This weekend the GPS says Maastricht. For the Ladies it is Round 4 of the Pan-European Championships and an opportunity to put a firm hand on their third successive Championship. I think they are missing one or two this weekend which may slightly weaken their hand but on current form they should have enough. The competition badly needs some more teams to step up and make things interesting.
Normally the lads would be heading to Munich for Round 1 of their Pan-E Championship. However, at last year’s European Convention, it was agreed to reduce the Pan-E from 4 to 3 tournaments and replace the vacant weekend with the Nations Cup. I find very little attractive about this format.
It hasn’t got off the ground in the intended way this year and at the weekend; we are basically left with a Benelux tournament involving Belgium, Holland and Luxembourg. Many of our lads have decided to opt out and head away on an early holiday, their football needs satisfied with the Intra Club league. I can’t blame them either. We play this opposition enough and ‘getting up’ to play them in a friendly format is not so easy.
I decided to opt out a few weeks ago as my back has been acting up for the last couple of months. With the hurling over, it puts less strain on it but in any case, it needs a break. In the past I wouldn’t have thought twice about playing but I suppose as you get older you get more conscious of preserving the body!
Despite many absences, we have a very healthy looking panel of around 20 travelling. There are many established faces and other lads who are chomping at the bit for a crack at the A’s. Andrew, Mike and Pat Barrett will make their debuts and Shane Griffin should be bursting for action.
I presume the opposition will be in the same boat as us so it could be a very even competition. The short drive and later than usual start will be a bonus for the lads so hopefully they can make it count.
Friday, July 30, 2010
Wednesday, July 28, 2010
Colin Byrne's Stag
Three days of a stag is too much to recount in detail and only two days recovery is too little to be witty so all you are getting are the highlights, through my eyes! In fact, they are more trigger points for those who were there!
Day 1
- Kev's school uniform
- The food in The Sextant
- The free round in Luigi Malones; Ireland has refound it's humbleness
- Larry Tompkins pub
- The first jaeger bomb in
- Meath man Barry bursting in the jax door to rush me downstairs to take a photo of himself and Larry Tompkins. The respect between the two counties lives long
- The Wash
- The 'stripper' in The Courthouse. Quality. Not sure who organised that
- Cluxton, for the first time, doing something useful and arranging a queue skip and free entry to Reardons/Havanas
- Cluxton's wedding ring on tour
- The delightful Cork ladies
- Post nightclub food - Tonight it was the chicken and cheese sambo - 2 for 1 - god bless recession Ireland
- Getting Ollie and Cluxton to walk me home even though their hotel was the other way. Local knowledge boy!
- Kev's (two mentions, you are practically famous) walk home via Summerhill
Day 2
- Fighting through
- Pint Bottles of Bulmers in The Old Oak before noon. I observed from a distance
- Pizza in Fast Als
- Clancy's
- The Rob Roy - where the group bound!
- Erdinger
- Burger King
- Soho; my call, not a great call
- Cork beating Limerick after extra-time. I'd committed to no jaeger bombs before the final whistle. At four points up with time up in normal time, i called the round. Naive.
- The mini-bur to god knows where
- Gap
- The Roundy for a Vedett
- Bodega
- The magnificent Cork ladies...
- ....alllez les blues in this case however.
- Fast Als pizza slices
- Aidan's disappearing act
- Paul Galvin's sister
- Arriving back to hotel to find bar full of hen parties + one unnamed member of Colin Byrne's travelling party
Day 3
- Determination to make one last stand
- Belgium GAA on tour to Kinsale
- The will we won't we go for a swim in the sea. We didn't
- The Cork match in the Market
- Alan Rowan getting the jaeger in at half-time - totally unnecessary
- Searlzy getting the jaeger ready in Oscars - totally unnecessary
- The Tap - it was closed
- Back to my place
- The supreme hospitality laid on by the folks - above and beyond
- 48 bottles of Vedett
- Quality BBQ
- The bro, his wife Zoe and their army of kids.
- The Creedons and O'Riordans
- Alan putting apple juice in Jim O'Riordans tea by accident. His wife Mary not noticing and doing the same
- The booze run; 48 bottles of Stella, 2 bottles of Jaeger and 24 cans of red bull. I thought my mother would never be the same again. In fairness, we didn't drink it all
- The White Lady. It had to be done
Day 4
- Colin Byrne's driving to Dublin. Top notch
- Sleeping on the way up
- Alan unloading his pockets at security in Dublin Airport. They were full of Vedett tops he had been picking up after The White Lady
- Getting home to bed
Day 1
- Kev's school uniform
- The food in The Sextant
- The free round in Luigi Malones; Ireland has refound it's humbleness
- Larry Tompkins pub
- The first jaeger bomb in
- Meath man Barry bursting in the jax door to rush me downstairs to take a photo of himself and Larry Tompkins. The respect between the two counties lives long
- The Wash
- The 'stripper' in The Courthouse. Quality. Not sure who organised that
- Cluxton, for the first time, doing something useful and arranging a queue skip and free entry to Reardons/Havanas
- Cluxton's wedding ring on tour
- The delightful Cork ladies
- Post nightclub food - Tonight it was the chicken and cheese sambo - 2 for 1 - god bless recession Ireland
- Getting Ollie and Cluxton to walk me home even though their hotel was the other way. Local knowledge boy!
- Kev's (two mentions, you are practically famous) walk home via Summerhill
Day 2
- Fighting through
- Pint Bottles of Bulmers in The Old Oak before noon. I observed from a distance
- Pizza in Fast Als
- Clancy's
- The Rob Roy - where the group bound!
- Erdinger
- Burger King
- Soho; my call, not a great call
- Cork beating Limerick after extra-time. I'd committed to no jaeger bombs before the final whistle. At four points up with time up in normal time, i called the round. Naive.
- The mini-bur to god knows where
- Gap
- The Roundy for a Vedett
- Bodega
- The magnificent Cork ladies...
- ....alllez les blues in this case however.
- Fast Als pizza slices
- Aidan's disappearing act
- Paul Galvin's sister
- Arriving back to hotel to find bar full of hen parties + one unnamed member of Colin Byrne's travelling party
Day 3
- Determination to make one last stand
- Belgium GAA on tour to Kinsale
- The will we won't we go for a swim in the sea. We didn't
- The Cork match in the Market
- Alan Rowan getting the jaeger in at half-time - totally unnecessary
- Searlzy getting the jaeger ready in Oscars - totally unnecessary
- The Tap - it was closed
- Back to my place
- The supreme hospitality laid on by the folks - above and beyond
- 48 bottles of Vedett
- Quality BBQ
- The bro, his wife Zoe and their army of kids.
