Hark! The Moral Angels Sing

Hark! The moral angels sing,
And let their outraged voices ring.
They rent their garments and they seethe
About a farm in county Meath.
Purchased with the nation’s taxes
(See! The world shifts on its axis)
Has the Taoiseach lost his mind?
Hospital and jail combined?
Hark! The happy farmers sing,
And let their joyous voices ring.

See! They’re plotting to destroy
The plans to relocate the ‘Joy.
Or maybe they prefer to pull
The Central Mental Hospital.
Leave them in their ancient buildings,
Shorn of therapeutic gildings.
Better all the wear and tear
Than they relocate out there.
Hark! The opposition sing
And let their outraged voices ring.

If they’re built up side by side,
Subconsciously they’ll be allied.
No matter how they’re both disguised,
Patients will be victimised.
Mental health is an enigma,
Doesn’t need this extra stigma.
The general public, it is true,
Could easily confuse the two.
Hark! The politicians sing
And let their outraged voices ring.

It all seems done and dusted, but
I’ve heard new plans are underfoot.
Leinster House, if I hear right,
Is relocating to this site.
But it’s just exacerbating
All the problems they’re creating.
All the prison inmates claim
It would sully their good name.
Hark! The anguished jailbirds sing
And let their outraged voices ring.