Introducing Pat Ingoldsby
It gives me great pleasure to introduce you to Pat Ingoldsby, one of my favourite Irish poets.
Pat is a familiar sight out and about in Dublin, where he sells his self-published poetry books direct to the general public. At the same time, he has his senses cocked, picking up on the flavour of the city and its people, which coupled with his quirky outlook on life, produces poetry in a myriad of form, content and emotion.
Pat would be familiar to generations of Irish people, having had, in his time, worked on children’s tv (Pat’s Chat), written for the (now defunct) Evening Press, written plays and published various books of poetry and prose.
Amongst Pat’s work, are some poems that sit very well on this website. I had the pleasure of meeting Pat recently and he very kindly gave me permission to reproduce a sample of his work here.
Hope you enjoy them as much as I did.
The whistle’s bewitched
In the park before the game starts
all the men run around elegantly
with deliberate exaggerated style
kicking, passing, posing, stretching,
the way professionals do.
Then the referee blows his whistle
and changes them all into
headless chickens.
© Pat Ingoldsby
Patrick Gerard
Da
I love the way you laughed.
Good deep and hearty mirth
far down inside you.
I loved the special feeling
when you asked me
to fetch something from your pocket
– the faint smell of tobacco
– the rubber feel of your pouch
– the cold of your keys and coins
– the shivers when I touched your hanky.
I loved the way you put soccer into my heart
the way it was in yours
– kicking a little ball with me in the back yard
– heading a balloon in the hall
– push ha’penny on the table
– Subutteo on the floor
– standing beside me in Dalymount
cracking Cadbury’s in half
– feeling my heart break when Dayo ran rings
around you out the back and suddenly I knew
that you couldn’t really play at all.
I loved the way we sat near the fire.
I loved the sound of you downstairs
when I was small in bed.
I loved the angle of your finger sticking out
the crazy way you held your cup.
I loved the sizzle when your tobacco spit hit the hearth.
I loved the sounds of you down the garden
metal whanging earth and stones
breaking up the clay.
I loved the way your mother had seen Uachtarán na h-Eireann *
putting out his bin.
I loved the way you always put us first.
I miss you terribly.
I really do.
© Pat Ingoldsby
* President of Ireland
Both poems taken from Pat’s latest book, ‘Beautiful Cracked Eyes’
Also, to sum up Pat’s philosophy on his poetry, I’ve reproduced this from one of his jacket covers :
love my poems, hate them, have fun with them
enjoy them, laugh with them, cry with them
put them on toast and eat them, do lots and lots
of sparkly things with them and they will dance
study them and the life will go out of them
PS I’m sure Pat wouldn’t like me to sign off without mentioning his best friends and co-directors : Willow and Hoot.
About This Site
Welcome to Football Poets -- a club for all football poets, lovers of football and lovers of (alternative) poetry. Discover poets in every league from respected internationals at the top of their game to young hopefuls in the school playground.
Publish your football poems here and then discuss them with your team mates and fans. We're archived by The British Library, so your masterpieces are in the safe hands of a world-class keeper. What a result!
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28th March 2024
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17th March 2024
Crispin’s Corner
In Memoriam
Kick It Out & Christmas Truce
Latest Comments
19th March 2024 at 8:00 am
Hi Crispin. Chris Sutton on the radio has gone for a Chelsea v Coventry final. As we know anything can happen in the Cup, and I reckon we can go to the final.
We’re still in with a chance of the play offs too, so lots to go for.
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19th March 2024 at 7:41 am
Hey Kev
Let the masses drool over their odds on City v Unted Final, but who knows how pressure can hit.
Cov and Chels will be rightly labelled as having no chance..but hey …stranger things have happened..
so Chelsea v Coventry…that’s the Final for us!
Best
C
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29th January 2024 at 10:03 pm
Hi Crispin,
How are you doing mate? Yes, you’re probably right but hey football is all about emotion and passion and I just love writing about the game. I try to keep my poetry to a reasonable length but there’s so much to write about the game and its literature just lends itself naturally to poetry. Sometimes I just get completely carried and I do apologise for the length of my poetry but it’s a great thrill to be associated with Football Poets.
Cheers mate
Joe
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10th January 2024 at 7:52 pm
You’re right of course Joe but…..it’s actually more of a big welcome break for everyone who is not into Premier League ..I’m talking fans of EFL National League and below…..
Btw …is this actually your longest poem ever !?
Best
Crispin
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8th January 2024 at 4:45 pm
Thanks!
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8th January 2024 at 10:42 am
There’s something so evocative and nostalgic for football fans the world over, in ‘revisiting’ old lost grounds.
Occasionally some remnants remain, with perhaps part of a wall or part or a stand or thre shape of a terrace, but often they are only still there in faded images and in our heads..
Great stuff Graham
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4th January 2024 at 10:13 am
A great idea and well executed. Thanks Graham.
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19th November 2023 at 1:45 pm
Thanks Gacina, glad you liked it, and I have just posted a new one about our points deduction…
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7th November 2023 at 6:34 pm
Today B.B.C post on F.B was titled:Premier League reduced to 18 clubs? I really think it may be interesting to see if this would be Everton’s nightmare and this poem is well suited for this concern.If there would be more difficult battle to stay if there were 18 teams.Great poem and somehow true.
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6th November 2023 at 4:43 pm
Ashington FC have launched a £50,000 Crowdfunder appeal to meet the increased costs of winning promotion last season, to pay for urgent stadium improvements, travel costs and equipment
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