- The Creedons and O'Riordans
- Alan putting apple juice in Jim O'Riordans tea by accident. His wife Mary not noticing and doing the same
- The booze run; 48 bottles of Stella, 2 bottles of Jaeger and 24 cans of red bull. I thought my mother would never be the same again. In fairness, we didn't drink it all
- The White Lady. It had to be done
Day 4
- Colin Byrne's driving to Dublin. Top notch
- Sleeping on the way up
- Alan unloading his pockets at security in Dublin Airport. They were full of Vedett tops he had been picking up after The White Lady
- Getting home to bed
Thursday, July 22, 2010
Harmony Restored
The Intra-Club league finished with a Leinster/Connaught combo defeating a Dublin/Munster combo in a 14-a-side affair last night. I missed the game as did many other Dubs & Munster men; all of us clearly sharing equal distaste for each other and choosing not to unite for the cause.
The result copper fastened the Leinster men’s belief that they would have been worthy opponents for the Champion Munster selection, had they had another shot. Too little too late this year gentlemen!!
We all headed to the Oak afterwards and tucked into a few crates of Maes which we had purchased with the money we gathered for the competition. Medals, with well chosen red and white ribbon, arrived from Dublin that evening, thanks to the help of Cluxton who acted as courier. We hit a snag with the trophy though. Usually, we get glass plaques but Conan had no luck getting in touch with the shop in the last week.
Bull whizzed by earlier in the week and confirmed that they were away on holidays.
Fortunately Bull had a battered old relic in his boot and after removing the engraving it was ready to be the new Intra-club trophy. This still left the problem of player of the tournament plaque. In the absence of an obvious solution, I suggested to Eoin that we get flowers! He agreed but both of us must have assumed that we were to pick them up.
He had got his girlfriend to pick up a big bunch but at the same time I’d gone shopping. My shop had no flowers though, but bizarrely I was able to buy a cactus there so that would do. Upon realising our double purchase, we agreed the cactus would be given to the ‘prickliest’ player of the tournament.
We had quite different views on the player of the tournament. Eoin was adamant that Timmy was the brightest star but I hadn’t instantly recognised it. I think it was a good call. As captain of Munster he led his team well and got forward to score points and back to turnover possession. What he can’t do though, is deliver a speech and fortunately the mic wasn’t left in his hand too long!!
Despite plenty of fairly good auditions for it, prickliest player was an easy call and went to Colin Byrne. Aside from his grumpy demeanour as referee of the Dublin/Munster game he was never far from boiling point in the matches he played in either. And this isn’t even including his reactions when you drink his water, eat his pitta or pluck his chest hair. A worthy winner, the young Wicklow man!
A magnificent session was had thereafter with Al on the guitar and Ciaran on the tin whistle to the fore; amongst many other talented musicians it must be said. Today was a bank holiday in Belgium so there was no holding back. These are always the best nights in Brussels, the midweek ones with no work the next day.
So the line has been drawn under the Intra-club league. We got plenty of football out of it and a fair share of craic too. Roll on 2011 and another jolt at the title.
The result copper fastened the Leinster men’s belief that they would have been worthy opponents for the Champion Munster selection, had they had another shot. Too little too late this year gentlemen!!
We all headed to the Oak afterwards and tucked into a few crates of Maes which we had purchased with the money we gathered for the competition. Medals, with well chosen red and white ribbon, arrived from Dublin that evening, thanks to the help of Cluxton who acted as courier. We hit a snag with the trophy though. Usually, we get glass plaques but Conan had no luck getting in touch with the shop in the last week.
Bull whizzed by earlier in the week and confirmed that they were away on holidays.
Fortunately Bull had a battered old relic in his boot and after removing the engraving it was ready to be the new Intra-club trophy. This still left the problem of player of the tournament plaque. In the absence of an obvious solution, I suggested to Eoin that we get flowers! He agreed but both of us must have assumed that we were to pick them up.
He had got his girlfriend to pick up a big bunch but at the same time I’d gone shopping. My shop had no flowers though, but bizarrely I was able to buy a cactus there so that would do. Upon realising our double purchase, we agreed the cactus would be given to the ‘prickliest’ player of the tournament.
We had quite different views on the player of the tournament. Eoin was adamant that Timmy was the brightest star but I hadn’t instantly recognised it. I think it was a good call. As captain of Munster he led his team well and got forward to score points and back to turnover possession. What he can’t do though, is deliver a speech and fortunately the mic wasn’t left in his hand too long!!
Despite plenty of fairly good auditions for it, prickliest player was an easy call and went to Colin Byrne. Aside from his grumpy demeanour as referee of the Dublin/Munster game he was never far from boiling point in the matches he played in either. And this isn’t even including his reactions when you drink his water, eat his pitta or pluck his chest hair. A worthy winner, the young Wicklow man!
A magnificent session was had thereafter with Al on the guitar and Ciaran on the tin whistle to the fore; amongst many other talented musicians it must be said. Today was a bank holiday in Belgium so there was no holding back. These are always the best nights in Brussels, the midweek ones with no work the next day.
So the line has been drawn under the Intra-club league. We got plenty of football out of it and a fair share of craic too. Roll on 2011 and another jolt at the title.
Tuesday, July 20, 2010
Intra-Club Success
The Intra-Club league has turned out to be an inspirational idea. I’m not quite sure who conceived the idea first but Eoin brought it to a reality in the end. With teams picked roughly on a provincial basis, we effectively succeeded in creating four club teams.
After the Benelux series I took a relaxed attitude considering the long gap before the next tournament. However, as Leinster ploughed into us in the opening league game, I realised there was a hell of a lot of pride at stake. Fellas were discussing tactics, positional moves etc in the build up to the games. There were proper kits, warm-ups etc. This was no jolly. The fuse was lit.
We beat Leinster on a night when it became obvious that the panel which we were given had a lot of dead rubber in it i.e. lads either injured or not interested. I was asked to make a big effort to get a full team out for the game against Dublin the following week. So I went into a recruitment drive.
