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Best Poems From
DANIEL MCDONAGH
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9.
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Celtic Heroes at the Holy Ground
Upon Parkhead’s pitch God took me to,
On the centre spot, I sat my self down,
He said, envision all the Celtic heroes
Who have walked this Holy Ground.
He spoke of the history of the green & white
For to play for the Celtic is a fans desire,
Installed with pride and with courage,
To ignite the passion, an eternal fire.
I closed my eyes and the heard the voices,
Of Stein and Maley, a homily so sweet,
And on the field stood McGrory and Quinn,
Dictating the game with their feet.
And God led me to the wisdom of Murdoch,
As I watched John Doyle run down the wing,
I saw a vision of my father and grandfathers
Standing on the terracing, Celtic songs, they did sing.
As the clouds around Parkhead drifted,
I stood alone in a Celtic Park dream,
As God spoke to me from a distance,
That I alone, could only hear.
When you visit this place called Parkhead,
When you bring with you, your heritage and faith,
All the fans of Celtic will one day worship
Familiar Celtic faces, once again.
Dec’3rd 2005
Daniel McDonagh
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10.
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Wearing of the Green
My father wore the colour of green
Deep within his heart,
Were he grew up in the Garngad
And walked the miles to Celtic Park.
His working class background
In Glasgow’s little Ireland
Was football, faith and believe in God
And to be raised a Celtic fan.
Songs of the Glasgow Celtic
My father would proudly sing
When walking up our tenement close
After he had a wee drink.
Then in the year of 1965
When Celtic brought home Jock Stein,
My father wrapped his first-born child
In the colours of emerald green.
Dec’7th 2004
Daniel McDonagh
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11.
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With a Celtic Scarf around My Neck
Hail Hail to all the Celtic fans
I see you are in good voice
Let us stand within McConnell's pub
And sing and drink to the Bhoys
For we were born and it's in our blood
To follow the bhoys in green
For the Glasgow Celtic are the finest team
The world has ever seen.
It was many years ago when our fore-fathers
Left their native home
As they said goodbye to Donegal,
To Limerick and Tyrone
They fled the English landlords
And the famine that scoured their land
They crossed the sea to Glasgow town
With Ireland’s cross in their hand.
To Jock Stein and the Lisbon Lions
Our fathers would raise a cheer,
As they sat within their local pubs
With a whiskey and a beer,
And the tears would flow when a ballad was sung
Of Cardenden’s finest son
As the pub stood quiet to the memory
Of Celtic’s young Johnny Thomson.
We were Christened at the Chapel
With a Celtic scarf around our necks,
Remembering all the miles, we had traveled
As we would wander to old Parkhead,
Up the Gallowgate, we would make our way
Taking our dear old father’s hand
As he told us, we should walk with pride
To be a faithful Celtic fan.
And today we make the same pilgrimage
As we have done for many years,
Standing or sitting at Paradise
Letting the world hear our Celtic cheers,
Let no man take away our faith
In the bhoys in the green & white strip,
For we live our days in the Celtic way
Supporting our heroes on Parkhead’s pitch.
Nov’11th 2005
Daniel McDonagh
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12.
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A 100 Years of the Hoops
A hundred years of the Hoops in 2003,
A century of wins for the fans to cheer,
From the days of playing at old Celtic Park,
To the modern day stadium that Fergus built.
History has unfolded to old Irish eyes
Who saw memorable games from old Celtic stars,
Where pride was played in those green & white shirts,
As men of the ‘30’s struggled without work.
As the war in Europe, saw football decline,
Some stars of the Celtic fought on the front line,
They never returned to lace up their boots
Or wear again the famous Hoops.
When the fifties appeared, fans of the Hoops where in heaven,
As the Rangers goal was hit by seven,
And Bertie Peacock, the man from Coleraine,
Held high the trophy as Celtic captain.
When Jock Stein was asked, if he would come back,
to the Hoops, the fans and Celtic Park,
He shook the hand of Sir Robert Kelly,
And took the Celtic into football history.
Like David & Goliath, those Celtic men,
Outplayed on the pitch, Inter Milan,
And their fans would walk in Glasgow with pride
And paraded their colours of green & white.
But legends can’t live, with results from the past
As big Jock Stein departed from the halls of Celtic Park,
For Billy McNeil to continue his reign
And to make heroes again out of Celtic men.
In a midweek game against the Rangers we played,
How the cameras had wished they had stayed,
When four goals from Celtic brought us glory
As we polished again, the League Championship trophy.
The eighties appeared, Celtic with class,
From the talent and skill of Charlie Nicholas,
Who wore the Hoops for the fans of the “Jungle”,
Where they would raise the roof from Charlie’s goals.
But McNeil & Nicholas, they both travelled south,
Their love for Celtic had grown bitter & sour,
The fans where wishing for the old winning days
When appointed as head coach was Davie Hay.
The power in Glasgow had seen a turn
As Ibrox had captured one of Liverpool’s sons,
Souness had bought a championship team,
And knocked out the stride of the bhoys in green.
But in ‘88, big McNeil had come home,
With special orders from the Vatican & Rome,
“Bring the fans victory, show Rangers no fear”;
Celtic won the double in their Centenary Year.
Then darkness lay heavy over Parkhead‘s sky
As Brady & Macari, as managers, captured no prize,
But in 1995, the Scottish Cup returned
As Celtic were led by the faithful Tommy Burns.
But Burns fairytale story came to an end
And replaced by a stranger by the name of Wim Jansen,
Who brought to us Larsson, the talented Swede,
Who’s eye for goal brought us the Cup & the League.
We’ve also had Venglos, Dalglish & Barnes,
Who nearly turned our history, into a sham,
But we returned so proudly from the darkness of hell,
As our tradition was restored by Martin O’Neill.
So in 1888, Celtic became a team,
But it was in 1903 that we saw the Hoops of green,
So for the future players who play the Celtic way,
Shall wear with pride, the green & white jersey.
April'2nd 2003
Daniel McDonagh
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