Thursday, June 14, 2018

Update 14th June


*Request; If anyone has a programme of the Roscommon v Cavan Div. 2 League Final in Croke Park on Easter Sunday I would like to get it for a Roscommon supporter who has requested same who is living in London.  


Summertime for three weeks and now Hector
On, Wednesday, it was gloomy as the grey clouds gather and the Met. Office warned us of a storm called Hector heading our way. What a turnaround from nearly three weeks of Costa weather. My costa was the bog where I advanced - hopefully- the turf drying process with some t.l.c. and tall ‘footings’ to help in that I hope Hector does not turn those mini skyscraper footings on their head. It is great in those sunny days to be able to start a remedial job and just abandon it in the late evening leaving everything in place for the early next day continuance. So much can be achieved and there is an energy about that sees things get done and the ‘to do list’ is whittled down. That is consoling. It has been a pretty busy time.  Still this gloomy weather might enable one to watch some early evening World Cup soccer without too much of a conscience.

‘Un-bel-ievable’
I am loathe to dismiss the positives of living in this country but why do we have so many people and organisations who just cannot get it right. It is just  un-bel-ievable.

Category One:
 The Cervical Smear Screening and notification scandal….un-bel-ievable. But for the smarts of Vicky Phelan it would not have surfaced. Then the head of the H.S.E. Tony O’Brien seems to see a  big difference between ‘accountability’ and  ‘responsibility’.

Then there is the naming and adoption process which obtained back in the day and all that entails. The role of ‘Religious Orders’, priests, doctors, the State and his grey eminence, Archbishop McQuaid, casting his shadow on all that. Un-bel-ievable.

The Symphysiotomy Scandal.        The Hepatitis C scandal……the x, y, z scandal.


Category 2:
The ongoing Sgt. McCabe and Charleton Enquiry … a Garda Commissioner contradicting not just one but is it four or five people?  ‘I didn’t say that’ ‘I didn’t do that’ etc. Mobile phones gone  a.w.o.l. and the whole thing rumbles on as it gets into such a tangle that even as a casual observer one is inclined to say…’leave it so’ as a friend is wont to say. I just ‘Googled’ it to see that I had Mister Charleton’s name right and I felt I was in a domain from Orwell’s 1984 which is not for me. The last post there was;

12/06/2018 Take Notice - Copy Transcript DAY 90 held in Dublin Castle on Tuesday 12th June 2018     

Day 90 (possibly ‘working days’ as they say in the passport office)…….un-bel…..

2Then Mister David Kenneth Drumm is found guilty of spinning €7.2 Billion around from Anglo Irish Bank to x, y, z to show that their books were in rude good health…….Un….. (By the way don’t forget two of the stars of the CRASH of ’08 i.e. The Financial REGULATOR…Patrick Neary ….. who basically said at an enquiry   ‘It was the same system that was used in other European countries and it got a “ringing endorsement” from “objective” agencies like the IMF and the OECD. Patrick’s company had ‘Regulator’ or some such imprinted on his golf balls. I was tempted, just tempted, to leave out the word ‘golf’ there. What’s Patrick’s handicap now I wonder? (I don’t really) Un-bel…..
Then the name that goes with him is the Governor of the Central Bank of the time John Hurley who admits ‘mistakes were made’. Very sharp John……Un-bel-ievable.
Of course there is a slightly undercard of Michael Fingleton, Seanie Fitzpatrick (found not guilty), McAteer and  Whelan et al. 
I could go on and on….unbel….

I’ll move on or else I’ll have to delete the opening sentence.

Local History

Ranelagh Site One Km. from Roscommon on Boyle Road.
I’ve always had a keen interest in history in general and especially local history. On Tuesday night I attended a talk in Strokestown hosted by the Roscommon Historical & Archaeological Society. The speaker was Muireann Ní Cheallachain a supervising archaeologist on the road –alignment- project about a kilometre out of Roscommon on the Boyle Road.  Many of you will have come on it on that journey. The townland is called Ranelagh and there was no history of anything of historical significance being there. A requirement of any road works disturbing new ground is a geological and archaeological survey and the supervision by these personnel ongoing. For such an anonymous site it really gave up an amazing wealth of varied significance. There was a long term grave site there from the 5th to 12th centuries and it was something to see slides of the unearthed hundreds of human remains.
   After a year-long excavation that ended last October, including work by archaeologists through some of the worst storms in decades, a picture is emerging of the settlement that was probably occupied between the sixth and 11th centuries.
The remains of 793 people were found, about three quarters of them were intact and the others were not, for which the word ‘disarticulated’ is used. A huge amount of analysis has now to be done in the coming months which will give a much clearer picture. However, it is believed several of the 470 juveniles and infants whose remains were unearthed may have been placed there during the later use of the site as a children’s burial ground.
If you are interested you can find out more online by seeking ‘Ranelagh Archaeological Site Roscommon’ online.
The Roscommon Society publishes a Journal bi-annually which relates its many activities. I know that there are many such organisations through the country with Carrick-on-Shannon and Sligo also being very active.  

