A Joke from Northern Ireland
 
A boy was standing outside a Catholic church, bouncing a ball.  As he bounced the ball, he was chanting, "The Protestants have all the houses. The Protestants have all the houses."
The priest, who was praying in the church, heard this.  He came outside and said to the boy, "What're you saying that for?  Do you want to get us all shot?  Can't you say something else?" The boy replied, "What else should I say?"
The priest thought for a moment, and answered, "Say, 'Christ was born in a stable.'"
The boy began bouncing his ball again, and saying, "Christ was born in a stable.  Christ was born in a stable." Satisfied that he had averted the problem, the priest went back to his prayers.  Fifteen minutes later, having finished his prayers, the priest came outside again.  The boy was still bouncing his ball.  As he bounced the ball, he was saying, "Christ was born in a stable.  Christ was born in a stable, because the Protestants have all the houses."
 
As told at the session last night by Fr. Charlie Coen, renowned concertina player.  It's funnier when he's telling it, I promise.  He always tells it before singing a song called, "The Old Orange Flute," which is about a flute that plays only Protestant tunes even after its owner turns Papist, and which is eventually burned at the stake for heresy by the local clergy.