Recruited were a tenacious Kenyan, a midfield dynamo from Limerick, a Cavan soccer player and a young fella from Cork who went to the same school as me at home. We beat the Dubs with a forceful performance and the tension started to surface in the last ten minutes. To say I was personally abused by my marker would not be too much of an overstatement.
I was totally obsessed with winning at this point which I openly admit may not have been in the spirit of the whole thing but lads were putting it up to us big time and I didn’t want to come out the wrong side of any battle. Hudson had the most amusing reaction. We exchanged a few ‘polite’ emails on the subject but after we beat his Dub team we went for a few pints. He got home around 04h in the morning and swore he would never play for the team again, largely because I was such a bollicks. He swore to himself that he would remember how he felt when he woke up the next morning. Needless to say, his anger subsided and he re-told this story with a big smile on his face.
There were other blow-ups too. All the games were refereed by players and that led to inevitable rows. We did get the last round of games done by qualified ref Willie Cashin and he did a good job in fairness. However, to lads’ credit, everything stayed inside the white lines and there have been no lasting issues.
After beating the Dubs we ended up hammering Connaught. I was surprised at the size of the gap on the score line as they have some very good footballers. We were rocking that night though and the familiarity between the players shone through. There were strong links in our team. All the soccer ones play on the same FC Irlande side and all the GAA ones socialise together a lot. We also got guys out consistently.
After Munster won all group games by increasing margins it was decided to declare us the winners after last weeks round. Tonight we will have a finale whereby we will join with fourth place Dublin to take on 2nd/3rd place Connaught/Leinster. We charged everyone to pay €5 to participate and that money will be used to buy trophies and medals (and beer!) which will be presented in The Old Oak tonight.
It will finish off a fantastic few weeks of football. It was a great feeling to be sitting at my desk in the last weeks; nervous about the evening’s game, wondering would we click, thinking about how to hurt the other team. Every game was punctuated with post-match analysis in a Schuman pub. Debates raged, friends fell out but in the end we all walked out the gates on the same side once again.
After the Benelux series I took a relaxed attitude considering the long gap before the next tournament. However, as Leinster ploughed into us in the opening league game, I realised there was a hell of a lot of pride at stake. Fellas were discussing tactics, positional moves etc in the build up to the games. There were proper kits, warm-ups etc. This was no jolly. The fuse was lit.
We beat Leinster on a night when it became obvious that the panel which we were given had a lot of dead rubber in it i.e. lads either injured or not interested. I was asked to make a big effort to get a full team out for the game against Dublin the following week. So I went into a recruitment drive.
Recruited were a tenacious Kenyan, a midfield dynamo from Limerick, a Cavan soccer player and a young fella from Cork who went to the same school as me at home. We beat the Dubs with a forceful performance and the tension started to surface in the last ten minutes. To say I was personally abused by my marker would not be too much of an overstatement.
I was totally obsessed with winning at this point which I openly admit may not have been in the spirit of the whole thing but lads were putting it up to us big time and I didn’t want to come out the wrong side of any battle. Hudson had the most amusing reaction. We exchanged a few ‘polite’ emails on the subject but after we beat his Dub team we went for a few pints. He got home around 04h in the morning and swore he would never play for the team again, largely because I was such a bollicks. He swore to himself that he would remember how he felt when he woke up the next morning. Needless to say, his anger subsided and he re-told this story with a big smile on his face.
There were other blow-ups too. All the games were refereed by players and that led to inevitable rows. We did get the last round of games done by qualified ref Willie Cashin and he did a good job in fairness. However, to lads’ credit, everything stayed inside the white lines and there have been no lasting issues.
After beating the Dubs we ended up hammering Connaught. I was surprised at the size of the gap on the score line as they have some very good footballers. We were rocking that night though and the familiarity between the players shone through. There were strong links in our team. All the soccer ones play on the same FC Irlande side and all the GAA ones socialise together a lot. We also got guys out consistently.
After Munster won all group games by increasing margins it was decided to declare us the winners after last weeks round. Tonight we will have a finale whereby we will join with fourth place Dublin to take on 2nd/3rd place Connaught/Leinster. We charged everyone to pay €5 to participate and that money will be used to buy trophies and medals (and beer!) which will be presented in The Old Oak tonight.
It will finish off a fantastic few weeks of football. It was a great feeling to be sitting at my desk in the last weeks; nervous about the evening’s game, wondering would we click, thinking about how to hurt the other team. Every game was punctuated with post-match analysis in a Schuman pub. Debates raged, friends fell out but in the end we all walked out the gates on the same side once again.
Double Delight
One of our greatest days surely. For the first time, the Belgian Ladies won the European Camogie Championship. They defeated the hosts in the final thanks largely to the brave goalkeeping of Sylvia McCarthy in a very tight decider against Zurich. The men had already secured the hurling title and made it ten tournament wins in a row with a controlled final performance as the heavens above Switzerland opened. No-one is quite sure but it must be a record run at this stage.
The weekend started out slightly controversially when at least six of the men's panel broke rank and hit the booze on Friday. I'd be lying if I didn't say I was fairly disgusted as were Martin and Crusher. Without having the luxury of dropping fellas, you just have to grit your teeth and get on with it. To have a blow-up would serve no purpose. If anything though, it probably focused my mind as I knew there would be some inevitable slack that the rest of us would need to pick up. In a sense, it just increased the challenge.
Upon arrival at the hotel we were informed that our room only had one bed. This is a bit of a disaster for me personally as I cannot sleep in the same bed as anybody. Heidi Klum could not even sway me. I was preparing to set up camp on the floor and leave Colin have the bed when he arrived and said Clare and Steph had a spare bed and would swap. For this I am eternally grateful. However, it was all in vain as Colin returned around 3am and proceeded to rock the foundations of the IBIS with his snoring.
Our opponents on the day came in the form of Lux, Paris and Zurich. As always in Zurich the playing surface was absolutely incredible. The pitch was a little narrow but quite long. It was marked out with the 13, 20 etc which is a bit novel over here. The day was a darkened a little by the hanging clouds which seemed to further intensify the stifling dead heat. We went into the ring against the hosts first and they came at us relentlessly. It was intense stuff and they put serious pressure on us every time we even looked at the ball. The 3-9 to 1-5 score line in our favour was extremely flattering but the game was perfect for us as it really woke us up. The only downside was losing forward talisman Eoin Sheanon with a hand injury.
