Abusing Democracy
13/05/08 22:09 Filed in: Politics
It had to happen.
A local protest group has hitched their
trailer to the anti-Lisbon Treaty
wagon.
Activists in Roscommon campaigning for the retention
of hospital services in the county town have urged
their supporters to reject the Lisbon Treaty as a
way of getting the government's attention.
Now I am glad that Ireland has a written constitution, even when it means holding a referendum on something or other almost every year. However, it does leave us vulnerable to political gobshitery such as this. We are the only electorate in the 27-member EU who will have the privilege of voting on whether or not we approve of the Lisbon Treaty. Therefore we should cast our vote based on our opinion of the treaty, and that alone. Using it as a proxy to highlight a completely separate issue is immature and an abuse of the democratic right we are privileged to possess.
Now I am glad that Ireland has a written constitution, even when it means holding a referendum on something or other almost every year. However, it does leave us vulnerable to political gobshitery such as this. We are the only electorate in the 27-member EU who will have the privilege of voting on whether or not we approve of the Lisbon Treaty. Therefore we should cast our vote based on our opinion of the treaty, and that alone. Using it as a proxy to highlight a completely separate issue is immature and an abuse of the democratic right we are privileged to possess.
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DK Has A Pop At DK
13/05/08 07:53 Filed in: Sport
From today's
Indo:
David Knox, The Goys' backs coach is perplexed by Declan Kidney's appointment as Irish national coach.
"The Irish international team badly needed a foreign coach."
Like an Aussie, maybe? One with blond hair?
"Kidney's methods, like making the team train in the away strip they'd be wearing at Gloucester in the Heineken Cup and playing them a tape of the crowd noise at Kingsholm to get them used to the conditions, are bizarre. I would be embarrassed as a coach for people to know that."
Lemme see, who won that quarter-final? Oh yes, it was Munster, wasn't it?
Knox was also heavily critical of Munster's playing style under Kidney. He acknowledges their successes in the Heineken Cup but maintains they have achieved glory in that competition at the expense of any style or flair.
In a straight choice between "glory" and "style or flair", I think I'll pick…hmmm…tough one this…
He also has a go at Ronan O'Gara:
"I have been here, coaching in Ireland for three years, and I have never seen that guy create space for anybody. I've never seen him put anyone into a hole."
And that's the be-all and end-all of everything, is it? Controlling the pace and tempo of the game, gaining field position, etc., means nothing?
"Munster's record is fantastic but you can't tell me they play anything but 10- man rugby."
Come on Dave! Admit it. You're going for the Munster job, aren't you?
"Munster get 30 points on the board by grinding away and when the other team is shot, they try and throw the ball around a bit. Then people say, what a great team. It's rubbish."
Eh, which Irish team is in the final of the Heineken Cup? The only one to get out of their pool this season?
"If Doug Howlett had played for Leinster this season, he would have ended up scoring 30 tries."
And if your Auntie had bollocks, she'd be your uncle. What about your own Galacticos? Any of them score 30 tries this season?
"He's seen as the greatest buy of the year but how often has he touched the ball? Maybe 10 times in a real attacking sense? I'm talking about serious attacking play, not chasing kick-aheads. Yet this is one of the world's premier wings. They have no idea how to use him."
If anything, Howlett's defensive work alone has more than justified what it cost to sign him.
"And the two other guys they brought in from the southern hemisphere, Rua Tipoki and Lifeimi Mafi, hardly ever played Super 14 rugby I think Tipoki made a couple of appearances off the bench. They are both steppers, they never pass the ball."
But they're playing Heineken Cup Rugby at the highest level and will start in the final on Sunday week, while your charges will be sitting on their orses in Kiely's, roysh, necking the Heinos and watching the game.
He goes on to rail against "the paranoid world of Irish [international] rugby", and I actually agree with most of what he says there.
David Knox, The Goys' backs coach is perplexed by Declan Kidney's appointment as Irish national coach.
"The Irish international team badly needed a foreign coach."
Like an Aussie, maybe? One with blond hair?
