{"id":12144,"date":"2021-09-05T18:18:07","date_gmt":"2021-09-05T17:18:07","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/cassandravoices.com\/?p=12144"},"modified":"2021-09-05T18:18:07","modified_gmt":"2021-09-05T17:18:07","slug":"ireland-the-lipsticked-pig","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/casswp.eutonom.eu\/index.php\/2021\/09\/05\/ireland-the-lipsticked-pig\/","title":{"rendered":"Ireland: The Lipsticked Pig"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><span style=\"font-size: 12pt;\">On February 15<sup>th<\/sup>, 2021, John Buckley McQuaid, released an album of original songs about Ireland, <em>This Is Where I Keep My Dreams<\/em>, to a thundering silence from the media.<\/span><\/p>\n<p>Long have I missed albums from Irish artists that address our present situation of apathy and indifference. Could it be that the media is ignoring such releases or could it be that such releases have so little commercial appeal, that artists refrain from recording and releasing them?<\/p>\n<p>The situation for musicians is desperate, between Spotify and COVID-19, many musicians have thrown in the towel and have had to find other means of supporting themselves.<\/p>\n<blockquote class=\"twitter-tweet\" data-width=\"500\" data-dnt=\"true\">\n<p lang=\"en\" dir=\"ltr\">We asked twelve Irish musicians and others working in the live music industry to strike four notes in response to the challenges of 2020. Here&#39;s what they said:<a href=\"https:\/\/t.co\/KY2SZ2JuLa\">https:\/\/t.co\/KY2SZ2JuLa<\/a><a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/broadsheet_ie?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">@broadsheet_ie<\/a> <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/johncummins1973?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">@johncummins1973<\/a> <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/david_soitis?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">@david_soitis<\/a> @DavidKeenanmuso <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/dlLambo?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">@dlLambo<\/a> <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/AvocaReaction?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">@AvocaReaction<\/a><\/p>\n<p>&mdash; CassandraVoices (@VoicesCassandra) <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/VoicesCassandra\/status\/1337083641722249217?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">December 10, 2020<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n<p><script async src=\"https:\/\/platform.twitter.com\/widgets.js\" charset=\"utf-8\"><\/script><\/p>\n<p>This brings me to \u2018This Is Is Where I Keep My Dreams\u2019, which delves into Irish history and has many comments, both critical and compassionate to make on the present situation. Mr. McQuaid (no relation to the late Archbishop!) is saying something that needs to be heard \u2013 now, more than ever! He has also created videos which add wonderful visuals to accompany many of the songs (links provided).<\/p>\n<p><em>Here&#8217;s to the island of saints and of scholars<br \/>\n<\/em><em>ere&#8217;s to the biblical beasts of the field<br \/>\n<\/em><em>Here&#8217;s to the kingdom of clerical collars<br \/>\n<\/em><em>Here&#8217;s to the wounds that may never be healed.<br \/>\n<\/em>John Buckley McQuaid, \u2018<span style=\"color: #0000ff;\"><a style=\"color: #0000ff;\" href=\"https:\/\/vimeo.com\/467234061\">Land Of The Magdalenes<\/a><\/span>\u2019<\/p>\n<p>\u2018Land Of The Magdalenes\u2019 is a tale of the Diaspora, echoing James Joyce, a man who would not bend the knee to either Church or State, who referred to Irish art as \u2018the cracked looking glass of a servant\u2019 \u2013 an image of colonial subjugation.<\/p>\n<blockquote class=\"twitter-tweet\" data-width=\"500\" data-dnt=\"true\">\n<p lang=\"en\" dir=\"ltr\">Neil Burns rails against middle class mentalities dominating Irish Arts, arguing publication and fame is based on who you know, not the merit of your work.<a href=\"https:\/\/t.co\/SxRqvHZsyv\">https:\/\/t.co\/SxRqvHZsyv<\/a><br \/>@foreverantrim <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/broadsheet_ie?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">@broadsheet_ie<\/a> <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/BowesChay?