Jolly Green Giant
25/02/07 23:24 Filed in: Sport
This image
from today's Sunday Tribune pretty much sums up
yesterday's match.
|
Newsflash
22/02/07 23:10 Filed in: General
Nonsense
You may have
got this in an e-mail already, but if not…
RTE News 19th February 2007 8.02PM
British & Irish Governments Plan Ceremony in Croke Park
Northern Ireland Minister Peter Hain has announced details of a joint ceremony before Irelands crunch game against England in Croke Park on the 24th February.
The significance of the game is not lost on GAA followers and republicans who remember the infamous shooting of 14 players and supporters by the British Army on the 21st November 1921.
However according to GAA spokesman Ulick Magee a plan being devised by the GAA and the Northern Ireland office, will attempt to draw a line under the incident.
"We've spoken to the British government and they understand the significance of the event back in 1921. Back then 14 people were killed by British forces so in the spirit of the peace process and friendship we're proposing that we shoot 14 of their lot before the match. Then maybe have fireworks afterwards or something." Said Mr Magee.
British Government Reaction
The plan has had a mixed reaction from Downing Street. Prime Minister Tony Blair thinks the idea has merit but said that it needs to be done properly and with dignity.
"Frankly I think its a small price to pay for progression in Anglo-Irish affairs, but I think the idea of getting Ray Houghton to do the shooting would be too much for many English fans to take particularly after his goal against us back in 1988. And he's Scottish which is worse."
Proposed Victims
According to informed sources, the GAA and Number 10 have already drawn up a list of names for those to be shot. The list, which is not yet agreed, is thought to be a compromise of people that both the Irish and English public dislike. Among the names are moaney-hole singer James Blunt, foul mouth idiot Jade Goody, Trinny & Suzannah, Man Utd donkey Rio Ferdinand, cream cake expert Vanessa Feltz, "comedian" Russell Brand and any of the blokes who do outside broadcasts for Sky News.
But discussions took an ironic twist when both sides agreed on shooting Belfast singer Brian Kennedy, but neither side agreed on what nationality he was. GAA representatives claim he's British with their Foreign Office counterparts claiming he's Irish. The Irish claimed no Irishman should sing or dance in such a manner and the English saying he couldn't be a Brit because he had no tattoos on his forearm and didn't wear Ben Sherman shirts. However there was eventual consensus that he should be shot regardless of his nationality.
Plans agreed
The shooting will be carried out my members of the 2nd Infantry Battalion from Cathal Brugha Barracks in Dublin. The original idea to get the FCA to carry out the executions were dropped when they revealed that their rifles are in fact made of baked-plastercine. Similarly the Garda Emergency Response Unit was discounted for fear they'd shoot more innocent civilians then claim overtime for it.
RTE News 19th February 2007 8.02PM
British & Irish Governments Plan Ceremony in Croke Park
Northern Ireland Minister Peter Hain has announced details of a joint ceremony before Irelands crunch game against England in Croke Park on the 24th February.
The significance of the game is not lost on GAA followers and republicans who remember the infamous shooting of 14 players and supporters by the British Army on the 21st November 1921.
However according to GAA spokesman Ulick Magee a plan being devised by the GAA and the Northern Ireland office, will attempt to draw a line under the incident.
"We've spoken to the British government and they understand the significance of the event back in 1921. Back then 14 people were killed by British forces so in the spirit of the peace process and friendship we're proposing that we shoot 14 of their lot before the match. Then maybe have fireworks afterwards or something." Said Mr Magee.
British Government Reaction
The plan has had a mixed reaction from Downing Street. Prime Minister Tony Blair thinks the idea has merit but said that it needs to be done properly and with dignity.
"Frankly I think its a small price to pay for progression in Anglo-Irish affairs, but I think the idea of getting Ray Houghton to do the shooting would be too much for many English fans to take particularly after his goal against us back in 1988. And he's Scottish which is worse."
Proposed Victims
According to informed sources, the GAA and Number 10 have already drawn up a list of names for those to be shot. The list, which is not yet agreed, is thought to be a compromise of people that both the Irish and English public dislike. Among the names are moaney-hole singer James Blunt, foul mouth idiot Jade Goody, Trinny & Suzannah, Man Utd donkey Rio Ferdinand, cream cake expert Vanessa Feltz, "comedian" Russell Brand and any of the blokes who do outside broadcasts for Sky News.
