Irish Eligibility

Cian McGibneySoccer

Irish Eligibility

So we have here again after 3 senior caps in non competitive friendlies , Declan Rice the West Ham player who has been capped at each level by the Republic Of Ireland since Under 16 level and is now in the words of Martin O Neill  “ Deliberating his international future” after some overtures from England , the country of his birth.

It’s a funny thing of course given that England finish fourth at this Summer’s World Cup and hey presto we are back talking about another player who doesn’t know where his loyalty lies. From Declan Rice’s perspective he has amble time to say no thanks to the Republic Of Ireland an work to gain selection for England but after 3 caps in three friendlies his debut in March and two caps in May.

Now conveniently, he is deliberating his future. He should not have the choice at this point to decide where his International career lies. The FAI have been here before with Jack Grelish , but at least he declined a call up in the hope of a call up by England.

Here we are again on the eve of the Nations League starting up and the focus in the aftermath of a squad announcement we are back talking about a player that is questioning his commitment to the cause. He can of course still turn out for England as his three caps came in three friendlies at not in a World Cup qualifier in that case his eligibility would not be in question.

This situation is happening far too often, with Liam Kelly the full back and Jack Grelish both declining call ups and the slight difference being that Rice has 3 caps. What do the FAI do in this situation, do they just cut him adrift, or do they wait for his decision or do they be bold and call him up anyway and force his hand either way.

The FAI and Martin O Neill need to do what is best for the squad as a whole and cannot be held to ransom by a player who may or may not turn out in the green of Ireland again, the jersey is supposed to be hard earned and cherished by the player in possession of said jersey.

Why Declan Rice didn’t just decline a call up earlier this year is a mystery if he felt so strongly drawn to pulling on an England jersey. Yes he is only 19 with still to be proven talent on a consistent basis. He will get plenty of stick from people over this situation and will need those who advise him to be very clear in how they handle this situation.

FIFA and UEFA need to clear up these rules and make it very clear to any player that if you represent a country in a friendly then that will tie you to that country in a competitive fixtures aswell and not have this grey area where you be capped in a friendly and still change allegiance afterward.

For now though it is important to focus on the squad that was selected for the Welsh game and the preparations for that game on September 8th. It is important we start the Nations League in the correct manner…..

By

Cian Mc Gibney

27/08/2018

The Season Ahead 2018/2019

Cian McGibneyRugby

The Provinces Season Ahead

So the 2018/2019 season is just around the corner with all four provinces currently in pre season action with Leinster the current Pro 14 and Champions Cup holders completing their 2 game schedule  last Friday where they faced Newcastle Falcons and were beaten 42-17. They travelled to Montauban the previous week and held on for a narrow 18-17 win.

Senior Coach Stuart Lancaster has already admitted that both games have shown up the Leinster defence and he was not pleased having conceded a large number of tries late last season and in this pre season period.

With no game until they open there campaign away to Cardiff Blues on August 31st they can work on their defence and other aspects of their game plan that they may feel needs to be sharpened before that opening fixture.

How can Leinster achieve more than they did last year having won in Europe and in the Pro 14. The drive for 5 in Europe is well and truly alive now and Leo Cullen along with Stuart Lancaster will want to drive the standards further and further and achieve more and more. Bettering oneself must be high on the priority list.

Of course the chance of new young players stepping up to the mark is a real distinct possibility with guys like Harry Byrne and Will Connors and Caelan Doris hoping to get an early chance to show what they can do in the early weeks of the new campaign.

From a Leinster perspective, if they retain one of their trophies that will be seen as another success but you can be sure they will be hell bent on keeping a hold of both Pro 14 and the Champions Cup. Roll on the new campaign. My prediction for Leinster will be another Pro 14 win but they may lose the Champions Cup as I feel they will only get to a Semi Final.

Munster have invested in there playing group adding Tadgh Beirne , Neil Cronin , Mike Haley and Arno Botha. Those four players have been added to an already improving squad where Johan Van Graan has had a full pre season to get his ideas across to the group of players he will work with this year. Munster played in two Semi Finals last season and will really need to find the key for success to get past a Semi Final and get back to competing in Finals. My prediction for Munster will be that they will get to a Pro 14 Final and a bold prediction that they will get to a Champions Cup Final…

Ulster have Dan Mc Farland on board after the IRFU paid compensation to the SRU to have him released from his contract to take up his new role. The signing of Billy Burns could be hugely exciting for all in the Ulster set up along with all in the Irish set up as he is Irish qualified.

