3 weeks in France

Posted on by devongermaine

I hadn’t yet put the pint i had just bought to my lips when Robbie Brady sent the whole of Ireland into a frenzy. 1-0 up against the hosts, 2 minutes in;  and rather than being outnumbered by the French by what seemed like 500 fans to 1, it felt like the game was being played in Croke Park. The atmosphere was amazing. “Just 88 more minutes, and we are in the quarter finals!”

When the draw was made way back in 2015, nobody gave Ireland much of a chance of progressing beyond the group stages. Even though we had this new format, where four best third place finishers would advance, it still seemed a long shot – to every person not from Ireland. Italy, Belgium and Sweden awaited us in France as we were drawn in the group of death. To us Irish, not the mighty Italians; the 2nd best ranked team in the world – Belgium; nor the might of Zlatan Ibrahimovic and Sweden was enough to keep us from progressing to the last 16. The media, and just about everybody else had written us off before the tournament had even started. To them we were just going to make up the numbers and have a “bitta craic”.

UFC star Conor McGregor once said – “We’re not here to take part. We’re here to take over”. This was never more clear from the way the Irish fans took to France for Euro 2016. They flew over in their thousands and while there was crowd trouble between certain minority of fans, the Irish were acknowledged for their fun and good behavior. We were there to drag our boys in green through the group when nobody else thought it possible. And that we did. Following a disappointing 1-1 draw in the opening game against Sweden (disappointing due to being far the better team on the night), we then lost 3-0 to Belgium after a second half collapse. This left a sour taste in Irish mouths as we now needed to beat the already qualified Italians to advance to the next round. Enter Robbie Brady.

Time was running out for Ireland as they went desperately in search of that elusive goal to put them through to the last 16. Both teams had spurned chances, with Ireland pushing the pace going into the final 5 minutes. Italy content with their point, were sitting very deep as Ireland pressed forward – wave after wave of attack. It seemed like it wasn’t going to be our night when Wes Hoolahan missed an absolute sitter of a chance on 87 minutes. The players and fans couldn’t believe it. However, they didn’t give up. On 88 minutes, a mere 60 seconds after Hoolahan had  wasted what everybody thought to be Ireland’s last chance, put a cross onto the head of Robbie Brady who stuck the ball in the back of the Italian net to send Ireland through to the last 16 of the tournament, where they were set to battle the tournament favorites, and hosts – France.

We got in to half time in Lyon a goal to nil up. Everybody was really starting to buy into the idea that it would be Ireland, not France who would face the potential winners of England and Iceland in the last 8. All that was left to do was hold out for 45 minutes and we were there. That was a lot harder than anyone had imagined, however. In the space of 4 second half minutes, Antoine Griezman had shattered Irish hopes and dreams. We crashed out of the Euros.

Even being sent home after being so close to reaching the last eight couldn’t dampen Irish spirits. The fans were still amazing, and proud of what the team had achieved. We got out of a group that nobody gave us a chance in, and ran the favorites close in the last 16. If  we had of been offered that last December, we would have took it with both hands. After a long 3 weeks of participating – people could now return to normality. No more drinking all day on Tuesdays, using the excuse “ah sure Ireland are playing!”, and no more hoarse throats from screaming at the referees through the television. Our lads in green made us as proud as they could have and we couldn’t have asked for more heart throughout. They are a bunch that we should all be proud of.

Roll on Russia….

 

Conor McGregor. The King. 

Posted on by devongermaine

  
I don’t think people can fathom what exactly Conor McGregor has done for the UFC. I don’t think they realise the impact he will have on future generations for years to come; the impact he is having on Ireland. 

Speaking as somebody who cried like a baby after watching Nate Diaz submit the Notorious  at UFC196, it is fair to say that he is now going to have his fair share of doubters or “haters”. This baffles me so much. Why show hate all of a sudden? The amount of times I’ve heard people say – “he was too cocky going into the fight” and “it was always going to happen though” since then is phenomenal. Some, not all, of these people were the very ones saying he will never be bet in the UFC. Not that there’s anything wrong with that. Everybody is entitled to their own opinion. Opinions change. I’m just using that point to show how quickly an opinion can change. 

 I often talk MMA with one of my best friends, but in particular – UFC. I’ve been watching UFC since Conor McGregor shot onto the scene in April 2013 (so three years just), but my friend has been watching it since before most Irish people knew it existed – maybe 6 or 7 years. He knows quite a bit more than I ever will about the organisation, but it doesn’t stop us from discussing it regularly. Sometimes our opinions are the same, sometimes they differ. However, there is one thing that we have always said to each other, and a lot of people will know this: 

Anybody can lose a fight. That is the beauty of it. You can be the best fighter in the world – John Jones, George St Pierre, Jose Also, Conor McGregor. Any of these great fighters can lose. It just takes one punch; one slip; one mistake. 

This is exactly what happened Conor McGregor. He was on top in a match that most people gave Nate Diaz no chance of surviving, when he was rocked with a left hand. That was it. Game over. Diaz Wins. McGregor loses.  

