Norman Invasion: The Encore

A Thousand Years Later. They’re Back (with Brochures)

Irish cabinet broadcast. Fully lit the fuse.
Year of the Normans. A total blowout.
Helmets and heritage. Banners and beef.

Elegant pageants. Unabridged reenactments.
Mouth watering banquets.
Wexford. New Ross. Stages set for spectacle
.
The hoity-toity rabble trumpets it culture.
Government knows better. Pure tourism bait.
Critics revolt. Say just conquest cosplay.

William? Not even a boot set here.
Still… his legacy stomps stonily.
Castles erected. Laws penned. Resistance fought.
Claimed land. Procured marriages.
History got blotchy. Even grimy. Still is.

Now? Hawk tickets. Wear authentic attire.
Kids flashing swords. Normans sipping lattes.
Sinn Féin dismayed. Why glorify colonizers?
Citizen polls splintered. Yesteryear PR always knotty.

Youngsters shrug. “Who were these guys again?”
History not spotless. Never was.
But cloaking dulls the present.

Parade it across O’Connell bridge.
Suffer the kids asking tough questions.
Display banners. Orchestrate battles. Draw a pint.
Recall the pain. Celebrate what flourished.

Be genuine. Honest. Just.
Then it matters.

Let’s all pitch the Norman spree.
And perhaps—just maybe—everyone gets smarter.
At the very least. Gain some wisdom. Enjoy the craic.