Thoughts from Eyre Square, Galway (00:02am, 26.07.11)

Be careful not to get trampled

I made my way through the herds of alcohol drenched zombies, glancing occasionally through the open bar doors that allowed the potent mixture of poor live band sounds and drunken rambling to filter out into the street, momentarily crippling my ear drums. Gaggling groups of girls would gingerly navigate their path through the hysteria looking as though each one was on the brink of losing balance as she walked a tightrope.

Cattle.

Their high-heels clunked and clicked like hooves on tiles as they're ushered onto the various dancefloors and the males behaved like impatient bulls. Awaiting slaughter.

It's not amazing or shocking. Distressing and sickening are words more befitting the scene. You have to be in an altered state of mind to enjoy this shit. You might even blend in. Put a loser in a decent suit, feed him three pints and he's closer to being the Führer than the useless degree-devaluer that he'll be the next day. Bizarre. We're all assholes from time to time. That's life. What annoys me are those unrepentent pricks who make it a vocation.

Irish nationals playing for the Football Association of Ireland? Get outta town!

Former Derry City and current Sunderland player, James McClean

It's an issue that was seemingly resolved in the summer of 2010, but the practice of Irish nationals playing for the Irish national team (that is, the FAI) amazingly continues to incite a capricious whirlwind of hysterical furore.

Over a year later and there still exists a hardcore element of the Northern Ireland support who maintain that, somehow, FIFA are acting contrary to their own rules and mindlessly facilitating a so-called "loop-hole", despite the numerous clarifications that have since surfaced. The Belfast Telegraph, known to be extremely sympathetic to the IFA's cause, is possibly one of the chief offenders in this regard, continuously peddling myths and misinformation about the "eligibility row". It is simply perturbing to think that such ignorance prevails in a period where information is so readily available. These ignorant hacks could do everyone a favour and educate themselves by having a read of Daniel Collins' extensive article, Player Eligibility in the Context of Ireland. Or, if their political sensibilities are easily upset, they could simply read over the report issued by the Court of Arbitration for Sport in the aftermath of the IFA -v- Daniel Kearns case. It's obvious that many have not.

For some, while the issue of eligibility is settled, the idea that the "flow" needs to be "stemmed" is beginning to emerge. The IFA has employed former Northern Ireland international, Gerry Armstrong, as a kind of pastoral officer (humorously titled "Elite Player Mentor") whose objective is to dissuade potential "defectors". Armstrong is said to come from a nationalist background, but he has been vocal in his support of the IFA.

"If a player wants to play for the Republic of Ireland then that is his view and he’s entitled to it but we need to cast the net wide and make sure players feel a sense of belonging with Northern Ireland... Perhaps peer pressure is influencing them but we need to talk to them, understand why they are thinking the way they are and encourage them that they can wear the Northern Ireland shirt with pride."

While Armstrong is something of a cult hero among Northern Ireland supporters, having played 63 times, scoring 13 goals, he is generally not held in the same esteem by those who have grown up solely supporting the Republic of Ireland, so it will be interesting to see how he is received when he incredulously enquires why the likes of Shane Duffy, Darron Gibson and James McClean would rather play for their country.

 

It is insulting to read articles in the media of the southern state advocating division and the effective exclusion of Irish nationals from playing for the Irish national team. Paul Rowan for example, who has covered the "eligibility row" in great detail, recently wrote of how "more must be done to stem the flow of players from the North to the Republic", claiming that the likes of Martin O'Neill, Mal Donaghy and Pat Jennings (all of whom are brazenly assumed to be Catholics) played for Northern Ireland without objection (Sunday Times, A division of loyalty, 14.08.11). Of course, how true that is, is open to debate; players are entirely able to have enjoyed their experience but at the same time to have held certain reservations.

 

There is no doubting that the whole saga has produced a lifetime of drama. However, the outcome of the IFA -v- Daniel Kearns CAS case has, after all these years, provided a degree of finality that should be respected.  Nobody likes a sore loser, so the IFA and its fans should leave the bitterness to lemons and get on with things.

Born Cynic?

I was ruffling through a selection of old files and folders from my first year at college and came across a short piece of writing which made me chuckle. The cynicism runs so deep in me, that it is quite difficult to discern whether I actually possess an inherent hateful disposition, or if it was learned from a young age. There is no date on the page, but it is definitely from the college year of 2008/2009, when I entered college.
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Sat here in the lecture hall, listening to this substitute lecturer ramble on about the form and content of a sub-standard poem, a poem that an enthusiastic 16 year old would easily understand, I am driven to writing this little blurb in order to occupy my mind. My mind had the seeming clairvoyance to anticipate what was to be discussed and due to the fact that I know most of the literary devices at the disposal of poets and such, the futility of my being here is extremely evident. However, I suppose that by creating this nonsensical piece of writing, there is at least one positive outcome of my decision to attend my 1 O'Clock English lecture.

I hate to tempt fate (I'll do it anyway) but surely these courses in Arts at NUI are ridiculously easy; certainly not what I expected from a third level course. I understand that these once respectable buildings which, at one time, housed the honourable pursuit of knowledge, have since become mere machines, churning out drones with the 'aptitude' of carrying out what are actually menial tasks. In actuality, these drones believe themselves to be adequately qualified and to my amusement (though sometimes disgust) they act - emphasis on act - as if they are actually intelligent. They are led to this assumption by the 'educational' institutions around the world who teach them the basics shrouded in a veil of complication.