On Meeting Mick Kelleher

Thirty five years in Australia and living half a World away From the north Cork Town of Millstreet and the fields of Claraghatlea When he talks of Millstreet in Duhallow he refers to it as home And that strange thing called nostalgia as of yet he's not outgrown. His wife and children are Australian but he's still faithful to the green And he still has an Irish passport though he's lived here since he was eighteen Made a few trips back to Ireland says he'll make a few trips more And lives and works in the 'Lucky Country' but he's still Irish to the core. Greyhounds are Mick Kelleher's passion hope his dream not far away Of seeing his dog race home the winner of the Melbourne cup one day He and Rosemary close to glory just one short step from renown With their great unlucky champion well performed 'Millstreet Town' Millstreet Town was so unlucky in the Melbourne cup he took a fall But luck was never with their great dog Mick and Rosemary still recall He ran against and beat the best dogs six or seven years ago And dogs like him are hard to come by as every greyhound owner know. Where he lives at Devon Meadows flat gray paddocks all around From where he was raised thousands of miles north he could see the higher ground From the house by Mary O's bog to Clara hill just a short walk And of his boyhood days near Millstreet he is never shy to talk. See the boy in Michael Kelleher and the boy lives in the man Picture him in Claraghatlea north where his paths through life began See him walking with his father through the meadow up the bog On a cool evening in Summer with their white faced mongrel dog. Where he lives at Devon Meadows miles of paddocks flat and gray And his dream to have a greyhound win the Melbourne cup one day He was raised by Clara Mountain more than half of a world away And he's still a boy from Millstreet and the fields of Claraghatlea.