**In terms of Local History I am looking forward very much to doing 2 Walking Tours of  Boyle Town as part of Boyle Arts Festival which takes place from Friday July 20th to Saturday July 28th. The tours will take place on Wednesday the 25th from the King House at 3 and Saturday the 28th at 11am. The tours will take an hour and a half or so.      


Kim Jong Un trumps Trump
On a forensic analysis of the Singapore meeting of Kim and Donald I think that Donald came second which I suppose is good sometimes. It all has the potential of a future musical or circus with two characters Kim like the bad guy (?) out of a Bond film and Donald as some one of those characters from a Dell comic…..Spiderman/Batman/Superman or a new character altogether. One of my favourite episodes of ‘Only Fools and Horses was the mix up of the funeral and the fancy dress party where Del Boy and Rodney dress up as Batman and Robin. ‘I cannot believe it’ or some such, exclaimed the councillor being mugged by a thief as they approached.
I wonder what will President Trump make of the U.S./Mexico and his Canadian ‘friends’ getting the 2026 World Cup Finals…..ironic timing.
I’ll try and come back to earth now i.e. Hyde Park.

Connacht Finals
Wouldn’t it be nice had the sun shone until next Monday at least, as Roscommon contest two finals on Sunday. They have been surprise packets to many in reaching the U 20 final having beaten a highly regarded Galway (at a cost in terms of injuries etc.). They now meet Mayo on Sunday at 1. So it going to be a long day in Dr. Hyde Park  with the senior Final starting at 4.  
    It is great to see Boyle so ably represented by Cian McKeon at U 20 and the possibilities on Sunday are hugely interesting. Galway are favourites in the senior contest  but Roscommon have improved this year and are probably just not ‘there yet’ but it could be a cracker. So the very best of luck to all involved and particularly Boyle reps. Enda and Donie Smith.
It is very big day for Roscommon, Roscommon town and the GAA community in the county. But it was a close run thing as Wellington said of Waterloo. Still I found the terms and conditions as outlined on the back outside page of the Roscommon People pretty humiliating. If you have not read them I suggest you might, if you get an opportunity. Perhaps we have contributed to that with the lack of investment in Hyde Park and the state of the infrastructure there.
I hope it is a ‘good’ game of football as I cannot say I’ve seen one decent football game so far in this year’s championship. Indeed I have seen many awful games. Compare that with the drama and thrills of the hurling championships especially the Munster Championships though the sequence of games has to be amended to give teams and amateur players a time for recovery.
The Dublin V Longford game was surreal. As everyone sees Dublin are a Barcelona/Real Madrid of the game presently. What was David McGivney at when he charged into Cluxton in such a manner? Does anyone have a decent idea as to what is going on with Diarmuid Connolly who is now reported as going to Boston for the summer to play with Donegal there. Connolly would be mindful to take on board the thoughts of Kevin Cassidy who was dumped from the Donegal squad by Jim McGuinness after talking to a reporter called Bogue about the inside workings of Donegal. The Connolly rift must entail Jim Gavin and Diarmuid feeling hard done by in the past by Gavin.   

Boyle Juniors Continue to Progress
While I have not seen a decent intercounty football game this summer I have seen a number of very enjoyable games involving Boyle Junior team. A few weeks ago our car load headed to Padraig Parse’s on a balmy evening for a Junior Championship game. Perhaps it is Division 4/5/6/X. It doesn’t matter.  Pearse's got an early start with a couple of goals but Boyle left it until the last minutes of the game with a couple themselves to register a pretty dramatic win. One of the goals was a sizzler too from Shane Battles. The emerging star of these games is Reese Conroy. ‘Ye stole it ‘ a Pearse’s supporter suggested as we Boyle supporters left like Cheshire cats.
Last Sunday after doing my bog Purgatory for a couple of hours I headed for Kilmore for a Junior League encounter. There are a few players eligible for this who are not eligible for championship. So the first challenge for the Management team of Stephen Tonra/ Kevin Mullen and Ml. Bermingham is to have a team and back up which they have been readily doing. It was an earnest game in Kilmore and it swayed from time to time as close games do. But, in the end Boyle just got their side in front at the telling moment. The final score was Boyle 1.11 Kilmore 0.13. They were to play St. Brigid’s side in Boyle on Saturday next but St. Brigid’s have conceded. Read into that what you like.


