On the fifth anniversary of Anthony Foley’s passing I write in the Irish Examiner why his loss affected so many people so much. You can read it here.
An article in the Irish Examiner on the first club rugby match since February, due to Covid-19. On the rightness and relief of live rugby’s return to Musgrave Park even in the middle of a pandemic with all sorts of restrictions. Read it here.
So. Hurling and camogie have been granted special status by the United Nations cultural body. I like the name of the list that UNESCO (The United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization) uses: the Intangible Heritage List. I would have thought hurling and camogie tangible enough, if you were given the task of being marked (pun intended) by a Catherine Foley or Daithí Burke for 60 or 70 minutes of championship fare. But I get what they mean – as distinct from buildings and objects and so on. In a way, describing sports as intangible is a good idea, because it’s the feelings we have about sports that matter, not their physical presence or essence – or importance.
Peter The Great: Beyond Perfect and into Myth. Piece in The Irish Examiner about Peter O’Mahony’s impossible performance against New Zealand in a rugby test match. Ireland beat the All Blacks for the first time ever on Irish soil and the win could not have been possible were it not for O’Mahony’s Homeric deeds. Click here to read.