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">@BowesChay<\/a> @wadeinthewate11 <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/Elzobub?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">@Elzobub<\/a> <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/IlsaCarter1?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">@IlsaCarter1<\/a> <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/KevinHIpoet1967?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">@KevinHIpoet1967<\/a><\/p>\n<p>&mdash; CassandraVoices (@VoicesCassandra) <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/VoicesCassandra\/status\/1417780546177048579?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">July 21, 2021<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n<p><script async src=\"https:\/\/platform.twitter.com\/widgets.js\" charset=\"utf-8\"><\/script><\/p>\n<p>Joyce himself went into exile in Europe, not being a man to play popinjay to an English court. He was guilty of the cardinal sin of pride, the sin of the devil \u2013 the defiant Joycean stance is still a reproach to any servile attitude towards Church, State, or a twisted, demonic God, who may, even now, be making Joyce pay throughout all eternity for his defiance.<\/p>\n<p>Today the image in the servant\u2019s looking glass is that of a post-colonial pig in lipstick smirking at its own reflection, aping its betters, mired in its own moral excrement, the sow rolling merrily on its young.<\/p>\n<p><strong><em>Rosary Beads and Respectability<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n<p>Instead of rosary beads and respectability, we have the brash, vulgar, ignorant Castle Catholics, educating their children in private schools, a new pernicious breed of self-interested professionals and the very wealthy, whose aspirations are status, the acquisition of wealth, and self-advancement.<\/p>\n<p><em>Give us this day lord, our villas in Spain, Lord<br \/>\n<\/em><em>Give us our castles with breakfast in bed<br \/>\nGive us a case of expensive champagne Lord,<br \/>\nGive us a place Lord, to lay down our heads.<br \/>\n<\/em>John Buckley McQuaid \u2018<span style=\"color: #0000ff;\"><a style=\"color: #0000ff;\" href=\"https:\/\/vimeo.com\/588389412\/c73e020758\">Dear Mister Taoiseach<\/a><\/span>\u2019<\/p>\n<p>All a far cry from the childhood of the late Frank McCourt, who wrote of having to conceal a pig\u2019s head under newspaper walking home for fear he\u2019d be mocked at Christmas, as they couldn\u2019t afford a turkey.<\/p>\n<p>When the brash Celtic Tiger gave way to the Crash; in a pub one afternoon, I noticed a couple walk in with Brown Thomas bags and noted their instinct to conceal them. People did not approve.<\/p>\n<p>Today the Brown Thomas Brigade no longer care &#8211; the sale of luxury goods goes up and up, and the divide between the wealthy and the poor has widened and widened, decimating an already struggling middle class.<\/p>\n<p><em>And you can be sure that we\u2019ll never forget<br \/>\n<\/em><em>The culture of vultures and dealers and debt<br \/>\n<\/em><em>The struggles and troubles, the gold, white and green<br \/>\n<\/em><em>So much for our beautiful 1916<br \/>\n<\/em>John Buckley McQuaid \u2018<span style=\"color: #0000ff;\"><a style=\"color: #0000ff;\" href=\"https:\/\/vimeo.com\/467236532\">Prodigal Kiss<\/a><\/span>\u2019<\/p>\n<p>So we have replaced foreign oppressors with our own.<\/p>\n<p><strong><em>Class Solidarity<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n<p>Class solidarity and resistance against oppression is necessary around the world today, but this nation has an extremely important role to play, and is surely judged by how it treats its vulnerable &#8211; the young \u2013 <em>sure stick them in hotel bedrooms where they can&#8217;t even learn how to crawl<\/em> \u2013 the sick \u2013 <em>let them drop dead on waiting lists<\/em> \u2013 and the old \u2013 <em>let them die in nursing homes<\/em>.<\/p>\n<p>As capitalism consumes itself, we witness the consequences globally, increasingly powerful vested interests hold sway in so called democracies, polarising the divide, the social fabric disintegrates, and the world begins to convulse.