Will Addison is another Ulster addition who has already spent time in the Irish set up down in Australia and will hope now that some good early performances for Ulster will bring him into contention for an Irish squad place for the November Internationals.

My prediction for Ulster will be a Pro 14 Play off place and maybe with a strong start a knock out spot in the Champions Cup.

Connacht of course have a new coach in Andrew Friday and he will hope that he can bring back the good times to all involved with Connacht rugby after the Pro 12 win two season ago. Kieran Keane came in last year and tried to implement a new game plan that the Chiefs had brought in and that helped them win a Super Rugby title in 2013. It didn’t work out too well for Kieran Keane and he was sacked at the end of last season after only winning 7 games in the Pro 14 last year. Although the Challenge Cup challenge was ended by Gloucester, Connacht will feel that a successful Challenge Cup campaign could help them with domestic matters. My Prediction for Connacht will be a Challenge Cup Semi Final and maybe a Pro 14 play off place as well.

With a World Cup in late 2019, many players will think that they can put up some good performances to force Joe Schmidt into some squad changes as the November Internationals come along followed by the 2019 Six Nations. This is the year to put your hand up and be counted to maybe just maybe gain a spot in the plane to Japan…..

By

Cian Mc Gibney

21/08/2018

Set In Stone

Cian McGibneyLife

Set In Stone

The phrase “set in stone” didn’t mean very much to me until recently when my Mum’s headstone was put up. It was only then it really set in that you can’t turn the clock back and get her back. Mum of course passed away in 2016 at the age of 49.

It is only when the subject of the headstone came up that I really began to think of what the saying “ Set In Stone” meant. When the book containing the different types of headstones and wording was produced I braced myself for the task at hand and between the 3 of us we came up with the wording which would adorn her headstone for future generations of the family and her friends of course.

It truly only is when you have to do that job yourself of picking a headstone and then the wording to follow you really get a taste of the finality of the whole situation.

For me though I was able to draw a line in the sand because as many people will know I was extremely close to Mam and that week in September 2016 changed the way I look at life and the way I approach situations.

I do feel it was easier to take a first look at the completed headstone because I am still at home and was fully immersed in the whole job from start to finish. It has been a testing two years for my family.

Looking to the future, we can now give out to a headstone if so wish also we can tell her about different things happening in our lives. Life is defiantly different now but all we can do is adjust and see where that will take us.

Mam’s  2ND anniversary Mass takes place on Saturday  8th of September at 6pm…..

By

Cian Mc Gibney

10/08/2018

Weekend Sport Review

Cian McGibneyOther Sport

Weekend Sport Review

What weekend of sport we have witnessed with numerous Irish sports stars in action across many sports. Whether it was athletics, GAA, football, hockey and any other sport that took place this weekend, you would have been well catered for.

Hockey has burst into the public conscience over the last few weeks with the terrific performances of the Irish team in England at the World Cup. The display of Graham Shaw’s squad has brought much needed attention to another minority sport.

The march to the World Cup Final was made all the more special by the fact that the squad are amateur and are in day jobs or they are in college. Like many amateur sides they make many unknown sacrifices to make their dreams possible.

In Game 1 they defeated the USA 3-1 and got there campaign off to the best possible start from there they beat India 1-0 and in the Final group game they were beaten by the World Cup host’s England 1-0. In the quarter final they beat India 3-1 on penalties after a 0-0 draw, in the semi final they defeated Spain 3-2 on Penalties after an exciting 1-1 draw. Then cue massive celebrations, Ireland made a first ever World Cup Final in any sport male or female.

This is unfortunately where the fairytale results ended with the Netherlands crushing Ireland 6-0 in the Final to win a ninth World Crown. This of course should not take away from what has been a great two weeks for this team.

They came into this tournament dreaming of some big results and stunning some of the so called bigger nations, they did that and more over the last two weeks. The questions of funding and other issues will be highlighted over the coming days with large amounts media coverage from home and abroad.

Let’s hope that the decision makers at Sports Ireland will now sit up and take note of the achievements and at least this may now put there issues to the powers that be and they may just be able to air some grievances. The last two weeks has put the sporting imbalance back to the forefront of people’s minds.

