I have lived in important places, times br When great events were decided, who owned br That half a rood of rock, a no-man's land br Surrounded by our pitchfork-armed claims. br I heard the Duffys shouting "Damn your soul!" br And old McCabe stripped to the waist, seen br Step the plot defying blue cast-steel - br "Here is the march along these iron stones." br That was the year of the Munich bother. Which br Was more important? I inclined br To lose my faith in Ballyrush and Gortin br Till Homer's ghost came whispering to my mind. br He said: I made the Iliad from such br A local row. Gods make their own importance.