On now on RTE1
Thanks for that. Forgot all about it
They seem like nice lads,very driven in their sport and fair play to them. Just one question there doesnt seem to be any mention of their father at all.....
Light viewing. Interesting, but wasn't told anything new.
Poor old Aisaka didn't get to say much. Didn't hear any mention of the other brother Theo who was rumoured at one stage to have gone to Clare to get some county recognition.
They come accross as sincere sound men, especially Sean og.
Programme not up to the standard set by Pat Comer in his 'A Year 'til Sunday'.
Quote from: An Gaeilgoir on January 18, 2007, 11:02:31 PM
They seem like nice lads,very driven in their sport and fair play to them. Just one question there doesnt seem to be any mention of their father at all.....
He's from Fermanagh. Would you brag about it?
no need to slag off the erne county!!
some of my best friends are from Fermanagh!
sure its a great county! ;D
makes me want to go training tomorrow night but no chance really, im a lazy bastard
Yeah I noticed that there was little or no mention of the Dad. Sean Og came across as an intense driven athlete and a very genuine man. The other two lads seemed much more laid back. I would have liked to have gained more of an insight in to the actual training they did in the AFL but perhaps Comer was'nt allowed acess to that. Overall the programme made for mildly interesting viewing but as someone else said there was nothing new in it and you were kinda left wondering what was the point of it.
Thought it was a decent show, considering some of the stuff they put on the box. Sean og came across as being a modern day hero! Would have rather it concentrated on sport rather than waxing on about family etc.
Setanta & Aisaka (sp) have tanked up big time, if and when they come back to play hurling for their club they will be swatting boys aside with ease.
thought it was very enjoyable
the father prob just doesnt like the limelight
all nice well grounded lads but sports 'driven' as you say
I thought it was a great show, light-hearted, informal and educational also to see how the people on the island of Rotuma live.
Of course there was point in it, you would have to seriously question 99.5% of all TV broadcasts if you thought it was pointless! Sean Óg did mention the Dad alright as I was wondering leading up to it why he hadn't been mentioned. The seem like very honest and motivated lads. There 'matter of fact' attitude towards their respective sport and life in general was great to hear. Sean Óg seems quite spiritual in his take on the whole thing too.
9/10!
ya the show was reasonably entertaining, agree with most comments above that there was nothing new that we didnt already know. Sean Og is definitely a supreme athlete, and you could see if he had gotten the chance that setanta and aisake got with aussie rules, he would have jumped at it.
Couldn't believe how much the two boys have bulked up, if they do come back they would be awesome players for cork.
could definitely see with setanta also, that he was really driven in making sure he is a success,
It was fairly light viewing, but they're very interesting characters - Its interesting to note that the younger two consider Seán Óg to be the most professional out of them.
Did anyone else notice that Seán Óg semmed to speak Fijian (Rotuman?) in a Cork accent?!
Quote from: Border Fox on January 19, 2007, 10:04:22 AM
Did anyone else notice that Seán Óg semmed to speak Fijian (Rotuman?) in a Cork accent?!
Why do you think this is BF?
Ach I know FB, but it was funny all the same!
Quote from: Border Fox on January 19, 2007, 10:12:17 AM
Ach I know FB, but it was funny all the same!
Was only fecking with you BF, but I know what you mean
very interesting and enjoyable but noticed no mention of the dad. does he live in cork? i know its no one business but just curious....
funny enough the one the Aussie rules clubs missed out on was Sean Og. because i believe he'd have been sensation at Aussie Rules- because personally i believe he's more driven than the other 2. not that they aren't determined as well- just that Sean Og could be a star at any sport because he's such a natural athlete.
was it because Sean Og was older than his two brothers that he wasnt asked over for a trial? ???
Hes such a great athlete he could probably have played Midfield in the AFL....
I agree Josey. There a bit of magic about Seán Óg as well as his undoubted athletic prowess.
Only caught the end of the programme. Looking at him knocking the sliothar round with the kids in Fiji was just a brilliant image.
Was just thinking of a Cork FF line of Aisake, Setanta and Deano. It might mean they'd alter there style a bit!
