An Irish Paralympian
[Most recent College paper piece] *
Meeting Irish Table Tennis Paralympian Eimear Breathnach
Ten minutes until game time. “I’ll listen to a particular song a couple of times, on repeat, to try and get your adrenaline going and try and block out the nervous energy in the room from the other athletes.” The minutes tick down. “The hall in Beijing held nine thousand people but was quite small, with steep sides, a bit of a cauldron.” Game on. “Once you’ve started you block it out you don’t see it or hear it.”
It takes years of preparation for an athlete to reach moments like this. Unfortunately for athletes competing in this Summer’s Olympic and Paralympic games those moments can only come around once every four years and then they are gone. “It took me two years to fully get over the last Paralympics. You only have one opportunity and it is so much bigger than anything else.”
For Eimear, Beijing was the culmination of eight years training. With narrowly missing out on a place at Athens in two fields came the decision to concentrate solely on table tennis. “The Beijing Paralympics were my first so it was absolutely a huge experience.” She may have had to only wait four years for a second bite at the Paralympics but the journey has far from smooth.
“I decided to take an eight month break after the Beijing Paralympics and I actually got sick soon after that and my eight month break turned into a two year one. I had to really fight and struggle to get back to fitness. It was great to get back especially thinking I mightn’t. So I had to fight to qualify harder than I did in Beijing. With the increasing standard and coming back from being out it might mean more to me.”
Even without this extended break qualification is no picnic. “You count your best six tournaments and you’re bound to have one or two bad tournaments. I did eight which is the minimum most people would do. Most places its 2 flights minimum and a bus journey. Most tournaments are the guts of a week, getting up at 4 in the morning and getting to your location at 8,9,10 at night and having to be up for 6 to play matches the next morning so it’s demanding on your body, as well as mentally This time last year I was sick of the thoughts of all the tournaments so this year there’s a different focus; I can focus on training” Focus on London.**
“The support for the Irish team will be phenomenal, there’s such a huge Irish contingent in London even without bringing more over. I don’t think there has ever been such demand for tickets before the games.” But with the extra support comes extra pressure. “It being in London does add extra pressure. “The squad will be going to a holding camp in Portugal before we go from there to London. The pressure will have built up here. But 90% of the pressure comes from yourself. The nerves never disappear because you expect more of yourself as you go. When you start out you try not to lose badly rather than win. Now, the nerves are there because you expect so much of yourself.”
“I want to compete better than I did in Beijing because I was disappointed there, I didn’t compete as well as I could compete but looking back I didn’t do as badly as I felt. In the last year I’ve performed better than I have in my whole career. As long as I compete to the best of my ability anything could happen. There are only twelve players and on any given day most of us could beat each other. I am really looking forward to it. There’s nothing to compare to the Paralympic games, the build up, there really is nothing like them.”
END
This was my first interview so I was actually quite nervous. Luckily Eimear was really nice and things went okay I think. Listening back on it I probably talked too much, I interjected too much definitely, I tried to make sure in writing it I got out of the way and let the piece be mainly her words.
I found it way more difficult to to put it together than I thought I would. Am happyish at how its come out especially as in the end I had to rush to put it together, bit too dramatic but over dramatisation is usual enough in sports writing I suppose.
It was really sound of Paralympics Ireland and Eimear to take the time for this. Hopefully I can do some more interviews and improve.
*Title in the paper was “The Long Road to London” which I think is a bit generic/cliched but probably still better than anything I came up with.
** ”Focus on London” was removed by the editor for the paper, I don’t really mind that, they were probably the last three words I wrote cause I was looking for a quick way to link the paragraphs and they might be overly dramatic.
Here’s something that’s annoying me: Emmanuel Adebayor
Well actually it isn’t Emmanuel Adebayor. Well it is, but it isn’t actually anything he’s done. Currently he is plying his trade for Tottenham Hotspur who are quite fortuitous in that they must only pay a fraction of his wages and haven’t had to pay a cent in pesky transfer fees due to having him on loan from Manchester City.
His performances thus far have, in no small part, helped bring Spurs to 3rd in the Premier League. He has had a direct hand in goals against both Liverpool and Aresnal. But he won’t be scoring against Manchester City. Premier league rules mean that he is not allowed play against his owners for fear of conflict of interest*.
