O'Gara letter to Editor: Why I refuse to be scapegoated by Kevin Myers
Friday February 19 2010
I HAVE to reply to the scurrilous article by Kevin Myers (Irish Independent, February 16), although it takes a lot for me, as a professional sportsman, to react to a newspaper article.
However, rugby is my place of work and whether it's with Munster, Ireland or the Lions, I take my work very seriously.
I do not accept being castigated by a journalist who I suspect knows nothing about rugby but somehow appoints himself as an 'expert'. This falls well short of the journalistic standards I would expect from one of our main national newspapers.
Ireland was well beaten last Saturday by a French team that was better on the day. I am but one of that Irish team and I'm well known for taking my share of responsibility, regardless of the outcome of any game.
I know only too well the build-up to Saturday's game __ and indeed to other recent internationals __ in relation to my position.
I am well able to analyse any game of rugby and would often be accused by those whom I most trust of being my own harshest critic. However, in relation to last Saturday, I will not be scapegoated by Mr Myers or any journalist who wants to write in that fashion.
Any article needs to be balanced and I would suggest to you, Mr Editor, that that is the least you should demand from your journalists, whether freelance or otherwise.
Ronan O'Gara
ROCHESTOWN, CORK
http://www.independent.ie/opinion/columnists/kevin-myers/kevin-myers-its-an-irish-characteristic-we-are-comfortable--with-failure-its-a-familiar-condition-and-it-suits-us-2064681.html
Having read both I can see where Myers is coming from but he does go over the top. How can you criticise a several triple crown winning team and grand slam champs so heavily? If any team had a winners mentality its this group. I do think we self destructed in the 1st half but sure it happens. Im sure our lads will come good again. O Gara shouldnt respond to this IMO, whilst Myers was unfair in some of his comments and kinda right in others, its just his opinion and its a pity a man like OGara lets it get to him.
I agree that O'Gara shouldn't have reacted to Myers. It's grist to his mill. However, I do have to say that Myers in general is the sort of pseudo intellectual who feels obligated to enlighten the ignorant masses with his wisdom that makes me dry heave.
Read O'Gara's letter but have no interest in reading Myers. I hear enough crap daily without intentionally adding to it by reading another Myers piiece. THe time I've wasted reading and reacting to him in the past is already been a heavy price to pay.
Can understand how O'Gara feels alright but would question the wisdom of replying via the letters page.
Jaysus Sligonian, will you change your signature? That'll drive us crazy reading threads with a big picture after every post.
Quote from: AZOffaly on February 19, 2010, 09:52:33 AM
Jaysus Sligonian, will you change your signature? That'll drive us crazy reading threads with a big picture after every post.
Im experimenting, give me a few minutes, ah the fun ahead of me :D
I'm sure Myers will love this but my sympathy is with O'Gara on this one. I'm sure he didn't take the decision to reply lightly. As Sligonian rightly said, this team and indeed the Munster teams O'Gara has been involved with do not share the loser mentality with the general population. They are proper professionals with real ambition and the cojones to really go after what they desire. This has been proven many times not least with the trophies won.
Very ill-advised.
Will Healy, Flannery, O'Leary and even Kidney or the whole Irish team be writing into the paper?
Did Mullin do so in '92?
I don't know how much Myers knows about rugby but as I read it (with his particular reference to O'Gara) he says that he is a poor tackler and , in conjunction with O'Leary has not/does not make the best use of the talented backs outside him. Pretty accurate as far as I can see.
Very silly of him imo to engage KM this way. There can and will be only one winner here.
Quote from: Olaf on February 19, 2010, 10:19:58 AM
Very ill-advised.
Will Healy, Flannery, O'Leary and even Kidney or the whole Irish team be writing into the paper?
Did Mullin do so in '92?
I don't know how much Myers knows about rugby but as I read it (with his particular reference to O'Gara) he says that he is a poor tackler and , in conjunction with O'Leary has not/does not make the best use of the talented backs outside him. Pretty accurate as far as I can see.
How much do you need to know about rugby to make that statement?
(Myers I mean, not you)
Myers is a p***k, O'Gara should know better but he has got some fierce press this past 3/4 years.
Considering what ROG has done the press hes got is unfair, the man has done extroadinary things across the white line in all fairness. If he has one weakness its his interpersonal skills and coping with his fame, it came across heavy in his autobigraphy. He seems to be insecure about his rugby skills too when he shouldnt be. Why not have the cop on not to engage myers and as Zapistata says if he annoys you that much dont read his article. I have to say I can see how he pisses people off, but i actually like his way with words and agree with some of what hes said, but dont get me wrong he goes overboard and is way off the mark in some points. To try and compare our politicians or any other Irish team with this Rugby Ireland team is foolish. He also likes to talk down to the readers from his self appointed pedestal which again will annoy people. I dont take his call outs serious though and he clearly likes to wind people up.
I didn't read the article but I listened to Myers on the Ton Dunne show about it yesterday and I nearly went off the road! I agree with his point that there is sometimes an acceptance of not doing everything to win and accepting being second best, but he picked the wrong example by focusing on this Irish team. 12 games unbeaten at international rugby is a pretty fine record and many of these players have won Heinekin Cups into the bargain. They are a team of winners as is Kidney and to be honest I think what happened to them this year so far is that the weight of expectance on them has been very heavy. The whole competition that is running about Joe Soaps giving their team talks, the idea of Back to back Grand Slams, two provincial teams being in the coal face of the European cup. Myers writes from the comfort of his office about something that he has limited knowledge. If you are to make statements pick good evidence to back up your point.
Quote from: saffron sam2 on February 19, 2010, 10:42:11 AM
Quote from: Olaf on February 19, 2010, 10:19:58 AM
Very ill-advised.
Will Healy, Flannery, O'Leary and even Kidney or the whole Irish team be writing into the paper?
Did Mullin do so in '92?
I don't know how much Myers knows about rugby but as I read it (with his particular reference to O'Gara) he says that he is a poor tackler and , in conjunction with O'Leary has not/does not make the best use of the talented backs outside him. Pretty accurate as far as I can see.
