Analysis: from kidnapping and riots to fights and arrests, here are 10 scandalous moments from Irish sport which kept us all agog
Scandals can be created out of fairly routine occurrences in sporting events of great significance. They can transform what should be celebrated sporting achievements into shameful moments that are remembered for all of the wrong reasons. From kidnapping to riots, from fights to arrests, here are ten scandalous moments in Irish sport.
Douglas Hyde and Rule 27 (1938)
In December 1938, the GAA removed the President of Ireland Douglas Hyde as patron of its organisation. The reason for this? The President had attended an international soccer match between Ireland and Poland at Dalymount Park. This, GAA central council decided, was in breach of rule 27 (also known as "the ban"), which prohibited members of the GAA from playing games or attending functions organised by those promoting four named "foreign" sports: rugby, cricket, hockey and association football.
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From RTÉ Archives, RTÉ News report on the inauguration of Douglas Hyde as Ireland's first president in 1938
The incident sparked uproar around the country, with stormy local meetings, angry letters to newspapers and division within the GAA. Eventually in 1945, the GAA accepted that the President of Ireland should be able to attend all sporting events and Rule 27 was revoked in 1971.
Disappearance of Shergar (1983)
Shergar was the greatest racehorse of his day. He won the Irish Derby in 1981 and the Epsom Derby by 10 lengths, making him one of the most valuable racehorses in the world. When the horse was kidnapped in the middle of the night from Ballymany Stud near the Curragh Racecourse in 1983, the drama captured the public imagination.
Forty years later, the rumours about ransom demands, claimed sightings and theories about what had happened still circulate far and wide. In a bizarre crossover, rapper Vanilla Ice covered the Shergar story in his podcast series Sports Strangest Crimes.
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From RTÉ Radio 1's Brendan O'Connor Show, interview with Vanilla Ice about his podcast about the kidnapping of Shergar
Sexual abuse in Irish swimming (1993)
Scandal seems like a far too flippant term for the behaviour of national swimming coaches which emerged in the 1990s. Derry O'Rourke and George Gibney were both found guilty of sexually abusing young swimmers under their care over thirty years. In 1993 a Supreme Court ruling determined that Gibney could not face trial on 27 counts of indecent assault and unlawful carnal knowledge, because of the time that had elapsed since those allegations were made. Not long after the judgement was handed down, Gibney relocated to America, where he currently resides and is now in his 70s.
Sports journalist and investigative reporter Irvin Muchnick has doggedly pursued the deportation of Gibney and a 2019 podcast series by Second Captains brought the case into the spotlight where it was streamed by millions. This has resulted in more victims coming forward, fresh allegations and renewed hope that Gibney will finally be prosecuted.
Lansdowne Road soccer riots (1995)
1995 saw what was described as ‘the worst scenes of violence ever witnessed at an Irish international football match’ when rioting English fans caused the cancellation of the Republic of Ireland v England soccer international at Lansdowne Road.
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From RTÉ Archives, Charlie Bird reports for RTÉ News on the English soccer fans rioting at Lansdowne Road in 1995
Trouble was in the air from the kick-off with booing and Nazi salutes during the national anthems. Violence erupted in the minutes after David Kelly scored a goal for Ireland and the game was abandoned after 27 minutes of play. "I've seen a lot in football," Ireland manager Jack Charlton commented afterwards, "but I’ve never seen anything like that. Every Englishman should be ashamed."
Michelle Smith De Bruin (1996)
Over five days of swimming, Michelle Smith De Bruin won three gold and a bronze medal at the 1996 Olympics in Atlanta. However, Smith's performances in Atlanta raised eyebrows, with commentators and fellow athletes raising questions that her greatly improved medal-winning performances suggested foul play
Their suspicions were realised two years later when a routine urine sample was found to have been contaminated with alcohol. Smith De Bruin received a four-year suspension in 1998 after being found guilty of tampering with a urine sample.
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From RTÉ Radio 1's Liveline in 2021, Michelle Smith de Bruin breaks her silence and defends her gold medals at the 1996 Olympics
Although Smith De Bruin was never stripped of her Olympic medals, another Irish gold medallist was. Show jumper Cian O'Connor's 2004 Olympic title was revoked when it was discovered that his horse, Waterford Crystal, was under the influence of performance-enhancing drugs.
Saipan (2002)
In 2002, the Republic of Ireland soccer team qualified for their first major tournament in eight years. The country was awash with colour in the build-up, the feel-good factor was in evidence and thousands of fans were travelling to support the Boys in Green in the Korea-Japan World Cup.
