Celtophobia/Discrimination Towards The Irish Still Alive Today

This article comes by way of The Independent an Irish newspaper:

'No Irish need apply' - Polish builders get their own back
By Brian McDonald

Friday January 02 2009

'NO Irish need apply' - the signs are already going up on building sites abroad in a throwback to the grim days of the the last century. But this time they are starting to appear in Poland as that country takes its revenge for the way in which some unscrupulous Irish contractors treated their countrymen during the years of the Celtic Tiger. Trade union official Michael Kilcoyne - also president of the Consumers Association of Ireland - said it had recently been brought to his attention that the 'No Irish' signs had appeared on a couple of Polish building sites where workers were being sought. Mr Kilcoyne said: "The reality is that our international reputation as employers has been sullied. Many foreign people who have worked here, especially during our boom years, have had bad experiences. "The evidence of this is in the number of cases taken before the Labour Relations Commission over the last year or two in respect of unpaid wages or holiday money that was not paid. "Ireland's name as a good place to work has been badly damaged by such contractors who held onto the money of their workers." Mr Kilcoyne, who is a SIPTU trade union official in the west, revealed that he had personally won 14 such cases in Galway, while he believed there were hundreds, if not thousands, of similar awards made countrywide against employers and in favour of non-national workers who had been short-changed.

- Brian McDonald

See also: Anti-Irish racism.

THE BALLAD OF ROBERT EMMET AND SARAH CURRAN

THE BALLAD OF ROBERT EMMET AND SARAH CURRAN
(Currin)

------ “This is a song, about one of my ancestors. She died of a broken heart*…and I a-don’t wanna end up like her.”

Of sadness, I’ve known a lot
For the British, of my true love, they did rob
For fighting for the land of the Pale
And that true spirit of the green, green Gale
Now, there’s a dark shadow hanging, over my life
Twist of fate and roll of the dice
My love is hanging, on the gallows, today
My heart, now, is lying, in the grave

Of a slender and drooping form, I did possess
Great sorrow, in my life, I did profess
I guess that was just my lot, in life---that was just my curse
Was it just this aching fear or was it something worse?
Oh, what could it be, this sad reverie?
Oh, how could this be, this suffering me?
How I miss those letters that kept me going on
Now, I have nothing, but this ghost and bones

Of ill-fated love, this is just it
With everything a reminder and nothing to forget
Home is where the heart is, so that’s what they say
Well, now, my home is only a grave away
What secrets lie, in that lost sting?
Oh, what hope is hidden there, in that tossed ring?
What pains did withered down my delicate flower
Oh, how I wish my love’s fingers could tangle, in my golden crown of hair

Now, Marie, Marie, there’s a name that means a lot
Marie, can you carry me---are you willing to bear that kind of rod?
Cos I have something I know and it’s a little bit you, it’s a little bit me
It’s a little bit God, oh, and I know that it’s what sets us free
Burn down this wilderness---I’m standing, at your heart’s bar
Waiting for to fill that empty glass---fall into the stars

Well, my love, I have been fighting on
Working for the greater good, trying to expand the kingdom
Against false dominion, I’ve fought the game
And heroism sings out my name
But I wouldn’t be who I am without your tender ties
And charms, which keep me hanging on for dear life
Though idle reports, sometimes, get passed my way
And grave situations, they call me to my fate

For I’d rather give up my own life than injure yours
For you are delicate and virtuous as a million flowers
‘Tis your name by which I live by---to which was thrown to fire
Your injured happiness, I’m sorry for, for you are my heart’s true desire
The pistol did me in, when the soldiers of the heart marched in
But I know, your forgiveness will be mine, in the end
I was only a-thinkin’ of the locks of your hair pinned to my chest
Do not fear, Dear, for we’ll forever be of one breath

Our clandestine meetings are clouded by storms that betray
Treason, she’s a strong drink that kills faith and true fate
Oh, but suffering love deepens the release and meaning
When at last destiny calls you into the valley of cold winter’s dreaming
So come, my love, and sit, for we shall drink to time and be “Monks of the Screw”
For time is our enemy and we all are just shadows passing through
For when you need someone to sail, upon the sea of all your wounds
You can always turn to me, I'll be there, in the corner of your room