Lux were next up. They have some capable students in their ranks this year but they are missing the core of permanent Lux based lads which they have had in the past. Still, even without them, the team has grown with every tournament. Again, we had a ding dong battle and went point to point for the duration. In the end we scraped through again, 0-7 to 0-5. That made the Paris game a dead rubber from our perspective as we had already qualified. Paris have worked hard this year to get things going down there and they have a core of capable committed lads. On Saturday they were joined by some Lakenheath players to make up the team. It's not easy to travel when you don't have eleven but to their credit, they have done so this year. Their midfield duo of Dave Lennon and Soupy shone as bright as anyone on Saturday. We hit top gear against them on this occasion though and clinched the win.
This left a rematch with Zurich to decide the title. We expected a huge battle and were not disappointed. Martin made some shrewd switches for the final. He moved Fergal from full forward to full back, with Adrian going the other way. Timmy and Jim formed a new midfield partnership with Shane moving to the wing. Ciaran occupied the other wing forward slot and it was his first time pull that led to Michael Hough's first goal. We tacked on two more points and looked like we were cruising. Zurich were full of pride and resilience though and edged back into it slowly but surely. Our defence looked rock solid though and Crusher totally nullified their danger man, in what was one of his finest performances.
Martin, playing in goal, managed the balls superbly!! After a day when they rained in on the neighbour’s garden continuously, there were few balls left in the final minutes. However, when we got a free deep inside our own half late on, he rummaged deep and produced a sparkling new O'Neills. It left me no option but to go for the point. I struck it well and straight. With frees from distance the ball is airborne for a long time and it's hard to judge If you have the distance. At some point though, the players will stop following it in, the keeper rests his hurley on the crossbar and then you know it will drop the right side. It was the insurance score in a 1-9 to 1-5 victory.
We've grinded out our victories this year. The competition is balancing out and we don't have the hunger that others have which is understandable considering our run. Fellas like Shane Ryan and Timmy have been massive in that regard. They only joined up this year so still have the hunger in abundance. Our captain Phil Cushen has it too. He was good when he arrived but he has come on leaps and bounds as a hurler in the last year or two. He was a great choice as captain and a great man to play along side. I watched the DVD 'Ringy' on the train on the way down. The word warrior was used over and over again. It's a great word to label a hurler with and Crusher would wear it well if his current nickname wasn't so good already.
The post-tournament festivities were truly excellent. Often, few teams travel to Zurich but on this occasion there were four in each code. It swelled the party and made for an absolutely fantastic night. A lot of shook bodies surfaced on Sunday morning and headed for the 11h30 train. The resilience was not to be broke and armed with bagfulls of cans, we boarded the choo choo to Brussels. The banter flowed as freely as the beer the whole way back
We rocked into Schuman station some time before 20h and the we marched on for a night cup. Bodies started disappearing after the rousing rendition of ‘We are the champions’. It was a magnificent weekend for the club. There were so many times when we struggled to bring teams to places like Zurich. Now we can bring teams and supporters on the long haul! I said it over and over but it needs to be hammered home. These are the good times, they won’t last forever so savour the day.
Thursday, July 15, 2010
Marauding Munster Take Inaugrial Title
More shameless theft of other men's handywork. My views on this magnificent excapade coming soon.....
Dublin Hopes Pearsed by Lustrous LeinsterReport
by Oliver O'Callaghan
Dublin 2-9
Leinster 4-11
With the "Coalition of the Willing" beaten by "Mercenaries Inc." the Doobs still had a glimmer of hope of making the final. Standing in their way would be Leinster Lite playing for the not insignificant prize of their pride (at least half of this team has been seen marching for Pride).
As soon as the game started Leinster had the look of a team unshackled by their position, while the Dubs seemed to be toiling under the pressure of expectation, living up to the clichés about their county. Leinster grabbed the early initiative which they would refuse to surrender throughout the match, through a classy finish from Colly Byrne who would later add a bitten tongue to his litany of injuries this summer. Scores continued to flow for Leinster including a fisted goal from Conor Aylward in a blatant, pathetic attempt to wrest the title of "Goalpuncher Extraordinaire" from an unnamed injured player.
Halftime saw the Dubs reeling but not out of it yet. Alec Elliot's goal gave them hope albeit the type of hope usually found in gambling addicts spending their last fiver on scratch cards. Eoin Ó Seanain could be seen making apoplectic gestures to his teammates during the team talk while captain Ciaran Hudson looking on with a distant, slightly glazed look in his eyes.
The second half saw Leinster continue in cruise control giving a lesson in counterattacking football. O Seanain was forced to come deep to look for the ball because Dave "Bonecrusher" Burke was all over him like a cheap suit. In the midst of this classy Leinster performance Crusher seemed to reinvent himself as marauding halfback regularly defying his nosebleeds to pass the halfway line. Similarly Emmett "Devine" Devine bombed forward at every opportunity looking to fill his boots but he must have insulted his teammates for he was ignored more times than Dave Collins at a singles' night. Fair play to man-mountain Sean O'Connor who got a goal by utilising the skills learnt in his many other sports including soccer, basketball, baseball, archery, dressage, the luge, coxless fours sculling, and interpretive dance.
The game was killed off as a contest by a classy goal by Pearse O'Caoimh whose languid style and devil-may-care demeanour belie a steely determination and a self-belief known only to the most narcissistic of souls.
Ultimately the Dubs will feel that personnel and past performance should have made this contest more competitive and will be disappointed in a somewhat abject display, but credit to the lads from Leinster who could have been in the final themselves had the Fates blown the winds of fortune in their favour during previous encounters.
Man of the Match: Pearse O'Caoimh
Outstanding display from Munster sees them take inter-club tournament as Connaught/Ulster/Clare (CUC hereafter) exit with a whimper.
Report by Pearse O'Caoimh
Munster 3-13
Connaught/Ulster/Clare 1-4
Both Munster and CUC came into the final round of games unbeaten as the crowds swelled around parc 50 in anticipation at what was expected to be the showcase match of the tournament. Though a quick glance at the sides during the warm up told a different story. Munster were boasting a particularly inflated squad of 14 seasoned pros while CUC looked to have the bare minimum to field a team. Both provinces however, especially Ulster, have come through worse in the past (historically speaking) so to write them off would have been a massive error and one this reporter was certainly not going to make.