How much do you need to know about rugby to make that statement?
(Myers I mean, not you)
Virtually nothing. I wouldn't say I know enough about rugby to comment constructively on this board, never mind a national newspaper yet I know of that widely accepted view of O'Gara from listening to RTE's pundits and readin the occasion newspaper article.
Yes, his tackling is not the best but to say picking him meant Kidney didn't want to win is scandalous.
SLIGONIAN...
Why the pic of Alan Costello?
On the O Gara issue, he shouldnt have replied but his replay is not that damaging to him.
But, everyone knows and agrees that Myres is a west brit w**ker who knows feck all about sport
A journalistic egomaniac skumbag in my eyes. Just like Ian O Doherty
Jaysus, Myers is a poor journalist, who knows very little about most things but has generated this penchant for establishing extreme attitudes to news stories that generates widespread hostility (and sells papers, and thus advertising). Could this be a 'false' story, generated simply to drum up/maintain public interest in the six-nations tournament (which is probably 'over' for this Irish team)? You think the O'Reillys aren't that cynical??
Myers
Dunphy
Hayes
Spillane
Brolly
Heaney
Very good at what they do....writing controversial stuff in newspapers and gobshites like us buying those papers to see "what thon w*nker is spouting about this week"!!
Whatever about Ronan O'Gara's strengths and weaknesses as a player, I think alot of people have quickly forgotten who it was that kicked us to the Grand Slam in Cardiff less than a year ago!
Myers is a twat of the highest order, any time he trys to broach a subject that is set beyond the Pale, his lack of actual understanding or knowledge is astounding.
Quote from: saffron sam2 on February 19, 2010, 10:42:11 AM
Quote from: Olaf on February 19, 2010, 10:19:58 AM
Very ill-advised.
Will Healy, Flannery, O'Leary and even Kidney or the whole Irish team be writing into the paper?
Did Mullin do so in '92?
I don't know how much Myers knows about rugby but as I read it (with his particular reference to O'Gara) he says that he is a poor tackler and , in conjunction with O'Leary has not/does not make the best use of the talented backs outside him. Pretty accurate as far as I can see.
How much do you need to know about rugby to make that statement?
(Myers I mean, not you)
1. In relation to his weak tackling probably not very much as this would be evident to most reasonable observers.
2. In relation to not making the most out of his back-line maybe not as obvious as his positioning is usually very deep which basically just permits him to kick or on the odd occasion fling out a miss pass.
If he meant to have a go at Myers for criticising Ireland's will to win the game (ie the whole team), which is something on which I would not agree with Myers, his choice of the word "scapegoat" was an error.
As I say this is ill-advised unless the remainder of the team are wiling to put in similar letters.
Quote from: AbbeySider on February 19, 2010, 12:03:00 PM
SLIGONIAN...
Why the pic of Alan Costello?
On the O Gara issue, he shouldnt have replied but his replay is not that damaging to him.
But, everyone knows and agrees that Myres is a west brit w**ker who knows feck all about sport
A journalistic egomaniac skumbag in my eyes. Just like Ian O Doherty
Why not Abbeysider.
McGrens, exactly who else would of done that under that pressure....ROG is world class IMO.
Quote from: mc_grens on February 19, 2010, 01:10:26 PM
Whatever about Ronan O'Gara's strengths and weaknesses as a player, I think alot of people have quickly forgotten who it was that kicked us to the Grand Slam in Cardiff less than a year ago!
Or the Welsh buck that missed! ;)
ROG should have more sense but has history with Myers, god Myers is such a west brit..
http://www.independent.co.uk/sport/rugby/rugby-union/news-comment/kevin-myers-ronan-ogaras-a-real-lout-for-not-giving-the-queen-some-respect-1685515.html (http://www.independent.co.uk/sport/rugby/rugby-union/news-comment/kevin-myers-ronan-ogaras-a-real-lout-for-not-giving-the-queen-some-respect-1685515.html)
QuoteKevin Myers: Ronan O'Gara's a real lout for not giving the Queen some respect
By Kevin Myers
Friday, 15 May 2009
Ronan O'Gara kept his hands in his pockets when introduced to the Queen
It's simple. Ronan O'Gara is a lout.
Either he kept his hands in his pockets when he met the Queen because he was unaware that no gentlemen ever keeps his hands in his pockets when he is meeting anyone — whether t**ker, tart or toff — which means that he is a lout. Or that he went up to Belfast, freely and of his own accord, and very deliberately kept his hands in his pockets in her presence, in order to establish some political point. Which also means that he is a lout.
And those bigoted midgets who have applauded him for his bad manners have merely shown that they are louts also.
Some things are important. You do not insult the flag of another country, and you do not show disrespect for its head of state.
The English captain Martin Johnson showed such disrespect to the Irish President at Lansdowne Road by refusing to stand closer to the presidential red carpet, thereby making her walk over to him to shake his hand. Whether he did so accidentally or deliberately is irrelevant. He should have been publicly rebuked by the English Rugby Union and forced to apologise. He wasn't and he didn't. He is a lout also.
What he did was a serious breach of international protocol. But this should not have set a standard of Anglo-Hibernian bad manners to which Ronan O'Gara then uniquely adhered. (After all, no other Irish player felt the need to behave like him.)
Which means, if intentional, he went 300 miles to insult the sovereign of a friendly power. How heroic.
Which brings us to the tiresome issue, yet again, of Ireland and the British monarchy. Frankly, I am bored out of my skull with this pathetic, infantile obsession about Ireland not being British and therefore you don't invite the Queen (yes, that's deliberate) to the country.
Only nationalist dwarves accept that argument. If she can visit Germany, whose cities were laid waste in her lifetime, with tens of thousands of civilians being slaughtered in their homes by an air force whose commander in chief was her father, then she can surely visit Ireland.
This issue has all the hallmarks of a very stupid family row. We know that the vast majority of Irish people use the term 'the Queen' when describing the monarch of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland. Even Seamus Heaney wrote that in his family they never raised a glass to toast the Queen: yes, his capital letter.