It is a complete farce that Manchester City can use their enormous financial power to not only stockpile vast amounts of talent in their own squad but also ‘dope’ an opponent of their rivals. The enemy of my enemy becomes an even closer friend when we can come to such a beneficial arrangement.
It is very convenient to confine the argument to Manchester City and wax lyrical about how they are the root of all evil ignoring the fact that loan deals between premier league clubs happen on a regular basis just without profiles as high as the three in this case.
The smell of Man City-Tottenham arrangement brings attention to all loan deals within the premier league and if the subject is examined objectively it soon becomes difficult to justify any such deals.
It is very common, and useful, for teams to loan out younger players to the ‘weaker’ clubs in the premier league to gain experience but even then why should some clubs benefit and others not. From the outside it is also concerning, if understandable, to see the that the basis for which clubs are chosen as a destination in some deals is based on personal relationships between managers etc. It does seem that this will always be a part of any system that the premier league would be willing to establish.
But this does not mean it cannot easily be improved. The simple, sensible solution is to ban all loans within the premier league.
*We can all blame Lomana Lualua for this as, according to the internets, it was his 89th minute goal for Portsmouth against parent club Newcastle that led to the change in rules. Before this it was just a common clause in the contract.
As well as impacting the game at this level Lomana has had a more intimate effect on fans one of whom was inspired to write/record a song:
Back in the Fold: UCD 31-9 Dublin Universities
The paper obviously got stuck and turned to good old so far fairly unreliable me!
Yellow helps blues beat whites on the green of Donnybrook: Colours Rugby
UCD 31-9 Dublin Universities
A cold, incisive performance gave UCD a 31-9 victory over Dublin Universities (DU) on a drizzly Friday night in Dublin 4. A performance suited to a match where revenge was always going to be a motivating factor. Last year’s loss to DU was the only blemish on an otherwise perfect season for Collidge, costing them the league and now while still in their centenary year it was a chance to make amends.
The 60th rugby Colours match was a game of four quarters each with a more impressive UCD display than the last. DU had the better of the early exchanges looking to have the superior pack and kicked ahead through David Joyce 3-0 and 6-3.
UCD struggled to create any momentum, with knock-ons and losses in contact ruining any continuity. The game in general was very stop-start but especially the first half. UCD were more to blame with for this with the aforementioned issues as well as an over aggressive attitude in defence gifting the opposition penalties for offside and not rolling away after the tackle.
DU’s initial dominance in the forwards was curbed by an over enthusiastic use of the unlimited substitutions rule under which the match was being played. Close to 20 changes of personnel took place during the match and UCD seemed to come out on top with a better depth of squad.
It was in the last five minutes of the first half that the match started to come alive. After going behind for the second time UCD had their best period of sustained pressure eventually equalising in the 35th minute through the boot of Niall Earls. Two minutes later after failing to deal with a high ball DU’s number nine Michael McLoughlin slowed down the ball in the ruck and received a yellow card. The resulting penalty made it 9-6 but DU rallied to level at half time.
The scrumhalf’s absence gave UCD the gap they had searched for throughout the first half when, after three minutes into the second, his opposite number, Rob Shanley, ran in from thirty yards showing enough pace to make it look rudimentary.
The combination of their defence being breached and two missed penalties seemed to sap DU of some fervency. This meant that UCD’s outstanding wing, Sam Coughlin Murray, finally found himself in some space and was able jink by would-be tacklers to strike from over thirty yards out.
The game’s final score came when Coughlin Murray latched onto a James Tracey cross field kick and put Alex Kelly in for an easy try. A clinical performance by UCD, taking their chances when they came, meant, on this day the colour of victory was blue.
Michael Twomey, Sam Coughlin Murray, Andy Cummiskey (capt.), David Lynch, Tom Fletcher, Niall Earls, Rob Shanley, Kieran Moloney, Neil Foley, Brian Hall, Brian Cawley, Keelan McKenna, Danny Kenny, Mark McGroarty, Shane Grannell Subs: James Tracey, David Doyle, Richie Dent, Alan O’Connor, Peter de Toit, James Thornton, Alex Kelly
Irish Rugby vs Irish Soccer
Why do we now support the Irish rugby team so much more than the soccer team?
