There's No One as Irish as Barack O'Bama
Encyclopedia
"There’s No One As Irish As Barack O'Bama" is a humorous folk song written in 2008 by the Irish band Hardy Drew and the Nancy Boys (later known as The Corrigan Brothers), and set to a tune derived from a traditional air. The song celebrates the Irish ancestry of the President of the United States
, Barack Obama
.
Obama's roots have been traced back to Moneygall
in County Offaly
, Ireland
in the 19th century. Moneygall has a population of 298 people. Obama had previously remarked, "There's a little village in Ireland where my great-great-great grandfather came from and I'm looking forward to going there and having a pint," prompting the Irish Taoiseach
Brian Cowen
- also a native of County Offaly - to invite him to do so.
Hardy Drew and the Nancy Boys consists of brothers Ger, Brian and Donnacha Corrigan from Castletroy
, County Limerick
. The song was performed by the band's lead singer Ger Corrigan, with Aedhmar Flaherty, Róisín O'Brien and Aodhán Ryan, in Ollie Hayes's pub in Moneygall. It was originally written by the established group in February 2008, and the group have since appeared on several Irish television and radio shows. It has since been featured on MSNBC
show Hardball with Chris Matthews
.
The song, which received huge publicity in America and was described as a "web hit" by the BBC
, became popular after being released on YouTube, and as of 6 November 2008 it had over 50,000 hits, (80,000 by 10 November, 300,000 by 15 November, whilst Black's version had 700,000) and the band reported that they had been invited to perform in the anticipated victory celebrations for Obama, and at the Irish-American Democrats
inauguration party in Washington in January 2009.
, "hijacked" the song and claimed a co-writing credit while failing to acknowledge Hardy Drew and the Nancy Boys' authorship of the original version, a charge Black denied.
Both sides sought legal advice; the band contacted YouTube's solicitors as well as a copyright solicitor before announcing in a press release that the dispute had been resolved.
Journalist Fintan O'Toole
criticized the song in The Irish Times
for "its ignorance of cultural history", claiming that it was inappropriate given Irish American
s' history of racism against African American
s, and that emphasizing Obama's Irish heritage would be "muscling in on his parade". Canon Stephen Neill, the rector of Moneygall who accompanied the band on their American trip, responded that it was only a pop song, and that African Americans had universally welcomed them.
Ger Corrigan later reported that the Corrigan Brothers had signed a deal with Universal for two singles and one album, with an option on a second album.
President of the United States
The President of the United States of America is the head of state and head of government of the United States. The president leads the executive branch of the federal government and is the commander-in-chief of the United States Armed Forces....
, Barack Obama
Barack Obama
Barack Hussein Obama II is the 44th and current President of the United States. He is the first African American to hold the office. Obama previously served as a United States Senator from Illinois, from January 2005 until he resigned following his victory in the 2008 presidential election.Born in...
.
Production and themes
Moneygall
Moneygall is a small village on the border of counties Offaly and North Tipperary, in Ireland. It is situated on the R445 road between Dublin and Limerick. At the time of the 2006 census, the village had a population of 298. Moneygall has a Catholic church, five shops, a post office, a national...
in County Offaly
County Offaly
County Offaly is a county in Ireland. It is part of the Midlands Region and is also located in the province of Leinster. It is named after the ancient Kingdom of Uí Failghe and was formerly known as King's County until the establishment of the Irish Free State in 1922. Offaly County Council is...
, Ireland
Ireland
Ireland is an island to the northwest of continental Europe. It is the third-largest island in Europe and the twentieth-largest island on Earth...
in the 19th century. Moneygall has a population of 298 people. Obama had previously remarked, "There's a little village in Ireland where my great-great-great grandfather came from and I'm looking forward to going there and having a pint," prompting the Irish Taoiseach
Taoiseach
The Taoiseach is the head of government or prime minister of Ireland. The Taoiseach is appointed by the President upon the nomination of Dáil Éireann, the lower house of the Oireachtas , and must, in order to remain in office, retain the support of a majority in the Dáil.The current Taoiseach is...
Brian Cowen
Brian Cowen
Brian Cowen is a former Irish politician who served as Taoiseach of Ireland from 7 May 2008 to 9 March 2011. He was head of a coalition government led by Fianna Fáil which until 23 January 2011 had the support of the Green Party and independent TDs.Cowen was also leader of Fianna Fáil from 7 May...
- also a native of County Offaly - to invite him to do so.
Castletroy
Castletroy is a rapidly growing and predominantly middle-class suburb of Limerick, Ireland and is the largest suburb in Munster. Its population is estimated at 40,000 as of 2010....
