History not lost on English fans

Beckett Peck

Over the weekend of one of the most
immense games of sport in Irish history I corresponded with several friends in
England, one of whom was a sports
correspondent for the Times. Contrary to popular belief, the significance of this occasion was not lost on this journalist, perhaps he is one of the few with a
conscience. Some of the British
newspapers gave the game historical background that some of the less
historically minded supporters were
lacking. The Daily mail featured a page long explanation of what had happened on bloody Sunday, the GAA’s role within
society, its links with Republicanism and the idea of Croke Park as hallowed ground. Other newspapers were more surprising in their coverage. The
Guardian, for example, a somewhat
liberal paper focused more on the
security build-up to the game and gave only brief mention to the event’s
historical significance, playing up a theme of Republican hardline opposition to the game. The historical and
political reaction is best gauged , not in terms of Irish reaction, but in terms of English media reaction.

Those Englishmen and women that
understood the significance sought to further their knowledge in some way, reading multiple accounts of Bloody
Sunday and general GAA overviews.
It was well publicised that, in the lead up to the game, former Irish rugby
captain Conor O’Shea addressed the
English players regarding the historical context of the match and, although the match may have been the same as any other to England, it was a deeply important matter, not only to the Irish team, but to the nation itself. It is possible that this was undertaken so that a repeat would be avoided of Martin Johnson’s actions a few years ago, when he lined up on the wrong side of the pitch, forcing a small detour for Uachtarán na hÉireann Mary McAleese. The fallout from that affair was not as great as to sour relations, but something as small as the positioning of the teams for the anthems would have been highly criticised last Saturday.

The question must be asked whether the game and the build up would have been as cordial had it been a game of soccer. The now infamous visit of the English soccer team and a few of their ‘supporters’ was the last time the twos teams met. I do not think it unreasonable to assume that there may have a more hostile atmosphere for the travelling
English fans and their players on the pitch.
That was, however, not the case, and we should not indulge in ‘what if’ history. As it stands the event will forever be
mentioned in the same breath as Bloody
Sunday and its significance as a cultural event for the nation will always be
remembered.

Let us not forget the reason that those 30 men lined up against each other, and let us not forget the rousing display of the Irish players. 80 odd thousand in Croke park and hundreds of thousands in homes and pubs across the country bore witness to one of the great Irish displays of character, good sportsmanship and heroism. Watching the anthems, it was impossible to foresee an Irish loss, and our predictions proved correct.

Though we were well aware of the history marking this game, let it not be said that the average Englishman did not also refer to his history book, for he tried to understand what it meant to be Irish, even if just for a day.