'Mac Amhlaigh sought to record every pub and dancehall, every sunset, stone wall and rainbow in his mind, to pack the city in his suitcase so that she remained with him forever, so he could all at once hear her lost voice everywhere.' – Colum McCann 'Mícheál Ó hAodha has done the literary world a huge service by translating Dónall Mac Amhlaigh's work into English.' – Gillian Mawson 'a work that exudes authenticity and immediacy.' – Liam Harte A Soldier's Song is a classic account of Irish army life by a working-class writer whose work and contribution to literary culture is only now being fully appreciated. It has the privacy and immediacy of a diary but holds the interest like a novel. It follows the adventures, trials and tribulations of Nuibin Amhlaigh who keeps getting into trouble in his good soldier's progress through army life. A lost treasure of Irish writing translated for the first time into English.