Wednesday 29 April 2009

The Price of Fame - Pebbles Boyle pays the Price! - And its our fault!



I'm Pebbles Boyle (spare a thought for me)......the first Cat Oprhaned by Celebrity! This is the new Corrigan Brother's song!
"We were very concerned about Pebbles, it seems she now has to share Susan with the world and we wanted to write a song for Pebbles, the first cat orphaned by celebrity" said Ger Corrigan Lead singer with Corrigan Brothers.

I'm Pebbles Boyle
I'm just a simple cat
Like milk and balls of wool
And things like that

Every thing was fine
What the heck
Until Susan
Met Ant and Dec

She sung for Cowell
And Amanda Holden
She shook her hips
And now she's golden

She hasn't pIcked me up
Or changed my litter
I'm Pebbles Boyle
But I'm not bitter

CHORUS
I'M PEBBLES BOYLE
SPARE A THOUGHT FOR ME
I'VE LOST MY SUSAN
TO CELEBRITY

SHE'S ALWAYS ON THE PHONE
TO SIMON COWELL
IT'S TIME FOR ME
TO THROW IN THE TOWEL

She used to sit me
In her lap at night
And give me Hula Hoops
And Angel Delight

She used to play with me
And throw me a ball
Now she always has to take
a call

I only see her now
on TV
She doesn't have
any time for me

I'm Pebbles Boyle
Spare a thought for me
The first cat orphaned
By Celebrity

CHORUS
I'M PEBBLES BOYLE
SPARE A THOUGHT FOR ME
I'VE LOST MY SUSAN
TO CELEBRITY

SHE'S ALWAYS ON THE PHONE
TO SIMON COWELL
IT'S TIME FOR ME
TO THROW IN THE TOWEL

CHORUS REPEATS

I'm Pebbles Boyle
I'm just a simple cat
Like milk and balls of wool
And things like that

Every thing was fine
What the heck
Until Susan
Met Ant and Dec

Pebbles Boyle (spare a thought for me) Words and Music Corrigan Brothers (Ger,Brian and Donncha Corrigan)

Blasphemy Laws - If we can't save the economy let's at least save God!

Strange timing for the current proposed legislation on blasphemy which is totally misguided and potentially counter-productive. Not that that ever stopped this government! Interesting discussion going on over at Bock's place - Check it out HERE

Download a good book - Leonard Sweet: So Beautiful

Pastoral Care in the DigITal World - A Reflection for the Church of The Third Millenium

The online booklet linked below was sent to me by the Social Justice and Theology Working Group of the Church in Society Committee of the Church of Ireland. The booklet which was launched in March 2009 in Church House, Dublin, seeks to highlight pastoral opportunities along with dangers and risks which are offered by easy communication and access to information in the web-world of today. It looks like a useful contribution to the discussion as to how the Church like any organisation must adjust to the electronic age.Check it out HERE


Tuesday 28 April 2009

What is Community and How do we do it?


DUBLIN - THURLES - CLOUGHJORDAN

Organised by CULTIVATE.IE

The Importance of Community in Uncertain Times - 28th April 2009 - Address given at Convergence event in Cloughjordan by Stephen Neill

I heard a story recently about a man who was having a row with his wife and in the course of that row in frustration he slammed his fist down on a glass table and cut himself on the arm. He was bleeding steadily and so his wife wrapped his arm up in a towel and said he should to go to hospital. So she put him in the car, and made him drive himself. The row wasn’t over!

When he arrived at the hospital entrance there were two doors marked “Male” and “Female” – He went through the male door. He was then faced by two more doors marked “Life threatening” & “Non-life threatening”. As tempted as he was he went through non-life threatening. He was then faced by two more doors marked “Upper body” and “lower body” It all depended on where he held his arm but he went through the upper body door. This led to two more doors marked “Internal injury” or “External injury”. He chose external. The other side of this door were two more doors marked “Bleeding” and “Not bleeding”. So long has passed by now that his arm had actually stopped bleeding so he went through the not bleeding door. This door came out into the hospital car park, so he got into his car and drove home. When he got home his wife was there waiting for him, and she asked how he got on. “Oh” he replied “I didn’t actually get to see anyone but boy were they organised!”

