Our last song in the Easter Rising series is about the Irish who live far from Ireland. The singer travels around Britain, London, Wales, Birmingham, Glasgow, and everywhere he meets people who were born there, but who say: my heart is in Ireland.
Learn from Songs · Festivals: Easter Rising · Part 3 of 3 · B1
My Heart Is in Ireland
Part 3 of the Easter Rising series: the Wolfe Tones’ song for the children of Irish emigrants in Britain, and the leaders of 1916 who were born or raised abroad. Reported speech (he told me his parents were Irish), long to / though born…, relative clauses (a bar called…, the land where…), and two homes, with Philo, Sophia, Marcos and Demetria.
SOPHIA
PHILO
Born in one land, with their heart in another. I know that feeling. We Jews of Alexandria are like that.
SOPHIA
Exactly, Philo. And many of the leaders of 1916 were the same. James Connolly was born in Scotland to Irish parents. Tom Clarke was born in England. Pearse’s own father was English.
MARCOS
So the Rising was partly made abroad?
Before you listen: the song
Dublin, 1985
For two hundred years, millions of Irish people emigrated: to Britain, America, Australia. In Britain, there were Irish communities in London, Liverpool, Birmingham, Glasgow and the mining towns of Wales. Their children, born in Britain, often grew up with Irish songs, Irish dances and Irish football clubs, and a strong feeling for a country they had sometimes never seen.
Several leaders of the Easter Rising had lives like that. James Connolly was born in a poor Irish district of Edinburgh. Tom Clarke was born on the Isle of Wight to an Irish soldier’s family. Pearse’s father came from England, and Éamon de Valera, who led one of the rebel battalions, was born in New York.
Brian Warfield of the Wolfe Tones wrote “My Heart Is in Ireland” for their 1985 album Profile, and dedicated it to the Irish in Britain, their sons and daughters and their friends. It became one of the band’s biggest hits. In the song, the singer meets people across Britain who tell him their parents were Irish, and that their hearts are in Ireland.
You can love two homes.
Listen: the journey
PHILO
Listen once. Where does the singer go? Who does he meet in each place? What do they all say?
SOPHIA
Then answer Section A.
☘️ Listen to the song: “My Heart Is in Ireland” (Brian Warfield, 1985), by the Wolfe Tones.Listen to the recording →
📜 Read the words while you listen: “My Heart Is in Ireland”, the Wolfe Tones.Read the lyrics →
Reported speech
MARCOS
“My parents were Irish.” → He told me (that) his parents had been Irish. “We’ll go back one day.” → She said they would go back one day.
SOPHIA
Reporting in the past: is → was, was → had been, will → would, can → could. said (no person) / told + person: She told me… / She said…
Long to, though born…
DEMETRIA
I long to see Ireland. Though born in London, my heart is in Ireland. I have never seen it.
SOPHIA
long to + infinitive = want very much (often something far away). though / although + past participle = a short, elegant contrast: Though born in Wales, she speaks Irish.
Relative clauses: a bar called…, the land where…
PHILO
An old man who kept a bar called the Horses and Tram. The land where my parents were born. The people whose families left.
SOPHIA
who for people, where for places, whose for possession, and called / named (past participle) for names: a pub called the Crown.
Sophia’s comparison: Philo’s two homes
PHILO
This is my own feeling. We Jews of Alexandria call Jerusalem our mother city, because the holy Temple is there. But Alexandria, where we and our fathers and grandfathers were born, is our fatherland. Two homes, and one heart for both.
SOPHIA
And we Greeks of Alexandria came from Macedonia, Athens and the islands three hundred years ago. We still sing the old songs of Greece, though most of us have never seen it.
MARCOS
I’ve never seen Corinth, but I support its runners at every games.
Sophia’s summary
| Words and forms | Use | Example |
|---|---|---|
| reported speech: was → had been, will → would | reporting in the past | He told me his parents had been Irish. |
| said / told + person | reporting verbs | She told me… / She said… |
| long to + infinitive | want very much | I long to see Ireland. |
| though + past participle | short contrast | Though born in London… |
| who / where / whose / called | relative clauses and names | a bar called the Horses and Tram |
Practice
Listen to the song for Section A, then do the rest. Press “Check my answers” at the end. You can try again as many times as you like.
A · Listen: the song
Listen to the song and choose the best answer.
1. Where does the singer travel?
2. Who does he meet?
3. What do they all say?
4. Who wrote the song?
5. Where was James Connolly born?
6. Who was the song dedicated to?
B · Grammar and vocabulary
Write the missing word or words.
7. He told me his parents been Irish. (reported)
8. She said they go back one day.
9. I long see Ireland.
10. born in London, my heart is in Ireland.
11. A bar the Horses and Tram. (named)
12. The land my parents were born.
C · Right or wrong?
Is the sentence correct English?
13. “He said me his parents were Irish.”
14. “Though born in Wales, she speaks Irish.”
15. “I long seeing Ireland.”
16. “The town where my grandfather lived.”
Talk and write
Discussion and writing
Family journeys. Interview a partner: where were your parents and grandparents born? Report the answers: She told me her grandmother had been born in…
Discuss. 1. Can you feel at home in two countries? 2. Why do the children of emigrants often keep the old songs and customs? 3. What do you think of the Rising leaders who were born or raised abroad?
Write (120–150 words). Two homes. Write about someone (real or imagined) who was born in one country but feels part of another. Use reported speech, long to, though born and two relative clauses.
Now play the gamebook: a caravan to Jerusalem, and people who have never seen it.Play the gamebook →