But discussions took an ironic twist when both sides agreed on shooting Belfast singer Brian Kennedy, but neither side agreed on what nationality he was. GAA representatives claim he's British with their Foreign Office counterparts claiming he's Irish. The Irish claimed no Irishman should sing or dance in such a manner and the English saying he couldn't be a Brit because he had no tattoos on his forearm and didn't wear Ben Sherman shirts. However there was eventual consensus that he should be shot regardless of his nationality.
Plans agreed
The shooting will be carried out my members of the 2nd Infantry Battalion from Cathal Brugha Barracks in Dublin. The original idea to get the FCA to carry out the executions were dropped when they revealed that their rifles are in fact made of baked-plastercine. Similarly the Garda Emergency Response Unit was discounted for fear they'd shoot more innocent civilians then claim overtime for it.
Get Over Yourselves!
18/02/07 21:10 Filed in: Politics
The Sunday
Tribune tells the tale today of one JJ
Barrett, whose father won several Gaelic football
medals with club and county back in the 1920s and
'30s. The medals are on display in the GAA Museum
at Croke Park, and Barrett has written to GAA
Director-General Liam Mulvihill, asking for them
to be returned to him before the Ireland-England
Rugby match at Croke Park next Saturday. He is
doing this in protest at the playing of God Save
The Queen as the English national anthem before
the match.
Barrett objects to the "arrogant, war-mongering" lyrics of GSTQ and wonders why the English couldn't have come up with a compromise anthem, as Ireland did with Ireland's Call.
It was probably inevitable that a crank like Barrett would emerge at some point. Even though the removal of Rule 42 was carried with relative ease, such was the depth of feeling among the "antis", that it was certain that nonsense like this would happen in the run up to the Ireland-England match. There are some who see the presence of the English rugby team in Croke Park as a betrayal of those that were killed on Bloody Sunday 1920. They just don't see that for everyone else, Ireland has moved on.
And in a wearily predictable fashion, that bunch of antediluvian wankers "Republican Sinn Féin" have announced that they too will be there to protest at the playing of God Save The Queen.
Fer Chrissakes, will you all just get over yourselves? We have moved on.
Barrett objects to the "arrogant, war-mongering" lyrics of GSTQ and wonders why the English couldn't have come up with a compromise anthem, as Ireland did with Ireland's Call.
It was probably inevitable that a crank like Barrett would emerge at some point. Even though the removal of Rule 42 was carried with relative ease, such was the depth of feeling among the "antis", that it was certain that nonsense like this would happen in the run up to the Ireland-England match. There are some who see the presence of the English rugby team in Croke Park as a betrayal of those that were killed on Bloody Sunday 1920. They just don't see that for everyone else, Ireland has moved on.
And in a wearily predictable fashion, that bunch of antediluvian wankers "Republican Sinn Féin" have announced that they too will be there to protest at the playing of God Save The Queen.
Fer Chrissakes, will you all just get over yourselves? We have moved on.
Ah, Well…
18/02/07 20:59 Filed in: Blogging
The
shortlist for the Irish Blog
Awards has been published, and UnLaoised …… (pause
for effect) …… is going home.
To be
honest, I was delighted to even have made the
long-list under the Best Designed Blog category. It
wouldn't have been right if I had gone any further
than that, because it would have meant that someone
who actually went to the trouble of designing their
site might have lost out. I did very little actual
design work on this site. The photo montage in the
header is about the only thing in it that is
original. The rest is just a modified template.
But thanks to anyone that voted for me. It's much appreciated.
But thanks to anyone that voted for me. It's much appreciated.
Happy 0.5th Birthday!
14/02/07 07:19 Filed in: Dadage
Fluff and Nonsense
12/02/07 23:30 Filed in: General
Nonsense
As we all
know, the IFTAs were on last Friday
night. I wouldn't normally take much notice of
award ceremonies like this, but I had reason to be
interested in this year's event. A close relation
of mine was involved in a project that was up for
a couple of awards, and he was there on the night.
I got a text from him late on Friday night to say that they had won one of the awards for which they were nominated, so there was great excitement altogether. On Saturday evening, I was keeping one eye on the telly as they were showing the coverage of the event. The first hour of RTÉ's coverage seemed to be all about the frocks. Various starlets showed up in their finery, and the lovely Kathryn Thomas was on hand to enquire of them as to "whom" they "were wearing."
That's fair enough, as frockery is part and parcel of any awards do. But they overdid it somewhat, to the extent that RTÉ then had to curtail its coverage of the actual awards ceremony itself. They did the whole "And the IFTA goes to…" spiel for such categories as Best Actor/Actress in a Leading Role, Best Film, etc; but for some of the other categories, the presentation of the award wasn't shown. They were treated as also-rans.
