Sir, – Not only should Irish people take pride in the tremendous performance of their Olympic squad, but in fact can bask in the knowledge that the Irish athletes outperformed the US, Germany and even the hosts, Great Britain.
When weighted by population, Ireland comes in 21st among the 85 countries that won medals (with 1.08 medals per million inhabitants), whereas Team GB only managed 23rd place (1.04); Germany 38th place (0.53) and the US a dismal 49th place (0.33).
It might not completely make up for the Euro 2012 debacle, but it should certainly help. – Yours, etc,
Sir, – Sarah Marriott (August 11th) asked, “Are sportsmen aged 26 referred to as “boys”? Her answer of “No” suggests that she has never attended a match involving Dublin senior Gaelic football team, or Ireland’s soccer team. If she had, would she have written to express her outrage at fans chanting “c’mon ye boys in blue/green” at sportsmen, some of whom are considerably older than Katie Taylor?
It puzzles me that some women are very sensitive to perceived slights against their own sex but indifferent to similar slights against men. One recent letter writer asked why the howls of protest produced by the Hunky Dory ads were not repeated when a large poster of a scantily clad male model appeared on College Green. Are some genders more equal than others? – Yours, etc,
Sir, – For three hours on Sunday night, I watched another extraordinary spectacle – the closing ceremony of the Olympic games.
I can honestly swear to the fact that I wanted to be British.
I then changed channels to see Rory McIlroy win the USPGA by some distance and realised I am still happy to be Northern Irish.
Yes, I am fickle . . .but I can live with it. – Yours, etc,
A chara, – Standing fliuch go craiceann on the last lap of the women’s marathon in London, the crowd was thinning and mainly Tricolours remained. When word filtered through that an Irish girl was still running, British supporters stayed to support the determination of Caitriona Jennings and helped to wave our flag. A few days later, waiting for Katie Taylor’s fight, we reciprocated by joining in the Irish chants of “Nic-o-la” reverberating around the Excel arena in support of Team GB’s Nicola Adams.
The times they are a changin’? – Is mise,
Sir, – People are saying that Katie Taylor is worth her weight in gold. If that’s the case, at her fighting class weight of 60 kilos, she’s worth €2,538,619.20. If she won the silver it would be €44,039.40 and bronze (a mixture of copper and tin) is about €300. The gratitude of a nation, priceless. – Yours, etc,
Sir, – “No you can’t have that, Katie Taylor wouldn’t eat that” (A dad to his little daughter in my local supermarket). – Yours, etc,
Sir, – For many people, the most memorable commentary came from a tearful Seán Bán Breathnach on Raidió na Gaeltachta (a commentary that has already become legendary thanks to YouTube) in which Ms Taylor’s name was linked with Gráinne Mhaol, Mary Robinson and Máire Mhac an tSaoi.
Where else would one get a pugilist, a pirate, a president and a poet all in the same breath! – Yours, etc,
Sir, – While the games were taking place approximately 400,000 people died of hunger in the world. – Yours, etc,
Sir, – Heartiest congratulations to all our Olympians. What a shame that they should return home to such a needless controversy. What they require is proper funding not facile celebrations.
What stood out for me was the performance of our two competitors in the modern pentathlon, Arthur Lanigan O’Keeffe and Natalya Coyle. May I suggest that this is a sport which Ireland could excel at? Its constituent disciplines fencing, shooting, showjumping and running are all easily catered for within our existing facilities and also suit the Irish athletic skill base.
Might I humbly suggest that a centre of excellence be based in the Irish Defence Forces at the Curragh Camp? Given the Defence Forces Equitation School’s renowned expertise in training and competing at equestrian disciplines and the Defence Forces renowned skills in shooting, it surely fits the bill. The Curragh contains all the infrastructure required and would be a cost-effective alternative to more independant and separate training structures.
Indeed the Curragh presents an ideal location for a centre of excellance for all sports give the required funding. It’s time for Mr O’Brien, Mr O’Leary and Mr Desmond, et al, to cough up and support our athletes. – Yours, etc,
Sir, – All the media hype would have us believe that London 2012 was Ireland’s best Olympic medal result since the 1956 Olympics in Melbourne. However, Olympic medal ranking tables are based, in the first instance, on the number of gold medals won, with silver and bronze used only to determine the relative ranking between countries with an equal number of gold medals. Thus Ireland, with five medals, is ranked 41st for the London Olympics while India, with six medals, is ranked 55th, on the basis that India had no gold medal winner. Using this accepted Olympic ranking norm, Ireland’s best ever performance was at the 1996 games in Atlanta, where we won three gold medals and one bronze. Even if Ireland has chosen to airbrush Michelle Smith from our sporting history, the International Olympic Committee has not. – Yours, etc,
Sir, – Can we now channel all the Lotto monies to sport and the arts as it was originally intended?
The nation was asked to let the Lotto come into existence on this condition. What a difference it could make to our sports women and men. Look at what it has done for Team GB. Rio could then be our best ever Olympics. Start now. – Yours, etc,