Of course the European Championships are taking place since last Friday in Glasgow and Berlin, they will continue until this Friday. 7 sporting organisations have come together to make this Championship work.  It is another chance for our athletes to win medals. Shane Ryan won European bronze in the Pool over the weekend, The O Donovan brothers won European silver in the double skulls.

Over the last few days, many Irish athletes have achieved what they set out to achieve along with the Hockey side who will admit while they would have hoped to achieve certain goals they certainly did that and more by winning World Silver.

Looking to the next few days our athletes will get ready for track action and they will hope to make in impact like the hockey side has just done. It is now defiantly time for the so called “minority” sports in Ireland to rise up and make a statement of intent for the future…..

The weekend belongs to the Hurlers of Galway , camogie players of Tipperary and Galway , the Hockey stars who won Silver in London , the O Donovans who also won Silver and Shane Ryan who won Bronze in the swimming pool… These are the moments in sport we as followers dream of so drink it in, because these days are few and far between….

By

Cian Mc Gibney

06/08/2018

Aoife Mahony – American Dream

Cian McGibneyAthletics

Aoife Mahony – American Dream

Local athlete Aoife Mahony will begin the trip of a lifetime in the next few weeks when she takes up an opportunity in the USA. After spending the last year in UCC, Aoife will now travel to Florida to take up a 4 year scholarship where she will train along with studying Social Work.

Her training will take place at 6am each morning after which she will attend strength and conditioning sessions and then head off to spend a few hours in lectures. Aoife competes in a number of disciplines namely the 400m, 800m, 1500m and Cross Country running also where she will concentrate on the 5km. Her preference is the 800m.

One of her main goals over the next few years will be to qualify for an Ireland Under 23 team as her days as juvenile athlete are coming to an end. She hopes that the next few years will help her achieve this ambition.

She hopes to help her new College into the Division 2 NCAA Finals. This particular goal will be difficult to achieve but you can be certain that Aoife will do her all to achieve this goal.

One of her hopes for the future may be to come home and join An Garda Siochana on the completion of her 4 years in the USA. This is a backup plan for Aoife if things do not work on the athletics front.

Having made contact with former Irish athlete Laura Tobin, who herself is in the US in her final year studying Business in Saint Leo University Tampa Florida.

This connection helped Aoife put some plans in place where she also made contact with her coach Kent Reiber with whom she finalised arrangements and she also used Facetime to keep him abreast of her college work, training schedules and results throughout the year.

All the very best to Aoife in her time State side and having kept a close eye on her progress in the last 18 months , You can be sure Aoife will give this opportunity her very best shot…..

By

Cian Mc Gibney

01/08/2018

Summer Festival 2018

Cian McGibneyLife

Summer Festival 2018

This past weekend saw the 2018 Tarbert Summer Festival take place in association with the Tarbert Development Association. The weekend kicked off on Friday evening where the patrons of the Swanky Bar were treated to a Johnny Cash Tribute Act.

This weekend has brought many people home who are living away from Tarbert where there summer holidays are booked to coincide with the Festivities.

On Saturday you had the Open Day down at the Lighthouse that took place between 11am and 4pm and that drew a large crowd as it did last year and the year before. You also had the Fancy Dress Parade that took place at 7pm.

This particular event is beginning to get back to where it had been in years past.  Many people took the time out to put their kids forward and you also had the over 13s in the group’s category where the overall winning entry was “Love Island” via Chapel Street…..

The fancy dress began as it has done for the last few years over at the Forge Park and made its way down to viewing area across from the Bridewell where the judging duo of Dave and Rosemary Smith made the tough decisions and awarded out the different prizes in the categories.

Sunday saw the now annual Family Fun Day down the Island where people could try out paddle boarding, sailing, different food outlets, kayaking and also there was a face painting stand where you could get some very novel pieces painted on your face. There was also a Yacht race along with a Dinghy race.

Ballybunion Sea and Cliff Rescue also made an appearance and spent a few hours teaching people about water safety and they also played a few games with the children who made their way over to the stand to chat to all the volunteers.

The Summer Festival has really grown legs over the last few years and you can be sure that the hard work of the Tarbert Development Association will continue over the next few years and that they will continue to make each year better than before.

Huge congratulations to all who were involved over the last few days in any small capacity, whether it was setting up each event or co coordinating the visit to the Lighthouse. Well done again for running another successful Festival and we can now look forward to the Summer Festival of 2019….