The largest immigrant group in Ireland is British. For decades, the largest immigrant group in Britain was Irish. The laws of Ireland are based on English common law, and Irish barristers wear black in mourning for Queen Anne (died 1714). I could go on. So could you. This is because we all know the fundamental truths of this issue.
The culmination of next's season rugby championship will also see the 70th anniversary of the commissioning of Michael Floud Blaney, a Catholic and nationalist from Newry, and a graduate of UCD, into the Royal Engineers. He was rushed through a mine-defusing course, becoming one of the first of the new generation of bomb-disposals officers.
In September 1940, an unexploded German bomb in East London was paralysing traffic and preventing thousands of workers from doing vital war-duties.
Captain Blaney volunteered to defuse the bomb, and working alone — a method he pioneered — he succeeded.
A month later, a new type of bomb was found in London. Fitted with two very dangerous time fuses, its sole purpose was to kill bomb-disposals officers like him. However, it was causing major economic dislocation and had to be tackled.
Again he volunteered to defuse it alone. He was successful. Then, a fortnight before Christmas, just after his 30th birthday, Captain Blaney was called to deal with another bomb.
It had lain unexploded for several days, and was causing huge economic disruption. As usual he crawled unaccompanied into the crater, and while he worked on it the bomb exploded.
King George VI — the father of the woman in whose company Ronan O'Gara thought it appropriate to keep his hands in his pockets — awarded Captain Michael Floud Blaney a posthumous George Cross, the highest possible British decoration for a soldier not personally present in the face of the enemy.
As Ronan O'Gara travelled North last week to insult — either intentionally or otherwise — the Queen, he would have passed Newry Old Chapel Graveyard, where the remains of Captain Michael Floud Blaney GC are buried.
How many people now know of this gallant man in the town where he was born, and where he had once been in charge of the roads department?
Not many, I'd guess. Still, it's worth remembering that he used his hands to save life, not insult people.
The ultimate reward of the endeavours of so many Irishmen like him is also known by the name 'freedom', beside which two words such as 'Grand Slam' or 'Ronan O'Gara' do not properly belong.
i have to say i've never rated o gara, i dont know how the guy has got this far with his kicking gme. having said that myrers is a class a bollix best ignored
Quote from: Dinny Breen on February 19, 2010, 09:02:57 PM
ROG should have more sense but has history with Myers, god Myers is such a west brit..
http://www.independent.co.uk/sport/rugby/rugby-union/news-comment/kevin-myers-ronan-ogaras-a-real-lout-for-not-giving-the-queen-some-respect-1685515.html (http://www.independent.co.uk/sport/rugby/rugby-union/news-comment/kevin-myers-ronan-ogaras-a-real-lout-for-not-giving-the-queen-some-respect-1685515.html)
QuoteKevin Myers: Ronan O'Gara's a real lout for not giving the Queen some respect
By Kevin Myers
Friday, 15 May 2009
Ronan O'Gara kept his hands in his pockets when introduced to the Queen
It's simple. Ronan O'Gara is a lout.
Either he kept his hands in his pockets when he met the Queen because he was unaware that no gentlemen ever keeps his hands in his pockets when he is meeting anyone — whether t**ker, tart or toff — which means that he is a lout. Or that he went up to Belfast, freely and of his own accord, and very deliberately kept his hands in his pockets in her presence, in order to establish some political point. Which also means that he is a lout.
And those bigoted midgets who have applauded him for his bad manners have merely shown that they are louts also.
Some things are important. You do not insult the flag of another country, and you do not show disrespect for its head of state.
The English captain Martin Johnson showed such disrespect to the Irish President at Lansdowne Road by refusing to stand closer to the presidential red carpet, thereby making her walk over to him to shake his hand. Whether he did so accidentally or deliberately is irrelevant. He should have been publicly rebuked by the English Rugby Union and forced to apologise. He wasn't and he didn't. He is a lout also.
What he did was a serious breach of international protocol. But this should not have set a standard of Anglo-Hibernian bad manners to which Ronan O'Gara then uniquely adhered. (After all, no other Irish player felt the need to behave like him.)
Which means, if intentional, he went 300 miles to insult the sovereign of a friendly power. How heroic.
Which brings us to the tiresome issue, yet again, of Ireland and the British monarchy. Frankly, I am bored out of my skull with this pathetic, infantile obsession about Ireland not being British and therefore you don't invite the Queen (yes, that's deliberate) to the country.
Only nationalist dwarves accept that argument. If she can visit Germany, whose cities were laid waste in her lifetime, with tens of thousands of civilians being slaughtered in their homes by an air force whose commander in chief was her father, then she can surely visit Ireland.
This issue has all the hallmarks of a very stupid family row. We know that the vast majority of Irish people use the term 'the Queen' when describing the monarch of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland. Even Seamus Heaney wrote that in his family they never raised a glass to toast the Queen: yes, his capital letter.
The largest immigrant group in Ireland is British. For decades, the largest immigrant group in Britain was Irish. The laws of Ireland are based on English common law, and Irish barristers wear black in mourning for Queen Anne (died 1714). I could go on. So could you. This is because we all know the fundamental truths of this issue.
The culmination of next's season rugby championship will also see the 70th anniversary of the commissioning of Michael Floud Blaney, a Catholic and nationalist from Newry, and a graduate of UCD, into the Royal Engineers. He was rushed through a mine-defusing course, becoming one of the first of the new generation of bomb-disposals officers.
In September 1940, an unexploded German bomb in East London was paralysing traffic and preventing thousands of workers from doing vital war-duties.
Captain Blaney volunteered to defuse the bomb, and working alone — a method he pioneered — he succeeded.
A month later, a new type of bomb was found in London. Fitted with two very dangerous time fuses, its sole purpose was to kill bomb-disposals officers like him. However, it was causing major economic dislocation and had to be tackled.