It was among these "also-ran" categories that my relation's project won its gong. The award itself was won by a group, of which he is a member. (He is the co-creator of the project, and the main scriptwriter.) They were shown for all of three seconds with their award, and because there were four of them on stage collecting the award, not all of them got into the camera shot. Guess who was just out of shot?
Most of the lovely girls on display earlier on in the coverage had nothing to do with the awards themselves. Yet the people who actually win the awards don't seem to matter.
I got a text from him late on Friday night to say that they had won one of the awards for which they were nominated, so there was great excitement altogether. On Saturday evening, I was keeping one eye on the telly as they were showing the coverage of the event. The first hour of RTÉ's coverage seemed to be all about the frocks. Various starlets showed up in their finery, and the lovely Kathryn Thomas was on hand to enquire of them as to "whom" they "were wearing."
That's fair enough, as frockery is part and parcel of any awards do. But they overdid it somewhat, to the extent that RTÉ then had to curtail its coverage of the actual awards ceremony itself. They did the whole "And the IFTA goes to…" spiel for such categories as Best Actor/Actress in a Leading Role, Best Film, etc; but for some of the other categories, the presentation of the award wasn't shown. They were treated as also-rans.
It was among these "also-ran" categories that my relation's project won its gong. The award itself was won by a group, of which he is a member. (He is the co-creator of the project, and the main scriptwriter.) They were shown for all of three seconds with their award, and because there were four of them on stage collecting the award, not all of them got into the camera shot. Guess who was just out of shot?
Most of the lovely girls on display earlier on in the coverage had nothing to do with the awards themselves. Yet the people who actually win the awards don't seem to matter.
History In The Making
10/02/07 23:08 Filed in: Sport
I managed to
get myself a ticket for the Ireland-France match
tomorrow, and so will attend Croke Park for the first
time ever for a sporting occasion. (I have been there
for a coupe of wine tastings, and saw U2 there back
in 1985.)
Aside from the obvious sense of sporting occasion, tomorrow's match represents a huge milestone in Ireland's development as a nation. Tomorrow, for the first time ever, a team will take to the field at Croke Park that represents all Irish people, whether Catholic or Protestant, Nationalist or Unionist, of Gaelic tradition or of British tradition. Of course, they have been doing this for years at Lansdowne Road, but it is Croke Park that makes tomorrow different.
The GAA is an impressive organisation. That an amateur sporting movement can continue to garner such a following in this era of wall-to-wall professional sports on satellite television is remarkable. That it managed to build one of the finest and biggest stadiums in Europe is quite incredible.
However, for too long, the GAA was inward looking. It represented the nationalist tradition on the island, and as far as it was concerned, anything beyond that outlook might as well have not existed. Some in the organisation would have happily seen Croke Park stay closed during the Lansdowne Road renovations, forcing the IRFU and the FAI to go abroad to play their home matches. Thankfully, sense prevailed and rugby will be played for the first time on the hallowed turf tomorrow. Credit must be given to former GAA president Seán Kelly and others for their efforts to bring this about.
I'll write more about this another time.
Aside from the obvious sense of sporting occasion, tomorrow's match represents a huge milestone in Ireland's development as a nation. Tomorrow, for the first time ever, a team will take to the field at Croke Park that represents all Irish people, whether Catholic or Protestant, Nationalist or Unionist, of Gaelic tradition or of British tradition. Of course, they have been doing this for years at Lansdowne Road, but it is Croke Park that makes tomorrow different.
The GAA is an impressive organisation. That an amateur sporting movement can continue to garner such a following in this era of wall-to-wall professional sports on satellite television is remarkable. That it managed to build one of the finest and biggest stadiums in Europe is quite incredible.
However, for too long, the GAA was inward looking. It represented the nationalist tradition on the island, and as far as it was concerned, anything beyond that outlook might as well have not existed. Some in the organisation would have happily seen Croke Park stay closed during the Lansdowne Road renovations, forcing the IRFU and the FAI to go abroad to play their home matches. Thankfully, sense prevailed and rugby will be played for the first time on the hallowed turf tomorrow. Credit must be given to former GAA president Seán Kelly and others for their efforts to bring this about.
I'll write more about this another time.
Irish Blog Awards
10/02/07 22:30 Filed in: Blogging
I was
delighted to learn that this blog has been nominated
under the Best Designed Blog in the Irish Blog
Awards.