By

Cian Mc Gibney

23/07/2018

Sam Warburton – Captain Marvel

Cian McGibneyRugby

Sam Warburton – Captain Marvel

Sam Warburton has admitted defeat in his ongoing battle with a series of persistent injuries that has seen him call time on his playing career at the young age of 29. He was captain of Wales since 2011 and captained the British and Irish Lions on two tours in 2013 when they beat Australia 2-1 to win a first series since 1997 against South Africa and against in 2017 against New Zealand and that series was drawn after a 15 all draw in the third Test.

He was capped 79 times by Wales, he captained them a record 49 times in those 79 caps. He played his club rugby with Cardiff Blues for the entirety of his professional career. He appeared at two World Cups in 2011 and 2015 and made 11 appearances at those two Tournaments.

He was captain when Wales were beaten by France in the 2011 World Cup Semi Final where he was sent off by Irish referee Alain Rolland. He is only the 2nd man to captain two different British and Irish Lions Tours after Martin Johnson.

Sam Warburton has made a big decision to end his playing career after trying extremely hard to get back playing after being ruled out of the entire 2017/2018 season with injury. He gave himself the time off to try and get back to full fitness and had begun the Pre Season work with Cardiff Blues in preparation for the upcoming 2018/2019 season.

His retirement again shows the lengths players will go to try and continue there playing careers. His body just said enough was enough and this prompted his announcement today to retire from professional rugby.

I would like to take this opportunity to wish Sam all the very best in his retirement. You can be sure he will give his all in whatever he does into the future…….

By

Cian Mc Gibney

18/07/2018

World Cup 2018

Cian McGibneyCian's Articles 2013 Onward

Sporting Rivalry

Over the past week I have been surprised by the animosity toward the England football team, moving from the usual banter to the more spiteful. Every few years this continuing talk of what sport is the best on the Planet bring everyone out of the woodwork. Everybody has an opinion about what sport is the best.

England had no real pressure on them in this tournament and although you can be sure there was internal pressure from within the squad. Most pundits were surprised by how far England managed to get by getting to a first Semi Final since 1990. This squad didn’t have as much collective talent as the squads since 1990.

We have seen many people across social media channels giving there opinions on the England performance , many people saying that they wouldn’t follow England because they are Irish  , although if you took a poll , most of those “ Fans “ would follow an English club side. I myself am an Arsenal supporter. It was good to see England finally throw off the shackles and get as far as they did, although they were beaten by a terrific Croatian team that will give France plenty to think about in Moscow.

Back to sporting rivalry, we in this country have no issue playing up to the gallery saying we have the greatest fans in the world in any sport be that Football followers , rugby supporters and any other followers of the numerous sports we participate in.

It is very easy to sit back and scoff at the achievements of England in the 2018 World Cup but we in this country should use it as a motivational tool to see can we put in the same type of performances in try to qualify for Euro 2020 which will of course be held across many cities including Dublin.

It is time we stopped all  the one up man ship and get behind every team that is involved in competition. It seems to be very easy for people to have a pop at certain sports. Rugby is the prime example and although some pundits claim that rugby is now the sport of the people in Ireland which isn’t true at all and never will be the case given that the GAA and Football still hold sway over other minority sports.

Rugby is played in only a small number of countries whereas, Football is played all over the world. Rugby has done plenty of work through the shortened version of the game in 7s, it still will need time to get places. It will never have the same appeal as Football has in a worldwide context.

Let’s hope that the achievements of the past few weeks by the England team will not be lost and from the FA’s position they will give Gareth Southgate more time to continue his work trying to change the way his squad do things.

A World Cup Semi Final was achieved with no expectations , now the challenge will be to try and better that achievement starting with Nations League starting this September in place of Friendlies and hopefully culminating in a place at the 2020 European Championships….

By

Cian Mc Gibney

13/07/2018

England – World Cup 2018

Cian McGibneySoccer

England – Is Football Truly About To Come Home ??

England face Croatia this evening in Moscow in the 2nd World Cup Semi Final for the right to take on France this Sunday. France defeated Belgium 1-0 in the opening Semi Final last night. Since this World Cup has started we have heard that this England team is different under the stewardship of Gareth Southgate who took over from Sam Allardyce in late 2016.