The opening exchanges were tense and yielded few scores but it wasn't long before Munster started to impose their superiority on the game. After Clareman James O'Shaughnessy pointed early on for his side from a sideline, CUC were forced to wait until the dying moments of the first half for their next score. Michael Hough, formidable as ever, was causing huge problems for the CUC defence and was picking off points with relative ease. Munster were an absolute joy to watch at times as Daves Barrett and Collins on the field understanding continued to blossom in the half back line. Their build up play was patient, their passing was consistent and this told on the score board as CUC's hopes of a top of the table finish began to fade.
There was a nifty little new young lad playing in the full back line for Munster who deserves mention for an impressive debut. His presence, though welcomed, adds to the air of discontent within Belgian GAA circles about the mysterious and steady expansion of the Munster squad with unknowns. This was reflected by their increasingly emphatic results since the beginning of the campaign.
This reporter found himself on umpire duty during the match and noted the contrast in mood between both goalkeepers as he fished for quotes and insight. Romadrian in the Munster goal was brash and confident proclaiming "Munster is the best" while Kevin Keary in the CUC goal cut a lonely figure as time and time again, he was forced to collect the ball from the imaginary nets he had forgotten to bring.
Paul Hagan's goal midway through the second half looked to renew CUC's faith and passion but Munster just proved too strong all over the pitch. Not even the famous Olof Gill holler could spur his men on for what would have been an amazing comeback.
Such was the fluidity of Munster's play that I could not pick a man of the match. This reporter recalls a unique moment in 2008 when after a mesmerising performance from his own county in an all-Ireland hurling final, the manager was in fact awarded the man of the match accolade. Therefore, David Barrett deserves the credit here.
Dublin Hopes Pearsed by Lustrous LeinsterReport
by Oliver O'Callaghan
Dublin 2-9
Leinster 4-11
With the "Coalition of the Willing" beaten by "Mercenaries Inc." the Doobs still had a glimmer of hope of making the final. Standing in their way would be Leinster Lite playing for the not insignificant prize of their pride (at least half of this team has been seen marching for Pride).
As soon as the game started Leinster had the look of a team unshackled by their position, while the Dubs seemed to be toiling under the pressure of expectation, living up to the clichés about their county. Leinster grabbed the early initiative which they would refuse to surrender throughout the match, through a classy finish from Colly Byrne who would later add a bitten tongue to his litany of injuries this summer. Scores continued to flow for Leinster including a fisted goal from Conor Aylward in a blatant, pathetic attempt to wrest the title of "Goalpuncher Extraordinaire" from an unnamed injured player.
Halftime saw the Dubs reeling but not out of it yet. Alec Elliot's goal gave them hope albeit the type of hope usually found in gambling addicts spending their last fiver on scratch cards. Eoin Ó Seanain could be seen making apoplectic gestures to his teammates during the team talk while captain Ciaran Hudson looking on with a distant, slightly glazed look in his eyes.
The second half saw Leinster continue in cruise control giving a lesson in counterattacking football. O Seanain was forced to come deep to look for the ball because Dave "Bonecrusher" Burke was all over him like a cheap suit. In the midst of this classy Leinster performance Crusher seemed to reinvent himself as marauding halfback regularly defying his nosebleeds to pass the halfway line. Similarly Emmett "Devine" Devine bombed forward at every opportunity looking to fill his boots but he must have insulted his teammates for he was ignored more times than Dave Collins at a singles' night. Fair play to man-mountain Sean O'Connor who got a goal by utilising the skills learnt in his many other sports including soccer, basketball, baseball, archery, dressage, the luge, coxless fours sculling, and interpretive dance.
The game was killed off as a contest by a classy goal by Pearse O'Caoimh whose languid style and devil-may-care demeanour belie a steely determination and a self-belief known only to the most narcissistic of souls.
Ultimately the Dubs will feel that personnel and past performance should have made this contest more competitive and will be disappointed in a somewhat abject display, but credit to the lads from Leinster who could have been in the final themselves had the Fates blown the winds of fortune in their favour during previous encounters.
Man of the Match: Pearse O'Caoimh
Outstanding display from Munster sees them take inter-club tournament as Connaught/Ulster/Clare (CUC hereafter) exit with a whimper.
Report by Pearse O'Caoimh
Munster 3-13
Connaught/Ulster/Clare 1-4
Both Munster and CUC came into the final round of games unbeaten as the crowds swelled around parc 50 in anticipation at what was expected to be the showcase match of the tournament. Though a quick glance at the sides during the warm up told a different story. Munster were boasting a particularly inflated squad of 14 seasoned pros while CUC looked to have the bare minimum to field a team. Both provinces however, especially Ulster, have come through worse in the past (historically speaking) so to write them off would have been a massive error and one this reporter was certainly not going to make.
The opening exchanges were tense and yielded few scores but it wasn't long before Munster started to impose their superiority on the game. After Clareman James O'Shaughnessy pointed early on for his side from a sideline, CUC were forced to wait until the dying moments of the first half for their next score. Michael Hough, formidable as ever, was causing huge problems for the CUC defence and was picking off points with relative ease. Munster were an absolute joy to watch at times as Daves Barrett and Collins on the field understanding continued to blossom in the half back line. Their build up play was patient, their passing was consistent and this told on the score board as CUC's hopes of a top of the table finish began to fade.
There was a nifty little new young lad playing in the full back line for Munster who deserves mention for an impressive debut. His presence, though welcomed, adds to the air of discontent within Belgian GAA circles about the mysterious and steady expansion of the Munster squad with unknowns. This was reflected by their increasingly emphatic results since the beginning of the campaign.
This reporter found himself on umpire duty during the match and noted the contrast in mood between both goalkeepers as he fished for quotes and insight. Romadrian in the Munster goal was brash and confident proclaiming "Munster is the best" while Kevin Keary in the CUC goal cut a lonely figure as time and time again, he was forced to collect the ball from the imaginary nets he had forgotten to bring.
Paul Hagan's goal midway through the second half looked to renew CUC's faith and passion but Munster just proved too strong all over the pitch. Not even the famous Olof Gill holler could spur his men on for what would have been an amazing comeback.
Such was the fluidity of Munster's play that I could not pick a man of the match. This reporter recalls a unique moment in 2008 when after a mesmerising performance from his own county in an all-Ireland hurling final, the manager was in fact awarded the man of the match accolade. Therefore, David Barrett deserves the credit here.