The common answer is simply because they’re better. This is the common answer because it is correct for the most part. I think the success of the national sides is a major part of the switch in the last ten years but there are other factors at play:
Clubs
I don’t just mean how successful they are either. Of course Munster’s phenomenal run over the last decade and Leinster’s achievements of the last few years have been important but it’s the familiarity more than the victories that impact . Big club rugby matches have become a mainstay of the Irish sports diet and so we have gotten to know the players that make up our international side and squad. It isn’t even that there are no Irish soccer club sides populated with national players but those playing abroad no longer play for the bigger (more televised) sides in contrast to when soccer was our major international sport.
The links a lot of people have to their Premier League side are tenuous enough (mine was originally based on the number of Irish players) and the amount of support Sunderland got from here in their ‘Irish era’ shows to me that we crave a more rational reason to latch on to these clubs as well as wanting to see more of our players. When we do see our players on highlight programs it is glimpses only.
Off pitch familiarity is just as important. Pre and post game interviews with players as well as the more consistent media spotlight placed on the players due to the club scene let us get to know the players better.
Players
It helps that the Irish rugby team seem far more likable than their soccer counterparts. Maybe more importantly than likability they are definitely far more relatable. The absurd amount of money the soccer players earn and the path that they must take to reach that point make them a different animal:
Soccer player: leave home incredibly young or just very young, hang around with other soccer players, get too much too young, never grow up.
Rugby player: play schools rugby, play college/development rugby, get less money at an older age.
When Robbie Keane and Spurs pals went to Coppers a christmas or two ago anyone who took pictures with their phone got them confiscated or made delete the picture. When Tommy and Ronan went to New Zealand(taken Sunday):
[robbed from http://twitter.com/#!/ciara_toner/status/123369620219506689/photo/1]
The relatability of the teams is something that has flipped in the last decades. Rugby players were all privately educated and rugby seen as, for lack of a better phrase, a sport for snobs. This may still be true to some extent but by the age of 20 the money earned by soccer players moves them a lot further away in terms of how we can relate to them.
Another point that I suppose shouldn’t be left unsaid is that this Irish rugby team is made up of 99% Irish players. It must be easier to support the Irish player with the Irish accent than the one with the English one.
Linking the Clubs and Players arguments is the fact that you can bump into an Irish international in Dublin or Cork or wherever, which may not make a huge difference but it certainly helps.
Meaningful Matches, proper season
When we watch the rugby team play it is either in important competitions or testing themselves against the best opposition in the world. Even if Ireland were a world class soccer team we would still spend way more time watching them qualify for major tournaments (against far weaker competition generally) than playing in them. If for instance we had to watch the rugby team play the Namibias and Georgias of the world every year with a sprinkling of good teams it would not be as appealing.
International rugby is the highest level that any Irish rugby player can ever hope to reach. Champions League soccer is the highest level that any Irish soccer player can ever hope to reach.
There is a definite rugby international season. When the team get together to play a six nations they stay together and the competition is over in a number of weeks. Both the lack of continuity for the soccer team fixtures and the level of opposition makes it harder to support them.
For instance I really enjoyed Ireland’s 0-0 display in Russia (in a preverse, I can’t take much more, intense sort of way) but any growth in interest/support is quashed by the fact there is a month until the next match and even then it’s against Andora.
Better to watch
Whether rugby is an inherently better sport to watch than soccer is a matter of opinion (I am going to write on this in a few weeks) but whether this Irish rugby side is better to watch than it’s soccer counterpart is not up for debate. This Irish soccer side is deplorable to watch. I don’t think Trapattoni should be castigated for this, he is there to get the best out of his side but entertainment it is not. And the masses want to be entertained.
Paper Piece Three: UCD vs UCC
And thus endeth the college paper career (I think). This is my first, and possibly last match report. I enjoyed going to the match to try and look at what was happening rather than support a team. Usually I can never really pay much attention at what the other team is doing. Plus both the UCD tries were brilliant. Remember the (very long, very UCD) name Sam Coughlin Murray. You heard it here first.
It was a rather odd experience to listen to both sets of fans shouting “Come on Collidge”. ‘Collidge’ is what they refer to the team as, as noted in the season programme. Make of that what you will.
Match on Saturday October 8th 2011; Report written Sunday October 9th.
UCD 23-16 UCC
UCD fought well against both strong opponent and a stronger wind to secure a 7 point victory against UCC. Good performances across the squad and a sensational two try individual display from Sam Coughlin Murray gave UCD the edge on the day.