<\/p>\n<p>We have witnessed Brexit, Trump, civil unrest, our own electoral shifts, the established powers clinging on as the centre weakens, and the left and the right finding themselves curious bedfellows in opposing the establishment. All the while in this country, we have:<\/p>\n<p><em>Trotters trotting to the trough.<br \/>\n<\/em>John Buckley McQuaid \u2018Homeless Hotels\u2019 (unpublished)<\/p>\n<p>So what would a visitor from the past witness here? If Oisin were to return from the land of his youth:<\/p>\n<p><em>His heart is still young &#8216;though he\u2019s long in the tooth<br \/>\n<\/em><em>For want of a horse, he\u2019ll be taking the Luas<br \/>\n<\/em><em>He used to be cool now he\u2019s yesterday\u2019s news.<br \/>\n<\/em>John Buckley McQuaid \u2018Prodigal Kiss\u2019<\/p>\n<p>Maybe he\u2019d notice the cherished children of the nation queueing outside the GPO. Maybe he\u2019d<br \/>\nnotice the obscenity of the tents in the city and the spectral figures begging for money. He might not even be sure what century he was in. He might notice the undeserving child eating its dinner off the ground outside the GPO.<\/p>\n<p>So we had the Mother and Baby homes, the Industrial schools, the orphanages, the Magdalene laundries, the lunatic asylums, the Ferns report, the Ryan report\u2026. those Girls who lived in hell:<\/p>\n<p>Where cruelty prevailed<br \/>\nIn gardens with forbidden trees<br \/>\nWhose walls we never scaled<br \/>\nJohn Buckley McQuaid \u2018<span style=\"color: #0000ff;\"><a style=\"color: #0000ff;\" href=\"https:\/\/vimeo.com\/467231264)\">Girls Who Lived In Hell<\/a><\/span><\/p>\n<blockquote class=\"twitter-tweet\" data-width=\"500\" data-dnt=\"true\">\n<p lang=\"en\" dir=\"ltr\">@RositaSweetman provides new testimonies from survivors of Mother and Baby Homes, and calls for a criminal prosecution of the Catholic Church and full redress.<a href=\"https:\/\/t.co\/Tas0iA0BPV\">https:\/\/t.co\/Tas0iA0BPV<\/a><a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/hashtag\/MotherAndBabyHomes?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">#MotherAndBabyHomes<\/a> <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/hashtag\/motherandbabyhomesreport?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">#motherandbabyhomesreport<\/a> <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/broadsheet_ie?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">@broadsheet_ie<\/a> <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/amandaknox?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">@amandaknox<\/a> <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/AliceHarrisonBL?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">@AliceHarrisonBL<\/a><\/p>\n<p>&mdash; CassandraVoices (@VoicesCassandra) <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/VoicesCassandra\/status\/1352556022808899588?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">January 22, 2021<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n<p><script async src=\"https:\/\/platform.twitter.com\/widgets.js\" charset=\"utf-8\"><\/script><\/p>\n<p><strong><em>Craw Thumping<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n<p>Then we have the craw thumping about it all.<\/p>\n<p><em>What of the babies they left on our doorsteps<br \/>\n<\/em><em>What of the innocent girls that they shamed<br \/>\n<\/em><em>What of the idols they fearfully worshipped<br \/>\n<\/em><em>What of the bones that they buried unnamed<br \/>\n<\/em><em>What of the tears they pretend not to notice<br \/>\n<\/em><em>What of the orphanage blood in our veins<br \/>\n<\/em><em>What of the postcards that nobody posted<br \/>\n<\/em><em>Telling us where they could find the remains?<br \/>\n<\/em>John Buckley McQuaid \u2018Dear Mister Taoiseach<\/p>\n<p>Today we have our homeless hostels:<\/p>\n<p><em>Children living on the street, leave these premises by ten,<br \/>\n<\/em><em>Every day\u2019s a new defeat, seven, they\u2019ll be back again<br \/>\n<\/em>John Buckley McQuaid \u2018Here In Deirdre Land\u2019<\/p>\n<p><iframe loading=\"lazy\" title=\"HERE IN DEIRDRE LAND\" width=\"500\" height=\"281\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/dZST1bjWrL8?feature=oembed\" frameborder=\"0\" allow=\"accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share\" referrerpolicy=\"strict-origin-when-cross-origin\" allowfullscreen><\/iframe><\/p>\n<p>The homeless, who are forced:<\/p>\n<p><em>To scrounge for a crust, and curse the hyenas betraying our trust.