Our columnist Frank Brandon talks about the atmosphere at Ballygar Carnival, the effect global warming is having on Ireland’s wasp population, an exciting period for Connacht football, and more!
It’s Friday evening at around 7.30 pm, and I find myself in Ballygar, where I have to admit that I am totally astounded at the number of people out on the town.
Now I was well aware that the annual carnival had started the night before, and that it is still one of the biggest festivals in the country, but I really thought it would be relatively quiet so early in the evening.
Anyway, after two or three laps of the town trying to find a place to park, I eventually got one, and started on a long walk into the town centre. The Murray Amusements were in full swing, and young and old seemed to be thoroughly enjoying themselves, but it was only when I came across a couple of lads
dressed as bananas that the penny dropped. Ally Pally, which hosts the outrageously colourful and wild World Dart Finals, was being more or less replicated in the McDonagh Centre, and there was every class of a costume to be seen among the darts aficionados.
Rob Cross, a recent world champion (2018) was in attendance, and apparently was going to take on all-comers! I am not a particularly enthusiastic darts fan, so I didn’t actually go inside, but I’m sure the sell-out crowd had great fun; the atmosphere would have been electric.
How long the lads stayed in the bananas, I have no idea, but you’d have to say they were good skins! As for me, I was only in town for a short while, but it was great to see such a huge crowd around at that time of the evening.
Pitch perfect
It’s now Saturday evening as I write, and I’m on the road again. This time I’m off to Croghan, where our lads (Creggs) are due to take on the local team,
Shannon Gaels, in the first round of the Intermediate Championship.
It’s been a few years since I was last there, at which time they were in the middle of a big upgrade on both the grounds and the surrounds, including building a stand. And so Saturday was the first time I had seen the result of their efforts – and I can only say it’s a credit to everyone involved!
The entire place was fantastic, and the pitch looked so good that I wished I was 60 years younger. The organisation by the club for parking and all that sort of stuff was first class, and I congratulate all at Shannon Gaels on doing such a wonderful job.
Sadly for them, we won the game, but that doesn’t take away from the great work that the club has done!
Buzz kill
A couple of years ago, I told you about two wasp nests that I came across out in the hedge at the front of the house, and how after bravely getting stung a couple of times I had to call in the experts – AOK pest control from Roscommon – to get rid of them.
AOK’s Alan O’Keefe came out and got rid of the annoying creatures, and thankfully I haven’t had any nests since. Obviously you will always have the occasional one or two in a garden, but over the last year or two there’s really been nothing major.
And so I am a little bit sad to see on today’s papers that there is a shortage of wasps in both Ireland and the UK.
Now it’s not that I’m particularly fond of them, especially the two that stung me that year, but at the same time they are important for nature as pollinators and pest controllers. It seems the very hot weather, followed by the cold damp days and chilly nights that we have had both here and in the UK, is to blame, and that those weather extremes caused queens to either abandon their nests or die, all leading to a smaller population.
Also, according to Professor Seirian Sumner, a professor of behavioural ecology, the wasps have got a lot smaller and there are a lot less of them.
All that is bad news for AOK and all the other pest controllers out there, but at least it means that the likes of me can go out to the garden and be fairly confident that I won’t be stung.
That may not be the end of all my gardening woes however, as I am presently nursing a dirty little cut that I got while trimming the hedge. Sadly, my late wife Carol was the gardener, and while I am doing my best, I really haven’t got a clue!
Only for our friends Baz and Julie, who do their best to keep things right out here, I think I’d be totally out of my depth. Anyway, that’s why you don’t see as many wasps as there used to be – it’s all down to global warning.
PS: I’m not fully sure what a behavioural ecologist is, but it sounds important!
And finally…
What a wonderful few days it has been for Connacht football, with Mayo winning the senior men’s All-Ireland, Galway winning the ladies’ equivalent, and Roscommon taking home the intermediate title with a resounding win over Fermanagh.
I have to say the Roscommon ladies were superb on the day, and totally outclassed their northern opponents, so heartiest congratulations to all the panel of players and the team management.
Small places like Creggs don’t have very many All-Ireland medal winners; you could probably count them on one hand, our last two being Colin Canny and James McKeague on the 2006 minor winning team. So it was a particularly proud moment for us all to see Laura Mannion (née Fleming) play such a big part in Sunday’s win, and finally get the reward she has long deserved.
In fairness to TG4, it was great for them to broadcast the three ladies’ finals, and for those of us who didn’t get to Croke Park, it was lovely to watch all the games – in my case two of them – in their entirety.
On The Sunday Game, it was nice to see Brid Stack pay tribute to a number of Roscommon players, including Laura, who have overcome various adversities to come back, make the county team, and be part of such a momentous occasion. Well done to them all, especially our girl Laura – what a day for the Rossies!
As for Galway and Kerry, the general consensus on Monday seems to be that it was a poor game. However, I thought the defending from both teams was absolutely outstanding, and there was so little
space that scores were certainly at a premium, and every one of them was well and truly earned.
I know everyone raves about the way football has been reinvented, and become such an exciting game with lots of very high scores. Maybe I am old-fashioned, but I thought it was great to see such brilliant defending, and that the senior final was a proper contest – irrespective of the highly controversial ending.
All told it was a super day of ladies football, and out here in Creggs we are very proud of our latest All-Ireland medal winner Laura Mannion.
‘Til next week, bye for now!
