Author Archives: tyldesleyboy

When Margaret died the music died for me I did not play or listen to a tune And sing – I could not sing I that loved to sing A love song would have nailed me to the floor I did play songs But they just set me crying It felt like an indulgence atContinue reading “For Margaret”

We came home for our dinners Pat and I What were we eight or nine? Money tight Mammy makes ends meet Come home to dine Pat and I are walking in the street I remember a cold day Of ice and snow Wrapped up we were with balaclava on We trudged home through the coldContinue reading “Dinner For Two”

I walked up to the pharmacy today I usually take a bus to get uphill And walk back down carrying my pill But I walked today I walked it all the way As I set out I remembered that old man Who told me to go easy on the Reek Take your time the worldContinue reading “Concentrated Step”

What can I do? I’ve only ever known the world of words Having been a priest these thirty years Beg? I should be ashamed Dig? I am not able I’ll write some sermons Earn a bob or two But that is not enough I’m stuck at home In this new town And nobody knows myContinue reading “Priest and Mediator”

Slanting Lancashire rain kept us indoors Hard for mum to keep us occupied Sometimes we would put the records on Remembering the while Glencullen side Irish records mum brought home with her To lift her spirits in the Lanky gloom We sang along sometimes we knew the words So often played and we knew everyContinue reading “‘A Westerly Air Flow Covers Ireland…’”

The things I had to do And I a priest Did not delight me No not in the least I did them out of Pure obedience I’d been enrolled And that was all the sense I’d given up All personal ambition A man in black My only condition I loved my football Loved a pintContinue reading “The Way Of It”

I’m very clever me So I was told But never very good At being bold Except when playing football I would shout and tell them all How to play And how to score a goal But off the field I tended to be quiet And kept my counsel All inside you see When I neededContinue reading “The Road Taken”

My father worked at various jobs After he left the pit His health now broken Heavy work he wasn’t fit for it Mammy was the earner now And didn’t she do well Matron to old people now I am very proud to tell But daddy kept on going His pride wouldn’t let him stop UntilContinue reading “Doctor’s Orders”

Four bridges was a walk we used to do On Sunday afternoons so long ago And in that summer when money wasn’t saved For Ireland and a holiday we’d forego The bridges crossed a four-track railway line From Manchester to Wigan and beyond Some trains were bound for Southport and the brine The rest wereContinue reading “Watching Trains”

Singing Grass it won at Haydock Park The day my dad and uncle Pat were there Came home a worthy winner worth remark My father made a note of that good mare And three years on the mare she has a foal It’s running in the Derby ‘54 And Lester’s on his back the prizeContinue reading “You Bet”

Do you mind my mother said I in the pram That man you’re shouting at Now that’s my man We’re down at A&T Down Astley way The football’s on That woman has her say Another time My father got sent off He hit a lad He smacked him in the gob It’s all right refereeContinue reading “Astley and Tyldesley”

My father studied horses Course and distance and soft ground He studied form and bloodline and the weight His morning work like ‘A’ levels A quiet morning task His selection done by lunchtime never late And when he couldn’t get about His legs now getting slow He kindly asked if mammy would be willing ToContinue reading “The Girl From Killenaule”

My mother loved her poetry That’s where I get my rhyme Funny how these facets get passed down From a little school in Mayo Far from the madding crowd Her versifying could go on and on She read Lamb’s Tales from Shakespeare And poetry by the yard Dawn on the Hills of Ireland was aContinue reading “Where The Rhyme Comes From”

In Erris the people know each other well And the proof of this to you I now will tell Each day when I’ve had breakfast My computer goes on next I visit names that know their own death knell Obituaries are what I like to read To read of people and the lives they leadContinue reading “Local Places”

Four gentlemen went into town One evening for the craic On bicycles they rode along From Glencullen’s mossy track Cycling by the Big Turn And Cloontiakilla straight And round by Attawalla And in the Bangor gate I suppose it was the West End Bar That brought them to a halt To taste the lovely GuinnessContinue reading “Will we go for one?”