A sporting A to Z of 2021: ‘Mná na hÉireann’ make the headlines

Gerry Buckley gives an alphabetical slant on the sporting year that was.

I’m not sure what the late Boutros Boutros-Ghali and his ilk might have made of Mary Robinson if she spoke to them about “mná na hÉireann”, but we all recall how our history-making former Uachtarán na hÉireann grabbed our attention when she introduced the term into our daily vocabulary 31 years ago this month.

In truth, this all-round sports fanatic can only recall having an interest in one female sports event growing up i.e. the ladies singles tournament at Wimbledon. Indeed, as their male counterparts became progressively taller and more powerful, their matches began to be ace-dominated, while the gentler – but equally competitive – ladies game was far more enjoyable and entertaining.

That was then. This is now. Mná na hÉireann have undoubtedly stolen the headlines in Irish sport in 2021, a 12-month period where ‘normality’ (kind of) returned, albeit Micheál Martin has probably at least one more spin in him down those dreaded red-carpeted steps outside the Taoiseach’s office.

Kellie Harrington, Rachel Blackmore and Leona Maguire are arguably the three standout people in any poll for Irish Sportsperson of the Year in 2021. Throw in Mona McSharry, Ellen Keane, our Olympic rowing bronze medalists, an improving soccer team, and you have a glittering array of top athletes in six different international sports. And to underline the female dominance at local level, Westmeath’s intermediate lady footballers provided the Lake County’s most memorable victory of the year.

So here’s my annual alphabetic stab at some local and national sporting highs and lows for 2021 – with the occasional male inclusion!

A is for avarice. I recently spoke to a fellow sports lover. We agreed that the greed of Premier League clubs – players, managers and owners – has left us disillusioned with a competition we once followed in detail (as the First Division).

B is for Rachael Blackmore. Innocently watching Wimbledon (see above) as a boy, the thought of a lady even riding in the Grand National seemed far-fetched, never mind winning it. Better again, when a lovely young Irish lady does so.

C is for Christian Eriksen. A text message received regarding the Danish maestro as I left Páirc Uí Chaoimh, distressed after Westmeath footballer’s heart-breaking relegation-sealing defeat by Cork, truly put sport in perspective.

D is for Dillon Matthews. The young corner back from Mullingar Shamrocks scored a wonder goal I will never forget in his side’s four-point win over Killucan, in an otherwise-ordinary round robin game in the race for the Flanagan Cup.

E is for Ellen Keane. Yours truly, with all my faculties in place, is unable to swim. Ellen, who hails from Clontarf, was born missing her left arm from below the elbow (dysmelia). She is now an Olympic gold medallist. Wow!

F is for Ned Flynn. How do you sum up the Castlepollard and Castletown-Finea/Coole/Whitehall legend, who passed away this year, in a few lines? Maybe just to say what a wonderful man he was. And, of course, Happy Christmas!

G is for Jack Grealish. One that got away – and shouldn’t. And wouldn’t if Big Jack been in the green bainisteoir bib. His inclusion, together with Declan Rice, would have made ‘Oireland’ very competitive in the race to make Qatar.

H is for Kellie Harrington. Has there even been a more endearing and charming Irish sportsperson, male or female? Of course, those wonderful qualities are no good without the necessary pugilistic skills. My personal hero from 2021.

I is for international management. A long goalless spell, the defeat by Luxembourg and the draw with Azerbaijan – both at home – were hugely dispiriting, but it now seems like Stephen Kenny may be up to the Irish job.

J is for Johnny Sexton. Despite being a relatively old 24 when he won his first Irish senior cap, the now 36-year-old joined the very exclusive Ton-up Club this year. Can his legs hold out until the World Cup of 2023? Let’s hope so.

K is for Katie McCabe. A mate of mine, who knows that I feel James McClean is ridiculously over-hyped, texted me after one of the Arsenal lady’s many excellent displays in green, asking which player I preferred. Guess what I replied!

L is for Leona Maguire. On her debut appearance in the Solheim Cup, the very pleasant 26-year-old Cavan lady – the first Irishwoman ever to play in the event – was both undefeated and also Europe’s top scorer with 4.5 points.

M is for Mona McSharry. Asterisks will always accompany the medals won by Ireland’s most famous swimmer. Accordingly, the 20-year-old’s untarnished qualification for the 100 metres breaststroke final in Tokyo was just brilliant.

N is for neighbours. While U20 and minor All-Irelands would not have rated too highly in their heady years, Offaly and Meath fans respectively were (justifiably) happy with those successes in 2021. Westmeath could easily have won the U20.

O is for Ogie (Brendan) Duffy. Tragically, this rising Monaghan star was killed in a post-match car crash after skippering his side to the 2021 Ulster U20 final. His baby-faced image holding the Ulster MFC cup in 2018 remains a haunting photo.

P is for priest. The much-loved Glenroe once featured the rascal Dinny Byrne confessing to Fr Tim Devereux about his greyhound misdemeanours. I wonder who confessed to Fr Derek Ryan after he refereed this year’s Louth SFC final?

Q is for querying referees’ decisions. This former junior soccer referee never forgot a post-match reaction from a losing player after my second official game: “Well done ref – you got most decisions spot on.” Like most refs. Most days.

R is for retirement. Joe Canning retired this year. The enigma that is Stephen Cluxton? Well, it looks like he did. And, while we all thought that Dessie Dolan had retired, the Garrycastle legend appeared briefly in the drawn county final.

S is for Séamus Ó Faoláin. A gentleman and a scholar in every meaning of the term, the Castletown-Geoghegan man died this year. His countless friends and admirers – he had no enemies – were deeply saddened at the news. And remain so.

T is for twelve. The (crazy?) number of All Stars awarded to Limerick hurlers, albeit they are a fabulous bunch of athletes. We can now forget about a Westmeath man repeating the wonderful achievement of David Kilcoyne in 1986.

U is for unsung heroes/heroines. Four lady rowers, who could walk down O’Connell St unrecognised, picked up bronze medals in the delayed Tokyo 2020 Olympics. Well done Aifric Keogh, Eimear Lambe, Fiona Murtagh and Emily Hegarty.

V is for Vera Pauw. While a fuss by Ryan Tubridy on the Late Late Show seemed way OTT about the Irish ladies who had beaten dreadfully poor opponents 11-0, the very likeable Dutch lady seems on the right course as the ‘GIG’ manager.

W is for Wimbledon. The strawberry sellers were back in force this summer after Covid caused the abandonment of tennis’ most prestigious tournament in 2020. Novak Djokovic won his sixth title and Ashleigh Barty her first.

X is for X-factor. Our very own Niall Horan had it, and still has. Let’s hope that in 2022 he will again be wearing his Westmeath jersey to celebrate the achievements of his fellow-county men and women who have the sporting X-factor.

Y is for yo-yoing. Sadly, what Westmeath’s flagship teams have been doing in the National Leagues in recent years. Avoidable drops to Divisions 3 and 2 for our football and hurling teams respectively made for a generally forgettable 2021.

Z is for New Zealand. My first Irish rugby international to attend was the 10-10 draw against the All Blacks in January 1973. It looked for decades thereafter like we would never defeat the southern hemisphere giants. We now have three wins.

A very Happy Christmas to all those who read my weekly musings, occasionally or regularly. And, indeed, also to those who don’t!