Coughlin Murray provided the standout moment of the game when, in the twelfth minute of the second half, he took off from his own ten metre line to burn past the Cork defence who looked statuesque in comparison. It was his, and UCD’s, second try of the match and was the score that proved to be the difference between the teams at the game’s end.
The fixture’s beginning was tentative affair with both sides slowly feeling their way into the match, conscious not to take risks in their own half which lead to the game being played between the 22s.
UCD grew into the game with time and by the tenth minute were looking the better side dominating possession, if not in the most dangerous of pitch positions. The opening score came in the eighteenth minute with the move stating from possession secured by Shane Grannell’s lineout catch. The ball was spread quickly to the far sideline where Coughlin Murray had the pace to beat his man on the outside, the skill to chip over the covering defenders and the composure to ground the ball for a try. Niall Earls converted to give a seven point lead.
As is so often the case in sport, once UCD had scored, the opposition immediately stepped up their performance. Cork began to own the ball and finally entered UCD’s 22 after 25 minutes. After two quickly taken penalties their third brought them into a kicking position where outhalf Brian Kingston narrowed UCD’s lead to four.
Not content with simply closing the gap, UCC kept up their momentum and crossed the try line four minutes later. Flanker Willie Ryan, receiving the possession from quick ruck ball, broke down the left wing passing inside just before being hit hard. The pass went to ground but number eight Brian O’Callaghan had the wherewithal to kick it on touching it down beside the posts. This meant a simple conversion for Kinston and a lead of three for the Cork side.
UCD then came back into the game through the boot of Earls. He levelled matters in the 33rd minute with a penalty 20m from goal and five minutes after that he gave UCD the lead from half way.
The second half was quite even with UCD having more possession but Cork better territory. Except for Coughlin Murray’s try neither defence looked like opening. Two kicks from Kinston either side of one by UCD sub James Thornton brought UCC within seven but Collidge held on for a deserved victory.
Michael Twomey, Sam Coughlin Murray, Andy Cummiskey (capt.), David Lynch, Tom Fletcher, Niall Earls, Rob Shanley, Kieran Moloney, Neill Foley, Brian Hall, Brian Cawley, Mark Flanagan, Keelan McKenna, Danny Kenny
END
I say this is the end of writing for the paper because I sent it in around 8 last night which is way too late, especially for a story meant for the back page. This is down to the fact I couldn’t get the internet working at home and could only send it when I got to Dublin. It also doesn’t help that I didn’t look at my phone all day and had 3 missed calls from a Dublin number- presumably the paper. Yeah, I wouldn’t believe me either. I have yet to hear back from the paper.
Paper Piece 2: UCD Sports Expo
The mid point of my college paper trilogy. I don’t like this one. I kept thinking of different ways to open it and think I ended up crow-baring in at least three of them. I also think the start especially ( plus some other bits) is pretentious. I was thinking it as I wrote it, which is even worse. I put it down to trying to sound as if I know what I’m doing.
Picture that went along side the article
“No Experience Required”
A Trip to the centre of UCD’s Sports Universe It was the pervasive smell of popcorn and not deep heat that hit my nostrils on entering UCD Sports Centre Hall B for the Sports expo where the great and not so great of UCD sport gather to entice newcomers. Unlike the stalls tented 200m away it wasn’t with swag and a membership card that the clubs hoped to attract novices but a chance of good times, great friends and maybe some glory.
The hall was full of energy and there were friendly faces all around, except for some of the more serious martial artists who apparently prefer a more intimidating look. Sport inspires an enthusiasm almost unlike anything else and this enthusiasm was in abundance at the Ultimate Frisbee stand who were the first to nab me as I went by. “The game is self refereed so a lot of emphasis is put on the spirit of the game.” Explained Paul Barden. “The club has been around for more than ten years and right now we have over fifteen international players. Of course not everyone reaches that level and most people play for the enjoyment and the community around the sport.”
“No Experience Required” read the sign at the women’s rugby stall. This is the very beauty of college life and especially college sports. So much of the first few months of college is new and although we may never know our way around the arts building or the location of the other lake by joining one of the clubs you are guided through the basics step by step. Although, in this case, I think some experience of being a woman is needed.