Our (GAA)  Man in Madrid
(Left to Right back)
J.Vicente (Madrid), C..St.John (Galway), Conor Tivnan (Boyle, Roscommon), K.Farrell (Kilteevan, Roscommon), J.Mallon (Derry), K.Cawley (Riverstown, Sligo), S.Flynn (Dublin) N.Murphy (Antrim), D.Murphy (Antrim), A.Brandón (Madrid), J.San Blas (Madrid), J.Meighan (Antrim).
 Front Row (Left to Right)
R.Sloan (Antrim), E.Quinlan (Limerick), E.Kincaid (Westmeath – C
aptain), A.Hodnett (Cork), P. Sherry (Armagh), B.Cullen (Dublin), M.Kirwan (Carlow), S.Slattery (Laois), D.Langan (Mayo)


On Saturday the 26th of May Madrid Harps  contested the 2018 Iberian Championship Finals in La Coruña, Galacia in the North of Spain an area where there are 16 clubs and a real interest in GAA.

In the midst of the Madrid team was Boyle’s Conor Tivnan. Another local J.J. Keaney from Corrigeenroe is also active with the club.

Conor told me about the team being made up primarily of Irish players who are working in Madrid, mainly as English Teachers.

“They come from all corners of Ireland and we have a few from here in Spain and even Argentina.

We have had a very good campaign this year, remaining unbeaten and winning the regional championship tournaments in Madrid, Barcelona and Valencia.

The club was founded in 2003 and as the club grew, their first championship arrived in 2014 and this year we will be looking for a fifth in a row.

The club will also be represented by the Madrid Harps Ladies team who have made the finals for a second consecutive time and will be looking for their first title”.

Epilogue; Both Madrid teams won their finals and we congratulate them and Madrid will now contest the European finals on October 20th in Maastricht. Last year they lost that against Warsaw!
One of the fine things about the GAA is the wide dispersal of clubs internationally in England, North America, Australia, Europe and the Middle and Far East. They provide a network for the far-flung diaspora, a camaraderie and support which has to be reassuring. I know that Tadgh Egan has been involved in Western Canada and Ciaran Conlon in Brisbane.
Conor Tivnan is now back in Boyle and I expect that he will link up quickly with Stephen Tonra’s squad and be a big asset there.

The World Cup in Russia & Remembering Italia 90
Back: Enda Commins/ Jonathan Murray/ Paula Brady/ Sinead O’Donohoe/ Fabian Madden/ Lochlainn Conboy/ Cianan Conboy/ Felim O’Donnell/ Lorcan Murray/ covered with scarf ? ?
Middle: Rory O’Donohoe/ Mark O’Donohoe/…. ? …./ Sinead O’Donnell/ Ruth O’Connor/… ?... James Moran says it is not him…..David Byrne perhaps?/ girl with cardigan Aoifa Commins perhaps?
Front:  Ml. McHale/ Gary Tiernan/ Cillian Conboy/ Mark O’Connor/ Derek Madden/ Aaron O’Connor/ Damien Murray/ Chris O’Dowd.
Pic taken by Christy Regan.  

The World (Soccer!) Cup vies with The Olympics as the biggest sporting event in every four cycle. This year it is being held in Russia. In 2022 it is going to the desert of Qatar! Ireland just failed to qualify after being well beaten by Denmark in the play-off games. The fact that Ireland are not there has led to a subdued approach to the tournament in this country but it revives memories of some great past tournaments. Chris O’Dowd tweeted a picture from the most memorable tournament for this country it being Italia 90  
It is a great pic. probably my favourite one of all. Nearly the full Forest View crew are all there. Including Chris O’Dowd at the lower end of the scarf. A great few weeks. We had a great time that World Cup here in Forest View as followers did country wide. Nearly all the kids there were from the estate-with a few guests- and would watch different matches in different houses and when Ireland won they would pour out onto the Green and play like Ireland did then being McGrath/Bonner/ whoever….
I am nearly certain the picture was taken by Christy Regan and published in The Roscommon Herald. Christy was really on the ball. How he happened on our estate and group I don’t know but he got a classic snap of the time with the scarf obscuring just two people whose names we just cannot tie down. I had/have car speakers and I think the day of the famous penalty shoot-out against Romania I put the speakers on the car and led a parade out of the estate with Tina Turner’s ‘Simply the Best’ at full throttle. It was such a great and memorable few weeks in blazing weather. As one person was quoted on national media as saying; ‘I missed the World Cup I was in Italy’. Thanks to Christy Regan and that pic its enjoyment is still visible in that picture
(Thanks Chris for giving it a universal exposure).

St. Michael’s GAA Club Organ Donor Event on Sat. night in the Bush Hotel with Joe Brolly
I see St. Michael’s GAA club are hosting a Connacht Final Preview in The Bush Hotel Carrick-on- Shannon on Saturday night at 8.30 in aid of the Organ Donor Awareness Campaign with Joe Brolly as the main guest. Also there will be Eamon O’Hara of Sligo; Emlyn Mulligan of Leitrim and Donie Shine of Roscommon with others.  I’m a Joe Brolly fan and he was great when Boyle GAA had him here last year. So it promises to be a fun event and very worthy of supporting especially if you are a GAA anorak.