Now, Marie, Marie, there’s a name that’s almost like the Mother of God
Marie, can you tarry me---are you willing to bear that kind of cross?
Cos I have something I know and it’s a little bit you, it’s a little bit me
It’s a little bit God, oh, and I know that it’s what sets us free
Burn down this wilderness---I’m standing, at your heart’s bar
Waiting for to fill that empty glass---fall into the stars

Oh, unroll that sacred curtain, whenever you feel certain
Lets let love be our epitaph, in a world full of plight
Make it shatterproof, through connection of joys and hurtin’
When you’re ready to jump into that sea of a million little lights
Just tell me, Dear, and let me be your bard and drake
So that on an altar of heavenly clay, our two hearts can bake



©2006 T/H Songs, INC. & GB Lyrics, CO

*= "Washington Irving, one of America's greatest early writers, devoted a story (The Broken Heart) in his magnus opus The Sketch Book of Geoffrey Crayon to the romance between Emmet and Sarah Curran, citing it as an example of how a broken heart can be fatal."

See also: John Philpot Curran and Thomas Moore who penned this poem about Sarah Curran:

She is Far from the Land

She is far from the land, where her young hero sleeps,
And lovers are round her, sighing;
But coldly she turns from their gaze, and weeps,
For her heart in his grave is lying!

She sings the wild song of her dear native plains,
Every note which he lov'd awaking
Ah! little they think, who delight in her strains,
How the heart of the Minstrel is breaking!

He had lov'd for his love, for his country he died,
They were all that to life had entwin'd him,
Nor soon shall the tears of his country be dried,
Nor long will his love stay behind him.

Oh! make her a grave, where the sun-beams rest,
When they promise a glorious morrow;
They'll shine o'er her sleep, like a smile from the West,
From her own lov'd Island of sorrow!

And here's a video of the folk-tune based on the poem:

The Edge's Hymn To The Irish Diaspora

Here is a folk song written by U2's The Edge on the Irish Diaspora to Van Diemen's Land :


And here are the full lyrics:

Van Diemen's Land
(The Edge)

Hold me now, oh hold me now
'til this hour has gone around
And I'm gone on the rising tide
For to face Van Diemen's land

It's a bitter pill I swallow here
To be rent from one so dear
We fought for justice and not for gain
But the magistrate sent me away

Now kings will rule and th poor will toil
And tear their hands as they tear the soil
But a day will come in this dawning age
When an honest man sees an honest wage

Hold me now, oh hold me now
'til this hour has gone around
And I'm gone on the rising tide
For to face Van Diemen's land

The Curran/Currin Family And Coffin Ships

Irish Clan Map

Currin Coat Of Arms

On Saint Patrick's Day, I have to thank my ancestors for taking the long and perilous journey across the Atlantic to escape the potato famines in Ireland and religious persecution in County Donegal, Ireland/Northern Ireland. In fact, one of the reasons why most of my side of the Curran/Currin family are in North Carolina is because the coffin ship they were on shipwrecked off the coast of North Carolina and a bunch of them ended up staying here.

More on Currin/Curran family history: Currin Surname, Curran Surname, Currans In The United States, Currins In The United States and Famous Currans/Currins In America:

Alvin Curran (born 1938), American composer
Catherine Curran O'Malley (born 1962), a Maryland state judge
Charles Curran (theologian) (born 1934), Catholic theologian
Charles Courtney Curran (1861 – 1942), American painter
Chuck Curran (born 1939), an American politician
Francis Earl Curran (1912 – 1992), an American politician
Jack Curran, an American High School athletics coach
Joseph Curran (1906 - 1981), an American labor leader
J. Joseph Curran, Jr. (born 1931), an American politician
Kevin Curran (disambiguation)
Margaret E. Curran, a United States Attorney
Pearl Lenore Curran (1883 – 1937), American author who wrote as Patience Worth
Robert Curran (disambiguation)
William Curran (Maryland), an American politician
Curran Oi, (born 1990), an American figure skater


John Currin- John Currin (born 1962) is an American painter
David Maney Currin- David Maney Currin, Sr. (November 11 , 1817 – March 25 , 1864 ) was a Tennessee attorney and politician who served in the Confederate …
Nathan Currin- Member of Family Force 5
The Rev'd Beverly Madison Currin, Ph.D., Rector Emeritus of Christ Church Parish and author to name a few.

How to Celebrate St. Patrick's Day Like the Irish