Again he volunteered to defuse it alone. He was successful. Then, a fortnight before Christmas, just after his 30th birthday, Captain Blaney was called to deal with another bomb.
It had lain unexploded for several days, and was causing huge economic disruption. As usual he crawled unaccompanied into the crater, and while he worked on it the bomb exploded.
King George VI — the father of the woman in whose company Ronan O'Gara thought it appropriate to keep his hands in his pockets — awarded Captain Michael Floud Blaney a posthumous George Cross, the highest possible British decoration for a soldier not personally present in the face of the enemy.
As Ronan O'Gara travelled North last week to insult — either intentionally or otherwise — the Queen, he would have passed Newry Old Chapel Graveyard, where the remains of Captain Michael Floud Blaney GC are buried.
How many people now know of this gallant man in the town where he was born, and where he had once been in charge of the roads department?
Not many, I'd guess. Still, it's worth remembering that he used his hands to save life, not insult people.
The ultimate reward of the endeavours of so many Irishmen like him is also known by the name 'freedom', beside which two words such as 'Grand Slam' or 'Ronan O'Gara' do not properly belong.
Fckn hate Myers, he wrote another piece last week that had me raging, he seems to piss of everyone, no matter their political, religious, or sporting affilitaion, gender, native, immigrant, age, social economic backgroundf, from the capital, from the North, from the regions or other, no matter who you are, Myers has an opinion. He keeps pushing and pushing the Irish who fought in the Great War (yes you have got your point across Myers, many of us agree with you to an extent, but you are boring us now)
Myers just takes the minority view and prides himself in coming up with some high end intellectual argument to justify the opposite of what everyone thinks.
Abbeysider - good call on Ian O Doherty, another total w**ker.
I would also put forward Brendan O Connor, you know the one who used to think he was a comedian and is now a chat show host - another vermin from the Sunday Indo.
Quote from: Dinny Breen on February 19, 2010, 09:02:57 PM
ROG should have more sense but has history with Myers, god Myers is such a west brit..
http://www.independent.co.uk/sport/rugby/rugby-union/news-comment/kevin-myers-ronan-ogaras-a-real-lout-for-not-giving-the-queen-some-respect-1685515.html (http://www.independent.co.uk/sport/rugby/rugby-union/news-comment/kevin-myers-ronan-ogaras-a-real-lout-for-not-giving-the-queen-some-respect-1685515.html)
QuoteKevin Myers: Ronan O'Gara's a real lout for not giving the Queen some respect
By Kevin Myers
Friday, 15 May 2009
Ronan O'Gara kept his hands in his pockets when introduced to the Queen
It's simple. Ronan O'Gara is a lout.
Either he kept his hands in his pockets when he met the Queen because he was unaware that no gentlemen ever keeps his hands in his pockets when he is meeting anyone — whether t**ker, tart or toff — which means that he is a lout. Or that he went up to Belfast, freely and of his own accord, and very deliberately kept his hands in his pockets in her presence, in order to establish some political point. Which also means that he is a lout.
And those bigoted midgets who have applauded him for his bad manners have merely shown that they are louts also.
Some things are important. You do not insult the flag of another country, and you do not show disrespect for its head of state.
The English captain Martin Johnson showed such disrespect to the Irish President at Lansdowne Road by refusing to stand closer to the presidential red carpet, thereby making her walk over to him to shake his hand. Whether he did so accidentally or deliberately is irrelevant. He should have been publicly rebuked by the English Rugby Union and forced to apologise. He wasn't and he didn't. He is a lout also.
What he did was a serious breach of international protocol. But this should not have set a standard of Anglo-Hibernian bad manners to which Ronan O'Gara then uniquely adhered. (After all, no other Irish player felt the need to behave like him.)
Which means, if intentional, he went 300 miles to insult the sovereign of a friendly power. How heroic.
Which brings us to the tiresome issue, yet again, of Ireland and the British monarchy. Frankly, I am bored out of my skull with this pathetic, infantile obsession about Ireland not being British and therefore you don't invite the Queen (yes, that's deliberate) to the country.
Only nationalist dwarves accept that argument. If she can visit Germany, whose cities were laid waste in her lifetime, with tens of thousands of civilians being slaughtered in their homes by an air force whose commander in chief was her father, then she can surely visit Ireland.
This issue has all the hallmarks of a very stupid family row. We know that the vast majority of Irish people use the term 'the Queen' when describing the monarch of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland. Even Seamus Heaney wrote that in his family they never raised a glass to toast the Queen: yes, his capital letter.
The largest immigrant group in Ireland is British. For decades, the largest immigrant group in Britain was Irish. The laws of Ireland are based on English common law, and Irish barristers wear black in mourning for Queen Anne (died 1714). I could go on. So could you. This is because we all know the fundamental truths of this issue.
The culmination of next's season rugby championship will also see the 70th anniversary of the commissioning of Michael Floud Blaney, a Catholic and nationalist from Newry, and a graduate of UCD, into the Royal Engineers. He was rushed through a mine-defusing course, becoming one of the first of the new generation of bomb-disposals officers.
In September 1940, an unexploded German bomb in East London was paralysing traffic and preventing thousands of workers from doing vital war-duties.
Captain Blaney volunteered to defuse the bomb, and working alone — a method he pioneered — he succeeded.
A month later, a new type of bomb was found in London. Fitted with two very dangerous time fuses, its sole purpose was to kill bomb-disposals officers like him. However, it was causing major economic dislocation and had to be tackled.
Again he volunteered to defuse it alone. He was successful. Then, a fortnight before Christmas, just after his 30th birthday, Captain Blaney was called to deal with another bomb.
It had lain unexploded for several days, and was causing huge economic disruption. As usual he crawled unaccompanied into the crater, and while he worked on it the bomb exploded.
King George VI — the father of the woman in whose company Ronan O'Gara thought it appropriate to keep his hands in his pockets — awarded Captain Michael Floud Blaney a posthumous George Cross, the highest possible British decoration for a soldier not personally present in the face of the enemy.
