A THICK cloud of gloom fell over much of Ireland, Wellington and all points in between where Irish rugby fans had been watching their team play Wales when the final whistle blew early on Saturday morning.
Fans who travelled to New Zealand had been the talk of the tournament in recent weeks and were widely praised for their behaviour. While rowdy at times, the fans always carried themselves with good humour. There was little good cheer for them in Wellington after this game, however.
Conor Clune from Dublin had followed the team from the beginning of the tournament and was “heartbroken”. He said the fans “almost believed that if we had won, it would have been like a sign that things were going to get better for the country as a whole”.
John Dunphy from Lucan had arrived just in time for the game against Australia and had extended his trip after that win.
“We lost phones, jackets and passports but never lost our pride. Ireland did us proud and gave us our best holiday ever,” he said.
Áine Flannery from Dublin agreed, saying she had been hoping to stay on for far longer.
“I missed seeing Dublin win the Sam Maguire but there was no way I was going to miss Ireland in New Zealand. We did so well and I’d love to have to been in the position where I’d change flights in order to see us achieve victory.”
Closer to home, Kielys of Donnybrook was in mourning yesterday evening. "It is just so disappointing," said bar manager John Gallagher. "The country needed a good run. We all nearly thought it would pull us out of recession," he told The Irish Times. "Even if we'd had one more game, I think that would have been enough."
Whatever about lifting the country out of recession, the tournament has certainly done no harm to the Dublin 4 pub’s bottom line over recent weeks.
“There were people queuing to get in from 3am on Saturday,” Gallagher said.
“There must have been 700 people here. It was jammers and I reckon 90 per cent of us thought Ireland would make it through.”
At the Intercontinental Hotel in Wellington, where the Irish rugby squad was staying, disappointment was etched on the faces of many of the players’ parents, but there were plenty of laughs as well.
A number of the squad and coach Declan Kidney attended Mass yesterday morning at Wellington Cathedral – a little too late for their prayers of a place in the semi-finals to be answered.
While more than half the Irish team are active on Twitter, few were feeling sufficiently social to use the network in the wake of the defeat. Captain Brian O’Driscoll was the exception and was active on the site briefly yesterday.
“Congrats Wales and good luck in the semis,” he tweeted early in the morning. He engaged in a brief online conversation with former England captain Will Carling.
“Hell of a game, old man, you heading straight home,” Carling said, to which O’Driscoll replied phlegmatically: “As the rules of the comp dictate, lose and get out.”