Conor Mc Gregor

Conor Mc Gregor – The Notorious

So the Notorious aka Conor Mc Gregor has retired or has he?? , He is an incredible person and I must say I haven’t watched him that closely but having followed his career from a far the one thing Mc Gregor will be known for is how much of a draw he was and still is to so many. Let’s not forget he was just like you and me as recent as 2007 as he was doing odd jobs while training in the SBG Gym under the watchful eye of John Kavanagh.

Since he burst onto the scene people have been divided by him so saying he is a genius and some saying the sport he is involved in is barbaric and shouldn’t be on TV for young children to watch as it is a tough sport although it is a number of highly skilled sport that brings a number of disciplines into play.

He of course has an extremely emotive person that brings out the best and worst in people, some say he is a mouth piece and more people wanted his face on a new five euro note.  Nobody can argue that he is an incredible draw. His fights have given the UFC a real boost because in revenue as huge numbers of people from Ireland and elsewhere across the globe have travelled to watch his fights while more have bought his fights on pay per view.

He has been beaten by Nate Diaz in the recent past and of course after so many years where he said he was the best in the business and would never be defeated his defeat came as a shock to many but like all unbeaten runs they must come to an end at some point, just ask Katie Taylor who was defeated last week for the 1st time in 5 years.

Social media plays tricks on people where they follow their favourite celebs or sports stars, with a tweet which is 140 characters let’s remember and the world goes mad, did he or she mean what was said in the tweet, if we begin to live our lives by a tweet or a Facebook post we haven’t really moved on in the world.

Conor Mc Gregor is a man from Dublin that has gone out and done really well in his chosen sport. whether he has retired or not only time will tell. After the death of Jose Carvalho last week in the National Stadium has brought MMA into everybody living room’s with the story of his death and the fact that the MMA is not regulated and in turn have looked to have it regulated under the banner of Sports Ireland.

Like him or not, he has made the most of his short career and made his mark on the sports world. He may or may not be back in the Octagon in the future but for now he has exited stage left and who knows when we will see the “ Notorious “ again…….

By

Cian Mc Gibney

20/04/2016

Female Sports Stars

Female Sport Stars

As one of Ireland’s best known female sports stars, Valerie Mulcahy brings the curtain down on her intercounty career that yielded 31 National titles including 10 senior All Ireland’s it set me thinking about the lack of coverage that people like Valerie receive.

Everybody in Ireland knows Katie Taylor, Sonia O Sullivan, Niamh Briggs and Catherina Mc Kiernan. But there are countless numbers of women in Ireland who play sport on a weekly basis and receive little or no coverage.

The Ireland women 7s side will be in action this weekend in Canada after winning the Bowl competition at the Atlanta 7s last weekend. Players like Louise Galvin and Aimee Leigh Crowe to name just two have gone about their business without much fuss.

Coming back to Valerie, She has won 31 National titles and yet to many she is unknown. If a man had 31 National titles in any sport he would be on the front of every paper following his retirement. I am not trying to devalue anybody’s achievements but more should be made of a person male or female when they retire. Will Valerie be in the running for an RTE Sports Awards Hall of Fame place at the end of this year, only time will tell…

Having spent time in the presence of some of this country’s best known female sport stars and also spoken to a number of them, they are delighted to receive attention and coverage to highlight their achievements on the field of play.

 I spoke with Joy Neville yesterday about her time playing for Ireland and also now her new career as a referee which she combines with her duties in Limerick Institute of Technology. She was thrilled to get the opportunity to chat about her rugby life and also her time as a referee. The one thing that I have realised is they are easy to speak to and they have some very interesting stories to tell.

Into the future I hope to bring to life the stories of more female sports stars locally, nationally and internationally. They deserve the same level of coverage as their male counterparts get on a daily basis.

By

Cian Mc Gibney

14/04/2016

Darkness Into Light

Darkness Into Light

The darkness into light walk will take place across the country on May 7th to highlight the work that Pieta House is doing in helping people overcome dark thoughts and bad moments throughout life. Thousands of people take part in this annual event that has grown into a worldwide event.

For most people, this organisation has helped shed a light on suicide and they have made it easier for people who would normally suffer in silence to open up and talk about what may be bothering them.

 Having experienced problems back in 2014, I really wish I had known about this organisation and I may have then gone to them and spoken to somebody instead of suffering in silence and feeling like there was nowhere to turn. In recent years this is a conversation that has become more frequent and more people are opening up about issues that they may be having at work, home and school.

Having first-hand experience of mental health issues has helped me gain a better understanding of the work that organisations like Pieta House do on a daily basis. This walk is a great way for people to show their support to those who may be suffering in silence.

I urge anybody that may be suffering at this moment in time to find somebody that you trust and speak to them about how you are feeling because it will make you feel much better and you may start to see the light.

Put the date in your diary, Saturday May 7th at 4.15am….

By

Cian Mc Gibney

06/04/2016