Well done, Leinster!

The Leinster 'Blues' have kept the coveted European Rugby Cup - also known (for its sponsors) as the Heineken Cup - in Ireland by beating the English club Leicester 'Tigers' at the Murrayfield stadium in Edinburgh 19-16.
(People who believe in numerology might well see a special significance in this result, as the scores of both teams written in succession give us 1916, the year of the Easter Rising in Dublin, which is the capital of Leinster as well as the capital of Ireland.)

Leinster had reached the final of this prestigious annual European competition for the first time after they beat - for many rather surprisingly - their permanent national rivals Munster (which are usually seen as the stronger team and won the European Rugby Cup in 2006 and last year) in the semi-final at Croke Park in Dublin 25-6.

I am not a follower of Rugby, and certainly no expert on this sport. So, for an opinion I have to rely on the knowledge of a friend who played Union Rugby for many years. From what he tells me, Leinster "had generally the better of the game at Murrayfield, but were forced to stage a strong fightback after falling 16-9 behind early in the second half". Obviously they fought back successfully, scored 10 more points (while Leicester scored none) and won the match 19-16.

From an outside position as a complete Rugby layman - and even though I live in Munster - I like nevertheless to take this opportunity to say "Well done, Leinster!" and wish them good luck for the future.

Leinster's success is the fourth time an Irish team has won this Cup. The first to bring home the silver trophy were Ulster in 1999, followed by Munster in 2006 and 2008.
And if the recent form of Irish Rugby is anything to go by, we might well see more of the same in years to come.

The Emerald Islander

Tyrone are the new Gaelic Football Champions

Two weeks ago I wrote about the final of the All-Ireland Senior Hurling Championship, which was won in spectacular fashion by Co. Kilkenny, beating Co. Waterford decisively. (see my entry from September 7th)
Today we saw the second of the annual GAA (Gaelic Athletic Association) events that make the hearts of many Irish people beat faster: the final of the All-Ireland Senior Football Championship.

For people outside of Ireland one has to explain that this is Gaelic Football, which has little in common with the sport that is world-wide known as Football. That one is played in Ireland as well, but here we call it Soccer, to avoid confusions.
Gaelic Football is quite different, as it allows the use of hands as well as feet. It is played by two teams of 15 players each, and like in Hurling there are two ways of scoring: Goals (when the ball goes into the box of the goal) and Points, which are scored by putting the ball over the goal box of the opposing team. But they only count if the ball passes between two poles that mark the corners of the goal box.

Confused? Well, many outsiders are when it comes to the uniquely Irish sports, organised by the GAA. But for most Irish people they are all they live for, their joy, excitement and secular religion. It is therefore no surprise that Croke Park in Dublin, the HQ of the GAA, was packed to the last seat again today, as it was two weeks ago for the Hurling final.
As usual President Mary McAleese attended the match, and so did many other dignitaries from politics, sports and all walks of life.

After the obligatory ceremonies and the playing of our national anthem the match got underway, and it was quite a difference to the Hurling final two weeks ago.
Both teams - Co. Kerry in the west of Ireland and Co. Tyrone, which is one of the six counties in the still British-controlled North - are renowned for their skills in playing Gaelic Football.

Kerry, who won the All-Ireland title 35 times since their first success in 1903, were the favourites for many pundits. But others saw Tyrone as the stronger team. Their success in this sport is rather more recent than that of Kerry, but they won the All-Ireland final in 2003 (beating fellow Ulster team Armagh) and in 2005 (beating Kerry). In fact, for the last six years the final was won either by Tyrone or Kerry. The latter were the defending champions and on a possible hat-trick (like Kilkenny two weeks ago in Hurling), having won the title in 2006 (beating Mayo) and 2007 (beating Cork).

But today the luck was with Ulster, and Tyrone are the new All-Ireland champions and this year's holders of the coveted Sam Maguire Cup that comes with the title.

After a fairly balanced first half, which ended with Kerry 0-8 points and Tyrone 0-7 points, Tommy McGuigan (lucky No. 13) scored the first and only goal of the match for Tyrone (photo left), only 22 seconds into the second half.

Kerry managed to catch up, and a few minutes before the final whistle both teams stood on 13 points. But a massive final effort from Tyrone, which seemed to have surprised some of the Kerry players, created the final result of Tyrone 1-15 (= 18 points) and Kerry 0-14 (= 14 points).

So today, as the Sam Maguire Cup is again adorned with ribbons in white and red, my congratulations go up North, to Co. Tyrone, for a well-deserved win of the All-Ireland Senior Football final. There will be celebrations all night, and into tomorrow, when the victorious team will return to their home county.