"Kidney's methods, like making the team train in the away strip they'd be wearing at Gloucester in the Heineken Cup and playing them a tape of the crowd noise at Kingsholm to get them used to the conditions, are bizarre. I would be embarrassed as a coach for people to know that."
Lemme see, who won that quarter-final? Oh yes, it was Munster, wasn't it?
Knox was also heavily critical of Munster's playing style under Kidney. He acknowledges their successes in the Heineken Cup but maintains they have achieved glory in that competition at the expense of any style or flair.
In a straight choice between "glory" and "style or flair", I think I'll pick…hmmm…tough one this…
He also has a go at Ronan O'Gara:
"I have been here, coaching in Ireland for three years, and I have never seen that guy create space for anybody. I've never seen him put anyone into a hole."
And that's the be-all and end-all of everything, is it? Controlling the pace and tempo of the game, gaining field position, etc., means nothing?
"Munster's record is fantastic but you can't tell me they play anything but 10- man rugby."
Come on Dave! Admit it. You're going for the Munster job, aren't you?
"Munster get 30 points on the board by grinding away and when the other team is shot, they try and throw the ball around a bit. Then people say, what a great team. It's rubbish."
Eh, which Irish team is in the final of the Heineken Cup? The only one to get out of their pool this season?
"If Doug Howlett had played for Leinster this season, he would have ended up scoring 30 tries."
And if your Auntie had bollocks, she'd be your uncle. What about your own Galacticos? Any of them score 30 tries this season?
"He's seen as the greatest buy of the year but how often has he touched the ball? Maybe 10 times in a real attacking sense? I'm talking about serious attacking play, not chasing kick-aheads. Yet this is one of the world's premier wings. They have no idea how to use him."
If anything, Howlett's defensive work alone has more than justified what it cost to sign him.
"And the two other guys they brought in from the southern hemisphere, Rua Tipoki and Lifeimi Mafi, hardly ever played Super 14 rugby I think Tipoki made a couple of appearances off the bench. They are both steppers, they never pass the ball."
But they're playing Heineken Cup Rugby at the highest level and will start in the final on Sunday week, while your charges will be sitting on their orses in Kiely's, roysh, necking the Heinos and watching the game.
He goes on to rail against "the paranoid world of Irish [international] rugby", and I actually agree with most of what he says there.
Excuse Me While I Stifle A Yawn
12/05/08 21:45 Filed in: Sport
So yesterday, one obscenely wealthy football
club managed to beat another obscenely wealthy
football club to the Premiership title. And if that
wasn't enough, next week the same two obscenely
wealthy football clubs will battle it out for the
Champions' League title in Moscow.
I have noticed over the last month or so, a sudden reappearance of replica Manchester United shirts in the cities, towns and villages of our fair isle. They had been conspicuously absent for the last couple of years, but now that Man Yoo are back in their pomp, it's time to break the piggy bank and splash out on the merchandise again.
The Glory Glory days are back with a vengeance.
I have noticed over the last month or so, a sudden reappearance of replica Manchester United shirts in the cities, towns and villages of our fair isle. They had been conspicuously absent for the last couple of years, but now that Man Yoo are back in their pomp, it's time to break the piggy bank and splash out on the merchandise again.
The Glory Glory days are back with a vengeance.
Aoife Gardener
08/05/08 22:13 Filed in: Dadage
| General
Nonsense
Peak Profit
07/05/08 22:20 Filed in: General
Nonsense
Another good 'un from The
Joy of Tech (click for the full cartoon)
Average price at the pumps today for a litre of unleaded, according to Pumps.ie, is €1.22
Average price at the pumps today for a litre of unleaded, according to Pumps.ie, is €1.22
All Hail The New Leader
07/05/08 21:45 Filed in: General
Nonsense
Today will go down in
history as an historic day for Ireland. A new leader
has been chosen and a new era dawns. An era of hope and
opportunity, one where Ireland potential will be
realised. This era will see Ireland become a power
across Europe and hopefully across the world.
Yes, people, Wednesday, 7 May will go down in history as the day that Declan Kidney was officially announced as the new coach of the Irish national rugby team.