Wednesday, July 14, 2010
Curtain Comes Down In Zurich
Zurich is my least favourite tournament by a distance. It’s hard to get to, opposition teams often opt out, it’s expensive and the pitch is a pain in the arse to get to and involves a walk, a tram, a train and another long walk. We will board the train in Schuman shortly after 13h on Friday and between then and Sunday at 20h we will spend 16hrs on a train, 14 hours in bed, 3 hours getting to and from the pitch, 9 hours at the pitch and about 6 hours in the pub. There will be a few spare hours to eat and that kind of stuff.
Still, you must travel to these far flung places, especially considering Zurich are on the outskirts of the European hurling world, which is a pretty grim place to be. They are putting huge work in and it is the duty of other teams to travel regardless of whether the Championship has been decided. Their club badly needs days like this to drive things on there.
We will certainly live up to our part of the bargain and 27 people will board a train and be followed by 4 more on the road down. Our men have already secured the European Championship and seek their tenth tournament win in a row. It was here the run started two years ago and we’ll be hell bent on ensuring it doesn’t finish in the same place. We got a big scare in Belgium so there should be no complacency in the camp.
We travel with a balanced and strong panel, even if one or two of the big guns are missing. Crusher returns to take the captaincy and he will be a massive addition to our defence. His pedigree is unquestioned.
Our ladies have a big day in front of them. Their first European Championship is within their grasp. Win and it comes back to Brussels. They will have to overcome the loss of Ciara Farrell, player of the tournament the last day out but should have enough to get over the line.
Two years ago the train journey was shared by only a few of us. The stories emanating from the epic voyage back up the mainland to Brussels have ensured a bumper Belgium G.A.A. carriage this weekend. It promises to be an almighty session and hopefully a successful end to this year’s Championships.
Still, you must travel to these far flung places, especially considering Zurich are on the outskirts of the European hurling world, which is a pretty grim place to be. They are putting huge work in and it is the duty of other teams to travel regardless of whether the Championship has been decided. Their club badly needs days like this to drive things on there.
We will certainly live up to our part of the bargain and 27 people will board a train and be followed by 4 more on the road down. Our men have already secured the European Championship and seek their tenth tournament win in a row. It was here the run started two years ago and we’ll be hell bent on ensuring it doesn’t finish in the same place. We got a big scare in Belgium so there should be no complacency in the camp.
We travel with a balanced and strong panel, even if one or two of the big guns are missing. Crusher returns to take the captaincy and he will be a massive addition to our defence. His pedigree is unquestioned.
Our ladies have a big day in front of them. Their first European Championship is within their grasp. Win and it comes back to Brussels. They will have to overcome the loss of Ciara Farrell, player of the tournament the last day out but should have enough to get over the line.
Two years ago the train journey was shared by only a few of us. The stories emanating from the epic voyage back up the mainland to Brussels have ensured a bumper Belgium G.A.A. carriage this weekend. It promises to be an almighty session and hopefully a successful end to this year’s Championships.
The Importance of Influence
Is it the most powerful tool of a successful leader? Possibly so. I’ll leave that one the my Dad as he likes to ponder it more than me. Still, whatever its place in the grand scheme of things, it is important. Those involved in training teams must have it in some capacity if they are to succeed. In that sense, I can probably claim some traces of it as can Conan and Colin who have been pillars of our set-up.
This year we’ve seen it in different ways. Rochey’s early season command of sessions showed he has the respect of the lads and thus can successfully cajole them into different forms of punishment.
It seems too long since we mentioned our friend Mike McGurn. He has possibly had the biggest influence on everyone this year. He opened guys’ eyes to so many things from weight training to training intensity to diet and hydration.
In terms of the weight training, his visit coincided perfectly with a deal we brokered with World Class gym, just off Place Luxembourg. Memberships for as low as €30 a month are on offer in one of the most convenient and friendly gyms around. Go in there any evening and you’ll bump into the lads in the weights room. Tonight it was John Harkin. Last Friday it was Collins, Diarmuid, Harkin, Paul Hagan, The Fridge and Shane Griff. Little things like this give lads an opportunity to mix off the pitch and out of the pub. McGurn hit the switch.
Different guys will have more of a background in gym work and can step up and take the lead in showing the rest of us. These days its Diarmuid. He has a wealth of experience from his rugby background and is generous with his time. Lads aren’t in there to be like a Dublin footballer, they are just keen to expand their exercise options.
Diet and Hydration is another one the topics McGurn touched upon. Ollie told me a couple of months ago that he hadn’t touched a frozen pizza in months. You see lots more lads carry water around, even when we are sitting around watching matches. Maybe the best example was last week when we were camping. When lunch time arrived, the container loads of pasta came out. Fruit rather than chocolate was the snack thereafter. I don’t know about the lads, but McGurn influenced my diet and hydration alot (although there is a bit to go yet!!).
Getting back to the training, again, Diarmuid is bringing a lot to the table. We’ll tap into his knowledge about speed work and that kind of thing while he is here. Also, his attitude at training is top notch. He comes to work and that influences others.
We were lucky with the others that arrived on the boat with him. I met Griff and The Fridge in the gym last week. It was a baking Friday night. Our default option would be to hit Place Lux for 10 hours drinking but the lads had other plans, preferring to chill out and head for the cinema. Shane Ryan is another. His influence has come to the fore in recruitment. There’s no lad in the Parliament who hasn’t been invited along to join up.
Of course we have an abundance of others who have laid their mark but the guys above brought new and different things to the table this year. We’ve seen the power of influence all through the club this year. Key to unleashing it is for the powers to be to release it and not mind their patch too securely. Maybe I did it in the last couple of years, shooting down ideas too easily and trying to dictate too much. Possibly it was required in some ways as we grew but this year it became clear that others have a lot to offer, right back to Johnny Phelan’s mail to McGurn back in January.
This year we’ve seen it in different ways. Rochey’s early season command of sessions showed he has the respect of the lads and thus can successfully cajole them into different forms of punishment.
It seems too long since we mentioned our friend Mike McGurn. He has possibly had the biggest influence on everyone this year. He opened guys’ eyes to so many things from weight training to training intensity to diet and hydration.