Then, the news broke that the captain and most famous player on the team Roy Keane was being sent home from the training camp in Saipan. After Keane criticised the training facilities publicly, manager Mick McCarthy was understandably unhappy and the result was a fall-out between the two only days before the start of the tournament.
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From RTÉ Radio 1's Morning Ireland, RTÉ soccer correspondent remembers the the infamous split in the Irish soccer camp in Saipan in 2002
Keane’s departure sent shockwaves around the soccer world and caused a media sensation like no other. The Saipan incident has been the subject of a musical, documentaries and endless debates across the country. Who would have thought a tiny island in the Western Pacific would have such a lasting effect on Irish sports fans?
GAA scannals
If you search enough on social media, there’s a GAA scandal of some form or another almost every weekend. Ticket prices and procedures, unfair fixtures for dual players, abusing of match officials, media coverage: all are labelled as scandals or scandalous.
The true measure of a GAA scandal is when it becomes the subject of a Scannal documentary. To date, there have been more dedicated to GAA issues than to any other sporting organisation. The Cork hurlers strike, the Mayo and Meath bust-ups in 1996, the Offaly sit-down protest in 1998 and the 2010 Louth vs Meath Leinster final have all got the Scannal treatment.
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From RTÉ Archives, RTÉ Sport report on the infamous 1983 All Ireland football final or the 'game of shame'
Perhaps the most scandalous of all (so far) was the 1983 All-Ireland football final between Dublin and Galway, which is remembered for the chaos on and off the pitch. It was a game full of unrest and ugliness, where four players were sent off: three for Dublin and one for Galway. Dublin's ’12 Apostles’ held out for a famous win, but the clashes continued after the game with crushes in the terraces, discord among supporters and one person being stabbed.
Thierry Henry’s handball (2009)
Thierry Henry cost the Republic of Ireland a place in the 2010 World Cup finals after he controlled the ball with his hand in the course of setting up an extra-time winner for France in the second leg of their qualifying play-off in Paris. Swedish referee Martin Hansson failed to notice the incident so France and not Ireland qualified for the World Cup.
The incident is to forever embedded into Ireland’s list of sporting injustices. It sparked a huge reaction in Ireland and internationally, eventually leading to FIFA giving the FAI a €5m payment to avert a potential legal case. Sounds like a bargain to me.
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From RTÉ Radio 1's Morning Ireland in 2015, Gary Meneel from the Irish Sun discusses a payment made by FIFA to the FAI following complaints about the 2009 Thierry Henry handball
Boxing at Rio Olympics (2016)
It is difficult to summarise the scandals in Irish boxing over the past few years into a paragraph. Marred by violence, corruption and links to gangland crimes, sports writer Kieran Cunningham's labelling of the sport as a "toxic brand" is absolutely warranted. The 2016 Olympics in Rio was a tournament to forget for Irish boxing, especially given that the team were travelling with great expectations of a substantial medal haul.
Michael O'Reilly violated anti-doping rules and was suspended in advance of the Olympic Games. Later on, two boxers were reprimanded for placing bets in the outcome of fights in their own competitions. There was a chorus of disapproval after Katie Taylor and Michael Conlan crashed out of the Olympics following controversial decisions from a poor judging process during their fights.
All 36 boxing referees and judges involved in the Rio Olympics were suspended following the Games, were not allowed to officiate at the next Olympic Games in Tokyo. Throw the arrest of president of the Olympic Council of Ireland Pat Hickey for alleged ticket touting into the mix and the scandal meter was in the red during the summer of 2016.
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From RTÉ Radio 1's Drivetime in 2021, boxer Michael Conlan on the investigation into the 2016 Rio Olympics' boxing judges
Women’s soccer team and the Wolfe Tones (2022)
The Republic of Ireland soccer team qualifying for the Women's World Cup for the first time should have been greeted with celebratory headlines. Instead, however, it was shrouded in regret after a video emerged of members of the squad singing The Wolfe Tones' Celtic Symphony in the dressing room after the win over Scotland. Apologies and statements from the FAI, Vera Pauw and multiple players in interviews followed and the FAI was fined €20,000 by UEFA for "the violation of the basic rules of decent conduct".
Scandals in sport have wider social ramifications and cannot be contained within the sports world even where they arise directly from sporting activity. The recent circulation of a 2022 video of an incident which shows a Gymnastics Ireland official handing out medals to a number of young gymnasts but skipping the only black girl in the line, demonstrates this.
People cannot be protected from scandal and disrepute because of their sporting achievements. However, many scandals are often fobbed off or individuals are pardoned because of their status in the sporting community.
We've only scratched the surface here with sports scandals. Indeed, there may have been a few more thundering disgraces in Irish sport since the piece was published.
The views expressed here are those of the author and do not represent or reflect the views of RTÉ
