government not of the people..I see my beautiful country in turmoil and lies an deceit and I think about my Irish ancestors the Finnertys and Lonergans who came here in the 1840s what amazing strong proud people they were and help make the proud Americans today. Just had to vent ..world please do NOT believe the current administration in the US..they are calling American mothers and fathers terrorists and Christian Republicans labeled terrorist..we are fighting so hard against the left idiocracy..we truly need help .
You´re on the wrong side buddy !
Stop drinking the coolaid!
Yes, you do need help but not of the variety you think. Please see the truth.
The British imperialism was like many other countries imperialism, horrid and as unchristian as any terrorist action on earth. It still lingers in many ways in my country of Canada and is in fact supported by the system of government installed by the British.
There was no difference from Hitler.
Why do the Irish remember things from years ago as I'd it was yesterday blyme I'm english I like the Irish people but why do some of them keep on about there history regarding the English my uncle was in killed in action 2nd World War but I hav no bitterness towards the germans but that's just me people carnt help wot country thay are born in for god sake