In terms of the weight training, his visit coincided perfectly with a deal we brokered with World Class gym, just off Place Luxembourg. Memberships for as low as €30 a month are on offer in one of the most convenient and friendly gyms around. Go in there any evening and you’ll bump into the lads in the weights room. Tonight it was John Harkin. Last Friday it was Collins, Diarmuid, Harkin, Paul Hagan, The Fridge and Shane Griff. Little things like this give lads an opportunity to mix off the pitch and out of the pub. McGurn hit the switch.
Different guys will have more of a background in gym work and can step up and take the lead in showing the rest of us. These days its Diarmuid. He has a wealth of experience from his rugby background and is generous with his time. Lads aren’t in there to be like a Dublin footballer, they are just keen to expand their exercise options.
Diet and Hydration is another one the topics McGurn touched upon. Ollie told me a couple of months ago that he hadn’t touched a frozen pizza in months. You see lots more lads carry water around, even when we are sitting around watching matches. Maybe the best example was last week when we were camping. When lunch time arrived, the container loads of pasta came out. Fruit rather than chocolate was the snack thereafter. I don’t know about the lads, but McGurn influenced my diet and hydration alot (although there is a bit to go yet!!).
Getting back to the training, again, Diarmuid is bringing a lot to the table. We’ll tap into his knowledge about speed work and that kind of thing while he is here. Also, his attitude at training is top notch. He comes to work and that influences others.
We were lucky with the others that arrived on the boat with him. I met Griff and The Fridge in the gym last week. It was a baking Friday night. Our default option would be to hit Place Lux for 10 hours drinking but the lads had other plans, preferring to chill out and head for the cinema. Shane Ryan is another. His influence has come to the fore in recruitment. There’s no lad in the Parliament who hasn’t been invited along to join up.
Of course we have an abundance of others who have laid their mark but the guys above brought new and different things to the table this year. We’ve seen the power of influence all through the club this year. Key to unleashing it is for the powers to be to release it and not mind their patch too securely. Maybe I did it in the last couple of years, shooting down ideas too easily and trying to dictate too much. Possibly it was required in some ways as we grew but this year it became clear that others have a lot to offer, right back to Johnny Phelan’s mail to McGurn back in January.
Friday, July 9, 2010
Munster March Towards Final
Another invaluable contribution from Eoin Sheanon...
Dublin: 0-8
Cork, Tipperary, Limerick, Waterford, Laois, Offaly, Cavan, England, Kenya, Romania, half the FC Irlande football team, anyone who has ever stepped into the hairy for a pint and the referee: 2-10
On the way up from Strasbourg yesterday afternoon the man on the radio told me that there was a heat wave in France and that all old people should stay indoors.
No wonder then that the Dublin team was without Fergal Mythen, Martin Crowley, Conan Mac Oscair and Denis O'Sullivan. What with a combined age of 603, better the lads stayed at home with their slippers and fixadent, than suffer heat stroke out in the Parc 50. It did leave Dublin extremely short and with only ten men in the stifling heat the Dubs struggled to impose the running game that had been so effective against The West last week.
The game started at breakneck speed and the inevitable schmozzle erupted after only a few minutes played. Timmy went in with the boot on cyclist Phil Roche and Rochey, rightly so, lost the plot. Those watching feared for the mild mannered Cork man who was only going for the ball, like.
As Munster settled into a rythm they passed the ball superbly around at the back with Barrett, Collins and McGrath creating space for the overlap at every opportunity. Hough was causing major problems and every time he got possession it felt as if a score was coming. Dublin went in at the break 1-5 to 0-1 down and were struggling. They came out fighting in the second half though and through Matti, Alec and Johnny O kicked some very good scores. The second Munster goal from Cavan man Ollie killed off the Dublin challenge although not before some great goalkeeping by Adrian Beau in the Munster net who had proved a thorn in Dublin's side just when a goal would have brought them right back into the game. Notable performances by Adrian, as mentioned, Collins and O'Donnell in midifeld and Matti who worked his socks off for the Dubs against the run of play. Barrett must be criticized for not having the balls to go for a hop ball early in the second half. When taunted to grow a pair and go for it, the contrary little mucksavage retorted: "' I'm too small, like". Yes indeed.
Man of the Match to Michael Hough with some great scoring from out the field and a constant threat in front of the Dublin goal.
Leinster 0-8
The West 2-10
By the time the game started the heat had reduced considerably, which worked to the advantage of the West. Sitting by the radio Big Liam heard that old people were allowed back out again and rushed down to Parc 50 to lend a hand to his fellow bog-munchers. His presence made a big difference, no pun intended, and one wonders if he could have swung a victory for them the last day against the Dubs.
This was a much more fluid encounter and only for two sloppy enough goals Leinster could easily have shaded it. The West had the first sight on goal as the Antrim Maradona who looked more like the Antrim Yakubu tried to catch the ball in front of the goal when a simple punch would have done the trick. He later turned into the Antrim Drogba coming off the field with a very sore hand. The West pushed on though with Big Liam causing all sorts of problems up front and Crusher and Burkey under constant pressure at the back.
Whereas Dublin were simply outclassed Leinster were left to rue some bad wides on a night when they became the first team to exit the race to become Belgium's best club side. Pearse was excellent at times for Leinster and kicked some great scores but the experience of Giller and James O'Connor in midfield shone through as they stamped their authority as the came wore on.
A solid game of end to end football created the outstanding player of the evening in Olog Fill who kicked some masterful scores from all sorts of angles, making it an easy choice for Man of the Match.
Dublin: 0-8
Cork, Tipperary, Limerick, Waterford, Laois, Offaly, Cavan, England, Kenya, Romania, half the FC Irlande football team, anyone who has ever stepped into the hairy for a pint and the referee: 2-10
On the way up from Strasbourg yesterday afternoon the man on the radio told me that there was a heat wave in France and that all old people should stay indoors.
No wonder then that the Dublin team was without Fergal Mythen, Martin Crowley, Conan Mac Oscair and Denis O'Sullivan. What with a combined age of 603, better the lads stayed at home with their slippers and fixadent, than suffer heat stroke out in the Parc 50. It did leave Dublin extremely short and with only ten men in the stifling heat the Dubs struggled to impose the running game that had been so effective against The West last week.
The game started at breakneck speed and the inevitable schmozzle erupted after only a few minutes played. Timmy went in with the boot on cyclist Phil Roche and Rochey, rightly so, lost the plot. Those watching feared for the mild mannered Cork man who was only going for the ball, like.