Note on the brother Teu. He was in London for several years. Played football for London in 2004 Championship, came on as a sub against Dublin in Qualifier in Parnell Park and hurled with Robert Emmetts, and played in an All Ireland Intermediate semi-final with them in 2004. Stayed living in London I believe but played at home for past couple of years. I have since heard that he has moved to Oz now. Great big athlete, but far too laid back ever to make a big impact at a higher level. He has the sort of physical presence you would kill for but just seems to be a easy going dude. Good guy though.
decent aul show and was good light entertainment.
those boys are just pure natural, they could put their hand to any game and excell.
i do get annoyed though at times when some media heads practically profess undying love for them. not their fault and all the better they kept their feet on the ground. good ambassadors for the country all 3.
Keep an eye on big brothers
Pat Comer's splendid television study on the Ó hAilpín brothers, showing tomorrow night, is not to be missed, writes Tom Humphries
It was 40 degrees in Melbourne yesterday. Carlos and the Zak Dog, as they are known locally, got up early for the usual ding-dong.
The regime starts early and taxes them hard. Unrelentingly the rooster crows with the break of dawn on the six days a week that they train. Three sessions a day usually. Boxing in the mornings from 6.30 to 7.15. A break for an hour or 90 minutes. Get some massage or some food, then training at 9.30 for two-and-a-half hours of skills.
Mainly they do kicking and catching and working on timing but there's a lot of running in between, just getting themselves tired so the fatigue can replicate the conditions of AFL games.
They do a lot of drills, and warm-up work alone takes 40 minutes or so. Stretch, run, sprint, jog, etc. By the time they're really into it an hour has passed and soon it's time for the warm-down and another stretch.
At 12.0 they're away for lunch and then back to the club for conditioning: bounding and bouncing, glutes work, core-stability work. That takes till almost four o'clock. Monday. Wednesday and Friday.
On Tuesday and Thursday mornings it's a swim and then on afternoons pilates. Slightly lighter days.
No rest on Saturdays. Up at 7.0 to head to Sandringham for the weekly biathlon work. Up the hilly cliff then running along the dirt track, up hills and down dunes. Then swim out 300 yards, swim back, run the track for 15 minutes, swim again, run again, swim again, run again.
Sometimes the running is replaced with biking. Either way it hurts.
Then finally they fall into the arms of Sunday.
The AFL season is two months away but Setanta and Aisake Ó hAilpín are steaming towards it with the familial trademarks of good grace and heroic determination.
Last night their brother, Seán Óg, started back training with the Cork hurlers. New year. New coach. The usual rain and muck after a day at work. Seán Óg threw the kitbag into the car and headed off in the darkness knowing he would have to cope not just with the slog but with the fact of having been described as "babe-allicious" in a Sunday paper this week.
The context was a preview of Pat Comer's splendid documentary about the Ó hAilpíns, Tall, Dark and Ó hAilpín , a film which is, strangely for a family who have become such fixtures in the national imagination, a study of constant journeying. Comer's unblinking eye followed Seán Óg not just through a hurling season but home to the Fijian island of Rotuma.
Often lazily we hang our aspirations about multiculturalism on families like the Ó hAilpíns, congratulating ourselves on the miracle of seeing young men with brown skin playing hurling in Croke Park.
Seán Óg's journey home, after 19 years, into the culture he came from, to a place where his relations are surprised he has runners and where the village has one TV is a study in grace and openness. Every experience and sight is taken and valued with the sincerity we have come to expect of the man. And every story he has of the world he comes from is absorbed with reciprocal interest.
When Seán Óg departs on the back of a small pick-up truck to the airport and then on a propeller lane into the skies you feel an odd tug of emotion and can't help wondering about the journey the Ó hAilpíns made to Ireland all those years ago, their memories of the train journey to Cork in the rain and mist and their first sightings of cows.
Were we ever as engaged by the need to hear about their culture as we were to swaddle them in ours?
The other strand of the film follows Setanta and Aisake in Melbourne as they fight for starting places with Carlton. Setanta was dubious at first about the idea of a documentary. Both brothers are still at various stages of their apprenticeships to a sport that has its own mysterious skills and choreography.
"It is frustrating," says Setanta. "You see people doing things that you think you should do. I'm only in my fourth year. They tell me to play my percentages. Do what I'm good at and do what I've been doing. At times it's good to go outside those boundaries though. I reckon if I keep making mistakes and learning from them I'll get there."
Every conversation with an Ó hAilpín highlights the role of their remarkable mother, Emeli, who spent six months in Australia with her boys last year, supplying them with the alpine ranges of food they grew up accustomed to. In Australia too they are surrounded by their own support network.
