The Tuesday Poem

All-Ireland Sundays

Heroes, heroes one and allfirst Sundays in Septemberwho fire the minds of Irish youth and fill them with ambitionto solo with the sliotar, strike deftly with the round bossed stick, bury the ball in the back of net, ball and man and all and then be heaped with medals like their heroes in Croke Park.

Heroes, heroes one and all third Sundays in September. Two safe hands and big round ball have all the country boys kicking, jumping, catching in green fields and balding yards. While city youth in ragged groups scrape roughly on coarse asphalt with roars and shouts and commentaries that come in squally showers.

Heroes, heroes all but me where vision-spurred athletic boys hedge-huddled in Octoberas captains in rotation chose their teams on lines of merit. Humiliation had me shiver as I prayed for quick selection and not usual biting shame of being the last name called, sometimes not at all.

— Taken from The Clogher Quartet: Book One

* Louis Mulcahy is famous as one of Ireland’s most distinguished potters, but he has also been writing poems for a number of years. Sagart published his book The Clogher Quartet: Book One earlier this year.