As Ronan O'Gara travelled North last week to insult — either intentionally or otherwise — the Queen, he would have passed Newry Old Chapel Graveyard, where the remains of Captain Michael Floud Blaney GC are buried.
How many people now know of this gallant man in the town where he was born, and where he had once been in charge of the roads department?
Not many, I'd guess. Still, it's worth remembering that he used his hands to save life, not insult people.
The ultimate reward of the endeavours of so many Irishmen like him is also known by the name 'freedom', beside which two words such as 'Grand Slam' or 'Ronan O'Gara' do not properly belong.
He doesn't seem to like small people.
Quote from: SLIGONIAN on February 19, 2010, 04:32:55 PM
Quote from: AbbeySider on February 19, 2010, 12:03:00 PM
SLIGONIAN...
Why the pic of Alan Costello?
Why not Abbeysider.
Fair play, its nice to see Costello, a former Mayo player respected and held in such reguard that someone would use his pic in their every post.
I kinda know him, nice fella. Would he be rated highly in Sligo? I always thought myself that he was a decent player but maybe lacking a yard of pace to cut it at the highest level.
Quote from: 5 Sams on February 19, 2010, 12:28:08 PM
Myers
Dunphy
Hayes
Spillane
Brolly
Heaney
Very good at what they do....writing controversial stuff in newspapers and gobshites like us buying those papers to see "what thon w*nker is spouting about this week"!!
i wouldn't throw paddy heaney in with that lot, he's better than that
Was Brendan Mulllin really that good?
Also he fecked off for a few years and came back just to get to the World Cup in South Africa.
Quote from: Bord na Mona man on February 20, 2010, 06:51:40 PM
Was Brendan Mulllin really that good?
Also he fecked off for a few years and came back just to get to the World Cup in South Africa.
Brendan Mullins really was that good. He was the record try scorer for Ireland in the amateur era. That's over a hundred years of rugby. Not bad.
Quote from: IolarCoisCuain on February 20, 2010, 07:13:36 PM
Quote from: Bord na Mona man on February 20, 2010, 06:51:40 PM
Was Brendan Mulllin really that good?
Also he fecked off for a few years and came back just to get to the World Cup in South Africa.
Brendan Mullins really was that good. He was the record try scorer for Ireland in the amateur era. That's over a hundred years of rugby. Not bad.
We were always told how great he was and rarely saw it. A bit like David Healy in the Premierleague.
17 tries wasn't bad but he was hardly a great.
Wonder who wrote O'Gara's letter for him though?
Quote from: muppet on February 20, 2010, 09:35:40 PM
Quote from: IolarCoisCuain on February 20, 2010, 07:13:36 PM
Quote from: Bord na Mona man on February 20, 2010, 06:51:40 PM
Was Brendan Mulllin really that good?
Also he fecked off for a few years and came back just to get to the World Cup in South Africa.
Brendan Mullins really was that good. He was the record try scorer for Ireland in the amateur era. That's over a hundred years of rugby. Not bad.
We were always told how great he was and rarely saw it. A bit like David Healy in the Premierleague.
17 tries wasn't bad but he was hardly a great.
17 tries in 56 matches apparently. Presumably most in the 5 nations.
I still don't remember him being as electric as Simon Geoghegan though.
Quote from: Bord na Mona man on February 20, 2010, 11:27:44 PM
Quote from: muppet on February 20, 2010, 09:35:40 PM
Quote from: IolarCoisCuain on February 20, 2010, 07:13:36 PM
Quote from: Bord na Mona man on February 20, 2010, 06:51:40 PM
Was Brendan Mulllin really that good?
Also he fecked off for a few years and came back just to get to the World Cup in South Africa.
Brendan Mullins really was that good. He was the record try scorer for Ireland in the amateur era. That's over a hundred years of rugby. Not bad.
We were always told how great he was and rarely saw it. A bit like David Healy in the Premierleague.
17 tries wasn't bad but he was hardly a great.
17 tries in 56 matches apparently. Presumably most in the 5 nations.
I still don't remember him being as electric as Simon Geoghegan though.
Geoghegan's arrival was like going straight from Red Hurley to Liz Hurley without passing go.
Can anybody tell me if there is a photo of ROG actually meeting the Queen?
ASFAIK, Myers is referring to the well-publicised one of him standing with his hand in his pocket while waiting next in line to be introduced to her. I have seen no evidence so far to suggest that he actually snubbed her when they met face to face. If I were attending yet another of an interminable list of boring, long-winded functions and was waiting to exchange banalities with some dignitary or other, I'd probably do the same or worse.
IMO, he'd be wrong to go about deliberately insulting HM but I've seen no evidence to imply that he did either then or at any other time.
Johnson on the other hand, knew exactly what he was up to. For me, he was and is a lout and the same goes for Myers.
Myers used to write very funny satire, though and I'll always forgive anybody a lot for that. But he hasn't even got that saving grace now so there's no difficulty at all in disliking him.
Couldn't be having Brendan Mullin with that accent and the American teeth.
Quote from: Take Your Points on February 21, 2010, 11:32:56 AM
Quote from: Lar Naparka on February 21, 2010, 02:45:09 AM
Can anybody tell me if there is a photo of ROG actually meeting the Queen?
(http://i45.tinypic.com/ehxczt.jpg)
ROG: Jeeees if this is Snow White the dwarves must be tiny.
Queen: My corgis tackle better than you do, ya langer.
Quote from: Lar Naparka on February 21, 2010, 02:45:09 AM
Can anybody tell me if there is a photo of ROG actually meeting the Queen?
ASFAIK, Myers is referring to the well-publicised one of him standing with his hand in his pocket while waiting next in line to be introduced to her. I have seen no evidence so far to suggest that he actually snubbed her when they met face to face. If I were attending yet another of an interminable list of boring, long-winded functions and was waiting to exchange banalities with some dignitary or other, I'd probably do the same or worse.
IMO, he'd be wrong to go about deliberately insulting HM but I've seen no evidence to imply that he did either then or at any other time.