For Setanta the first year alone in Australia was the toughest, living away from home and the teeming family quarters in Blarney. He lived with a Melbourne family and he still heads over to Kerryn Banston's home for dinner two or three times a week.
Then Aisake arrived and things improved. Somebody to talk to all the time. They speak Fijian among themselves and Irish the odd day in case it goes rusty. Insulation against the bad days, of which there are still a few.
"There's been a few hard ones all right," says Setanta. "When you're trying to break onto the team there's just days when you think you're miles away or times when you play a couple of games and know you haven't gone well. You're training away and not hitting your targets. You wonder - is this game above me?
"I had a day that sticks out. We played Box Hill last year early on and we were up by 100 points and I was in the back line and my man kicked two goals on me. About the only player that scored for them was my man. He got out and marked three or four balls ahead of me. We were up and I was struggling. I'm thinking, we're up 100 points and I can't mark one guy.
"That was a low but I tell myself if I keep grinding away at the stone it will turn soon. Hope is the big thing. If I have a bad day I reassess what I have to do and work harder. They're telling me they want to play me in the back line. It's a far cry from corner forward. They find the best position to play a guy coming into the game is the back line. You face the ball."
Defence is new to him but on one of his 11 first-team appearances last summer he caused a stir with his play on Barry Hall of Sydney. He'll be a full back or centre back this season.
Tadhg Kennelly has been another support through hard times. They speak several times a week and watch each other's games on tape. Setanta watches out of sheer admiration, Tadhg in a mentoring role. "I admire him so much. From the first day I set foot here, he's been nothing but great help. He flew down here to meet me. I appreciate it very much."
Setanta and Aisake try to pass on what Kennelly has given them by staying in touch with Colm Begley and Martin Clarke.
Aisake and Setanta stayed in Melbourne for the Christmas and were joined there by their siblings, one of whom, Teu, has made the move permanent. It's hard to imagine what reflections and memories they shared of their remarkable lives as a family.
Home though is still Cork.
"If I did finish up here the first thing I'd love to do would be come back and play hurling and football for Cork," says Setanta. "That was the only thing on my mind growing up. As life goes on your priorities change. Now I'm here I'd still love that."
His contract ends at the end of this year and as usual he's philosophical. He had 11 first-team starts last year. His target this year is "as many as possible". Then he'll see.
"If I just concentrate on my football, each week, everything should fall into place. I'll play as many as possible and see where it takes me. Train hard now and let everything else fall into place.
"With Aisake there's a massive improvement. His ball skills have stepped up hugely. It takes a lot of time. You have to be patient."
The journeying goes on. Training in Fermoy. Training in Melbourne. Spanning cultures and representing the best of each.
Tall Dark and Ó hAilpín goes out tomorrow at 10.15pm on RTÉ One.
© 2007 The Irish Times
Quote from: An Lark on January 19, 2007, 12:08:41 PM
Keep an eye on big brothers
Boxing in the mornings from 6.30 to 7.15.
C'mon Tom, dont bend the truth to make it more impressive. The lads were only getting up at 6.30am, so unless they were boxing in their bedroom
Jeez I thought itwas a great show like Jeez
The 3 men are outstanding Irish sporting heroes. Led me into a wierd chain of thought which eventualyy made me ask myself the question. What I took from the show was:
1) 10 different coaches work on Setanta. If we want to develop our talents to anwhere near that level we need to understand why?
2) The O Halpins are a credit to Fermanagh / Cork and to Ireland /Fiji, so proud of their roots and their culture.
3) Sean Og is a major sporting hero in Ireland a giant and should be entitel to cash in on his individual image rights, but the GAA should be marketing him more than they are. (I am anti GPA)
4) There is a burning desire in all the O Halpins to play and dedicate their lives to a professional sport. they are so passionate - they want to devote their lives to it to make them better athletes. They dont want to work - they want to train all day every day so they can be as good as they can possibly be at their sport. Their attitudes were actually refreshing in an era of pomped up professional sports people, with ambitions, allegiances and dreams longs since whored away by money, gals and fame.
5) The O Halpins care about their sports more than most.
6) The O Halpins especially Sean Og could have succeeded at any sport they were introduced to particularly rugby.