It is a funny story, but the more I think about it, the more and more I wonder if that story is a description of how many communities operate today: Well organised but in reality of no help to the real needs of people, and so people pass through unfulfilled and unsatisfied having had no real or meaningful encounter with the so called community.

I tell that story because I wonder are we taking for granted that we know what real community is like? Before we even look at its importance we have to be clear what it is, this thing we call ‘Community’.

Coming from a Christian perspective as I inevitably do, I am increasingly conscious that communities of faith such as my own have not always been a good example in modeling community. Ironically, following in the footsteps of one who spent his earthly life breaking down barriers, defying convention, welcoming the marginalized and meeting the real needs of people, we have historically tended to build walls around our faith communities, well defined boundaries, excluding rather than including. We have been wedded to convention and we have often neglected the need for societal renewal which is every bit as important in the Gospel as personal transformation. We haven’t been good at building community! That is certainly changing but there is still an inertia which diverts much needed energy from the task at hand. There is today a growing acceptance that the message of the Gospel is deeply political as well as spiritual and that the two are not mutually exclusive.

A church which saw this life as merely a prelude to the afterlife was inclined to neglect societal injustice and become increasingly disengaged and inward looking in its focus – This despite Jesus’ constant emphasis on themes of justice and compassion! For example: When Jesus read in the synagogue at Nazareth he chose to read this passage from Isaiah:
The Spirit of the Lord is upon me,
because he has anointed me
to bring good news to the poor.
He has sent me to proclaim release to the captives
and recovery of sight to the blind,
to let the oppressed go free,
to proclaim the year of the Lord’s favour
.’

There were those who never lost sight of this vision and one in particular who has always impressed me was the former Archbishop of Canterbury, William Temple who held this high office during the 2nd World war – His most famous statement is this: ‘The Church is the only society that exists for the benefit of those who are not its members.

I would want to say tonight that while there is nothing wrong with an organization or society built around the needs of its members,that this alone doesn’t make for healthy community. Healthy community is found where there is an acceptance of diversity and openness to those on the margins and even beyond. In a healthy community the door is at least ajar if not wide open. I think this is especially but not exclusively true in these uncertain times. All the things that we took for granted are being questioned, and I am not just talking about blue chip stocks and bank shares but also and more fundamentally our whole value system, the truths we built our lives on!

Something needs to change and as a contemporary American politician who I admire greatly has pointed out “the greatest risk we can take is to try the same old politics with the same old players and expect a different result” (Barack Obama)
These are challenging times and we need new ideas – and to foster those new ideas we need true community which can allow people of different perspectives and different faith and belief systems to work together for the greater good. We need a bigger picture of what our roles and responsibilities are in the world.

And we are being given plenty of hints – The Earth itself is screaming at us to take notice of what is happening to this wonderful planet, largely because we don’t behave as people in true community but rather as distinct individuals and sectional interest groups. We take what we want regardless of its affect on others and the whole of Creation. I think sometimes we do this because we don’t believe there is any other way!

I experienced something this year which will for ever remain with me and convinces me that there is always another way, that there are always new possibilities when we enlarge our vision of Community. The moment that really hit home for me was on a journey from New York to Washington last January 19th by Amtrak. I was part of a group attending Barack Obama’s Inauguration. The train was full to overflowing with people of every background and ethnicity, and a very large number were African American. We sang and laughed and cried every inch of that journey to Washington, united in joy and relief, in wonder and in awe of what about to happen because someone dared to dream that our diversity could be the key to building true and sustainable community.

Our diversity is our wealth – It is the key to building community that will not only help us survive but also thrive. We must dream bigger dreams and expect the unexpected.

Saturday 25 April 2009

John McGuinness on Late Late - More of this please!

