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1979 song written by Pete St. John

"The Fields of Athenry" is a song written in 1979 by Pete St. John in the style of an Irish folk ballad. Set during the Great Famine of the 1840s, the lyrics feature a fictional man from near Athenry in County Galway, who stole food for his starving family and has been sentenced to transportation to the Australian penal colony at Botany Bay. It has become a widely known, popular anthem for Irish sports supporters.

"The Fields of Athenry" was written in 1979 by Pete St. John, who stated he heard a story about a young man from the Athenry area who had been caught stealing corn to feed his family during the Irish famine years, and was deported to Australia. A claim was made in 1996 that a broadsheet ballad published in the 1880s had similar words; however, the folklorist and researcher John Moulden found no basis to this claim, and Pete St. John stated that he wrote the words as well as the music. In 1979, the song was recorded by Danny Doyle, reaching the top ten in the Irish Singles Chart. but the most successful version was released by Paddy Reilly in 1982. While peaking only at number four, it remained in the Irish charts for 72 weeks. Two further versions have since reached the Irish top ten: the Cox Crew getting to number five in 1999, while Dance to Tipperary peaked at number six in 2001. The lyrics say the convict's crime is that he "stole Trevelyan's corn"; this is a reference to Charles Edward Trevelyan, a senior English civil servant in the administration of the Lord Lieutenant of Ireland in Dublin Castle. Trevelyan famously said, "the judgement of God sent the calamity to teach the Irish a lesson". The corn in question, wheat oats and barley, were being grown in Ireland and exported notwithstanding the potato famine: popular tradition holds that Trevelyan was culpable for failing to prevent its export.

The song was regularly heard from on the terraces in the late 1980s from supporters of the Galway county hurling team. The song was adopted by Republic of Ireland national football team supporters during the 1990 World Cup and subsequently by Celtic supporters in the early 1990s. Celtic Football Club in Glasgow has a large following in Ireland and among people in Scotland of Irish descent. During the Great Famine in Ireland during the 1840s, 100,000 Irish famine victims emigrated to Glasgow. When Celtic's long serving Irish goalkeeper Packie Bonner had a testimonial match in 1991, he invited Pete St. John to attend the event and speak to the crowd before the game. St John began by thanking Glasgow for looking after the famine victims, and then began to sing "Fields of Athenry", accompanied by thousands of fans. He later described it as one of the most memorable moments of his life.". The song's popularity, due in part to its use at sporting events, has helped to attract tourists to Athenry. In recognition of this, the town's officials invited Pete St. John to a civic reception and presented him with a mace and chain as a token of their appreciation. The song is also associated with the Connacht, Munster, London Irish and Ireland rugby union teams. It's also seen by many as Galway's county song, sung at the various GAA matches when the county is playing. Fans of Cork City F. C. adopted "The Fields of Bishopstown" to the same tune, with lyrics changed from the original version. It is sung regularly at home games. "The Fields of Anfield Road" was adopted by Liverpool supporters to the same tune, but with adapted lyrics referencing their history and stadium. During the UEFA Euro 2012 group stage game against Spain, the Irish fans started singing the song roughly 83 minutes into the game and sang for the last six minutes of regulation, as well as past the full time whistle, knowing that they were going to be eliminated from the group as they were down by four goals and had failed to accrue the points necessary to remain in the tournament. Some commentators stopped commenting for the final minutes, so the crowd could be heard. This was widely reported in the international media.

The song is sung in the movie Veronica Guerin, by Brian O'Donnell, then aged 11, a street singer in Dublin, although it is credited on the soundtrack as "Bad News". It is also sung a cappella by a female character at a wake in the 1994 film Priest. It also appears in Dead Poets Society, an anachronism, as the film is set in 1959, before the song was written, and 16 Years of Alcohol. An a cappella version of the first verse and chorus can be found during a singing contest judged by Janeane Garofalo in the film The Matchmaker. Cancer Boy, a character in the 1996 film Kids in the Hall: Brain Candy, is briefly shown whistling the tune.