Oh, yeah. This guy from Clara started a new job today too.
Yes, people, Wednesday, 7 May will go down in history as the day that Declan Kidney was officially announced as the new coach of the Irish national rugby team.
Oh, yeah. This guy from Clara started a new job today too.
Close Call For Munster
27/04/08 22:17 Filed in: Sport
It was never going to be
easy. Munster went into today's semi-final against
Saracens in the knowledge that this was not going to be
the cakewalk that some were predicting. Saracens are a
tough, competitive team, and it showed today.
Saracens started the brighter of the two teams and were the first to score, with a brilliant move that started in their own 22. With that, Munster came back into the game and ran in 15 points without reply, 12 of which came from two well-taken tries.
Indiscipline costed both sides in the second half, with Munster shipping a worrying number of penalties, and Rua Tipoki spent ten minutes in the sin bin. But then, over the space of two minutes, Sarries lost both of their props to yellow cards. By the time they were restored to their full compliment of players, the score was 18-13. Glen Jackson added another penalty to finish the match 18-16 to the men in red.
This was as tough a match as Munster could have hoped for, and their defence was tested severely. Doug Howlett showed today just what he is
worth to Munster,
with some fine breaks and at least one try-saving
tackle. But he wasn't the only one putting in the
savage hits. All across the board, Munster were
defending as if their lives depended on it.
It could so easily have gone the other way. As the clock inched towards the eightieth minute mark, Saracens were making the hard yards in the Munster half. Eventually, the move broke down and Munster were awarded a penalty, the last kick of the game. Had Saracens kept it going for one more phase, Glen Jackson would probably have had a pop at a drop goal.
But one thing Munster have learned over the years is how to win tight matches. They held out to win by two points, and go on to face Toulouse in the final on 24 May. For a season that had thrown out some of the oddest results, it seems somewhat fitting that the two most aristocratic of regular Heineken Cup teams should contest the decider.
It should be a right old ding-dong.
Saracens started the brighter of the two teams and were the first to score, with a brilliant move that started in their own 22. With that, Munster came back into the game and ran in 15 points without reply, 12 of which came from two well-taken tries.
Indiscipline costed both sides in the second half, with Munster shipping a worrying number of penalties, and Rua Tipoki spent ten minutes in the sin bin. But then, over the space of two minutes, Sarries lost both of their props to yellow cards. By the time they were restored to their full compliment of players, the score was 18-13. Glen Jackson added another penalty to finish the match 18-16 to the men in red.
This was as tough a match as Munster could have hoped for, and their defence was tested severely. Doug Howlett showed today just what he is
It could so easily have gone the other way. As the clock inched towards the eightieth minute mark, Saracens were making the hard yards in the Munster half. Eventually, the move broke down and Munster were awarded a penalty, the last kick of the game. Had Saracens kept it going for one more phase, Glen Jackson would probably have had a pop at a drop goal.
But one thing Munster have learned over the years is how to win tight matches. They held out to win by two points, and go on to face Toulouse in the final on 24 May. For a season that had thrown out some of the oddest results, it seems somewhat fitting that the two most aristocratic of regular Heineken Cup teams should contest the decider.
It should be a right old ding-dong.
Tabloid Shame
27/04/08 21:50 Filed in: General
Nonsense
Another
house fire tragedy claims the lives of a family, and
once again the tabloid press cover themselves in
glory. Not. It was as if they were competing with
one another to run the most sensationalist front
page headline today.
This happened before, of course, when the McElhill family perished in a fire at their home in Omagh last November. Back then, the red-tops didn't even wait until the bodies had been removed before hoisting the lurid headlines on their front pages.
Now, I know that this story merited its front page billing, but did the News of the World really need to scream "DAD SHOOTS WIFE AND BURNS KIDS ALIVE" from their front page? Do they not realise that the families, friends, neighbours, work colleagues, school pals, etc. of the Flood family are trying to come to terms with the enormity of this tragedy? Are they not allowed to grieve in peace and privacy? Do they not realise the effect a headline like that would have on friends of the children, already traumatised by the loss of their little pals, but now being told in graphic detail how they died? (Not that the official cause of death had been released by the time the papers reached the news stands, but in the world of the tabloids, that's by the by.)