Johnson on the other hand, knew exactly what he was up to. For me, he was and is a lout and the same goes for Myers.
Lar,
Unfortunately for Myers the Queen herself was quoted after as saying that they chatted about her sons because O'Gara had been friendly with them when they tagged along to the Lion's tour of New Zealand.
Not really the stuff of louts to be honest. Myers is probaly jealous that they don't number him among their friends and culture police here will now condemn ROG as a West Brit!
You can't win..........
/Jim.
Quote from: muppet on February 20, 2010, 09:35:40 PM
Quote from: IolarCoisCuain on February 20, 2010, 07:13:36 PM
Quote from: Bord na Mona man on February 20, 2010, 06:51:40 PM
Was Brendan Mulllin really that good?
Also he fecked off for a few years and came back just to get to the World Cup in South Africa.
Brendan Mullins really was that good. He was the record try scorer for Ireland in the amateur era. That's over a hundred years of rugby. Not bad.
We were always told how great he was and rarely saw it. A bit like David Healy in the Premierleague.
17 tries wasn't bad but he was hardly a great.
For the love of God Muppet, he scored more tries that another Irishman in the amateur era! How can he not be a great? Do you not think tries count? I'm baffled here lads. Baffled. ???
Quote from: IolarCoisCuain on February 22, 2010, 11:47:04 AM
Quote from: muppet on February 20, 2010, 09:35:40 PM
Quote from: IolarCoisCuain on February 20, 2010, 07:13:36 PM
Quote from: Bord na Mona man on February 20, 2010, 06:51:40 PM
Was Brendan Mulllin really that good?
Also he fecked off for a few years and came back just to get to the World Cup in South Africa.
Brendan Mullins really was that good. He was the record try scorer for Ireland in the amateur era. That's over a hundred years of rugby. Not bad.
We were always told how great he was and rarely saw it. A bit like David Healy in the Premierleague.
17 tries wasn't bad but he was hardly a great.
For the love of God Muppet, he scored more tries that another Irishman in the amateur era! How can he not be a great? Do you not think tries count? I'm baffled here lads. Baffled. ???
Mullin was a bit of class in a back-line consisting of other good runners such as Dean and Crossan. He was probably the most balanced runner in that back-line and did an awful lot more than scoring tries. There was and is more to a centre's game than scoring tries.
An Irish rugby great? Yes - IMHO.
Was O'Gara's hands not sewn into his pockets to prevent his hands slipping down the "birds" top?
Quote from: IolarCoisCuain on February 22, 2010, 11:47:04 AM
Quote from: muppet on February 20, 2010, 09:35:40 PM
Quote from: IolarCoisCuain on February 20, 2010, 07:13:36 PM
Quote from: Bord na Mona man on February 20, 2010, 06:51:40 PM
Was Brendan Mulllin really that good?
Also he fecked off for a few years and came back just to get to the World Cup in South Africa.
Brendan Mullins really was that good. He was the record try scorer for Ireland in the amateur era. That's over a hundred years of rugby. Not bad.
We were always told how great he was and rarely saw it. A bit like David Healy in the Premierleague.
17 tries wasn't bad but he was hardly a great.
For the love of God Muppet, he scored more tries that another Irishman in the amateur era! How can he not be a great? Do you not think tries count? I'm baffled here lads. Baffled. ???
He made one Lions squad but didn't make the test team. A great? Not for me.
The 'tries for Ireland' record always had a similar total over the years to the 'goals for Ireland' record.By your logic Tony Cascarino must be a 'great'.
Brendan Mullin was definitely a great player for Ireland in a time when we didn't exactly have many quality backs especially during the latter half of his career in the early 90's. To score 17 international tries given some of the talent he had around him was commendable. Had he been around for the past 10 years he would probably have been pushing 30 international tries. Granted he was not in Brian O'Driscoll's class but not many are but he was still a very good player.
Quote from: muppet on February 22, 2010, 03:33:28 PM
He made one Lions squad but didn't make the test team. A great? Not for me.
The 'tries for Ireland' record always had a similar total over the years to the 'goals for Ireland' record.By your logic Tony Cascarino must be a 'great'.
Geoghegan never made a Lions tour at all. Doesn't make him a bum.
Can't give you an argument about the soccer. Not too bothered about it one way or the other.
Quote from: IolarCoisCuain on February 22, 2010, 05:16:30 PM
Quote from: muppet on February 22, 2010, 03:33:28 PM
He made one Lions squad but didn't make the test team. A great? Not for me.
The 'tries for Ireland' record always had a similar total over the years to the 'goals for Ireland' record.By your logic Tony Cascarino must be a 'great'.
Geoghegan never made a Lions tour at all. Doesn't make him a bum.
Can't give you an argument about the soccer. Not too bothered about it one way or the other.
Geoghegan was the best Irish winger I've seen.
Mullin is not the 2nd best Irish centre I've seen, I have 2004 6 Nations player of the tournament Darcy ahead of him.
Brigadier Myers has spoken again:
http://www.independent.ie/opinion/columnists/kevin-myers/kevin-myers-as-for-writing-on-rugby-you-dont-have-to-be-a-carpenter-to-see-that-the-chair-keeps-falling-over-2074758.html (http://www.independent.ie/opinion/columnists/kevin-myers/kevin-myers-as-for-writing-on-rugby-you-dont-have-to-be-a-carpenter-to-see-that-the-chair-keeps-falling-over-2074758.html)
Wonder will Myers have anything to say this week ?? Or will O'Gara ?
Used to love watching Geoghegan in full flow:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Bl1-wk0uaak
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rVSpGi7MVDI&feature=related
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=j8d1oBsnKjE&feature=related
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qNvmWkiaqyo&feature=related
Quote from: muppet on February 22, 2010, 05:29:15 PM
Quote from: IolarCoisCuain on February 22, 2010, 05:16:30 PM
Quote from: muppet on February 22, 2010, 03:33:28 PM
He made one Lions squad but didn't make the test team. A great? Not for me.
