Michaela Harte, the daughter of Mickey Harte, the Tyrone manager, was married 11 days ago.

She was on honeymoon in Mauritius when she was murdered in her room by an intruder.

An appalling tragedy.

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Caoineadh (le Máire Mhac an tSaoi)

Glór goil ar an ngaoith

Is brat síne liathaigh spéartha,

Ise dob áille fág ina luí

Ina caoluaigh chúng ina haonar.

Tiocfaidh an leoithne bhog aniar

Is an duilliúr úr ar lomaghéagam

Líonfaidh ré us éireoidh grian,

Ina gcúrsa síor triallfaidh réalta;

Is as an gcré tá os a cionn,

As a hucht geal, as a caomhchorp,

Trí aoibh an lae is deora ón ndrúcht

Trí fhód aníos fásfaidh féara –

Ach choíche ní cúmfar ceol ceart,

Feasta, ná caoinvéarsa;

Cailleann anois an croí a neart,

Is an mheabhair ghlic, cailleann a héifeacht.

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Lament (trans., Patrick Crotty)

The sound of tears on the wind

And storm-clouds darkening the skies;

She, the loveliest, let her lie

In her little narrow grave on her own.

From the west the gentle breeze will come

And the fresh leaf on boughs now bare,

Moon will wax and sun will rise,

And the stars resume their courses;

And from the clay above her,

From her bright breast, from her dear corpse,

Through the day’s beauty and the dew’s tears,

Up through the sod will grow grasses –

But never will appropriate music be composed,

No never, nor delicate verses;

Now the heart loses its strength,

And the quick mind, it loses its usefulness.

Rest in Peace Michaela.

Bobby Robson died today at the age of 76.

He was a former international soccer player, a former manager and he was a ‘consultant’ for the Republic of Ireland team in 2006/2007.

Steve Staunton needed guidance and Bobby was it.

I don’t think this worked too well as Bobby had been suffering from ill-health around that time.

Anyways, no amount of ‘guidance or consulting’ could have saved Staunton’s skin!

I digress.

I just want to acknowledge Sir Bobby’s achievements and that he may rest in peace.

R.I.P. Bobby.

There’s a vicious rumour going round that the some of the Kilkenny Cats are on performance enhancing drugs!

Just wondering …… are G.A.A. players tested for drugs?

Ireland play Georgia in the World Cup 2010 qualifiers today ….

I’m expecting great things from Trapattoni!

Let the celebrations begin (sensibly of course!).

Fair play to him!

Eugene O’Leary is a 65 year old cyclist raising funds for Our Lady’s Children’s Hospital, Crumlin.

He’s attempting to raise €250k within the next year and a half for the hospital.

He is doing it in memory of his daughter Helen who passed away at the age of 19.

His daughter was a patient in the Children’s Hospital until she reached the age of 18 …. she then had to move on to an adult hospital.

Well done Eugene.

You can see Eugene’s schedule here!

Rest In Peace Helen …. you’ve got some dad there!

(P.S. Fellow bloggers might pop over to his blog and give him some moral support. Go on ….. you too Grannymar!)

The Olympic flame reached Australia yesterday and it was immediately taken to a secret location to avoid potential trouble from anti-China protesters.

So what’s the point in running around the world with it?

The Olympic Games have been corrupted by China’s involvement with an ideal that should be free from corruption and politics.

It’s embroiled in both.

Pierre de Coubertin, the man responsible for reviving the ancient Greek games in 1894 must be spinning in his grave.

I reckon he’d have that Gold Medal winning twist perfected by now!

‘For fuck sake ref!’

‘Are you blind ref? That was a fucking free!’

And so on ….. and you’ll hear that at an under age football or hurling game.

Now we have two prominent teams brawling in a league match. Five players sent off in the course of the game.

Fair play to the G.A.A. President Nickey Brennan for coming out publically to condemn such behaviour.

Rhetoric has its place but something needs to be done about this behaviour that is becoming more and more commonplace in our games.

The amount of bad behaviour that children are exposed to in sport is scandalous.

The last under 16 game I was at ….. the referee suffered constant abuse from the beginning of the game right through until the end.

Every decision he made brought out an expletive from some corner. Many of the expletives came from the parents of the players themselves and from other spectators. Even the players (children) had abuse hurled at them.

We do our best to teach children right and wrong in school and we try to instil the value of respect for others. They go to a football match and all that gets crushed underfooot.

The school can not and does not act in a vaccuum …. we need the wider community and those in positions of influence (be they sportsmen/women or politicians etc.) to show leadership and basic moral guidance.

Actions speak louder than words ….. the words of the school will fall on deaf ears when pitted against the actions of the community at large.

N.B.

I’ve chosen G.A.A. games as an example because of the Dublin/Meath game. There are many other sporting organisations who could take heed and do a little clean up also.

Poor Eddie …… now where was I?