It’s a good time to be Irish these days. After all, we’ve just had a couple of weeks of unprecedented success in so many sports that if Rory McIlroy wins the Masters in Augusta next weekend, our political leaders should declare a National Day of Sporting Celebration.
Our rugby boys set the pace with an unforgettable victory over Wales inCardiff to record our first Grand Slam win in over 61 years. It was simply magnificent. Then we had little Northern Ireland rising to the top of their World Cup Qualifying Group and while beating Slovenia 1-0 at Windsor Park may not set the international soccer world on fire, remember this was a team that could barely score a goal not so long ago, let alone win matches. And they have done something no other football team has done before them, in uniting anUlster crowd without all the old tribal banter that drove decent people away from matches in the past.
Well done Nigel Worthington and the boys in green. Stand up if you’re an Ulsterman, or woman, as plenty of them support Norn Ireland.
Not to outdone, Robbie Keane tucked one away in Italy to keepIreland in contention in their group, and wouldn’t it be wonderful if both our football teams made it to the finals in South Africa?
Our golfers have been rising to the challenge as well, and surprisingly not the old brigade that we have followed with so much passion in the last decade. Step up teenager Rory McIlroy, perhaps our greatest ever sports star in the making, and well done Michael Hoey last Sunday in winning his first European PGA tournament in Portugal. Add Graeme McDowell, Padraig Harrington, Paul McGinley, Gary Maybin and our own Darren Clarke, and Irish golf is arguably at its highest level ever.
Finally, let’s salute our cricket heroes in South Africa. OK, so it’s not the World Cup proper, but it’s the next best thing at our level, and with so many banana skins lying around, haven’t the boys performed superbly in the opening games?
It’s great to be Irish these days although one of our leading batsmen Eoin Morgan might not share the same euphoria. After all, it must have been strange to outsiders to see Eoin lift the Man-of-the-Match Award against Uganda forIreland on the same day he was selected for the England squad for the inaugural Twenty20 World Cup Competition in June!
Eoin is now in a right pickle as this series may well be his last major tournament for Ireland, if as expected, he goes on to greater things and wins full England recognition. He’s on the brink, and he could emulate Ed Joyce who defected prior to the last World Cup, but couldn’t sustain the form needed to hold his place at test level. Ed has since dropped off the England test team radar, but what an asset he would be for Irelandright now instead of serving out a possible four-year sabbatical at Sussex. Sadly Morgan could end up in much the same position, but who can blame the talented young sportsman for trying his lot at the highest level? Certainly not his fellow players, as several of his teammates must harbour similar ambitions. And that’s the irony of CricketIreland’s plight as the higher we rise in the cricket hierarchy, the more we need our best players. We certainly don’t want them hammering us in an England team that is moving in the other direction.
But that’s a debate for another day. Right now let’s get behind the wheel and give Cricket Ireland all the support we can in South Africa.
Clarence Hiles
Editor
