Eucharistic Congress has returned to Ireland and it's (almost) 1932 again

Closing ceremony of the Eucharistic Congress, Dublin 1932
{Picture from Nat'l Library Ireland.}

In 1932 Ireland was caught up in religious fervor. Flags, bunting and other decorations were everywhere - draped across public buildings, hung from trees and lampposts and pictures and other items. They prayed together in public, including one particularly large celebration along the Liffey that drew thousands.

Here we are in 2012 and it's almost as if history is repeating itself. The Eucharistic Congress is again in Dublin and there flags and decorations everywhere. The people are gathering in groups large and small to sing out as one and beseech the almighty to look benignly upon them.
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There is, of course, one slight difference this time: the mass gatherings are not at Mass, but at soccer games. The large gatherings along the Liffey this time are watching a giant screen showing Ireland's games at the European Championships in Poland and the flags and bunting are green, white and orange and not the yellow and white of the Papal flag as was the case in 1932.

Dublin street decorated for 1932 Eucharistic Congress.
{Photo from RTE.}

Yes I'm being flippant, but there's truth in what I'm saying. The Eucharistic Congress that's taking place in Ballsbridge in Dublin has hardly scratched the surface of the public's consciousness thanks to the obsession with the Irish team and the soccer tournament.

There are probably some Catholics here who are disappointed or worse that the Eucharistic Congress is getting so little attention. It doesn't worry me. I actually think it's good for the Church that Catholics can gather this week without the pressure of a lot of media attention.

Even those attending the Congress are probably glued to the Ireland soccer matches. I can well imagine Archbishop Martin has his schedule cleared for tonight.

Although hope of a victory is slim, the whole country will be tuning in again this evening to watch the Irish team play Spain. Everyone is "praying for a miracle" as even the most casual fan knows that the Spanish team is significantly more talented than the Irish team. The fans are just hoping that somehow will power will do the trick.

A few prayers wouldn't hurt either.

Dubliners celebrating Ireland's participation in the
European Championships.
{Photo from the Irish Times.}

Irish government promotes Guinness with President Obama, but wants to stop it sponsoring sporting events

Guinness sponsors the Hurling Championship.
Kilkenny's James Fitzpatrick.celebrating
last year's All Ireland title.

In an attempt to curtail drinking by young people the Irish government is considering a proposal to ban alcohol companies from sponsoring sporting events.

Look, I'm as keen as the next 45+ year old to see fewer Irish people in their early 20s, late teens or even younger drunkenly stumbling around our streets at night, but that doesn't mean I see this as a problem that requires the government to "do something."

First of all I'm not convinced the problem is greater now than it was 25 years ago when sponsorship was much less prevalent. My own observation was that when Ireland was awash with cash it was frequently in a drunken stupor. Now we're broke (again) and people are drinking less. Irish people drank 10% less alcohol per capita in 2011 than in 2006. It's possible young people are drinking less now than they did during the Celtic Tiger years.

Regardless, young Irish people drink more than their peers in most European countries. It would be better if they drank less, but if the problem is no greater now than it was before alcohol sports sponsorship became the norm there must be other factors at work.

That doesn't stop people like Minister of State for Health Róisín Shortall. Young people are drinking "too much" and she's going to marshal the forces of state and do ... something, even if it's the wrong thing. Hence the proposal to ban Guinness and others from sponsoring sporting events.

The thinking is that young people are impressionable and sports stars are their heroes so when they see the captain of the championship team lifting the cup off a stand draped in Guinness advertising that's sending a message to the young fan that it's good to drink. I'm not going to argue that advertising and sponsorship don't work, especially on a subliminal level, but does a Guinness sign tell you to drink or to choose Guinness when you're buying that drink? I suspect the latter.

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Banning Guinness from sponsoring the Hurling Championship - probably the biggest Irish sporting event sponsored by an alcohol company - could well have more negative than positive effects on the health of young people. Guinness pumps a lot of money into the GAA through the sponsorship deal, money the GAA uses to develop facilities and promote playing their games to young children, teenagers and adults all over Ireland.

The GAA gets people moving and the Guinness money helps with that. The Guinness sponsorship is probably a net positive for the health of the nation.

Of course the government's proposal would only affect sporting events in Ireland. English and European soccer, rugby, golf and other major television sports that originate in other countries would be out of reach. So the government's ban would serve only to weaken Irish sports without really doing much about children and young people witnessing alcohol-sponsored sporting events.

Besides, if the government is that worried about drinking and the susceptibility of star-struck young people why does it organize celebrity drinking events? Last year we had two major ones: the Queen, who actually spurned the Guinness that was offered to her, and the coolest cat to visit Ireland in years - President Obama - were both invited to drink for the cameras.

Without doubt the happy scenes of President and Mrs Obama downing Guinness in Moneygall would have had far more influence on young people than the sight of Kilkenny's hurlers lifting the championship trophy adorned with Guinness streamers.

The Irish government organized a trip to the pub for President and Mrs Obama
during their visit to Ireland in May 2011.

If I were in charge of the GAA or any other Irish sports organization I'd tell the government to get its own house in order before coming after our revenues. If the government feels the need to "do something" they can start by not foisting pints of Guinness into the hands of every visiting world leader.

{Hurling photo thanks to the Belfast Telegraph.}

I'm a disappointment to Ireland's NFL fans

Eli Manning & Tom Brady - known
to many  Irish sports fans.