7) If everyone embraced professionalism like Setanta, Aisake and had views on sport like Sean Og I would happily embrace professionalism in Gaelic Games, because I know that these athletes would not be affected by the greed, however not everyone would and unfortunately we will continue to lose talent like the O Halpins to professional sport that they can dedicate their lives to (no matter what the sport is) if we ensure that the GAA stays amateur. The haemoraging of a few is worth the retention of our ideals and the greater number of our volunteers. But Im proud and understood the O Halpins, previous to this programme I had frowned on professional sporstpeopl as the very antipathy of sport inself.
8) I thought the programme was class.
9) On another note do Irish athletes that travel to Oz and play indigenous sports there ever receive any recognition in the Iresh sports personality awards. Ie Jim Stynes / Kennelly, Its just a thought, would we give the Duffers and the Robbie Keane the awards before an Australian rules professional? Just a thought
Quote from: realredhandfan on January 19, 2007, 12:29:00 PM
3) Sean Og is a major sporting hero in Ireland a giant and should be entitel to cash in on his individual image rights
I'm sure there was a reason every garment Sean Og wore in the programme was made by the same manufacturer and had its name emblazoned clearly on it.
I disagree with whoever said the 2 younger lads would be great hurlers if they came back. I think the clip of them pucking around told a lot. Aisaike would have struggled to make it at inter-county if he hadn't have gone on his travels. Setanta would undoubtedly have been a star but one of his major attributes was his ability to remain coordinated while being so gangly. It made him almost impossible to mark. Bulked up the way he has hes undoubtedly going to have lost a lot of his mobility. He'd need to reinvent himself as a hurler if he came back, though theres little doubt he'd be able to do so.
Best of luck to them but one doesn't get the impression they're setting the world alight down there.
Is there man yof these personal sponsorship deals about in the GAA. O Hailpin wore adidas all the time just a different colour. Im sure it wasnt just a few free t shirts and I hop he sold his own deal and well.
yea
ciaran mcdonald and mcdonnel are adidas too along with a few more
ciaran whelan munnelly dessie dolan and sheff are all puma
byron and enda murphy have glove deals
fair play i say.
i disagree about the boys on the hurling BT, i remember before 2003 eveyone had written off setanta, that he would never be good enough for the cork hurling team. and then in 2003 he showed them up and proved how good he was,
as regards their puck about, as he said it was two years since he played abit of hurling! anyone would lose their touch then.
i think they would be superb hurlers if they came back and even better footballers. and i dont think they would be playing corner forward aswell.
Quote from: youbetterbelieveit on January 19, 2007, 01:00:53 PM
i disagree about the boys on the hurling BT, i remember before 2003 eveyone had written off setanta, that he would never be good enough for the cork hurling team. and then in 2003 he showed them up and proved how good he was,
as regards their puck about, as he said it was two years since he played abit of hurling! anyone would lose their touch then.
i think they would be superb hurlers if they came back and even better footballers. and i dont think they would be playing corner forward aswell.
I disagree and I'm basing that on seeing the 2 lads playing for their respective Cork minor teams. In my mind Aisaike was never much more than a free-taker on his minor side. Setanta was a star on his. I can't recall the year or the oppositon, but I remember him putting it up to whoever in a munster final pretty much all on his own.
And I wasn't going on the touch from the puckaround. I was going more on how the boys were moving, how unnatural having the hurl in the hand seemed to them. It was an uneasiness in their body language and I think its more than not having hurled for that long. I could be wrong of course but that was my reading of it.
Thought it was a fantastic show..as regards people here sayin its nothing new! C'mon..unique viewing..A fella going back to a Fijian island to meet his cousins and play hurling in a remote village...yeah we've seen it all before!!! Ah only jokin the 3 lads seem genuine guys..fair play to them and Seán óg is a model 'professional'...great great show..the mother was priceless too!!!
Yeah players get personal sponsorship- some of the Tyrone boys get £3k from adidas plus £3k of gear free per year. Sean og is prob getting this as well.
Hi Paul,
Enjoyed your article at the weekend, even if it was in the Sindo.
http://www.independent.ie/sport/hurling/in-the-name-of-the-father-an-interview-with-sen-g-hailpn-29722119.html (http://www.independent.ie/sport/hurling/in-the-name-of-the-father-an-interview-with-sen-g-hailpn-29722119.html)
Fame at last Gaelgoir.