How refreshing it was to listen to TD John McGuinness on last night's Late Late Show - Finally someone who is not afraid to put Country before Party and someone who actually seems to have some idea of what they are talking about! Be very afraid Mary Coughlan - You have been found out! This is not sour grapes but rather the truth finally coming out and that is only a problem for those who have something to hide!
Click here and go to the 18 minute mark to see the interview.

Thursday 23 April 2009

A prayer at Night time


This comes from the gang at Leviathan - would love to get to one of their seminars - they are providing an arena for some very worthwhile conversations. See info below:

Leviathan - Political Cabaret
Established in December 2003 by Naoise Nunn, Leviathan is a unique live forum for provocative and entertaining discussion of political, social and cultural issues fused with satirical music, cartoons and comedy. Leviathan has featured senior politicians and business leaders as well as leading musicians, writers, poets and comics in conversation on issues profound and ridiculous, always with contributions from the audience. In 2006 and 2007, Leviathan ran two hugely popular, successful and critically-acclaimed venues collectively called the Leviathan Think Tank at the Electric Picnic festival which featured debates as well as spoken word.

UPDATE - I see that Naoise Nunn is also an executive director of Libertas -Missed that one! That would make me rather uncomfortable as Libertas is an organisation that I have a lot of disquiet about. I still think the Leviathan model is a good one but must do more research! Thanks Bock.

FURTHER UPDATE - I hear this morning that Naoise Nunn & Libertas parted some time ago and that he is now advocating a YES vote on Lisbon - Always refreshing to find someone not afraid to change their mind and not to spin the change as if it isn't really change.

Monday 20 April 2009

The Importance of Community in Uncertain Times

A free public event will take place on the evening of Tuesday the 28th of April in St. Kieran’s Hall, Main Street, Cloughjordan.

This special ecumenical gathering will bring together different faith communities to explore why valuing community is so important in these challenging times. Short presentations will be given by each of the participants on the subject of community which will be followed by an open discussion.

The Importance of Community in Uncertain Times
Tuesday 28th April | 19.30 – 21.00 | St. Kieran’s Hall, Main Street, Cloughjordan
Featuring
Rev. Brian Griffin
is the minister at the Methodist Church Cloughjordan.
Fr. Tom Hannon
is a priest from the Roman Catholic Church in Cloughjordan.
Reverend Stephen Neill is the Canon at the Church of Ireland in Cloughjordan.
Gillian Kingston is a Methodist Local Preacher on the North Tipperary Circuit and is a part-time chaplain in UCD.
Rita and Mary Minehan are Brigidine Sisters native of the County with relations from Cloughjordan
Brother Liam Deasy is a Christian Brother at BrĂș na Cruinne the Spirituality and Cosmology Certre in Carraig -on -Suir
Gavin Harte is a Unitarian and on the Eco Congregation Committee at the Unitarian Church on Stephen’s Green, Dublin

ALL WELCOME - NO CHARGE

Sunday 19 April 2009

Myleene Klass to tinkle the Corrigan Brothers keys

Today's Mail on Sunday (p.30) carries the exclusive news that the beautiful and multi-talented Myleene Klass is to record a song written by Corrigan Brothers, Ger, Brian & Donncha along with their friend and producer Pete Creighton.
The song called 'Hope' which I have had a preview of is a tribute to the hope that gets us through life's difficult patches. It was written by the lads during our recent trip to Washington for the presidential inauguration and it was the hope which made that event possible that inspired this wonderful song. Watch out for its release in the near future, and while you're waiting check out the lads album available here:
Corrigan Brothers - An Irishman Invented Rock and Roll
Myleene claims to have some Irish roots - Must check out the Moneygall registers!

Thursday 16 April 2009

Another talented friend!

My good friend Dianna Robin Dennis, formally of the US, Borrisokane and now Athenry in Galway just set herself up on Myspace and has uploaded 3 of her own beautiful songs - She is a very talented singer-songwriter and it is well worth a trip over to her MySpace page HERE - Tell her I sent you.

Wednesday 15 April 2009

Continuing the musical theme...

