I really enjoyed last week. Tuesday saw me take the DART to Bray to watch Wanderers and Bohemians at the Carlisle Grounds. Not a great match, but a lovely evening for the game, a good atmosphere, and three more points for Pat Fenlon’s side.
As it happens, it also turned out to be Kevin Hunt’s last ever appearance in a Bohemians shirt. It was great to have Kevin on this week’s show.
He is genuinely sad to be leaving the league and Ireland to return to the UK, but when even Shamrock Rovers fans e-mail the show to express their appreciation of him, along with countless Bohemians fans, it proves what a popular player he has been over the last decade, and in fairness, Roddy Collins must take some credit for bringing Kevin into the league from Hong Kong all those years ago.
Rarely can a player have had such an influence at a club over ten years as Hunty has had at Dalymount.
Two league titles, one double, some great European nights, and with the big banner on display at Dalymount it's certain he won't be forgotten in a hurry there.
On Wednesday it was to Dalymount for the meeting of Drogheda and Levadia Tallinn. We were broadcasting the match live on RTÉ Radio 1, and it looked like it was going to be one of those nights when Graham Gartland’s underhit back-pass, a la Stuart Pearce for England against San Marino, presented the lead to Levadia.
But the Louth men showed great courage and no little fight to come back and win 2-1. Ollie Cahill had told me how much he was looking forward to the game when I spoke to him at the Counting Crows concert in Dublin, and he put in a Man of the Match performance, topped off by his brilliant headed goal.
Incidentally, the return leg is live on RTÉ Radio 1, LW252, and on the RTÉ.ie next Wednesday with a 4.30pm kick-off.
Thursday took me to Turner's Cross and Cork City versus FC Haka, again live on RTÉ Radio 1.
Again it looked like the Irish side had blown it when the Finns were gifted two goals, but again the eircom League side showed their mettle, and Dave Mooney’s goal was a peach, as was Dan Murray's.
It’s only a pity that they didn't knick a winner, denied three times by the woodwork.
I know I'm sounding like a scratched record, but there really is nothing to beat getting out and supporting your local team.
The atmosphere at Dalymount and Turner's Cross this week, particularly as the second half comebacks were underway, was fantastic, and although the crowds were good, an extra one or two thousand there would have made it even more intense and special.
I was at Andy Lee’s fight for RTÉ Radio on Saturday night, and it occurred to me, not for the first time, that the Limerick sporting public are brilliant.
Andy got a rapturous welcome into the University Sports Arena at UL on Saturday night. That afternoon, the footballers had put Meath out of the Championship, the hurlers get great support, and nothing needs to be said about the love of the Munster rugby team in Limerick.
How nice it would be to see that love of sport tapped into by Limerick 37, and the team under Mike Kerley are doing brilliantly of late, but until there's a decent stadium for the fans to go to, it's going to be difficult to get them out in big numbers.
The MNS studio can be a funny place at times. Ten seconds before going on air the chat can be about grand-fatherhood, the worst dressing rooms in the league, the weather, all sorts of stuff, but then the red light goes on and we have to concentrate on the job in hand.
This week I pre-recorded a voice-over for Bohs’ win at Bray. Just a 41 seconds report, but when the tape came on, my voice for some reason had disappeared. Cue a quick word from the director Kevin in my earpiece. In a calm-ish tone he says, ‘no v-o, do it live’. I had no script and have to ad-lib the report. Thought I did ok until this week's Sixty burst my balloon.
Conor O'Grady, the Sligo Rovers captain, prefers Gary Lineker to me!! What's Gary Lineker ever done for the eircom League?
A grovelling apology might suffice, but even then, I may still find it hard to dig deep enough in my heart to forgive.
Funnily enough I've always had a soft spot for Sligo Rovers ever since their fans supported the Shamrock Rovers fans on the last day at Milltown, and after reading Eamon Sweeney's great book ‘There's only one Red Army’.
But Conor has set the peace process between myself and the ’ Bit O’ Red’ back big time.
Time to ask Senator Mitchell to return once again. The damage is not irreparable but I foresee long talks deep into the night.
A number of people have asked me whether we do the show live. We always do, and the regular reports from Inchicore this week proved that.
St Pat’s will be kicking themselves for letting two points slip at home to the Hoops.
Nice to see that Pat Scully and Stephen Rice have patched up their differences for the time being.
Maybe Senator Mitchell has also paid a visit to the Rovers training ground recently.
We had so many games to cover this week, between league matches and European matches, that our chat time was quite brief.
There are a number of issues we will be dealing with in more detail over the coming weeks, including Fintan Drury’s proposal for an All-Ireland League.
It is not something that can be discussed in just a couple of minutes, but we will be visiting it in the coming weeks.
On a point of clarification, Michael Hayes from the league rang the programme on Monday to confirm that Stephen Parkhouse had been sent off for foul and abusive language in the game against Sligo.
The general consensus in the studio was that it had been a harsh red card and that maybe Michael Funston might have been lucky to stay on the field for a rash tackle later in the game.
Watch the video and make up your own mind. On that subject, the number of people watching the programme online is increasing each month. Thank you for that.
As Maureen Potter used to say after Gaels of Laughter at the Gaiety Theatre: 'If you enjoyed the show tell your friends, if you didn't save your breathe to cool your porridge.'
