WELL, begob and begorrah!
Shur, wasn’t it only fierce cráic out in County Hall last week as Kieran O’Hanlon and all the little people down in the cheap seats were making grand plans to feck off to Amerikay for themselves. God and Mary be with them and their maggoty ways, you really couldn’t be up to them.
America is it? Notions, perhaps?
They must take us for right amadáns, altogether!
When they weren’t scalding their lips with John Moran’s porridge, these buck savages were making holy shows of themselves scheming to cross the Atlantic for a few jars in the land of milk and honey on the taxpayers coffers, no mind.
Sitting atop his pot of gold, Cllr O’Hanlon danced a merry jig and played a well-loved tune with local representatives that went a little something like: ‘put your left leg out, your right leg in, and anyone for a little jolly to the United States?’
One of their favourites, it is. Music to their ears.
They can’t get enough of the bright lights and big city ways in the U.S of A. Mad for brown-nosing with the big guns in New York, they are, with their hands out for whatever morsels they might snatch up.
Porter will be drank, cráic will be had, spuds will be scoffed, and sore heads they will come home with, and nothing’s surer.
But will they come home with a new transatlantic route for Shannon Airport or with some multinational company tucked in their suitcases and the promise of Limerick jobs? Will they what!
And why does Cllr O’Hanlon want to lead his great bunch of lads off to the promised land for St Patrick’s Day next year, anyway? Well, didn’t he only say at this month’s Metropolitan District meeting that he has a good pal there. The whole scene left me as awkward as a pig in a parlour. I was absolutely scarlet for them.
With proud Limerick man Michael Benn, O’Hanlon’s old mucker, announced last week as Grand Marshal of the world’s largest St Patrick’s Day parade in New York City, councillors were chomping at the bit to get in on some serious paddywhackery action.
“I met him first in 1996 at the All-Ireland when sadly we were beaten by Wexford. But after that I got to know him, and as Mayor then in 1997, I went over to the parade in Rockaway Beach. It’s a huge parade, the second biggest in New York, and Mike is well got there,” Cllr O’Hanlon told council members.
I mean, we’re still only in September! The same man told councillors on the same day that he doesn’t like having meetings on a Friday, and he wasn’t too happy that Mayor Moran gave them obair bhaile over the summer holidays either. But bring the talk round to getting paralytic in The Big Apple and they are all up to ninety.
Fine Gael man Daniel Butler reckoned Benn was so well got he was like Limerick’s answer to Justin Bieber.
“Everybody knows him, everybody wants to get a picture with him,” he enthused.
Fierce quick to bagsy their place on a deadly buzz junket, they be. The only other time you see them move so fast is when Pat Daly comes round with the tray of scones down in City Hall. You’d swear they were never fed and watered.
Time and patience brings a snail to Cork, they say, and you can also be full sure that America won’t know what hit it next March when these Limerick dossers get to throwing shapes on Fifth Avenue.
Labour Party councillor Joe Leddin also agreed with King of the leprechauns Kieran O’Hanlon that a delegation needs to be sent to New York from the Council to capitalise on Benn’s honour.
“The planning needs to start now that we can maximise the opportunity for those that do have the opportunity to go abroad,” Cllr Leddin insisted.
Gas men, altogether. May the road rise to meet them and their gallivanting ways.
