Howler

I was the mad one,

The auld road bowler,

They knew by the flame of my hair,

And the glint from the arching curve,

Of the 28oz’s of burnished steel,

Howler, I named it,

The tangled weed rover,

Hero of a thousand, thousand matches,

From Bellcarra to Boholla,

Aughagower to Cordarragh,

Setting flame to the rough roads of 1985,

Before I was reduced to embers,

Beneath the gaze of the brothers Hughes,

And the legend Carney.

by Ruairí de Barra

From the world famous Five Words contest which typically kicks off a wonderful evening with Ó’Bhéal in Cork.

Flame

Glint

Howler

Rover

Bowler