Sean O’Gorman, former captain of the table tennis club, told me that “All of the committee members are coaches. So when we train we mix it up between practice matches and working on technique.” They’re obviously doing something right as they are looking for their twelfth consecutive varsity win. American Football players Paddy Butler and Chris Scollard agreed that the passing of knowledge was vital for the smaller sports. “Most people will never have played before so it really is important. Our sport is so position specific so everybody has a responsibility to pass on what they’ve learned”
The Sports Expo is a veritable sports utopia where the club with the frisbee gets as much space as the one with the football but the same cannot be said of reality. The ultimate frisbee club’s hope of hosting a rookie tournament have been dashed by UCD’s slow response in allocating room and the American Footballers must wait until after the rugby season so that pitches are available.
Room is not an issue for the caving and potholing society as they have no interest in manicured fields and modern sports complexes. “All is needed basically is a hole in the ground. Its handy that a lot of the north of Ireland is basically a sponge” Brian Ferguson told me. Of all the videos displayed at the various stalls it was those at the Caving and Potholing stand that I found most arresting. “Junior cert geography come to life” was how Brian described it but not doing it justice. There can’t be many better clubs to show you the beauty of Irelands interior. Whether you want to compete or you just want to play one of UCD’s many super sports clubs would love to have you.
You can find details for them all at www.ucd.ie/sports/clubs.
Picture of Sports Expo
College Paper Piece 1: Ireland versus America and Rugby World Cup
This is the first article I ever wrote for for anything way back a month ago. It was for the college paper but didn’t make it in because it was late…a running theme in my short journalism career: (also it might not be very good)
September 11 2011
Ireland versus America and World Cup
Oh to be an underdog. The weight if expectation has never sat comfortably on Irish shoulders although it must be said that this Irish team did it’s best to temper expectations losing ten of the last fifteen tests in the lead up to the tournament. Winning their opening game against their former coach Eddie O’Sullivan and his emotionally charged American Eagles was always the most important thing but the memories of France four years ago still hang around the neck and this victory will not have quashed any fears of a similar campaign.
The closeness of the 23-13 score line is par for the course for the opening weekend with every single one of the eight underdogs doing better than the bookmakers had predicted.
It is hard to gauge if the relative closeness of the matches is due to an overrating of the better teams, an underrating of those a tier below or maybe a response to the pressure brought on by the stage. Most likely is that the very best teams are attempting to peak at the latter stages of the six week tournament, while teams a level below, like Ireland are targeting specific games.
The first of one such match for Ireland arrives next Saturday September 17th in the form of Australia. Australia are at the other end of the spectrum in terms of form entering the world cup coming of a Tri Nations triumph that includes impressive wins over other world cup top seeds New Zealand and South Africa.
After that Ireland face world cup new comers Russia, in what should be a routine, if bruising, encounter. Italy provide the opponent for Ireland’s final and most crucial pool game. By that time injuries and fitness will play a key role and Ireland’s stronger squad should be able to see off the Italians. In terms of the tournament as a whole strength of squad means that Australia may be better suited to last the grueling six weeks than heavey favourites New Zealand whose team is founded on a smaller core of players. Luck always play a part in these longer tournaments as every team does have their key individuals and avoiding injury to the likes of Brian O’Driscoll, Richie McCaw and Jonny Wilkinson is hugely important.
Along with those three some other major recognisable names at the world cup include France’s Imanol Harinordoquy, New Zealand’s Dan Carter and former Leinster player Rocky Elsom. What is striking about the better known players at this world cup is that they were also the stars of the previous one and are generally not going to be playing at this level in four years time.
That makes this world cup a changing of the guard from the first generation of players who spent their whole careers playing professionally to the stars of the future such as Austrailia’s David Pocok and Will Genia or New Zealands Sonny Bill Williams.
The conflict that may arise from the eking out of aging stars is encapsulated perfectly in the battle for Ireland’s out half position between Jonny Sexton and Ronan O’Gara. Sexton seems to have the job for now but will have to improve on his kicking game, if he and Ireland hope to Survive. The new world cup ball seems to be affecting kicking as the elements could not be blamed for the eleven kicks missed in the England vs. Argentina game that was played indoors.
Ireland will find it very difficult to progress beyond the quarter final stages but at least by then we should be back to being an underdog! END
I was obviously proved wrong by Ireland’s superb performance but am happy in the fact that I put down on paper what a big role injury would play. I don’t think Ireland beat Australia if they have Pocock and the others and I think they’ll go on to beat New Zealand because of who the ABs (this, Dave the newzealander’s newzealand friend calls them) are missing.
