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Richard Dunne Colossus of Moscow

Peter Goulding

Thursday, September 8th, 2011

1 Leave a comment on verse 1 0 Loudly the guns and artillery sounded,
upon our defences the Russian shells pounded,
but fears of a massacre proved quite unfounded,
for though we were quite overrun,
the Russians could only stare at us, dumbfounded
by the exploits of one Richard Dunne.

2 Leave a comment on verse 2 0 He rallied the troops with a rearguard action,
cautioned the line to avoid all distraction
and while the foe railed against every infraction,
he just glared in the September sun.
Arshavin and co derived no satisfaction
from the man-mountain called Richard Dunne.

3 Leave a comment on verse 3 0 Cannon in front of him volleyed and thundered
but he stepped in the breach when a comrade had blundered.
Was this a single man? Was it a hundred
that stopped all their missiles for fun?
The men from the east drank their vodka and wondered
at the demi-god called Richard Dunne.

4 Leave a comment on verse 4 0 Forward, still forward, the Russian ranks flooded
but he was unbowed though battered and bloodied,
his face bathed in sweat and engagingly bloodied
as the web of a legend was spun.
Many years on, the videotape will be studied
of the colossal, impassive,
undefeatably massive,
Herculean Richard Dunne.

© Peter Goulding 8th September 2011

Notes

I had thought I would never see an individual performance in an Irish shirt to rival Paul McGrath in the Giants Stadium against Italy in 1994 but Richard Dunne nearly made me cry last Tuesday. An incredible performance. Legend.

Editor’s note:
I’m not sure our UK brethren had the pleasure of seeing the highlights of a match that should have finished in double figures to the Russians, such was their complete and utter dominance.

Legend on Legend:
none other than Paul McGrath tweeted on the night his accordance with our sentiments!!

And might I say a sublime performance from both Dunne & poet. 🙂

Clik (big Dunney fan anyway)

Source: http://footballpoets.org/poems/richard-dunne-colossus-of-moscow/