, County Limerick
County Limerick
It is thought that humans had established themselves in the Lough Gur area of the county as early as 3000 BC, while megalithic remains found at Duntryleague date back further to 3500 BC...
. The song was performed by the band's lead singer Ger Corrigan, with Aedhmar Flaherty, Róisín O'Brien and Aodhán Ryan, in Ollie Hayes's pub in Moneygall. It was originally written by the established group in February 2008, and the group have since appeared on several Irish television and radio shows. It has since been featured on MSNBC
MSNBC
MSNBC is a cable news channel based in the United States available in the US, Germany , South Africa, the Middle East and Canada...
show Hardball with Chris Matthews
Hardball with Chris Matthews
Hardball with Chris Matthews is a talk show on MSNBC, broadcast weekdays at 5 and 7 PM hosted by Chris Matthews. It originally aired on now-defunct America's Talking and later CNBC. The current title was derived from a book Matthews wrote in 1988, Hardball: How Politics Is Played Told by One Who...
.
The song, which received huge publicity in America and was described as a "web hit" by the BBC
BBC
The British Broadcasting Corporation is a British public service broadcaster. Its headquarters is at Broadcasting House in the City of Westminster, London. It is the largest broadcaster in the world, with about 23,000 staff...
, became popular after being released on YouTube, and as of 6 November 2008 it had over 50,000 hits, (80,000 by 10 November, 300,000 by 15 November, whilst Black's version had 700,000) and the band reported that they had been invited to perform in the anticipated victory celebrations for Obama, and at the Irish-American Democrats
Democratic Party (United States)
The Democratic Party is one of two major contemporary political parties in the United States, along with the Republican Party. The party's socially liberal and progressive platform is largely considered center-left in the U.S. political spectrum. The party has the lengthiest record of continuous...
inauguration party in Washington in January 2009.
Conflicts
Ger Corrigan alleged that Shay Black, brother of Irish musician Mary BlackMary Black
Mary Black is an Irish singer. She is well known as an interpreter of both folk and contemporary material which has made her a major recording artist in her native Ireland, and in many other parts of the world....
, "hijacked" the song and claimed a co-writing credit while failing to acknowledge Hardy Drew and the Nancy Boys' authorship of the original version, a charge Black denied.
Both sides sought legal advice; the band contacted YouTube's solicitors as well as a copyright solicitor before announcing in a press release that the dispute had been resolved.
Journalist Fintan O'Toole
Fintan O'Toole
Fintan O'Toole is a columnist, assistant editor and drama critic for The Irish Times. He has written for The Irish Times since 1988 and was drama critic for the New York Daily News from 1997 to 2001. He is a literary critic, historical writer and political commentator, with generally left-wing views...
criticized the song in The Irish Times
The Irish Times
The Irish Times is an Irish daily broadsheet newspaper launched on 29 March 1859. The editor is Kevin O'Sullivan who succeeded Geraldine Kennedy in 2011; the deputy editor is Paul O'Neill. The Irish Times is considered to be Ireland's newspaper of record, and is published every day except Sundays...
for "its ignorance of cultural history", claiming that it was inappropriate given Irish American
Irish American
Irish Americans are citizens of the United States who can trace their ancestry to Ireland. A total of 36,278,332 Americans—estimated at 11.9% of the total population—reported Irish ancestry in the 2008 American Community Survey conducted by the U.S. Census Bureau...
s' history of racism against African American
African American
African Americans are citizens or residents of the United States who have at least partial ancestry from any of the native populations of Sub-Saharan Africa and are the direct descendants of enslaved Africans within the boundaries of the present United States...
s, and that emphasizing Obama's Irish heritage would be "muscling in on his parade". Canon Stephen Neill, the rector of Moneygall who accompanied the band on their American trip, responded that it was only a pop song, and that African Americans had universally welcomed them.
Ger Corrigan later reported that the Corrigan Brothers had signed a deal with Universal for two singles and one album, with an option on a second album.
Welcome Home President Barack O'Bama
In March 2011, the Corrigan Brothers released a new version of their song for radio play to celebrate Barack Obama's visit to Ireland the following May. Enitled Welcome Home President Barack O'Bama, the song focussed on Obama's visit to his ancestral home in Moneygall.External links
- Corrigan Brothers website
- HardyDrew's YouTube listing (official)
- Shay Black version YouTube listing (official)
- CorriganBrothers verstion YouTube listing (official)
- Interview with Ger Corrigan by Ryan Tubridy; RTÉ Radio One on 30 September 2008.