I'm getting a taste for this music reviewing - If you are looking for something a little different here is an unknown artist on these shores but well respected in her native Italy - Ariele is an old friend of mine going back some 25 years and this was her debut Album last year entitled Sognerai - Click on the itunes link below and you can preview all the tracks for free. Better still if you like it - buy it :-)
Ariele - Sognerai
Below is a live performance she gave last year for Action Aid:

Beauty is on the inside!

Wow! Not since Paul Potts have appearances ever been so deceptive:
CLICK HERE TO SEE WHAT I'M TALKING ABOUT!

UPDATE - A new angle on Susan Boyle! See below:

Sunday 12 April 2009

Corrigan Brothers have definitely got Religion!

Sunday morning religious programme, Good Morning Sunday with Aled Jones(BBC radio 2, 7.00 am to 9.00 am) featured the Corrigan Brothers again this Sunday. On The “Spotlight On” feature we heard for the first time a song that the show asked them to record for this Easter Sunday! For the last number of weeks they have asked Donovan,The Scaffold,The Spinners and Elvis Costelloe to record and perform the same song! The show has three million listeners and has already featured two interviews with Ger and played several Corrigan Brothers tracks. Enjoy!


Listen to the show here - They are on 1 hour 21 mins and 30 secs into the broadcast.

Saturday 11 April 2009

Hope is a Verb!

Easter Sermon 2009

I don’t know about you but I am getting very weary of bad news, of the blame game, of prophesies and predictions of catastrophe. It doesn’t really matter whether they are true or not because the negative energy that has been generated has taken on a life of its own and is almost like a snowball rolling downhill growing larger and more threatening by the minute.
The relentless media coverage of the Credit Crunch / Recession / Depression / Downturn – whatever you want to call it has become a self-fulfilling prophesy – everyone is talking about it – even clergy in pulpits at Easter! Church, the one place where you though you might escape the incessant drone of despair is not safe! Here too it is all pervasive. The fear that is bred by this talk is now added to by a budget that creates real hardship for a lot of people. This is something we cannot ignore. People are hurting and if we believe the prophets of doom people are going to hurt even more! I’m not suggesting for a moment that we don’t need to hear this bad news – we do need to know what is coming – it would be very easy to criticize the economic pundits who are the messengers – very tempting indeed to shoot the messengers!

So what should our response be?
They say that religion thrives best in times of war and suffering in general – Some say that is because people will resort to anything when they are desperate – they will cling to anything that offers hope, no matter how unrealistic. That may be so but I don’t think it’s the whole story. I think it is rather and more the case that when we are broken in spirit that we realise that we need something more – something that gives us the ability to see beyond the horizon.
But there is a danger that we get it wrong – that we misdirect people in these times of trial. It is tempting for people to withdraw into the interior life when external circumstances are too traumatic to face, to focus on another time when things will be better, to hide and take cover until the storm passes. This is very often reflected in the way we Christians talk about heaven – we look on it as the escape capsule, the evacuation route when things in life are finally too much for us to bear.

At Easter especially people tend to think about heaven because traditionally in the Church we have linked Resurrection with Heaven when in fact the biblical sources point much more towards Resurrection as part of God’s work in redeeming Creation, bringing the Kingdom of Heaven on Earth. There is a growing realisation in contemporary theology that this emphasis on Heaven as an escape route has damaged Christianity’s ability to transform people and the whole of God’s Creation. It has led in fact to the neglect of Creation and meant that Christians were among the last group of people to acknowledge both the reality of Climate Change and the importance of it. This Earth matters – This is a creation of God’s Love for us – This earthly home is Holy ground and everything that lives and breathes on it and the rock and sea and soil that sustain our life are worthy of respect and reverence.

