21 January 2009

O'Bama is My People!

I'm Irish. Sort of. I mean, somewhere back in the fogs of time, people were born in Ireland, who gave birth to other people, who gave birth to other people, and so and so forth, and some of those people finally ended up here in America, and then two of those people gave birth to my mom and dad. (Technically, not to my dad, as his father gave him his Irish heritage and she-who-gave-him-birth gave him his Croatian blood, but you get the idea.)

My folks are a wee bit Ireland-obsessed, and I was raised to love fiddle music, get misty-eyed at green fields, and of course, enjoy my pint of Guinness. Mom and Dad owned and operated a fantastic Irish Pub in Sonoma for 14 (or so) years, which is still going strong under new ownership.

Rick and I honeymooned in Ireland, because while he is Mexican and Italian (I know! Lucky me!), he really wishes he came from the same sod that brought forth James Joyce, Seamus Heaney, and Irish Stout.

So I can't say thank you enough to my dear friend Karen, herself an Irish lass (a whole lot more so than I am), who, along with her full-blooded hubby, has a brood of pale-faced boys that can trace their roots back to Erin. Karen sent me an email tonight with the PERFECT content for my "Barack Obama" post. I was wondering how to add to the blogosphere's already saturated Obama material. And while I'm sure this is going viral on the internet, I'll go ahead and jump on that bandwagon.

I wept while watching the Inauguration...I felt the dark curtain lift from the world...I rejoiced to watch both history and our future unfold. And now, I can claim a bit of Barack as my own. Enjoy!

Moneygall is a small village in County Offaly, Ireland. It has a population of approximately 300 people, has a Roman Catholic church, five shops, a post office, a national school, a police station and two pubs.

The 44th President of the United States Barack Obama's great-great-great grandfather, Falmouth Kearney, emigrated from Moneygall to New York City at the age of 19 in 1850 and eventually resettled in Tipton County, Indiana. Kearney's father had been the village shoemaker, then a wealthy skilled tradesman.

And now for the SONG...Crank up your speakers: There's No One as Irish as Barack Obama

Thanks to the Corrigan Brothers for this inspired ode to our new President!

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4 comments:

Dad said...

I liked your blog about Obama but it may have been composed by Shay Black who used to play at the pub with his brother Michael. You should check your facts more carefully, it would only take you ten minutes.

Pubmeister

Anonymous said...

Actually, the song as sung here is an original composition by the Corrigan Brothers (aka Hardy Drew and the Nancy Boys. Last year, they gave permission to Shay Black to sing the song with additional verses that he composed. The version cited here does not appear to include Shay Black's new material. See http://www.black-brothers.com/obama.html for more information.

And I'll Raise You 5 said...

Thank you, Anonymous, for setting my smart ass father straight. Yes, "Pubmeister" is my dad, and he enjoys needling me whenever he gets a chance. I'm just glad you stepped forward to correct him, as he would not have believed it coming from me.

And dad: "HA!"

Momo Fali said...

I love that your Dad gives you crap! He IS Irish!

My Dad always says, "Today, I'm Irish. Tomorrow, I'm hungover."

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