<br \/>\n<\/em>John Buckley McQuaid \u2018Homeless Hotels\u2019<\/p>\n<p>Today we live in an open air Magdalene laundry, again sanctioned by the State, (and there are no high walls,) where the vulnerable are shoved into single rooms in hotels, battened on by private interests \u2013 if they&#8217;re in the way, they can be shovelled into a machine to clear them off the streets.<\/p>\n<p><em>In the land of polished halos, nothing ever changes\u2026.<\/em><\/p>\n<p><strong><em>Undercurrent of Sadness<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n<p>The undercurrent of sadness on this album by John Buckley McQuaid, himself an emigrant who lives in Denmark, is something that will actually suck you in, challenging the paralysis, indifference and passivity here, the ongoing connivance with the Church:<\/p>\n<p><em>There\u2019s a crowd of ghosts on O Connell Street<br \/>\n<\/em><em>And a spire where a pillar used to be<br \/>\n<\/em><em>Now the city boasts a mighty tourist fleet<br \/>\n<\/em><em>While the Liffey\u2019s full of longing for the sea\u2026.<br \/>\n<\/em>John Buckley McQuaid \u2018Prodigal Kiss\u2019<\/p>\n<p><em>Nothing ever changes. Nothing ever changes, in the land of polished halos\u2026&#8230;.<\/em><\/p>\n<p><iframe loading=\"lazy\" title=\"LAND OF POLISHED HALOES\" width=\"500\" height=\"281\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/ZUYbKCRhfXA?list=PLMnCfqYPRTKBwg4Jhi6ctHelg5AeEH-GD\" frameborder=\"0\" allow=\"accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share\" referrerpolicy=\"strict-origin-when-cross-origin\" allowfullscreen><\/iframe><\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p><em>Comfort&#8217;s a terribly cruel addiction,<br \/>\n<\/em><em>Comfort may never be cured,<br \/>\n<\/em><em>Comfort is closing its eyes to affliction<br \/>\n<\/em><em>Comfort just won\u2019t be disturbed<br \/>\n<\/em>John Buckley McQuaid \u2018Comfort Just Won&#8217;t Be Disturbed\u2019 (unpublished lyric)<\/p>\n<p>The prod of a pitchfork might cure it.<\/p>\n<p><em>There\u2019s a distant sound of drumming<br \/>\n<\/em><em>From the prisons of the poor<br \/>\n<\/em><em>Soon the pitchforks will be coming<br \/>\n<\/em><em>To administer the cure.<\/em><\/p>\n<p><em>We should hang ourselves in private<br \/>\nFor the greater common good<br \/>\n<\/em><em>And they dared us to survive it<br \/>\n<\/em><em>Or to write it down in blood.<br \/>\n<\/em>John Buckley McQuaid \u2018Likes Of You And Me\u2019 (unpublished lyric)<\/p>\n<p>The depressed souls in our world serve a useful function \u2013 the first to be picked off in a dysfunctional, valueless world \u2013 as an unheeded warning to the stampeding herd hurtling over a cliff.<\/p>\n<p><strong><em>Sins of the Father<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n<p>The children of the Celtic rodent may bang away on their pianos, but the Sins of the Father will be visited on them.<\/p>\n<p><em>Dreams may be real for the freaks and the fools<br \/>\n<\/em><em>Finding employments like winning the pools<br \/>\n<\/em><em>Thats why we sent him to all the right schools<br \/>\n<\/em><em>Freedom is freedom to follow our rules<br \/>\n<\/em>John Buckley McQuaid \u2018Follow Our Rules\u2019 (unpublished lyric)<\/p>\n<p>And what of this boy?<br \/>\n<em>I&#8217;m looking for a child<br \/>\n<\/em><em>With a heart of gold<br \/>\n<\/em><em>Stars in his eyes<br \/>\n<\/em><em>And a long way to go.<br \/>\n<\/em>John Buckley McQuaid \u2018Looking For A Child\u2019 (from the album <em>Call It Love<\/em>)<\/p>\n<p>The Dreams of a child. The Dreams of a nation. Who dreams of being a pig?<\/p>\n<p>Take a look in that cracked looking glass, and you may see the reflection of a lipsticked pig, possibly your own. You might ask yourself the question: is compassion possible in a land with a legacy of Church and State being so inextricably intertwined?<\/p>\n<p>And if you haven&#8217;t heard the album yet, do yourself a favour and give it a listen: <a href=\"https:\/\/johnbuckleymcquaid.lnk.to\/ThisIsWhereIKeepMyDreams?fbclid=IwAR0vTj_o9OzG-4qvK5fWPLHngC0Oh53WzFjV9YTsMk9mJ5DVYSa2Vf-r9e8\"><span style=\"color: #0000ff;\">https:\/\/johnbuckleymcquaid.lnk.to\/ThisIsWhereIKeepMyDreams<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n<p>These songs deserve to be heard and we deserve to hear them.