So we have a calling to respond to the suffering of God’s people – Easter is about Hope but that hope is not just something that happens – it is something that we play a part in making a reality. Hope is a verb and an active one. We are not to resign ourselves to a self-fulfilling prophesy of doom. Easier said than done – I was at a central church meeting in Dublin recently and we were discussing finance. All the talk in the room was about what we would have to cut, how we could survive, what we could no longer do! It was hugely depressing. Finally I could listen no more and got up and pointed out that we are supposed to be a community of Hope – every challenge is an opportunity and that if we as Church became a part of the cycle of doom and gloom then we would be feeding this self-fulfilling prophesy. I think some people thought I was being unrealistic but perhaps we are called to be unrealistic to see the possibility of another reality, to realise that that God’s wonderful Creation is pregnant with possibility.
A little illustration of this and this is not an argument against Climate Change. One of the main manifestations of Climate Change is the excess of CO2 gas – One of the ways CO2 is dealt with by nature is through absorbsion by plants and trees. On the basis of the rate of CO2 increase, the depletion of Trees and plants and other factors scientists can calculate the rate of progress of Global Warming. Just recently those calculations have been changed slightly when it was discovered that plants and trees had quite significantly increased their rate of CO2 absorbsion thus giving Creation quite literally more breathing space. It is not enough on its own but it puts it up to us to do our part, not to sit back and say how wonderful it is that we have a few more years before disaster strikes. This is an opportunity born of the unseen potential of God’s wonderful Creation to transform reality.

In the same way the Resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead is not simply a proof that the resurrection of the dead is a reality and that all will be well for us in eternity – the Resurrection is a call to action. Look at our Gospel reading: The two Marys have gone to the tomb to anoint Jesus body – they find the stone rolled away and man dressed in a white robe who tells them to tell the disciples that Jesus is going ahead of them to Galilee where they will see him…..the journey is not over – in a sense it has only just begun. They have work to do – The kingdom of God is at hand and peoples lives are about to be transformed by a new reality that is in their midst.

That is the message that we Christians are called to carry in the World today. It is a message that says we are not defined by our yesterdays or even our todays but rather by the possibilities that are all around us in this Holy Land. That’s what Resurrection is! Borrowing a phrase from a certain contemporary politician “We have to be the Hope that we believe in” – We can’t wait for it to happen – We are agents of change and transformation. That’s what being a follower of Jesus is! In response to hardship we are not called to lay blame or to wallow in self pity but rather to ask ourselves what would Jesus have us do? How can we give people hope in times of difficulty and how can we achieve the potential that God has created in us. If we embrace that message then it too can have a snowball effect and bring real and lasting transformation in peoples lives. What would Jesus have me do? What would Jesus have you do?

American Dream


Visiting New York last June the Corrigan Brothers visited Ellis Island and were immediately inspired to write this song. Reading the stories of the International Emigrant experience to the USA, the resilience of all emigrants and their subsequent contribution to American society inspired Corrigan Brothers, Ger, Brian and Donncha to write the song. Written in New York and recorded in Ireland, American Dream is a tribute to the Irish who have made an enormous contribution to the USA!
Download it on itunes here: Corrigan Brothers - An Irishman Invented Rock and Roll - American Dream

Friday 10 April 2009

Hope for Ireland? - Jesus knows what we need!

Article below published in the Nenagh Guardian on Wednesday 22nd April 2009

One of the constant refrains we hear from politicians and others at the moment is the need to stand together, to share the burden of economic problems and to be united in our efforts to beat the Credit Crunch. We also hear calls for patriotic action – to put the needs of the whole people before our own.

Cynicism apart this is all good advice. We are in a very difficult situation, partly of our own making and partly the result of global economic policies and practices that this writer does not even begin to understand. Such a crisis demands united and focused action.

The question which I keep asking myself is this: Are we capable of doing this? Are we capable of acting cohesively and effectively as a nation? The eternal optimist will point to how we dragged ourselves up by our bootstraps out of the recession of the eighties to become the ‘Celtic Tiger’ economy, but we now know that so called ‘economic miracle’ was built on a lie, the un-burstable bubble of property development. Not forgetting there were many who never experienced even the short term prosperity it brought, so there is no reason to believe we have the ability to rise to this challenge.

A funny sentiment you might say for a Christian priest to express – after all shouldn’t I be talking about hope and the possibility of better things. Perhaps so, but it is out of the Christian context that I express my doubts. I feel that we as a nation are lacking something fundamental, without which all our attempts to overcome the current economic challenge will come to naught! And before you say it – no I am not going to say something as simplistic as ‘Jesus is the answer’ but I would suggest that Jesus has the answer and had it some 2000 years ago!