The 'tries for Ireland' record always had a similar total over the years to the 'goals for Ireland' record.By your logic Tony Cascarino must be a 'great'.
Geoghegan never made a Lions tour at all. Doesn't make him a bum.
Can't give you an argument about the soccer. Not too bothered about it one way or the other.
Geoghegan was the best Irish winger I've seen.
Mullin is not the 2nd best Irish centre I've seen, I have 2004 6 Nations player of the tournament Darcy ahead of him.
Totally different players playing totally different types of games.
I'm not sure if it's legitimate to compare amateur and professional players anymore, to be honest. The game has changed so much it's more or less unrecognisable. David Duckham famously retired early because he thought too much coaching in the game was restricting flair, and that was in 1976!
Lads I'm looking to get in touch with Kevin Myers, random as that may seem, and I was wondering do any of you know an email address I could get him on? Long shot I know...
Quote from: Massey-135 on September 28, 2011, 12:22:25 PM
Lads I'm looking to get in touch with Kevin Myers, random as that may seem, and I was wondering do any of you know an email address I could get him on? Long shot I know...
Email? Might be better to try a telegram
Quote from: Massey-135 on September 28, 2011, 12:22:25 PM
Lads I'm looking to get in touch with Kevin Myers, random as that may seem, and I was wondering do any of you know an email address I could get him on? Long shot I know...
fcuk.wit@independent.ie
Quote from: Massey-135 on September 28, 2011, 12:22:25 PM
Lads I'm looking to get in touch with Kevin Myers, random as that may seem, and I was wondering do any of you know an email address I could get him on? Long shot I know...
O is there a vacancy for a frothing at the mouth, right wing, west brit,neo con, royalist, Northern hating, poor excuse for a man in your area? If you cant get Myers Mayogodhelpus@gmail.com would be an excellent replacement.
(http://popartmachine.com/artwork/LOC+1371963/0/Washington,-D.C.-Jean-Smith-sending-a-Western-Union-telegram-on-the...-painting-artwork-print.jpg)
You might get him through this way rather than e-mail!
myers is a coward hiding behind his pen like a lot of journalists(tommy conlon,david kelly.kieran cunningham)people that never played to any level of sport but think its fine to criticize and slate people that have 100 times more ability
Quote from: Hardy on February 21, 2010, 11:00:26 AM
Myers used to write very funny satire, though and I'll always forgive anybody a lot for that. But he hasn't even got that saving grace now so there's no difficulty at all in disliking him.
Couldn't be having Brendan Mullin with that accent and the American teeth.
Someone should have joined the dots and realised Mullin was a bad one!
--
Former Ireland rugby star Brendan Mullin accused of stealing €500,000 from Bank of Ireland while he was a director
FORMER Irish international rugby star Brendan Mullin has appeared in court accused of stealing more than €500,000 from a bank while he was a director.
Mr Mullin (57) is facing trial on multiple charges following a series of alleged thefts from Bank of Ireland, where he was head of private banking.
He is facing trial, and the case against him was adjourned at Dublin District Court for the preparation of a book of evidence.
Mr Mullin (57) of Albert Lodge, Stillorgan Road, Donnybrook, Dublin 4, is charged with 15 theft and fraud offences on dates in 2011, 2012 and 2013.
These are nine counts of theft totalling €573,000 from Bank of Ireland, five of false accounting and one of deception.
Of the theft charges, he is accused of stealing €500,000 at Bank of Ireland Private Banking, Burlington Plaza, Burlington Road, Dublin 4, on December 16, 2011.
Among the other counts, it is alleged he stole €18,450, also the property of Bank of Ireland, at Mespil Road, Dublin 4, on September 7, 2012, and another €18,792 on March 15, 2013.
It is alleged that, dishonestly by deception, he induced a named woman and man to sign a payment instruction with the intention of making gain for himself or another, or causing loss to another, at the Burlington Road location on July 27, 2011.
Today, Detective Garda Sean O'Riordan of the Garda National Economic Crime Bureau told Judge Michael Walsh he arrested the accused at 9.08 this morning and brought him to the Bridewell Garda Station, where he was charged.
He made no comment to the charges after caution, Det Gda O'Riordan said. The DPP was directing trial on indictment, but was consenting to the accused being sent forward to the circuit court on a signed plea of guilty if this should arise, the garda said.
Defence solicitor Robert Purcell said a book of evidence would be required.
There was no garda objection to bail and terms had been agreed, the court heard.
Judge Walsh granted bail in the accused's own bond of €10,000, with no cash lodgement required. Under conditions, Mr Mullin must surrender his passport to the gardaí within 48 hours.
The judge said the accused must appear in court on all remand dates and be of good behaviour.
Mr Purcell said Mr Mullin "may have to travel for certain work purposes" and the judge said this could be done with notice given to the gardaí.
The accused, dressed in a grey suit, open-necked blue shirt and black shoes, was not required to address the court.
He was remanded on bail to November 11.
Mr Mullin played for Ireland and the Lions from 1984 to 1995, retiring just before the game went professional. He had 55 caps for Ireland and played at three Rugby World Cup finals. Mr Mullin worked in the financial services industry during his rugby playing years and in the decades since.
During his business career, he once held the position of managing director of Bank of Ireland private banking.
Quote from: Bord na Mona man on September 21, 2021, 09:32:18 PM
Quote from: Hardy on February 21, 2010, 11:00:26 AM
Myers used to write very funny satire, though and I'll always forgive anybody a lot for that. But he hasn't even got that saving grace now so there's no difficulty at all in disliking him.
Couldn't be having Brendan Mullin with that accent and the American teeth.
Someone should have joined the dots and realised Mullin was a bad one!
--
Former Ireland rugby star Brendan Mullin accused of stealing €500,000 from Bank of Ireland while he was a director
FORMER Irish international rugby star Brendan Mullin has appeared in court accused of stealing more than €500,000 from a bank while he was a director.
Mr Mullin (57) is facing trial on multiple charges following a series of alleged thefts from Bank of Ireland, where he was head of private banking.
