Wednesday 13 January 2016

'1916 Not to Be Commemorated' by Paul Durcan

The Irish government has announced that 1916
Is not to be commemorated in 2016.
On account of their 150 per cent rollback
Of the principles and ideals of the 1916 rebels,
The authorities wish to proclaim
That they do not cherish all the children of the nation
equally,
That the people have no right to the ownership of
Ireland,
That the people have no God-given right to freedom, 
That the nutrition of good government is inhumanity 
and rapine,
That the testosterone of proper administration is the
pylon and the wind turbine,
That the people have no right to speak 
Other than in celebrity cliché, media jargon,
smart-speak,
That all forms of humane speech are to be outlawed 
In the light of the disgustingly visionary utterances 
Of the poets Pearse, MacDonagh and Plunkett, 
And the gay, casual words of the feckless MacBride, 
That Liberty, Equality and Fraternity
Are prohibited substances in Ireland;
In 2016 anybody caught proclaiming 1916 values 
Will be sentenced to solitary imprisonment for life 
In a windowless room in a ghost estate.
The 2016 logo of Brand Ireland will be 
In fake, high-end Celtic calligraphy:

 UG OV

Signed on Behalf of the Provisional Government 

THE OLD HAG OF BEARE