It’s Saturday evening, and my plan of getting the shop closed at 5 o’clock, has, for a change, worked out, and I am heading home and looking forward to the Pro 12 final, where it just must be written in the stars that Munster will be crowned champions.
After a season in which they lost their beloved coach, former player, and true Munster legend, Anthony Foley, it was unthinkable that the visiting Welsh side, the Scarlets, would spoil the inevitable party, and I was looking forward to the resurrection of a new southern super team. Less than twenty minutes after the game kicked off, any prior notion of victory was well and truly gone, and, even at that early stage, it was obvious that our expectations were totally over the top, and that my new Munster are still a long way off the quality required for a successful trophy winning team.
A couple of weeks ago, Saracens came to the Aviva and totally dominated their Champions Cup semi-final against the men in red, but we all thought it was simply a reflection of the brilliant team that the Sarries are, and there was no way that any Pro 12 team could do the same. Sadly there was, and on Saturday evening the game was over nearly before it started. In the Indo today Billy Keane says he is torn between two emotions – should he tear strips off the Munster men for their abject performance, or should he just, metophorically, hug them all, and thank them for their great efforts this year?
I would do the latter. They played like a team that had run out of fuel; they seemed to have very little energy, their legs seemed heavy, and the more they tried to get something going, the more things went wrong on them. Anyone out there that has played sport will all have experienced days like that, when no matter how you try, it just keeps going wrong, so the Munster lads should just lick their wounds, enjoy whatever break they get, and aim to get back on the horse in the coming season.
Earlier in the week, all of us suffering Manchester United supporters had the very unusual experience of winning a major European trophy, which carried the enormous prize of qualification for next year’s Champion’s League, but, obviously, with the scars of the horrific concert bombing a night or so earlier, it just hadn’t the same impact, and, not for the first time, it put life into its proper perspective. I’m sure that we will come to appreciate the importance, in a sporting sense, of the victory in the coming season, but I have to say it was a hollow win, against a young Ajax team that seemed completely overawed by the occasion.
Before I leave sport, on Saturday evening, after the Aviva disappointment, I headed to Mulhern Park in Fuerty where our local football team were taking on our near-neighbours in an eagerly-awaited local derby O’Gara Cup game. There was a great crowd at the game, a game that was played in a remarkably sporting manner – considering local rivalries – and in the end victory went to a very impressive Fuerty side.
As a Creggs man, I would say the final margin of nine points was a bit harsh on our lads, as there was only three points between them with a few minutes to go, but, nevertheless, I would have to say the Fuerty lads were supremely fit, very organised, and, in my opinion, are the best bet to win the intermediate championship. Mind you, I am told Michael Glavey’s are also playing very well so I’ll probably be wrong with my prediction, but so far our neighbours are definitely the best I’ve seen.
The championship, of which two rounds have already been played, is, apparently, now being parked up until August, which seems a bit ridiculous to me, but, anyway, as I’ve said before, championship time gives a great kick to every parish and every village, and all I can say is roll on August, ‘till it all resumes.
Get the money in!
Bina Harris has asked me to give you a final reminder to get all your sponsorship money for the Barrie Harris Walk, in, to either herself or Mikeen Roarke, as quickly as possible, as the raised funds are being distributed on Saturday, 10th of June, in Mikeen’s, where we will have the usual night’s fun and entertainment.
I keep saying that the walk has become the biggest fundraising event in our area, and so many charities benefit from the goodwill of the people, both local, and further afield, so get your funds in, and I’m sure that once again there will be a huge amount to be divided between a number of worthy causes.
Computers are grand, but…
Moving to air travel, and we have long since realised that technology has, more or less, taken over the running of all aspects of that business, and everything, from booking your ticket, to checking in and getting your boarding pass, is now automatically done at the click of a button, and, as long as everything is going well, it all works out perfectly. However, as last weekend proved (with British Airways), if something goes wrong it will result in chaos, and hundreds of thousands of passengers had their travel plans completely disrupted after a computer meltdown, and the error is going to cost the airline more than €60 million in compensation.
There were mass cancellations in Heathrow and Gatwick Airports, and one senior pilot described it as the worst chaos he had seen in 29 years. It proves once again that while computers are great, when something goes wrong, it can be catastrophic. I don’t suppose it will make us go back to pen and paper, and old-style calculations, but it does show that no matter how far we claim to have advanced, nothing is foolproof, and mistakes can always be made.
Finally…some local eggs-citement…
Finally for this week, out here in Creggs we have been called cracked, or hard-boiled many a time, but this weekend, as the picture shows, we were also scrambled, as some person, or persons, got to work on the entry signs into the village and as a result at the moment you are coming into the village of Eggs.
As a community we are coming out of our shells, we are going to find the yolk that did this to our signs, and if we do find them we will fry them in hot oil.
Till next week, Bye for now!