<\/p>\n<p><em><strong>Videolinks<\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n<p>\u2018Girls Who Lived in Hell\u2019<br \/>\n<u><a href=\"https:\/\/vimeo.com\/467231264\"><span style=\"color: #0000ff;\">https:\/\/vimeo.com\/467231264<\/span><\/a><\/u><\/p>\n<p>\u2018Prodigal Kiss\u2019<br \/>\n<span style=\"color: #0000ff;\"><a style=\"color: #0000ff;\" href=\"https:\/\/vimeo.com\/467236532\/70f6a4db35\">https:\/\/vimeo.com\/467236532\/70f6a4db35<\/a><\/span><\/p>\n<p>\u2019Land of the Magadalenes\u2018<br \/>\n<span style=\"color: #0000ff;\"><a style=\"color: #0000ff;\" href=\"https:\/\/vimeo.com\/467234061\/f6b5699912\">https:\/\/vimeo.com\/467234061\/f6b5699912<\/a><\/span><\/p>\n<p>\u2019The Genius\u2018<br \/>\n<span style=\"color: #0000ff;\"><u><a style=\"color: #0000ff;\" href=\"https:\/\/vimeo.com\/manage\/videos\/467238847\/9cc8b0e515\">https:\/\/vimeo.com\/manage\/videos\/467238847\/9cc8b0e515<\/a><\/u><\/span><\/p>\n<p>\u2019Stillorgan Symphony\u2018<br \/>\n<span style=\"color: #0000ff;\"><a style=\"color: #0000ff;\" href=\"https:\/\/vimeo.com\/manage\/videos\/467237861\">https:\/\/vimeo.com\/manage\/videos\/467237861<\/a><\/span><\/p>\n<p>\u2019Candy and Cutlets\u2018<br \/>\n<span style=\"color: #0000ff;\"><a style=\"color: #0000ff;\" href=\"https:\/\/vimeo.com\/467229709\/1e5a274b20\">https:\/\/vimeo.com\/467229709\/1e5a274b20<\/a><\/span><\/p>\n<p>\u2019Dear Mister Taoiseach\u2018<br \/>\n<span style=\"color: #0000ff;\"><a style=\"color: #0000ff;\" href=\"https:\/\/vimeo.com\/588389412\/c73e020758\">https:\/\/vimeo.com\/588389412\/c73e020758<\/a><\/span><\/p>\n<p><em><strong><span class=\"mw-mmv-title\">Featured Image: Taoiseach Miche\u00e1l Martin with <span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\"><a class=\"mw-redirect\" title=\"US Secretary of Commerce\" href=\"https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/US_Secretary_of_Commerce\">US Secretary of Commerce<\/a> <\/span><a title=\"Carlos Gutierrez\" href=\"https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Carlos_Gutierrez\">Carlos Gutierrez<\/a> in 2005.<\/span><\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>On February 15th, 2021, John Buckley McQuaid, released an album of original songs about Ireland, This Is Where I Keep My Dreams, to a thundering silence from the media. Long have I missed albums from Irish artists that address our present situation of apathy and indifference. Could it be that the media is ignoring such [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":125,"featured_media":12146,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[2],"tags":[75,2104,4459,4477,4932,4933,4934,5557,7253,7803,8922,9551,9552],"class_list":["post-12144","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-culture","tag-land-of-the-magadalenes","tag-culture","tag-ireland","tag-ireland-the-lipsticked-pig","tag-john-buckley-mcquaid","tag-john-buckley-mcquaid-dear-mister-taoiseach","tag-john-buckley-mcquaid-this-is-where-i-keep-my-dreams","tag-lipsticked","tag-pig","tag-review-of-john-buckley-mcquaid","tag-the","tag-trudy-hayes-cassandra-voices","tag-trudy-hayes-john-buckley-mcquaid"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/casswp.eutonom.eu\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/12144","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/casswp.eutonom.eu\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/casswp.eutonom.eu\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/casswp.eutonom.eu\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/125"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/casswp.eutonom.eu\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=12144"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/casswp.eutonom.eu\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/12144\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/casswp.eutonom.eu\/index.php\/wp-json\/"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/casswp.eutonom.eu\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=12144"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/casswp.eutonom.eu\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=12144"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/casswp.eutonom.eu\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=12144"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}