Many thanks to anyone who nominated me (I know Kav did).
Many thanks to anyone who nominated me (I know Kav did).
Software DUP-date
08/02/07 23:03 Filed in: General
Nonsense
In honour of
the upcoming elections in Northern Ireland, I present
my first cartoon. Hope you enjoy it!
Adds: It's a bit rough and ready, with the transitions not as smooth as I had originally designed. You may have to use the pause button, or rewind every now and then to read all the captions in full.
Adds: It's a bit rough and ready, with the transitions not as smooth as I had originally designed. You may have to use the pause button, or rewind every now and then to read all the captions in full.
Eoin Hand Never had To Put Up With This…
08/02/07 21:23 Filed in: Sport
A Nadir Reached
07/02/07 22:29 Filed in: Sport
The Irish
international football team is a disgrace. They
scrambled a last-minute winner tonight against the
worst team in Europe, a team that conceded 13 goals
against Germany in an earlier round of the
qualifiers. This lot couldn't pass water. They
couldn't cross a road. They couldn't finish their
dinner. Utterly, utterly hopeless.
I only saw the second half, and it was painful to watch (made even more painful by having to watch it on TV3). I switched over for the weather forecast, and as I flicked, I predicted to my wife that San Marino would equalise. When I flicked back a couple of minutes later, the ball was trickling its way into the Irish net.
When Steve Staunton was appointed national coach, my first reaction was puzzlement. Surely the FAI could have gone for someone with a bit of experience, particularly at international level. But I was prepared to give him the benefit of the doubt, and judge him by his results.
And boy, have those results been dismal. Beaten 5-2 by Cyprus, and tonight they were lucky to just beat San Marino.
Irish football is wandering in the wilderness. It's hard to believe that a little over six years ago, ten-man Ireland beat the mighty Netherlands at Lansdowne Road, 1-0.
The FAI will back Staunton until his contract runs out, after which he will be let go. That day cannot come a day too soon. He was the wrong choice and should never have been appointed.
My wife's late uncle John served some time on the Executive Council of the FAI. He was a football man to his bone marrow. This evening my wife turned to me and said: "Poor John is turning in his grave tonight."
I only saw the second half, and it was painful to watch (made even more painful by having to watch it on TV3). I switched over for the weather forecast, and as I flicked, I predicted to my wife that San Marino would equalise. When I flicked back a couple of minutes later, the ball was trickling its way into the Irish net.
When Steve Staunton was appointed national coach, my first reaction was puzzlement. Surely the FAI could have gone for someone with a bit of experience, particularly at international level. But I was prepared to give him the benefit of the doubt, and judge him by his results.
And boy, have those results been dismal. Beaten 5-2 by Cyprus, and tonight they were lucky to just beat San Marino.
Irish football is wandering in the wilderness. It's hard to believe that a little over six years ago, ten-man Ireland beat the mighty Netherlands at Lansdowne Road, 1-0.
The FAI will back Staunton until his contract runs out, after which he will be let go. That day cannot come a day too soon. He was the wrong choice and should never have been appointed.
My wife's late uncle John served some time on the Executive Council of the FAI. He was a football man to his bone marrow. This evening my wife turned to me and said: "Poor John is turning in his grave tonight."
Happy Beer-thday To You!
02/02/07 23:35
All over the
media these days are ads telling us that lashing away
to excess at the dhrink is bad for us, as if we
didn't know. But it's a cultural thing. If we have
something to celebrate, we get locked. A birthday, a
promotion, a win for our team, the fact that it's
Friday.
This was brought home to me this week, when I was buying a birthday card for someone who was about to celebrate his 40th. The same lad has had some serious issues with the electric soup over the years, but thankfully is coming out on top now. Nearly every card I saw in the shop had a reference to alcohol on it. Some were subtle, with a couple of Champagne glasses on the front, to others that had inscriptions like "Bet you'll have a hangover after your birthday!"
That's the challenge for the anti-drunkenness campaigns. You don't have to get blattered to celebrate something.
This was brought home to me this week, when I was buying a birthday card for someone who was about to celebrate his 40th. The same lad has had some serious issues with the electric soup over the years, but thankfully is coming out on top now. Nearly every card I saw in the shop had a reference to alcohol on it. Some were subtle, with a couple of Champagne glasses on the front, to others that had inscriptions like "Bet you'll have a hangover after your birthday!"
That's the challenge for the anti-drunkenness campaigns. You don't have to get blattered to celebrate something.