Mike’s garden of roses and thorns

ENNIS musician, Mike Hanrahan is one of 50 Irish celebrities who have bared their souls to write about recent highs and lows in their lives in an intriguing new book.
The Rose and the Thorn, compiled by Audrey Healy and Don Mullan, is inspired by a dinnertime game President Barack Obama and his family play, in which they review their lives by reflecting on the roses and thorns of their day.
Last year, while appearing on ABC’s The View, veteran American broadcaster Barbara Walters asked the US president about the game and what his recent roses and thorns were. The interview was covered by RTÉ’s Morning Ireland at the end of which presenter Áine Lawlor commented, ‘Isn’t that a wonderful question?’ Listening was journalist Don Mullan, who immediately called fellow writer and journalist, Audrey Healy, saying, ‘I’ve got a good idea for a book’.
They persuaded 50 well-known people from various spheres in Irish society to come on board and commit their roses and thorns to print. The topics broached include the deaths of broadcaster Gerry Ryan and Michaela Harte, the birth of much-loved grandchildren and the legacy of the current economic climate.
Of particular interest for Clare readers is the contribution of Mike Hanrahan. One of the country’s leading singer/songwriters, he has worked with Stocktons Wing, Finbar Furey and the late Ronnie Drew but  took a change of direction to pursue a career in cooking with Darina Allen at the famous Ballymaloe Organic Farm.
Mike wrote, “The rose in my life is my music. It has always been central in my life and when it blooms, I know true happiness. My parents, brothers and sisters grew together with the sound of music permeating throughout the house. My brother Kieran and I have continued to support each other throughout our music careers and beyond. There is a special bond between us and the occasional gigs are always a joy. Creatively, music has given me the canvass to express my personal reaction to events and people who influence my life.
“I have been lucky in music to get to travel, meet wonderful people and then take to the stage to sing my songs. Although I recently left the industry, I still play the odd gig, a few sessions and practise regularly to keep myself tuned in.
“It is ironic that the thorn in my life is best described in a song I wrotecalled The Garden of Roses. The song was, and still is, a personal response to the harrowing stories from the victims of clerical abuse. The State, the Church and society failed so many of our innocent children who were sexually abused and then condemned to a life of psychological trauma. Painful and powerful testimonies finally brought the reality to our daily lives and it is Ireland’s shame that its so-called pillars of society were allowed to create and get away with such human destruction for such a very long time.”
The Garden of Roses 
(M Hanrahan)

In The garden of roses
Where you came by
Beautiful roses
The eyes of a child
In your secret desire
You cut it all down
Now petals lay scattered
on tainted ground
in the garden of roses
beautiful roses

A river once frozen
Down deep in the mind
Flows on like a river should
In the eyes of a child
In the garden of roses
Beautiful roses
In the garden of roses
Beautiful roses.”

Other contributors to the book include Claire Byrne, Brian Carthy, Una Claffey, Louis Copeland, Sharon Commins, John Creedon, Myles Dungan, Kieran Goss, Larry Gogan, Mick Hanly, David Kelly, Sr Stanislus Kennedy, Gerald Kean, Justin Kilcullen, Fr Liam Lawton, Alf McCarty, Charlie McGettigan, Patsy McGarry, Eamon Morrissey, Sr Deirdre Mullan, Mike Murphy, Denis O’Brien, Joseph O’Connor, John O’Shea, Cian O’Connor, Feargal Quinn, Eamon Ryan, Rebecca Storm, Eleanor Shanley and Ted Walsh.
Royalties from this book will be donated to Brainwave, the Irish Epilepsy Association. For more information on Rose Week visit: www.epilepsy.ie.