And a special thought and smile goes to a dear friend of mine, Lady O'Neill de Tyrone, who is also full of joy tonight, even though she is not a very enthusiastic follower of sports. But that does not matter. On days like this the old clan and county loyalties, which have been key elements of the Celtic life on the Emerald Isle for more than 2000 years, are in the hearts and minds of everyone. This is something quite unique to Ireland, and even 750 years of foreign occupation and oppression could not change these strong and vibrant feelings. Every year they are still fresh and present, when the eyes of the nation are on Croke Park and the All-Ireland finals.

The Emerald Islander

A Great Day for Kilkenny

Today has been a great day for County Kilkenny. Perhaps even the greatest day ever since the 17th century, when the town of Kilkenny was briefly - from 1642 to 1649 - the capital of Ireland. Nowadays Kilkenny is of less importance, except that it is the undisputed capital of Hurling, a position confirmed today with another spectacular win against Waterford, my home city and county. (If you live in Ireland, you know all this already, so feel free to skip this entry, which is really written for my many readers outside the Emerald Isle.)

This afternoon at 3.30 p.m. the attention of most Irish people was centred on Croke Park in Dublin, the headquarters of the GAA (Gaelic Athletic Association), which controls Hurling, Camogie (which is Hurling played by women and girls) and Gaelic Football. At that time this year's final of the All-Ireland Senior Hurling Championship - commonly known here as the 'All Ireland Final' - began, attended by President Mary McAleese, Taoiseach Brian Cowen and many other dignitaries from politics, sports and all walks of life. For most Irish people the 'All-Ireland Final' is really the biggest event of the year, and it is broadcast live on both radio and television. (The match has often been compared with the 'Super Bowl' of American Football in the USA or the FA Cup Final in England, but it has a much higher importance in Irish minds and in the Irish culture than those major sporting events have in their countries.)

Even though this annual event always draws large crowds to Croke Park and creates for months huge interest all around the island, this year there was a lot more hype about this very Irish sports contest than in previous years.

The reason was that the two teams in the final were Kilkenny and Waterford. One really has to be Irish or live here for a very long time to understand what that means. So let me explain: It is not only that the two counties are neighbours here in the (usually sunny) South East of the Emerald Isle, they are - and always have been - also the most fierce rivals in sporting contests. Especially when it comes to Hurling, which is - like the whole GAA - a complete amateur sport, played usually on two levels: clubs and counties. The annual contest between the counties (which takes also place for Gaelic Football and Camogie) draws great attention and many Irish people are occupied with it in one way or another, although most of them only as supporters or fans.

Waterford (the oldest city in Ireland) is more than twice as large than Kilkenny (which is only 48 km away, but in the province of Leinster, while Waterford belongs to Munster), but when it comes to Hurling, the County Kilkenny team (pictured above and nicknamed 'Cats' because of their striped jerseys in the county colours black & amber) are the giants and the Waterford team is rather mediocre.

For decades Co. Waterford has tried - and failed - to achieve greatness in Hurling, but in recent years their performance has improved significantly.

The boys in white and blue (our county colours, pictured left) won the Munster championship three times, which has boosted their confidence and created much joy, support and civic pride among the local people.
However, the All-Ireland title - and the coveted Liam McCarthy Cup that comes with it - seemed to be beyond the reach of our team, no matter how hard they tried and how much the people supported them enthusiastically.
Since the contest began in 1887, Waterford won the All-Ireland Senior Hurling Championship only twice, in 1948 (beating Dublin) and in 1959 (beating Kilkenny). They managed to reach the final in three more years, but lost: in 1938 (against Dublin), 1957 and 1963 (both against the arch rival Kilkenny).

Meanwhile Kilkenny went from success to success, becoming the strongest Hurling county in the whole of Ireland. (The three counties with the strongest Hurling tradition and the most wins of the 'All Ireland' are Kilkenny, Cork and Tipperary.) In the last decade alone Kilkenny won the title six times, and today's success is the second time they achieved a 'hat-trick', three wins in a row. (The first time they did it was almost a century ago, in 1911, 1912 and 1913.)

Despite Kilkenny being the clear favourites, almost the entire population of Waterford city and county (and many others in the 30 other Irish counties - except Kilkenny, of course) was hoping that this year the famous Liam McCarthy Cup would be won by Waterford. And after 45 years of waiting for another appearance in the final and 49 years after their last win the 'Blaas' (nickname of the team, derived from a popular bread role specific to Waterford) felt confident that they could do it.

