This Community

This is the community That is Irish and English Which can be hard to distinguish Just don't call me British This is the community Where our Gaels tipped the scales For years on these shores As countless scores invaded somewhat For to settle scores And for what For to take the shilling For to send it home over the foam This the community With a shared ancestry Admission for some is blasphemy Time we embraced our mixed tapestry This is the community That has sinned but is not simian-like We'd Punch the head off of Aesop If he sold those Pears Soap lies We're made for the banter At the heart of the matter Have a black humour and history Thanks to Lorraine Maher No blacks no dogs This community slept in digs While it dug tunnels through the London clay Where you'd recall "Hares running free on the Wicklow mountains Wild geese flying and foxes at play" This is the community whose navvies were away Building up and tearing England down For half a crown While it frowns on The Queen I mean she shook Martin's hand After Mountbatten While bombs flattened Stations, homes and horses This is the community Shouting at racecourses While reinforcing stereotypes By trading on the notion and squeezing the pipes This is the community Green, white and orange Which tries to arrange After Hour sessions in Archway, County Kilburn Cricklewood and Camden Town This is the community That hit rock bottom in Soho Copped a feel where nobody would know Felt a community and left the closet This is the community impacted by Brexit Where boarders and broader issues are at stake This is the community that's been asked to retake Nice Referendums "ah ya will, go on, go on, go on..." This is the community that hears Shane MacGowan singin' that song Dirty Old Town And dreams of Salford and Tipperary Simultaneously This the community That can't go without Barry's or Lyons Go'way with your PG Tips And don't get us started on the crisps And don't make me say potato either After Trevelyan being a tea-leafer Alright Guv'nor This is the community That's on the dog and bone To the auld China back home This is the community Whose women travelled alone Gave fake addresses Acquiesced until recently This is the community Is more than a Riverdance Has a commonwealth While stealth F-35s Keep some empire alive This is the community That's taking stock in the Citi Investing in future relationships This community says Loose lips sinks ships As the HMS Belfast Mours on the Thames This community forgets the TH As unknown names join the diaspora The disappeared This community has been feared We've been to hell So we sang Danny Boy And prayed for those in Grenfell As the time ticks on Big Ben We look to the future with hope With an understanding of heritage Embracing cultural inheritance This is the community Trying to heal Speak the cúpla focal Share the Meitheal We've given more Than we've taken And we're more than: Plastic Paddies, Crying Games Gypsy Weddings, coffin ships and Murphy's Law We've scored in the Premiership Got a Grand Slam in Twickenham This community doesn't want An MBE, CBE, OBE Or knighthood We just want to live and love On this land with you We just want to recognise That others the world over do too As some build walls We hope for bridges And cheap Ryanair flights As some go missing even under bright lights "And oh I'm missing you I'd give all for the price of a flight And oh I'm missing you under Piccadilly's neon"