My only experience of hurling was near Carroll’s Cross, when I saw a team practising in a field.
Left Field
————-Lined up like the Waterford cows,
metal bodies glitter in an Irish field.Black rubber circles squelching
acres of reconstituted bovine cud.A Friesian audience has gathered
to ruminate on two-legged animalswith red and white coats, running
and Hurling a stone to each other,between showers, near Carroll’s Cross.
Frances Macaulay Forde © 2003
Long-listed in the Plough Prize 2007 Short Poems .
I don’t expect this post to mean much to many people ~ unless, of course, they are Waterford (Deise) people with a passion for hurling.
Hurling is a Gaelic game that’s arguably the fastest, most skilful game in the whole wide world. It’s played with a hurl made from ash and a small leather ball called a sliotar. There’s fifteen on each team and the games last for 70 minutes and are not for the faint-hearted either on or off the pitch.
The highlight of the hurling year is the All-Ireland Championship which is in full swing at the moment. Today, we had two quarter-finals: Waterford v Wexford and Galway v Clare.
Waterford were victorious and will take on the might of Co. Kilkenny in two weeks time. Kilkenny are recognised as the kings of hurling in Ireland but we live in hope that we will find a way to weave ourselves…
View original post 68 more words
Perth Words... exploring possibilities. 
An interesting poem, Frances!
Yes, hurling has many faces.
LikeLiked by 1 person
Thanks Jean – your posts often inspire me. 🙂
LikeLiked by 1 person
Love the “acres of reconstituted bovine cud”. Most delicate!
LikeLiked by 1 person
Thanks, Harry.
LikeLike
Can’t seem to decide on the correct spelling… I think it should be Carroll’s Cross. Thanks for reading. :-))
LikeLike
Yes, Carroll’s Cross.
LikeLiked by 1 person
[…] – listen with pride; and relish the sounds of the language of here. Frances Macaulay Forde © 2003 Another memory of WATERFORD and HURLING. #POEM:KoffeeKornerKafe #IRISHPoems #FrancesMacaulayForde #MIDLETONCork […]
LikeLike