7:00am Tuesday 29th January 2013
By Jim Greenhalf
Three Irish brothers who had an international hit with There’s No One as Irish as Barack Obama are hoping to score another hit with a song about giant-killing Bradford City.
There’s No One as Wembley as Bradford City charts the club’s victories over Premier League clubs Wigan, Arsenal and Aston Villa and their Capital One Cup final match against Swansea at Wembley on February 24.
The Corrigan Brothers – Gerard, Brian and Donncha – of North Tipperary in the Irish Republic, last week appeared on coast-to-coast TV in the US and have previously appeared on BBC TV with Andrew Marr and on BBC Radio with Aled Jones.
Lead singer Ger Corrigan explained why the brothers had turned their attention to Bradford City’s cup exploits.
He said: “We were inspired by the wonderful revival of Bradford, from almost going out of existence ten years ago to reaching Wembley. We love a story about revival and resilience and there is none greater than this.
“Bradford’s achievements are making headlines all over the world and we hope to inject a little bit of Irish Folk music into the story. We hope to perform the song in Bradford before the final. There is also a nice Irish connection with Carl McHugh as well as Irish community connections in Bradford.”
McHugh, 19, is a former pupil of St Columba’s Comprehensive School in Glenties, Co Donegal, where Bradfordian Anthony O’Callghan teaches.
Mr O’Callaghan, a former pupil and teacher at St Bede’s Grammar School, said: “The tourist posters used to say ‘Bradford, a surprising place’. Tourists from Wigan, London and Birmingham know that already.
“The unexpected bonus for me on a personal level is that a former pupil from our school in Donegal is part of the great adventure.
“Carl McHugh is just what he seems: friendly, decent and modest, who seems to have taken Bradford to his heart.
“The Irish are sports mad and every neutral in the country would have been rooting for the Bantams – but just add an Irish lad to the mix and it gets personal. A little patch of shamrock on Valley Parade.”
The song, which ends with the hope of a City victory and European football returning to Valley Parade, will be released with a video on February 12.
Lifelong City fan Mark Neale said: “I think it’s amazing.”
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