Southgate to his credit has set his stall out and sent out England play a certain way with the ability to change on the field of play. They will set out this evening in a 3-5-2 set up with Harry Kane leading the line with Jesse Lingard and Raheem Sterling in support. This team has used their strength at the set piece to great credit with John Stones, Harry  Maguire and Harry Kane making the most of the chances that have been created and getting in on the act scoring vital goals no more than the opener last weekend against Sweden where Harry Maguire popped up to open the scoring.

Over the last 28 years , arguably better England squads have gone to major Championships and come home sooner than expected but this group to their eternal credit have surpassed even their own expectations and are one step away from a World Cup Final , a first for England since the win on home soil in 1966.

So much has been made of the fact that England are now one step from sporting immortality as this group could join only one other group of English footballers by winning the World Cup. But first they have the small matter of beating a Croatian side looking to create their own history. Not since the Semi Final at France 98 has a Croatian team been this far at a World Cup.

The midfield trio of Luka Modric , Ivan Rakitic and Anton Rebic will have a huge say and the England trio will need to be a full tilt to take on this much vaunted midfield. Two of the three have Champions League winner’s medals in recent years with Real Madrid and Barcelona. Luka Modric to his great credit has turned himself into one of the finest midfielders of recent times.

With a win over England this evening he will give himself a shot at taking on a new kid on the block in Kylian Mbappe in a World Cup Final. If that is to come to pass his team mates will need to put in a huge shift to help get past a teak tough England side that has seemingly washed away every tag associated with English football since that win in 1966.

Winning a penalty shoot out at this World Cup was a huge monkey off the back of every player, when Eric Dier stepped up and fired his penalty past Columbian keeper David Ospina this World Cup adventure has gone into overdrive.

To me though all the usual talk that surrounds an England World Cup campaign has been overshadowed by some outstanding displays on the field of play. Maybe just maybe 2018 could finally be the year when England really does get to say “ Football Truly Has Come Home “ Before then they face Croatia over 90 minutes at the very least for a place in Sunday’s World Cup Final in Moscow…

By

Cian Mc Gibney

11/07/2018

Stringer – A Tribute

Cian McGibneyRugby

Peter Stringer – A Tribute

After a 20 year career that took in Cork Constitution, Munster, Ireland, Sale Sharks, Saracens, Newcastle Falcons, Bath and finished in December 2017 with Worcester Warriors, Peter Stringer has called time on his career. He was capped 98 times by his country after a debut in 2000.

He will always be associated with Munster having appeared in European Finals in 2000 vs Northampton Saints, the 2002 Final against Leicester Tigers, the famous Final in 2006 against Biarritz when Munster won their first of two European titles when he famously scored a try when he broke from the back of a scrum and fooled all the forwards to scamper in for his most famous try.

He is the most capped scrum half in Irish rugby but one suspects that Conor Murray may get close or even surpass his record of 98 caps if he stays fit over the coming years. He was partnered by Ronan O Gara for most of his career, in the AIL with Cork Con, then in the professional ranks with Munster and Ireland. Stringer provided the pass for O Gara to kick the drop goal to seal the win against Wales in 2009 to win the Grand Slam.

Stringer was rarely injured during his career and kept his body in good shape and this certainly helped as the years advanced on him and he made several different moves to prolong his career after finding his path to the Munster and Ireland scrum half spot blocked by Tomas O Leary and Conor Murray.

Both men denied Stringer the chance to win 100 International caps by gaining selection over Stringer from 2010 onwards. He never retired from international rugby in the hope of winning those two elusive caps to get to the magical mystical number of 100 caps.

He was selected by the Barbarians when they faced Australia in November 2013. He famously raced out to deny James O Connor the chance to kick three points by timing his run and picking up the ball and ending the half.

Now that Peter Stringer has retired all of the Munster team I grew up watching and helped me grow to love the game of rugby union have retired. He did so well with Munster and Ireland and will also be remembered for his tap tackle on Dan Luger in 2001 that helped Ireland defeat England to deny them the Grand Slam.

He patented the “Tap Tackle” and did it on several times doing it again in 2004 when Ireland beat England to become the first side to beat the newly crowned World Champions. He stopped Jason Robinson in his tracks after he danced between Reggie Corrigan and Malcolm O Kelly and thought he was away under the posts until Stringer’s intervention stopped him in his tracks.

Thanks for all the memories Strings, enjoy a well deserved break and enjoy the next phase of your life…..

By

Cian Mc Gibney

27/06/2018