Ellan Vannin (poem) Ellan Vannin (poem) Ellan Vannin (the Manx-language name of the Isle of Man) is a poem and song, often referred to as "the alternative Manx national anthem", the words of which were written by Eliza Craven Green in 1854 and later set to music by someone called either J. Townsend or F. H. Townend (sources vary). The Manx-language name Ellan Vannin is commonly mispronounced in renditions of the song, including in the Bee Gees version, since written Manx uses an orthography based on Welsh rather than Irish/Scots gaelic, which does not accurately transcribe the "ʲə" sound found in the word
Manx language is frequently spelled "Manks" in historical sources, particularly those written by natives of the island; the word means "Mannish", and originates from the Old Norse "Mannisk". The name of the island, Man, is frequently spelled "Mann". It is sometimes accompanied by a footnote explaining that it is a two-syllable word, with the stress on the first syllable, "MAN-en". The island is named after the Irish god Manannán mac Lir, thus "Ellan Vannin" (Irish "Oileán Mhannanáin") 'Mannanán's Island'. Manx is a Goidelic language, closely related to Irish and Scottish Gaelic. On the whole it is partially mutually intelligible with these, and