# When a Northern Irish athlete wins a gold medal at the Commonwealth Games...

**URL:** <https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-a-northern-irish-athlete-wins-a-gold-medal-at-the-commonwealth-games/353023>\
**Category:** Factual Questions\
**Created:** [April 17, 2006, 4:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-a-northern-irish-athlete-wins-a-gold-medal-at-the-commonwealth-games/353023 "2006-04-17T16:47:40Z")\
**Posts on this page:** 6\
**Page:** 1

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**Author:** ![Trillionaire](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/aeb1de/32.png) [@Trillionaire](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Trillionaire)\
**Post date:** [April 17, 2006, 4:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-a-northern-irish-athlete-wins-a-gold-medal-at-the-commonwealth-games/353023/1 "2006-04-17T16:47:40Z")

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…what song / anthem plays at the medal ceremony?

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**Author:** ![Rayne\_Man](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/df705f/32.png) [@Rayne\_Man](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rayne_Man)\
**Post date:** [April 17, 2006, 5:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-a-northern-irish-athlete-wins-a-gold-medal-at-the-commonwealth-games/353023/2 "2006-04-17T17:51:08Z")

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it’s “Danny Boy”

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**Author:** ![Ravenman](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ravenman/32/2929_2.png) [@Ravenman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ravenman)\
**Post date:** [April 17, 2006, 6:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-a-northern-irish-athlete-wins-a-gold-medal-at-the-commonwealth-games/353023/3 "2006-04-17T18:01:24Z")

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> **[Londonderry Air](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Londonderry_Air)**
>
> The "Londonderry Air" is an Irish air (folk tune) that originated in County Londonderry, first recorded in the nineteenth century. The tune is played as the victory sporting anthem of Northern Ireland at the Commonwealth Games. The song "Danny Boy" written by English lawyer Fred Weatherly uses the tune, with a set of lyrics written in the early 20th century. The title of the air came from the name of County Londonderry, and was collected by Jane Ross of Limavady in the county. Ross submitted the...

Wikipedia says it is the Londonderry Air, which apparently is the basis of several songs, including Danny Boy.

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**Author:** ![GorillaMan](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/50afbb/32.png) [@GorillaMan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GorillaMan)\
**Post date:** [April 17, 2006, 6:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-a-northern-irish-athlete-wins-a-gold-medal-at-the-commonwealth-games/353023/4 "2006-04-17T18:33:33Z")

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Of course, as with just about everything else, talking about the tune can betray your affiliation - it’s the Londonderry Air, or the Derry Air, or Danny Boy, depending on who you don’t want to offend

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**Author:** ![Polycarp](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/82dd89/32.png) [@Polycarp](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Polycarp)\
**Post date:** [April 17, 2006, 7:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-a-northern-irish-athlete-wins-a-gold-medal-at-the-commonwealth-games/353023/5 "2006-04-17T19:49:42Z")

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[QUOTE=GorillaMan]  
Of course, as with just about everything else, talking about the tune can betray your affiliation - it’s the Londonderry Air, or the Derry Air, or Danny Boy, depending on who you don’t want to offend  
[/QUOTE]

Correct. But the name of the tune is “Londonderry Air” – named after a melody collected in the city then called Londonderry, but now Derry. Just as the famous topological puzzle called “the Seven Bridges of Konigsburg” was first set by Immanuel Kant when he lived in the city then called Konigsburg, now Kaliningrad.

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**Author:** ![GorillaMan](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/50afbb/32.png) [@GorillaMan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GorillaMan)\
**Post date:** [April 17, 2006, 7:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-a-northern-irish-athlete-wins-a-gold-medal-at-the-commonwealth-games/353023/6 "2006-04-17T19:55:02Z")

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[QUOTE=Polycarp]  
Correct. But the name of the tune is “Londonderry Air” – named after a melody collected in the city then called Londonderry, but now Derry.  
[/QUOTE]

The city’s offical name is still Londonderry, even though plenty of institutions (including the city council) have been renamed. And anyway, my whole point is that even when the melody was collected, plenty of people didn’t use that name.