Back to the purpose of this article…

I want to express my opinion as to why nobody should doubt or show a disliking to Conor McGregor. Particularly Irish people. I aim to do so using 6 points: 

  1. The Notorious has changed the game completely. Up until maybe a year ago, if you were the winner of a main event fight you would expect to come out with somewhere in the region of $100,000 – $200,000 (depending on bonuses on the night). Fast forward to March ’16 and this is very different. Nate Diaz and Conor McGregor both left the MGM Grand Arena with pay chequers in excess of $1m. A lot more. This is down to the so called “cocky” attitude of McGregor (and Diaz) in selling the fight. I’m sure the other fighters on the roster will appreciate this and so should all the fans. It brings the UFC to the next level! 
  2. He fought 15lbs above the class he was set to fight at – on 11 days notice. So many fighters would have decided to pull out of the fight as soon as Rafael Dos Anjos broke his foot. He had prepared to fight RDA at lightweight and all of a sudden it won’t be happening. When Diaz was named as his replacement, McGregor told UFC president Dana White that he would contest the bout at 170lbs to accommodate for Diaz’s weight. Not only was this the case, but I’ve recently read that McGregor entered the Octogon weighing in at 168lbs whereas Diaz entered the Octogon weighing 181-183lbs (according to Chael Sonnen). None of these things phased Conor. He didn’t want to let the fans down. He went in and did not look out of place fighting at this level. 
  3. His pride for his country is unmatched. One thing that nobody can take away from the featherweight champion is the pride he has for his country. He represents Ireland every single time he is in the cage and every single time he is in front of the cameras. You will always hear him say how proud he is of where he is from. He trains in Ireland with his own people until just before he has to fly out for a big fight. Not to mention how he never has an issue signing autographs or posing for photos with fans. 
  4. What he is doing for the sport of MMA in Ireland (and around the world). I am 25 years old in April coming, and I have never wanted to join something as much as I’d love to join MMA right now. I see lots of kids now getting involved in this brilliant discipline where you would have never seen this before. Conor McGregor is a brilliant ambassador for the sport and a very effective one. He’s also the prime example as to why young people should never give up on their dreams. He didn’t, and look at him now. 
  5. He is still the featherweight champion of the world. Okay so it didn’t work out for him at 170lbs this time; but let’s not forget that he is still the 145lbs champion. He defeated a man who had been unbeaten for close to 10 years – in just 13 seconds. That is a serious achievement. He breezed through the whole division in just 2 years. He was the third ever European champion in the UFC and is the ONLY ever Irish champion in the UFC. Hopefully, this won’t be long about changing. 
  6. Finally, he is Irish. Whether or not you like him or whether or not you watch MMA, in my opinion – you should support your own. He is representing our country at the highest level possible. He’s at the pinnacle of mixed martial arts. A young guy from Dublin, Ireland, who up until his very first UFC fight in April 2013, was drawing €188 per week on the dole. Look at him now. 

  
So do not let one defeat to a very good, established fighter, let’s not forget, change our perspective of this great Irish champion. Support him. Let’s go on this journey with him. Let’s see just how far he can go and be there for him when it’s all over. Then we can say “I seen that fight. I was at that fight”. In my opinion, we don’t realise how lucky we are to say we were around in the same era as Conor Notorious McGregor. 

UFC200 is just around the corner. McGregor is set to defend his featherweight crown, most likely against Jose Aldo or Frankie Edgar. I for one can’t wait. 

Thanks for reading! 

Could they ever have pictured this?

Posted on by devongermaine

What makes a band special nowadays? Lots of people will try and give you lots of different answers; will try and analyse the music industry; and will try to break it down piece by piece. Instead, I can tell you what makes a band special in two simple words. “Sheer Talent”.

This is a story about a band.  

It’s September 2015. Ryan Hennessy and Jimmy Rainsford are two local musicians from Athy, Co. Kildare. Ryan is in a five piece band named Bohemian, while Jimmy is the drummer for Irish rocker – Ryan Sheridan. Although the two know each other and are quite friendly with each other; they have never collaborated on any musical projects. That is until Jimmy hears a song that Ryan has just posted online… 


“When I first saw and heard it, I knew that it was a big song. It was a song that I wanted to help grow, and I knew once I heard it that I wanted to make a band with Ryan. The song writing is just so good. ‘Take my Hand’ could be recorded and played through a calculator and it would still be a huge song!” – Jimmy  

I don’t think either of the two lads could have ever imagined how huge the song would soon become however. Taking only three days for them to record and produce the track ‘Take my Hand’ in Jimmy’s home studio; and promoting it themselves using their own money no less than a week prior to its release, the song has gone on to amass over 258,000 views to date – 40,000 of these views being in the first 24 hours! Not only has this song received an extremely generous amount of views – it has also received air time on numerous radio stations. Most notable was Today FM’s Dermot & Dave making the lads their weekly ‘Homegrown Heroes’.  

“The support for ‘Take my Hand’ and for the band itself has been phenomenal. I expected the track to evoke a positive response as I had previously posted a rough version online which was well received, but I didn’t expect it to blow up in the way that it did.” – Ryan  

 
Fast forward three months, and Picture This have just released their second song – a Christmas song entitled ‘This Christmas’. Again, the support for the song has been amazing, having racked up over 20,000 views in just 24 hours. Perhaps more impressive than even ‘Take my Hand’ however, is the fact that the guys have been featured on Today FM’s ‘Homegrown Heroes’ for a SECOND TIME with the new track. This coming just one day after they released ‘This Christmas’ without so much as giving a clue that it was to be released. What an amazing achievement.  
2016 is sure to be a great year for Picture This. An EP is scheduled to be released; a second single is due to be released, and the lads will start to perform live for their now thousands of fans all over the country.  

So touching on my earlier topic of conversation of what makes a band special. What makes Picture This special? That’s easy.  

Sheer talent.

Keep up the good work lads.