There's so much hype here, in Ireland, that I'm beginning to believe I'm the only man in Ireland who doesn't care who wins the Super Bowl. Everyone seems to be talking about it. Okay, not everyone and undoubtedly the Ireland vs Wales rugby game Sunday afternoon is a bigger deal here, but I can't get over the interest in the NFL these days, especially among men under 35 or so.

There's loads of talk about the Super Bowl on the radio, in the newspapers even among men chatting in the pub. Of course I find myself included in loads of Super Bowl conversations. People only have to hear my accent and they engage me in a Super Bowl discussion. Unfortunately, I don't really know enough about football today to hold up my end of the bargain unless we take a diversion back to Super Bowls of the 70s.
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So this Sunday when I tune in it's more out of curiosity than as a real fan. And I'll probably only watch the first half, but no more than that. I can't stay up late enough for the whole Super Bowl.

You have to remember, by the time they finally kick off in Indianapolis it will be 11:18pm here. That's a big part of what amazes me about the interest here. The game is on so late and, of course, it's endless. Yet so many people will watch it to the end. {I wonder how much bigger the audience in Europe might be - extra $$ - if the NFL moved the kick-off up by 90 minutes.}

I can't say exactly when I lost my keenness for pro football, but my interest had waned significantly before I had moved to Ireland in '91. When I was in school I watched 6 hours of football every Sunday. I rooted like crazy for my team to win and suffered when they lost. Somewhere, somehow that left me.

None of this would be an issue if it weren't for the fact that every Irish NFL fan I meet seems disappointed that I can't match their knowledge and excitement and provide them with the conversation they crave. Sure I know who Tom Brady & Eli Manning are, but after that I don't know much about any of the others playing on Sunday.

Back in 1986 when I came here as a student, there was a weekly NFL highlight show on TV. It was weirdly, wildly popular, but those who watched didn't really get to know the game. These days Irish fans can watch two or three full games a week - and many do - and they follow internet message boards and take part in fantasy football leagues and so on. They really know the game and I disappoint them when they get talking to me.

Over the years I've gotten used to the fact that there are Irish people who know more about American politics than I do - and I feel like I'm keen follower. Yet, somehow I feel like I'm letting others and myself down by not being able to discuss football with them.

If only the Irish were as interested in baseball. That I could talk about knowledgeably and enthusiastically for hours, days even. Baseball doesn't appeal, unfortunately. Football has gripped the Irish sports fan. I don't know which of the two teams is the favorite with Irish fans, but I'll be giving half a cheer for the Giants simply because they're the NY team.

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It's not the Super Bowl, but tonight's college basketball game from the Bronx featuring the Iona Gaels and the Manhattan Jaspers has me excited. If I'm going to stay up late for anything it will be this game - a full-throated Go Jaspers from me.

UPDATE: Jaspers lost. These things happen. Plenty of basketball still to be played this month.

Mets' Irish groundskeeper calls it a day after 50th season

Pete Flynn throwing out first pitch before his
last game as Mets groundskeeper yesterday.

Pete Flynn's New York Mets career ended yesterday with the last game of the 2011 season. If you don't know Flynn's name that's understandable because Flynn was the team's groundskeeper and yesterday marked the end of his time with the Mets that began when the team was first formed in 1962.

Flynn is an Irish immigrant from County Leitrim. Although it's fuzzy now, I can recall what I thought the first time I heard Flynn's name and that he was from Ireland. My vague memory is that it had started to rain and the grounds-crew was rolling out the tarp to cover the infield and, I think, Flynn fell or got knocked over. Mets announcer Bob Murphy spoke his name, hoping Flynn hadn't been hurt in the fall. He then said that Flynn was from Ireland and that he had been with the team since the first days in the Polo Grounds.

Two things went through my mind at that moment. First that Flynn had been with the team since Day 1 seemed an incredibly long time in the past (this was around 1978). Next was that a man from Ireland had, what seemed to me, a dream job - tending the grass at Shea Stadium. "How does he know anything about baseball?", I wondered, not giving any thought to reality, which was that all Flynn really needed to know was grass.

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Flynn said it took him a year to understand the game after he first got the job with the Mets back in '62. It wasn't just baseball either. The Mets shared Shea with the NY Jets for 20 years and Shea also hosted many concerts, including most famously, the Beatles in 1965.

Even if being groundskeeper for the Mets was a dream job, I'm sure there were moments when it was far from easy. Shea Stadium wasn't very well built and Flynn had to contend with a field that didn't drain well.

After the Mets clinched the division title in 1986 Flynn was angry. The fans stormed the field and basically wrecked it. Flynn was angry at the club because they hadn't heeded his warnings about the need for security. He knew what was going to happen. He was angrier at the fans, saying they - we - didn't deserve a champion. There was no repeat of that destruction during the playoffs or after the final out of the World Series or any time since.

Flynn met all the great Mets, many great Jets, the Beatles, other rock stars and Presidents Nixon and Clinton. He witnessed all of Shea Stadium's special moments, including the Mets' World Series wins in 1969 and 1986. Yet, Flynn says the greatest thing he ever saw was the rain giving way to the sun over Shea just as Pope John Paul II came out to say Mass during his 1979 visit to New York.




In 2009 Flynn was inducted as a member of the Irish American Baseball Hall of Fame. No doubt about it, Pete Flynn had a dream job.

{Photo from Yahoo.com.}