He is facing trial, and the case against him was adjourned at Dublin District Court for the preparation of a book of evidence.
Mr Mullin (57) of Albert Lodge, Stillorgan Road, Donnybrook, Dublin 4, is charged with 15 theft and fraud offences on dates in 2011, 2012 and 2013.
These are nine counts of theft totalling €573,000 from Bank of Ireland, five of false accounting and one of deception.
Of the theft charges, he is accused of stealing €500,000 at Bank of Ireland Private Banking, Burlington Plaza, Burlington Road, Dublin 4, on December 16, 2011.
Among the other counts, it is alleged he stole €18,450, also the property of Bank of Ireland, at Mespil Road, Dublin 4, on September 7, 2012, and another €18,792 on March 15, 2013.
It is alleged that, dishonestly by deception, he induced a named woman and man to sign a payment instruction with the intention of making gain for himself or another, or causing loss to another, at the Burlington Road location on July 27, 2011.
Today, Detective Garda Sean O'Riordan of the Garda National Economic Crime Bureau told Judge Michael Walsh he arrested the accused at 9.08 this morning and brought him to the Bridewell Garda Station, where he was charged.
He made no comment to the charges after caution, Det Gda O'Riordan said. The DPP was directing trial on indictment, but was consenting to the accused being sent forward to the circuit court on a signed plea of guilty if this should arise, the garda said.
Defence solicitor Robert Purcell said a book of evidence would be required.
There was no garda objection to bail and terms had been agreed, the court heard.
Judge Walsh granted bail in the accused's own bond of €10,000, with no cash lodgement required. Under conditions, Mr Mullin must surrender his passport to the gardaí within 48 hours.
The judge said the accused must appear in court on all remand dates and be of good behaviour.
Mr Purcell said Mr Mullin "may have to travel for certain work purposes" and the judge said this could be done with notice given to the gardaí.
The accused, dressed in a grey suit, open-necked blue shirt and black shoes, was not required to address the court.
He was remanded on bail to November 11.
Mr Mullin played for Ireland and the Lions from 1984 to 1995, retiring just before the game went professional. He had 55 caps for Ireland and played at three Rugby World Cup finals. Mr Mullin worked in the financial services industry during his rugby playing years and in the decades since.
During his business career, he once held the position of managing director of Bank of Ireland private banking.
"Former Ireland rugby star Brendan Mullin
accused of stealing €500,000 from Bank of Ireland while he was a director"
Back on thread topic, Myers was a c#nt then and even more so now. O'Gara has moved onward and upwards.
Obviously Mullin has to have due process.
Let's face it, if there is a full stop out of place or the wrong font used on the warrant, he'll be out the gap. He'll have a crack legal team and the weight of the Blackrock old boy network behind him
But wouldn't be fantastic if the trail verdict was read out in a Fred Cogley voice and it was either "Try" or "no try"!
Sorry for being dumb, but what is the relevance of this story to the original post about Myers,
How the hell do you make almost 600K euro disappear from the books for almost a decade? :o
Quote from: APM on September 22, 2021, 04:16:11 PM
Sorry for being dumb, but what is the relevance of this story to the original post about Myers,
Never apologise for being dumb, after all this is the GAABoard!!
The c*nt Myers referred to Brendan in his article, virtually saying O'Gara is no Mullin etc
https://www.independent.ie/opinion/columnists/kevin-myers/kevin-myers-its-an-irish-characteristic-we-are-comfortable-with-failure-its-a-familiar-condition-and-it-suits-us-26632796.html (https://www.independent.ie/opinion/columnists/kevin-myers/kevin-myers-its-an-irish-characteristic-we-are-comfortable-with-failure-its-a-familiar-condition-and-it-suits-us-26632796.html)
Quote from: J70 on September 22, 2021, 05:36:53 PM
How the hell do you make almost 600K euro disappear from the books for almost a decade? :o
Two mates of mine in the banking/FS sector both said this is absolutely no surprise regarding Mullin.
I need to get the full story when I meet them next, but he has a colourful history, including a stabbing incident allegedly.
Why bother with the process of law, Hound has 2 mates who say..., having heard it from..... and for good measure throw in a yarn that he spilled a drink on a homeless street beggar.
Quote from: Main Street on September 23, 2021, 01:56:36 PM
Why bother with the process of law, Hound has 2 mates who say..., having heard it from..... and for good measure throw in a yarn that he spilled a drink on a homeless street beggar.
Who is saying not to bother with the process of law?
I hope you've written strongly worded letters to all of the papers who have described Mullin being arrested and charged for his alleged crime.
Quote from: Hound on September 23, 2021, 02:19:04 PM
Quote from: Main Street on September 23, 2021, 01:56:36 PM
Why bother with the process of law, Hound has 2 mates who say..., having heard it from..... and for good measure throw in a yarn that he spilled a drink on a homeless street beggar.
Who is saying not to bother with the process of law?
I hope you've written strongly worded letters to all of the papers who have described Mullin being arrested and charged for his alleged crime.
Arrested and charged yes, but not with the hearsay prejudiced bull you have written. Arrested and charged does not mean guilty as charged according to gossip as per Hound.
Quote from: Main Street on September 27, 2021, 01:51:07 AM
Quote from: Hound on September 23, 2021, 02:19:04 PM
Quote from: Main Street on September 23, 2021, 01:56:36 PM
Why bother with the process of law, Hound has 2 mates who say..., having heard it from..... and for good measure throw in a yarn that he spilled a drink on a homeless street beggar.
Who is saying not to bother with the process of law?
I hope you've written strongly worded letters to all of the papers who have described Mullin being arrested and charged for his alleged crime.
Arrested and charged yes, but not with the hearsay prejudiced bull you have written. Arrested and charged does not mean guilty as charged according to gossip as per Hound.
Please point out where I said he was guilty?! You keep pretending that people are saying he's guilty for some reason.
He was being investigated. Now he has been charged, it's in all the papers, it's a legitimate discussion point.
Could be an interesting trial. Are you confident he will plead not guilty?