"When Henry Shefflin went to Galway, I thought of Martha Wainwright's great line in her song 'Factory', "These are not my people, I should never have come here.""
"Brian Cody's iron handshake that drew the blood from Henry's hand and face suddenly became his legacy. Cody did not say a word to Henry that day, but his aura roared, 'You f**king traitor'. Upsetting Cody in Kilkenny is like an American comedian upsetting Donald Trump."
"When I spent a week in Kilkenny last year, people were shaking their heads sadly at what had become of Henry. Like Jimmy Kimmel, he had been cancelled."
Henry Shefflin moved to Galway and encountered feelings of alienation captured by Martha Wainwright's lyric about not belonging. Brian Cody's iron handshake cut Henry's hand and face and became a defining emblem of betrayal. Cody offered no words, but his aura communicated 'You f**king traitor.' Upsetting Cody in Kilkenny carries heavy social consequences and is compared to provoking a powerful political figure. Local residents reacted with sadness and disapproval at Henry's change of allegiance, treating him as socially cancelled and likening his ostracism to the fate of a high-profile comedian.
Read at Independent
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