As Munster settled into a rythm they passed the ball superbly around at the back with Barrett, Collins and McGrath creating space for the overlap at every opportunity. Hough was causing major problems and every time he got possession it felt as if a score was coming. Dublin went in at the break 1-5 to 0-1 down and were struggling. They came out fighting in the second half though and through Matti, Alec and Johnny O kicked some very good scores. The second Munster goal from Cavan man Ollie killed off the Dublin challenge although not before some great goalkeeping by Adrian Beau in the Munster net who had proved a thorn in Dublin's side just when a goal would have brought them right back into the game. Notable performances by Adrian, as mentioned, Collins and O'Donnell in midifeld and Matti who worked his socks off for the Dubs against the run of play. Barrett must be criticized for not having the balls to go for a hop ball early in the second half. When taunted to grow a pair and go for it, the contrary little mucksavage retorted: "' I'm too small, like". Yes indeed.
Man of the Match to Michael Hough with some great scoring from out the field and a constant threat in front of the Dublin goal.
Leinster 0-8
The West 2-10
By the time the game started the heat had reduced considerably, which worked to the advantage of the West. Sitting by the radio Big Liam heard that old people were allowed back out again and rushed down to Parc 50 to lend a hand to his fellow bog-munchers. His presence made a big difference, no pun intended, and one wonders if he could have swung a victory for them the last day against the Dubs.
This was a much more fluid encounter and only for two sloppy enough goals Leinster could easily have shaded it. The West had the first sight on goal as the Antrim Maradona who looked more like the Antrim Yakubu tried to catch the ball in front of the goal when a simple punch would have done the trick. He later turned into the Antrim Drogba coming off the field with a very sore hand. The West pushed on though with Big Liam causing all sorts of problems up front and Crusher and Burkey under constant pressure at the back.
Whereas Dublin were simply outclassed Leinster were left to rue some bad wides on a night when they became the first team to exit the race to become Belgium's best club side. Pearse was excellent at times for Leinster and kicked some great scores but the experience of Giller and James O'Connor in midfield shone through as they stamped their authority as the came wore on.
A solid game of end to end football created the outstanding player of the evening in Olog Fill who kicked some masterful scores from all sorts of angles, making it an easy choice for Man of the Match.
Thursday, July 1, 2010
Munster Take Early Lead
I'll blatantly steal Eoin's (he's organising) mail to everyone today and let it suffice as the latest blog entry. As you will see, the league got off to a great start last night and the buzz created during and after confirmed it is a worthwhile adventure....
Well done to everyone involved yesterday. Fantastic evening's football and an even better session after!
The Dublin versus the West game was a real humdinger and a tale of two halves. The West domiated the first half with Giller marshalling midfield and Francis in flying form scoring three points from play. In the second half Alec and Diarmaid, with the outside of his boot, completely controlled the centre of the park. Hudson had a fantastic second half keeping Francis scoreless but despite O'Dowd keeping the scoreboard ticking over, the West needed a hero. Cometh the hour, Cometh the man, and the self described Antrim Maradona, Oliver O'Callaghan was on hand to get in between the Davide, our imported Dub who hadn't put a foot wrong and Fergal who had been solid all evening to fist home an unlikely winner and rescue a well-deserved point for Liam-Kelly-less West. Special mention to Paul Hagan who won a heap of possession around the half forward line and Alan Rowan who really got going in the second half but Man of the Match has to go to Oliver O'Callaghan with the never-say-die attitude that earned his team the draw.
Leinster v. Munster was a scrappy affair with Munster edging it by just two points. Munster went in 5 points up at the break and looked like they were coasting. Collins hit some great points and Barrett seemed to be always in the right place at the back. Shane Griffin was keeping good tabs on Jim though and Leinster fought back gallantly with a great goal by Collie Byrne setting up a frantic final few minutes. With Leinster getting right back into it, up the field came Timmy with a fantastic goal that in the end killed off the Leinster comeback. Timmy was excellent for the 40 minutes and takes the Man of the Match.
Remember that the next round of matches are next Thursday. As per yesterday please be on time and go relatively easy on the sauce the night before.
Eoin
Thursday 8th July
19:15 Dublin v. Munster
Referee - Colin Byrne
Umpires - Enda Rice, Kevin Keary, Johnny Phelan, Shane Griffin
20:15 Leinster v. Connaught
Referee - Phil Roche
Umpires - Alec Elliott, Fergal Mythen, Tom Lane, Michael Hough
Well done to everyone involved yesterday. Fantastic evening's football and an even better session after!
The Dublin versus the West game was a real humdinger and a tale of two halves. The West domiated the first half with Giller marshalling midfield and Francis in flying form scoring three points from play. In the second half Alec and Diarmaid, with the outside of his boot, completely controlled the centre of the park. Hudson had a fantastic second half keeping Francis scoreless but despite O'Dowd keeping the scoreboard ticking over, the West needed a hero. Cometh the hour, Cometh the man, and the self described Antrim Maradona, Oliver O'Callaghan was on hand to get in between the Davide, our imported Dub who hadn't put a foot wrong and Fergal who had been solid all evening to fist home an unlikely winner and rescue a well-deserved point for Liam-Kelly-less West. Special mention to Paul Hagan who won a heap of possession around the half forward line and Alan Rowan who really got going in the second half but Man of the Match has to go to Oliver O'Callaghan with the never-say-die attitude that earned his team the draw.
Leinster v. Munster was a scrappy affair with Munster edging it by just two points. Munster went in 5 points up at the break and looked like they were coasting. Collins hit some great points and Barrett seemed to be always in the right place at the back. Shane Griffin was keeping good tabs on Jim though and Leinster fought back gallantly with a great goal by Collie Byrne setting up a frantic final few minutes. With Leinster getting right back into it, up the field came Timmy with a fantastic goal that in the end killed off the Leinster comeback. Timmy was excellent for the 40 minutes and takes the Man of the Match.
Remember that the next round of matches are next Thursday. As per yesterday please be on time and go relatively easy on the sauce the night before.
Eoin
Thursday 8th July
19:15 Dublin v. Munster
Referee - Colin Byrne
Umpires - Enda Rice, Kevin Keary, Johnny Phelan, Shane Griffin
20:15 Leinster v. Connaught
Referee - Phil Roche
Umpires - Alec Elliott, Fergal Mythen, Tom Lane, Michael Hough
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