The tabloid press is an utter disgrace.
This happened before, of course, when the McElhill family perished in a fire at their home in Omagh last November. Back then, the red-tops didn't even wait until the bodies had been removed before hoisting the lurid headlines on their front pages.
Now, I know that this story merited its front page billing, but did the News of the World really need to scream "DAD SHOOTS WIFE AND BURNS KIDS ALIVE" from their front page? Do they not realise that the families, friends, neighbours, work colleagues, school pals, etc. of the Flood family are trying to come to terms with the enormity of this tragedy? Are they not allowed to grieve in peace and privacy? Do they not realise the effect a headline like that would have on friends of the children, already traumatised by the loss of their little pals, but now being told in graphic detail how they died? (Not that the official cause of death had been released by the time the papers reached the news stands, but in the world of the tabloids, that's by the by.)
The tabloid press is an utter disgrace.
Expectation
26/04/08 22:55 Filed in: Sport
Tomorrow's Heineken Cup
semi-final clash between Munster and Saracens brings
about all the usual pre-big-match emotions and
apprehensiveness. We know that the Munster should
prevail, but it can never be taken for granted.
All this week, Declan Kidney has been bigging up Saracens in an effort to deflect from the general media consensus that Munster go into this match as favourites. They came out of a group that included Biarritz, perennial HC heavyweights. they dispatched the Ospreys, several of whom had won the Grand Slam in Welsh shirts a few weeks earlier. They are coached by Alan Gaffney, a coach who, more than most, knows what makes Munster tick.
Much has been made of the fact that the Munster branch returned a portion of their ticket allocation for this match. This has been interpreted as the fans taking the Kerry approach, and choosing not to travel until the final. This may or may not be the prevailing attitude (and I don't believe it is, as Munster fans take nothing for granted), but if there is complacency among the support, it is not there in the team. This is cup rugby, and as such you only have one chance to get it right.
Munster have worked very hard to get this far. They had the shittiest pool draw imaginable, yet won it in style. This was followed by an away quarter-final to Gloucester. Kingsholm is never a venue to look forward to, but Munster went there and won comfortably.
Saracens have never competed at this level of the Heineken Cup before. This is Munster's seventh HC semi-final. They have won three of the last six, and of course, won the competition itself in 2006. Declan Kidney was able to deal from a full deck when he named his team during the week. Alan Gaffney is missing some key players like Andy Farrell and Chris Jack.
Predicting the outcome of a sporting encounter is not particularly scientific. Relying on statistics alone is never a definitive route to making a call. As the man said, statistics are like lamp posts, there to illuminate but not to lean to heavily upon. You look at past performances, take into account mitigating factors like injuries and so on. But there are also the intangibles, the unknown unknowns as Donald Rumsfeld might say.
Saracens may surprise Munster, as they did the Ospreys in the quarter final. But we also have to look at their form in the Guinness Premiership. This is their bread and butter, and they are mid-table at present. They lost to both Gloucester and Wasps in the GP since their win over the Ospreys. Big deal, you might say, Munster lost to Leinster in the Magners League the week after winning at Gloucester. But there is a difference. Even though they will deny it publicly, deep down, as long as they are still in the Heineken Cup, Munster couldn't give a shit about the Magners League. For Saracens, the Guinness Premiership matters hugely.
Munster should win tomorrow, but it will not be easy. Saracens will put up a good fight, but it won't be enough.
A Munster-Toulouse final should be in the offing by tomorrow evening. Now that would be something to look forward to.
All this week, Declan Kidney has been bigging up Saracens in an effort to deflect from the general media consensus that Munster go into this match as favourites. They came out of a group that included Biarritz, perennial HC heavyweights. they dispatched the Ospreys, several of whom had won the Grand Slam in Welsh shirts a few weeks earlier. They are coached by Alan Gaffney, a coach who, more than most, knows what makes Munster tick.
