I can claim it
as Australian
back then
when
it was fashionable
to steal people
from their homes
for trying to feed
their children

****** English curs

riding roughshod
over people herds
sending them
to the 'Colonies'

Oh, Irish I might be
except
that the English
had no problem
dealing the same fate
to their own

No, I don't claim Irish
for that alone
I claim 5th generation
Australian, on a Paternal side
Dad never was one to hide
the fact we were born
of a Bushrangers lot
I never forgot
where my Maiden name
came from

I married an Irishman

I am a Doogan
(spelling changed
when coming to this land)

I don't claim Irish
but am proud to be
a part of a heritage
that lives to be free
That just wants freedom
to have their own day
Not to be oppressed
by a country that has no right
to suckle at its breast

Happy St Patricks Day

:)