For the past two weeks the city and county were in a state of tribalist ecstasy. In all the years I live here, I have never before seen so many flags in the county colurs (white & blue) displayed around the city. Many cars were flying the flag (and often two of them) as well. The atmosphere was electric, with high spirits shown openly. Complete strangers in the street would have a brief conversation about the matter, and people who know each other would speak about Hurling with more depth and enthusiasm. This was a rare experience in a region that is still under-developed, has the highest unemployment rate in Ireland and still no university...

The high spirit was carried on towards Dublin as well, and at Croke Park the presence of white & blue clearly outnumbered the showing of black & amber in the audience of the fully sold-out stadium. Even plenty of the neutrals (people from other counties) felt that, after such a long time of waiting, it was now "Waterford's turn" and wished us well, while many sports reporters and pundits also hoped for a Waterford win, as it would be good for the game as such and keep the competition more interesting.
But - unfortunately - all the enthusiasm and euphoria led to nothing but bitter disappointment. In the match this afternoon Waterford was not only beaten by Kilkenny again, the 'Blaas' were in fact hammered and outclassed by their opponents. The final score of 3-30 for the 'Cats' and only 1-13 for the 'Blaas' speaks for itself. (The first number stands for goals - worth 3 points - and the second for extra points scored. The total of points decides the winner. The same scoring system, which regularly confuses foreigners, is also applied to Camogie and Gaelic Football.)

Commentators and pundits on RTE Radio were audibly disappointed, and some said that they had "never before seen Waterford play so poorly". The disappointment for the thousands of fans who had traveled to Dublin for the match and all the supporters here at home was of course a lot worse. In fact, as I write this Waterford is in shock and a strange silence of sadness hangs over the city.

So what went wrong? Why did 'our boys' not perform as expected? Or was there perhaps simply too much hype and wishful thinking on the side of the Waterford people, not justified by the form and fitness of the team? Hard to say, and nobody really knows. As I am not a Hurling expert and in general not that keen on sports, I would not be qualified to analyse this. So I don't.

All I can report is that the mood in Waterford is terrible now, with the great hopes so many of the local people had invested in a team of 15 players crushed, and crushed in such a spectacular fashion. All who saw the match or listened to the broadcast will know that Kilkenny outplayed and outclassed Waterford right from the opening whistle, scoring massively. It appeared as if the Waterford team was almost stunned by the onslaught and had simply no answer, as they were so sure that it was their turn to win this time.

Well, life goes on and the world has not ended, even though it might seem so for hardcore GAA fans in Waterford. One should be realistic and fair to the team, which after all made it to an All-Ireland final. This in itself is a great achievement, and - as mentioned above - had not happened to Waterford for 45 years. They were beaten by the best, and that is no shame. So I hope that in days and weeks to come the usual begrudgers that always raise their ugly heads when things go wrong, will shut up and mind their own business.
In recent years the Waterford hurlers have improved their playing significantly. They won three Munster championships and several other titles. Last years they missed the All-Ireland final by a whisker, and this year they got there eventually. This should be reason for joy, and it hopefully will be. And, of course, there is always next year...

But today is undoubtedly Kilkenny's day, and it is not more than fair and proper to congratulate the 'Cats' on their great win, while the whole of the Emerald Isle watches with joy and awe their captain James "Cha" Fitzpatrick (above) lifting the Liam McCarthy Cup, once again adorned with black and amber ribbons.

To make it a truly perfect day for Kilkenny, their minor team also won their All-Ireland final (played before the seniors' match), beating Galway 3-6 (15 points) to 0-13 (13 points). In a way the minor match was actually more exciting than the senior one, as Kilkenny had really to fight for their win. Having led by eight points (1-5 to 0-0) at half-time, Kilkenny saw Galway fighting back in the second half and scoring frequently, while Kilkenny almost dried up. Then a substitute (from the lovely little village of Mooncoin) came in, scored a goal and a point, and saved the day for his team. (The young man will be a local hero in Mooncoin for the rest of his life, I can assure you...)
This only underlines the strength of Hurling in County Kilkenny, which is also the home of the national club champions, Ballyhale (which is a tiny village). One of the GAA pundits on RTE said today that "there is nothing else there, so they play Hurling all the time". This might well be the case, but on its own it would not create the great successes. What comes with it is determination, hard work and - most of all - enormous discipline. And this is rather a rare commodity in modern Ireland, where the laissez fair attitude of 'anything goes' is prevalent.

