Thursday, October 25, 2007

Charlie Hurley / A Little Slice of History

A little slice of history

The European Championships – a much-loved competition,
Nearly fifty years of age, a footballing tradition.
But Ireland’s record in it has been worthy of rebuke –
We only qualified the once and that was quite a fluke.
But back in 1959, we won eternal fame,
When Dalymount played host to the inaug’ral EC game.
Of course it was the Euro Nations Cup in those dark days,
But Ireland lit the fuse and set the tournament ablaze.
The Czechs were somewhat shaken by our physical approach,
And we scored through Liam Tuohy, who’d be later Ireland’s coach.
Then Cantwell scored a second and we finished it two up –
First match, first goal, first winner in the Euro Nations Cup.
The papers screamed it out, and sure we made a big palaver –
‘Twas such a shame we lost 4-0 next month in Bratislava.
.
Charlie Hurley
.
A centre half, he was ten foot six,
And he thrilled the crowd with his showboat tricks.
He liked to get his tackles in early,
Tough as old boots, was Charlie Hurley.

He lived in a cage and was fed raw meat,
Ate turkey heads for a Christmas treat.
Compared to him, Ron Yeats was a girlie.
Eat your granny, would Charlie Hurley.

At training sessions, he’d run through walls
While juggling six or seven balls.
No-one ever was so big and burly,
Arse like a barn, had Charlie Hurley.

An iron man with steely class,
And his neck was made from solid brass.
As powerful as his hair was curly,
Roared like a lion, did Charlie Hurley.

He’d kick the ball almost half a mile,
Headed rocks with a fiendish smile,
Before a game he was dark and surly,
There’s no-one today like Charlie Hurley.

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