What I am referring to is his recasting the Law in terms of Love – turning external prescriptions into something internal and relational. One of the qualities identified with this notion of Love is trust. What I think we lack today is ‘Trust’! We have legislated it almost out of existence. Everything we do is wrapped up in increasingly legalistic frameworks which are in a constant state of revision as we try in vain to cope with the pace of change in our lives. Once the last port of call in a dispute, the law is now the first place people turn and even the churches are going down this road. Make no mistake, law is essential to ensure justice and stability in society but law on its own cannot sustain a healthy society. We also need trust which builds community and brings people together. Good law gives space for trust; bad law destroys it!

The best and consequently worst example of this in Ireland today is in the area of labour relations. There is a growing breakdown of trust between employers and employees which is exacerbated not improved by our labour laws. I have to confess an interest in this issue being the spouse of a small to medium employer but I am not so blind as to suggest that the fault lies exclusively with one side or the other. It is systemic and deeply engrained in our structures. The very fact that I talk about ‘sides’ is indicative of the all too common adversarial nature of employer/employee relations. This has to change if our nation is to be able to respond with any degree of unity to the current crisis.
The workplace is so heavily and unevenly legislated that there is no space for trust and a sense of shared responsibility to develop between employers and employees. Things are bad when a trade union feels it has to recommend rejection of a deal to save hundreds of jobs when the likely outcome is the closure of the firm. That happened this very week in Ireland and not for the first time!

Our exclusively rights based labour laws are serving neither employer nor employee well. They cause resentment of staff by employers who spend huge amounts of time and money in order to be compliant with a code which seems to ignore the rights of employers, and they do nothing to give the employee a sense of responsibility for and partnership in the company for which they work. This makes for an unfulfilling working environment for the employee who is only there to pay the bills. What results is a culture of ‘them and us’ and that is at the root of much of our ongoing labour relations difficulties. There is no room for local bargaining any more – Labour relations are controlled by an inconsistent external body which effectively undermines the possibility of constructive employer/employee relations in the workplace.

Until this systemic failure is addressed we have no hope of standing together as a nation. No amount of legislation is a substitute for trust, and trust in one another is essential if we are to bear the pain that is promised. Jesus had it right!

Thursday 9 April 2009

Jesus Freak in Holy Week



Here is the song that has caught the imagination of Christian radio stations all over the world. No better time than Holy Week to give it a spin.
Download it on itunes here: Corrigan Brothers - An Irishman Invented Rock and Roll - Jesus Freak

Wednesday 8 April 2009

Irish Independent features Paddy Anglican’s Budget Survival Strategy - Sing through the Credit Crunch!

There is another way to get through these dark and dangerous times and my blogpost yesterday seemed to strike a cord with elements of the media. (Scroll down for yesterday’s post)
Writing in the Irish Independent this morning (Click here for article), Kim Bielenberg noted that:

“Unorthodox Church of Ireland priest Stephen Neill yesterday urged his flock in Tipperary to "sing your way through Budget Day''. "Drown out Lenihan's words of woe,'' advised the worthy Rector of Cloughjordan," and in the words of Monty Python -- always look on the bright side of death!''
Sound financial advice indeed.
The Reverend Neill told me yesterday he had stuck to his commandment and spent the Budget speech singing Credit Crunch, a little known ditty by the Corrigan Brothers.
In case you want to join in, the lyrics are printed on his web blog, Paddy Anglican:
"
The repo man took your TV
He's coming back for the SUV
Enlargement done on your wife's breasts
May someday be repossessed.''

Call me old-fashioned, but religion ain't what it used to be.