Much has been made of the fact that the Munster branch returned a portion of their ticket allocation for this match. This has been interpreted as the fans taking the Kerry approach, and choosing not to travel until the final. This may or may not be the prevailing attitude (and I don't believe it is, as Munster fans take nothing for granted), but if there is complacency among the support, it is not there in the team. This is cup rugby, and as such you only have one chance to get it right.
Munster have worked very hard to get this far. They had the shittiest pool draw imaginable, yet won it in style. This was followed by an away quarter-final to Gloucester. Kingsholm is never a venue to look forward to, but Munster went there and won comfortably.
Saracens have never competed at this level of the Heineken Cup before. This is Munster's seventh HC semi-final. They have won three of the last six, and of course, won the competition itself in 2006. Declan Kidney was able to deal from a full deck when he named his team during the week. Alan Gaffney is missing some key players like Andy Farrell and Chris Jack.
Predicting the outcome of a sporting encounter is not particularly scientific. Relying on statistics alone is never a definitive route to making a call. As the man said, statistics are like lamp posts, there to illuminate but not to lean to heavily upon. You look at past performances, take into account mitigating factors like injuries and so on. But there are also the intangibles, the unknown unknowns as Donald Rumsfeld might say.
Saracens may surprise Munster, as they did the Ospreys in the quarter final. But we also have to look at their form in the Guinness Premiership. This is their bread and butter, and they are mid-table at present. They lost to both Gloucester and Wasps in the GP since their win over the Ospreys. Big deal, you might say, Munster lost to Leinster in the Magners League the week after winning at Gloucester. But there is a difference. Even though they will deny it publicly, deep down, as long as they are still in the Heineken Cup, Munster couldn't give a shit about the Magners League. For Saracens, the Guinness Premiership matters hugely.
Munster should win tomorrow, but it will not be easy. Saracens will put up a good fight, but it won't be enough.
A Munster-Toulouse final should be in the offing by tomorrow evening. Now that would be something to look forward to.
Heineken Cup Semi-Final
25/04/08 22:10 Filed in: Sport
Monday, 7 April. I arrive
home at about 10.30pm from Vinitaly. My wife is away at
a work do. The wee one is with her Granny and Grandad.
There is a beer in the fridge. Munster's quarter-final
against Gloucester is on the Sky+ box.
All of the above is true, just until you pass the bit about the beer. Somehow, we managed to record the London Irish - Perpignan match, but miss the Munster - Gloucester one. Oh well.
This Sunday, Munster face Saracens in the semi-final at the Ricoh Arena in Coventry. I'm at home this time, so there should be no repeat of the Sky+ debacle this time around.
The starting lineup is as follows:
15 Hurley
14 Howlett
13 Mafi
12 Tipoki
11 Dowling
10 O'Gara
11 O'Leary
1 Horan
2 Flannery
3 Hayes
4 O'Callaghan
5 O'Connell
6 Quinlan
7 Wallace
8 Leamy
Replacements: Sheahan, Pucciarello, O'Driscoll, Ryan, Stringer, Warwick, Murphy
That's a strong team in anyone's language. I'll say no more, except COME ON MUNSTER!!!
All of the above is true, just until you pass the bit about the beer. Somehow, we managed to record the London Irish - Perpignan match, but miss the Munster - Gloucester one. Oh well.
This Sunday, Munster face Saracens in the semi-final at the Ricoh Arena in Coventry. I'm at home this time, so there should be no repeat of the Sky+ debacle this time around.
The starting lineup is as follows:
15 Hurley
14 Howlett
13 Mafi
12 Tipoki
11 Dowling
10 O'Gara
11 O'Leary
1 Horan
2 Flannery
3 Hayes
4 O'Callaghan
5 O'Connell
6 Quinlan
7 Wallace
8 Leamy
Replacements: Sheahan, Pucciarello, O'Driscoll, Ryan, Stringer, Warwick, Murphy
That's a strong team in anyone's language. I'll say no more, except COME ON MUNSTER!!!