NEW YORK BOSTON |#Popular: Irish Celebrity Gossip Irish in US Politics Irish Festivals Irish Roots Irish Entertainment Offbeat Irish

Home Page > News > New Irish anthem of hope to be presented to President Barack Obama

New Irish anthem of hope to be presented to President Barack Obama

Henry Healy to present recording at White House inauguration - AUDIO

PATRICK COUNIHAN,

IrishCentral Staff Writer

Published Monday, January 7, 2013, 7:54 AM

Updated Monday, January 7, 2013, 9:57 AM

Larger Text

E-mail

18 Comments

Musician Brendan Keeley's new anthem ‘We Will Be Strong' will be presented to Barack Obama at his inauguration

Photo by Google Images

President Barack Obama will be presented with a new Irish anthem for hope on the day of his White House inauguration later this month.

Musician Brendan Keeley is travelling across Ireland gathering support for his new anthem ‘We Will Be Strong.'

He plans to record the song in Offaly before President Obama’s famous cousin Henry Healy brings it to the inauguration ceremony on January 19th.

The best selling singer-songwriter has told the Irish Times that he is ‘on a mission’ to raise Irish spirits with an uplifting anthem.

Keeley will visit 78 midlands schools to teach students the words and air to ‘We will be Strong.'

His three-week tour of the schools will culminate in a recording session at the Tullamore GAA grounds.

Keeley added: “I am weary of all the doom and gloom that has swallowed us up over the last few years and so am attempting to do something to try to raise the mood of the Irish people.

“I have composed an anthem of hope entitled We will be Strong. It is not a song of protest, nor is it political or controversial in any way, shape or form.

“It is a rallying call to try to lift the centuries-old spirit of survival that lies deep within the Irish people, as sadly nobody seems to be pumping any hope into us at all.

“Over the month of January, with the help of the GAA youth officer John Leahy, I will be visiting 78 schools here in the midlands teaching the anthem to our young people.

“This will culminate with the schools and the general public of all ages being recorded singing the anthem at O’Connor Park.”

Sports heroes have already backed Keeley’s project and many plan to attend the recording.
He confirmed: “The event has also been endorsed by industry and organisations up and down the country.”

Here’s the track -

Nster.com

E-mail

18 Comments

See all comments

Smyrnian | Jan 09, 2013, 02:21 PM EST

Obama us not a terrorist, he is not Irish and he is certainly not a great president.

Report abuse

pilib04 | Jan 08, 2013, 10:27 PM EST

Scrivner, you are quite right. Not every American, JUST 53% of the American people who voted November 6. Obama WON, GET OVER IT.

Report abuse

IrelandNorth | Jan 08, 2013, 03:35 AM EST

Never heard of this melon-headed self-promoting busker. And national anthems are for nations of people to decide, not narcissistic stage managed cousins of world leaders. I suspect this guy is being promoted by revisionist historians who can't see past their commissioned boundary. If the admittedly militaristic Amhrán na bh'Fíann is to be replaced in an agreed Ireland, there are plenty of suitably classical replacements like Míse Éire or A Nation Once Again, which even Indian-Irish Tourism Leo O Varadkar and Jewish-Irish Justice/Equality/Defence Minister Alan Mc Shatter could identify with. Not some glorified come-all-yah partitionist gibberish like this howl and whine by some artistically challenged cone head.

Report abuse

Scrivner | Jan 07, 2013, 11:23 PM EST

Dear Monkey, not everyone sees Mr Obama as a great president, some of us see him as a self centered princling who thinks that his band of control freaks know best for everyone in the country...soon to expand to everyone in the world. Closing Gitmo? Yeah, five years is not enough--besides it may prove useful to house tea party members if they get too powerful. Yes, he maybe half Irish, but my African-American neighbors don't believe it.

Report abuse

irismonkey48 | Jan 07, 2013, 07:47 PM EST

Obama is not a terrorist. Please dont confuse him with George Bush. He has continually worked towards the closing of Gitmo even in the face of opposition from the Right wing. He has had the guts to stand up to Netanyahu and tell him to stop trying to expand into Palistine. He is ending the war in Afghanistan, he just appointed Chuch Hagel as defense secretary, a guy who stood apart from the gang and voted against war. The drones are products of the military industral complex, but that being said, the terrorists purposelly hide behind the skirts of their women and children. While they may be plotting to set off a sucide dirty bomb the drones have been effective in stopping them. That is a part of their terroristic tactics, to hide within the population. I think Obama is a great president and will be even greater as time goes on. And yes he is Irish.

Report abuse

peterson | Jan 07, 2013, 07:32 PM EST

You got that right Paddy !!

Report abuse

paddys4ronpaul | Jan 07, 2013, 06:57 PM EST

Why are Irish people wasting their time writing anthems to present to obama as if he is some ancient king? Obama is a murderer who's droine policy kills innocent women and children every day in pakistan and afghanistan. obama is attempting to destroy the 2nd amendment. He is a tyrant not different than churchill or cromwell

Report abuse

Smyrnian | Jan 07, 2013, 06:47 PM EST

Only a monkey would say something like that!

Report abuse

irismonkey48 | Jan 07, 2013, 06:42 PM EST

Absolutely beautiful! This song gave me chills. This President is indeed a special person who has compassion for all people.

Report abuse

Smyrnian | Jan 07, 2013, 06:27 PM EST

Oh yes, we will need to be VERY strong paying all those taxes, supporting Obamacare and bringing home a lot less in our pay. Socialism at its best and, as perpetually "deer in the headlights" Nancy Pelosi said yesterday, they are far from being done with introducing new taxes and no word about spending cuts. We will need to be very strong.

Report abuse

Nelsonbarry | Jan 07, 2013, 05:40 PM EST

sounds like a song for the Despora returning for the 2013 reunion. Not a national anthem of a country

Report abuse

newnation | Jan 07, 2013, 11:34 AM EST

wow this song does not inspire hope, sounds more like a Christmas song that someone has sh*t on! no thanks!

Report abuse

Fran Connor | Jan 07, 2013, 11:23 AM EST

Yo Mac, if he hates no one why did he attend the Reverend Wright's church for twenty years?

Report abuse

McNamara31 | Jan 07, 2013, 11:18 AM EST

katieherk Intelligent Irish support this president overwhelmingly.This president hates no one. Someday's I can't fathom the amount of tolerance he has for people such as you.

Report abuse

cillowen | Jan 07, 2013, 10:33 AM EST

WE WILL BE STRONG - hearts of stone people who ship their children far and wide - quislings everywhere and blowins galore who'll never blend - that Shatter cat can't wait till country is totally in toilet, he naturally will have a home to go to ISRAEL. Stupid a-shhole anthem notions to cover the smell.

Report abuse