Check out the track below on YouTube



That “little known ditty” is an album track and one of many gems on the newly released debut album, "An Irishman invented Rock n’ Roll” by the Corrigan Brothers and I would advise anyone reading this to go out to your nearest record store and buy it immediately or download it here on itunes.
(Click on button) Corrigan Brothers - An Irishman Invented Rock and Roll - An Irishman Invented Rock and Roll
Your mental health depends on it! For as little as €9.99 (or only 99c for the Credit Crunch track) you can seriously boost your flagging morale! (Read my review here)

Incidentally and in the interests of transparency I must declare an interest: Already official ‘Rock Chaplain’ to the Corrigan Brothers, my brief has now been extended with the addition of “special responsibility for PR”
The album has been picked up already by the US Media (President Obama himself requested a copy) and the BBC have recognised its potential, regularly featuring tracks on the album on the Terry Wogan Radio show and on Aled Jones Sunday morning radio show. (Listen to BBC coverage here.) One track in particular, ‘Jesus Freak’ has become a surprise hit on Christian Radio stations throughout the US and the UK! It seems that we in Ireland are the last to recognize what an inspiring and fun album this is. These are times when we need to smile and put our best foot forward. Buy the album today and lets begin the recovery right now!

Tuesday 7 April 2009

Sing your way through Budget Day!


Yes you heard it right - There is a way to get through today without loosing your shirt! Sing your way through the Budget Speech - Drown out Lenihan's words of woe and in the words of Monthy Python - Always look on the bright side of death! Listen and Dance to 'Credit Crunch' by the Corrigan Brothers and you just may get through today!




Corrigan Brothers - An Irishman Invented Rock and Roll - Credit Crunch
Download the song on itunes and sing along to the words below:

Also see it on Corrigan Brothers Blog

CREDIT CRUNCH - CORRIGAN BROTHERS

Well your hedge fund manager

Has sold his yacht

Your shares are worthless and

You’ve been caught

The CEO of your bank

Says you’re savings are in the tank

There’s no such thing

As a free lunch

Come on lets dance the credit crunch

Cross your legs

Step left and rise

put your hands

Over your eyes

Jump up and down

Make sure you sway

And hope the credit crunch

Goes away

Your wifes upset

In disarray

You sold her handbags

On ebay

You swapped her best

Designer shoes

For a months supply

Of booze

Cross your legs.....

Your kids are mad

What can you say

You can’t affoard

Their ballet

Someday those boys

May just shoot you

Coz you went

And sold their tutu

Cross your legs....

The repo man

Took your tv

He’s coming back

For the SUV

Enlargement done

On your wife’s breasts

May someday

Be repossessed

Cross your legs...

Cross your legs...


Monday 6 April 2009

Welcome the Corrigan Brothers to the Blogosphere

Check out the lads on their new site HERE
There is an opportunity to win a great prize in association with the Irish Independent

Dangerous business this exercise lark!

For the reasons demonstrated above Patricia Anglican will be doing all her training in the great outdoors!

Sunday 5 April 2009

New addition to chez PaddyAnglican


DSCF3070
Originally uploaded by paddyanglican
This bundle of fun is Latte our new puppy - A Bichon Frise (aka Tenerife Dog). He arrived just 24 hours ago and since then he has been the centre of attention. This was his first major photo shoot and as you can see he loves the camera. He and the cat have survived their first standoff and he is enjoying taunting our other two dogs who I am slightly afraid may mistake him for lunch! They are outside dogs and he is inside and until he grows a little it is there he will stay apart from toilet trips! I had forgotten how much poo a puppy could produce!

Friday 3 April 2009

The Album of the year is out today! - Paddy Anglican reviews it.


CLICK ON ITUNES BUTTON BELOW TO DOWNLOAD

Corrigan Brothers - An Irishman Invented Rock and Roll - An Irishman Invented Rock And Roll

