Far north of this countryside near Warrnambool
In the mid to late fifties in Millstreet Town i went to primary school
Years later one who would prove himself a man among men
Humphrey Kelleher was the strong boy of the schoolyard back then
Humphrey as a young teenager full of youthful elan
As a boy tall and sturdy and as strong as a man
Not gentle or shy but not a bully in any way
Yet any boy who tested his might had some price for to pay
Such as a few missing teeth, black eyes and bloodied nose
Though Humphrey as a boy did not wish for to make for himself foes
As a champion young male of the schoolyard sometimes his title he had to defend
And that there are always pretenders why even pretend
The strong boy of the Tanyard grew into a giant of a man broad shouldered and tall
And as a full back he made a name for himself for Cork and Millstreet in Gaelic Football
Michael O’ Hehir the famed sports commentator once said to honor Humphrey’s renown
There ought to be a monument built to him in Millstreet Town
Humphrey Kelleher the strong boy of the schoolyard of Millstreet in the late fifties is at rest today
He has returned to Mother Earth as some do like to say
Though the breath of life from his mortal body has gone
In all who knew him great memories of him living on.
“The Strong Boy Of The Schoolyard” is by Francis Duggan
http://francisrhymer.blogspot.ie/2017/05/the-strong-boy-of-schoolyard.html