As so often, it probably is a result of proper leadership. For the past ten years the Kilkenny team has the same manager, Brian Cody, who had a great career as a player himself before turning to management. Cody has a remarkable track record. Since 1999 he guided Kilkenny to six All Ireland titles, nine Leinster titles and four National Hurling League titles. The team's dominance of the Leinster Championship is unparalleled in the modern era, to the extent that under Cody Kilkenny have only lost one provincial game since 1999.
One of the key elements of his success is strict discipline. Brian Cody has the view that no player is bigger than the team. He consistently takes a "my way or the highway" approach when dealing with players and has been accused of having a "ruthless streak" in selecting players. This was evident in 2006, when he dropped his own son from the Kilkenny starting fifteen. However, his system works and has made the 'Cats' the most successful Hurling team in modern times.

Combine this with the fact that Cody is a Kilkenny man himself and has therefore strong local loyalties. Many sports teams nowadays change managers and trainers quite regularly, and often a manager who led one team to success is then hired by their opponents, in the hope that he will do the same for them. GAA sports are no exception to that, even though they are still played by amateurs. But the concept, as much as it might make sense in theory, rarely works in practice. (Waterford manager David Fitzgerald, appointed to his job only in June of this year, comes from Co. Clare, while his predecessor Justin McCarthy, who held the post for seven years, came from Co. Cork.)
Brian Cody is different. He is a Kilkenny man, first and foremost, who only ever played for one county and managed one county: Kilkenny. It is an example of Celtic tribalism at its best. This - in my humble opinion (not being a Hurling expert) - is the 'secret' of Kilkenny's great and lasting success. It might be good for Hurling and for Ireland if we had more people like Brian Cody.

As I write this, both teams are still in Dublin, one celebrating, the other licking their wounds. But tomorrow evening they will both return home to large civic ceremonial welcomes. Obviously the celebration will be larger and more joyful in Kilkenny, but Waterford will also give their team a good turnout for their homecoming. Such is local loyalty. The current Mayor of Waterford City, Jack Walsh (Labour Party) organised the ceremony long before the match was played. (By the way, the division between Waterford and Kilkenny can even go through families. As it happens, both teams will be welcomed home by a member of the same family, as the current Chairman of the Kilkenny County Council is a brother of the current Mayor of Waterford. They have not fallen out over Hurling and both also belong to the same political party.)

The importance of their participation in the All-Ireland final is so great that about 80% of all the companies on Waterford's industrial estate have given their workers Monday off in advance, and many local schools will be closed tomorrow as well. As I said above, one needs to be Irish, or live here for a long time, to understand all this. It might not be relevant to anyone outside this island, but I thought it would be interesting to give you a snapshot of an aspect of Irish life that few who don't live here will ever experience. It says so much about this nation, its culture and mentality.

The Emerald Islander

Cluster Bomb Conference opens in Dublin

Today an important international conference, which is aimed at securing a treaty to ban cluster bombs, has opened in Dublin.

Michaél Martin (photo left), Ireland's new Minister for Foreign Affairs, gave the opening address at Croke Park this morning and welcomed delegates from 110 countries. He said that he hopes for an ambitious outcome to the two-week conference that would be widely supported and set the international standard.

UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon (right) delivered a video message to the conference, emphasising its importance in finding new ways for a more peaceful future.

The international efforts from governments, organisations and individuals to ban the use, manufacture and trade of cluster bombs and ammunitions have gained momentum over the past year. It follows widespread revulsion about the impact of these weapons that open in mid air and randomly scatter dozens of individual bomblets over a large area. They can remain hidden on the ground and kill people even years after a conflict ends.

Various types of cluster ammunitions are regularly used by the US military in Iraq and Afghanistan. (The photo on the left shows an American B-1 strategic bomber dropping a whole load of them.) And one of the most ruthless and atrocious users of cluster bombs is Israel.
During the (unprovoked and illegal) month-long Israeli attack on Lebanon in July and August 2006 more than a million of the bomblets were dropped on Lebanese soil by Israeli aircraft, most of them in highly populated areas of the capital Beirut.
They have caused the death of many Lebanese, injured a great many more, and no one knows how many of them remain still undetected on the ground, as permanent peril for innocent people.

Some countries will lobby to exempt certain weapons, or for a long transition period. But it is most significant that the four countries that are the main users and producers of cluster bombs - the USA, China, Russia and Israel - have decided not to send any delegation to the conference at all.
Well, this boycott of a ground-breaking conference might backfire on them politically in the future. Even though the four abstaining countries are quite powerful, they will not be able to stand against a clear and united action from the rest of the world.

Grethe Ostern, joint head of the international Cluster Munitions Coalition (CMC) umbrella group, said this morning: "Governments have been talking about the dangers of cluster bombs for years. More delays mean more injuries and death for ordinary people. We have a unique opportunity to ban cluster bombs in Dublin. It is now or never."

The conference, which is scheduled to continue for two weeks, is the largest international event of its kind ever hosted by Ireland.

The Emerald Islander