April 3rd 2009 marks the release of this wonderfully topical first Album from the Corrigan Brothers - With songs such as "Yummy Mummy", "Credit Crunch" &" The Riches we Need", this inspired collection provides the soundtrack for the times we live in.
It kicks off with the iconic 'There's No one as Irish as Barack Obama", (which Terry Wogan played this week in honour of President Obama's visit to London for the G20 summit), and continues the celebration of all things Irish with the title track, "An Irishman invented Rock & Roll".
The mood changes then with the brilliant "Jesus Freak", rumoured to be the next single - a song about a street evangelist preaching hellfire and damnation who is confronted by another more hopeful picture of God's love. "American Dream" is a moving tribute to the Irish who built America and vividly portrays the pain and the joy of their experience.
On a lighter note comes "Yummy Mummy", a fun portrait of the SUV driving 3o somethings mums who came to epitomize the now deceased Celtic Tiger economy. "The riches we need" is the perfect response to "Yummy Mummy" and in it there is a reminder of the importance of riches of another kind which last longer than the 'things' we all spend our lives trying to accumulate. "Long Journey" is a song about Faithfulness and Forgiveness and is a powerful tribute to the enduring strength of Love, even when it is at first rejected.
The mood lightens again with "Wrongway Corrigan" which tells the story of Douglas Corrigan who flew from New York to California and somehow ended up in Dublin - An ancestor of the Corrigan Brothers who had the same knack for landing on his feet. "Reach out to Me" is a heartfelt plea for the love of another - a Love which will be your 'Trampoline' and 'Submarine'! (They have a thing about Submarines) - Its a fun track but it is also a Love song.
Sometimes we need to laugh about the things we most fear and there is no better tonic than "Credit Crunch" - Laughter truly is the best medicine. The album closes in a practical vein with a 3 minute crash course in Irish called appropriately enough, "Learn Irish in 3 Minutes" - I learnt more Irish from this track than all my years in school.
This album will put a smile on your face and God knows we need something to smile about, but beneath the fun exterior there is a message - What it means to be Irish has changed through the years and the experience of living in Ireland is changing too, but the inventiveness and ingenuity of this album reflects the same inventiveness and ingenuity which we still possess and it is that which is celebrated in this collection. This is a substantial first album from the Corrigan Brothers and one which should not be overlooked.

Its available today (April 3rd) in all good record shops or on itunes.

Click on button below to download from itunes

Corrigan Brothers - An Irishman Invented Rock and Roll - An Irishman Invented Rock And Roll

Thursday 2 April 2009

Patricia Anglican does her bit for Cloughjordan No.1 National School

Paddy Anglican or perhaps I should say my alter ego Patricia Anglican is running the Flora Womens Mini Marathon in Dublin on Bank Holiday Monday 1st June 2009. We are not sure yet what she will be wearing but below are a few of the possible looks we might go for.
She will be running in aid of the parish school - Cloughjordan No.1 N.S. Any funds raised (after pantyhose allowance) will be used towards the purchase of Interactive White Boards for the school. In light of the worsening economic situation there is little prospect of state funding for the school ICT program in the next few years which will put our young people at a huge disadvantage when and if things get better in the world economy.
Below is one of the interactive white boards which retail at around €4000.
Patricia needs your support (she has a very big chest) and would be glad of any sponsorship. The race is over 10K and you can support her per Kilometer or a fixed amount.
Donations/Sponsorship should be posted to:

The Chairperson,
Cloughjordan No. 1 National School,
Templemore Rd,
Cloughjordan,
Co. Tipperary,
Ireland.

Cheques/Money orders/Drafts should be addressed to Cloughjordan No.1 N.S. - Please write 'REF PATRICIA' on back of Cheque or enclose cover note with this Ref.

Patricia's good friends the Corrigan Brothers are writing a little ditty to encourage her as she goes into intensive training. The song will be available for download on this site in the near future.
The Corrigan Brothers are also sponsoring a prize - a signed copy of their new album: An Irishman invented Rock and Roll. The album will be available for download here tomorrow and at all good record shops. Their current single: Here's to the Grand Slam & Ronan O'Gara is available for download here
The signed album will be awarded for the most original accessory sent to Patricia to wear as she glides through Dublin's streets like a gazelle. A girl's got to have accessories!
Post to address above.


If you are free on June 1st come along and give Patricia your support - She will be happy to pose with you for a photo on the day and would welcome any tips from seasoned runners, such as how to keep her tights up while stumbling at reckless speed on her stilettos!