Cameron Conaway expected to have an unforgettable time in Ireland, but he didn’t expect to fall in love with a new sport and a new culture.
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“I know you’re here to write about it, but know that us Irish lads will be talking about this game for at least the next 100 years.”
Sometimes we believe we can set the stage for something big to happen, but rarely are we able to select what will turn out to be the most profound moments of our lives. That these moments can’t be scripted or predicted seems to equip us with a kind of heightened awareness that applies both to the not-so-good and the unforgettably great.
Like the time six years ago when my fiancée and I sealed what we were feeling with a kiss more tender than I knew existed. Like the liquid slide of the pen when I signed my first poetry book and handed it to the mentor who believed in me when I didn’t believe in myself. And the time just a few days ago at Sam’s Bar in Dublin, when people from a variety of cultures came together, sipped their Jameson and watched as Ireland’s rugby team defeated France in what was as emotional and thrilling a finale as sport can give.
The Six Nations victory was historic for Ireland. It was just the second time in 42 years that they beat France in Paris. But for me the win was part of a continuum, part of something far larger that extended a few hours before and ended not with the match but with what happened after the match.
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This was my first time in Ireland. The journey started in Cork where I explored the The Old Midleton Distillery, learned the cooperage trade from Jameson Irish Whiskey Master Cooper Ger Buckley and gorged on many of the delicious local foods. I arrived at Sam’s Bar after a stunningly picturesque 3-hour train ride from Cork. By stunningly picturesque I mean that I’ve admired pictures of Ireland’s green landscapes since I can remember. I knew I’d someday get to this country, and in order to prepare myself for any possible letdowns I’d been telling myself that these green areas were becoming increasingly scarce and hard to find. So when I looked out the window of my train to three hours of green unfolding before my eyes I was stunned on a variety of levels. This country is beautiful and exactly as my high hopes had hoped for.
As profound as the train ride was, for me the featured moment started when I opened the pub’s doors.
Hundreds of locals were facing me but had their eyes fixated on a TV about a foot above my head. Imagine this:
An Irish pub packed to bursting, everyone holding a drink in their hand, total silence but for the game’s commentators and total stillness but for the bartenders behind the counter. As you weave your way through the hundreds to meet a friend at the back of the bar not a single person says anything to you or even moves their eyes down from the screen to acknowledge your presence.
I’m from Pittsburgh Steelers country; I’ve seen and experienced the depths of fandom, but this was a whole different kind of animal. Though I knew next to nothing about rugby, in this moment my heart beat with the spirit of it all. Lub: Go Ireland! Dub: Let’s do this!
The moment continued up until the post-game interview when outside centre Brian O’Driscoll, the highest try scorer of all time in Irish rugby and the man who has been the face of rugby in Ireland for the past 15 years, used grace and humor to confirm what all the fans knew yet still dreaded hearing:
“Not many people get to finish their career on their own terms and with high emotions. I feel very fortunate… Huge emotions now, the last time I take this jersey off and hang it up inside, that’ll be the end. Unless I decide to put one on at home when no one is watching.”
As O’Driscoll finished speaking many of the fans raised their glasses to the screen and even total strangers nudged each other as if to say, “I’m glad we witnessed this moment together.” Call it what you will but this is love in my book. It’s the absolute peak of what can happen when some spark makes us realize how invaluable we all are to each other.
One guy raised his glass to me and after we said sláinte he spoke a truth that sunk the profundity of this moment deeper into me: “I know you’re here to write about it, but know that us Irish lads will be talking about this game for at least the next 100 years.”
We raised our glasses and said sláinte again and when I looked around I realized how emotions don’t discriminate. Men, women, young, older and old… everyone was smiling and most everybody was wiping tears from their eyes. Including me. Lub: Go Ireland! Dub: We did this!
In an article for The Guardian titled Brian O’Driscoll: ‘He changed Irish rugby’s mindset for good,” O’Driscoll’s former coach Michael Cheika said, “You could count on him for quality every time.”
Quality. It’s often spoken of in regards to our work, our drink and our time with others; I’m grateful to have found the best of all three in this moment.
As we celebrate with all of our friends who make St. Patrick’s Day great, we raise a glass to Jameson for sponsoring this story.
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–Lead Photo: AP
–Other Photos: Maggie Chestney
Thanks for this.
As a life long Irish and Leinster Rugby fan it’s nice to see a new convert to a great game.
And as an Irish woman born, bred, reared and living it’s nice to be reminded to look around and see the green and beauty still in this island, which, in fairness has had and continues to have it’s share of mundanity and ugliness.
Now don’t forget to support Leinster in the Heineken Cup! 🙂
Ha, well you picked a good time to get into Irish rugby ^_^
Yeah, I’ve lived away from Ireland for about a decade now, and I’m really struck at just how rural most of the place is when I’m back. I seem to be a city boy now!
I too found my love for Rugby in Ireland. It was in 2009 while I was studying at the University of Ulster in a town called Coleraine in Northern Ireland. A few of the other international students went out and bought a ball and started teaching whomever wanted to learn how to play. By the spring, I was playing well enough to play on one of the local teams. What really sealed my love of rugby was the first match I played in. I was still very much a beginner, but that didn’t matter to the guys. They were just… Read more »
Fabulous article!! I felt like I was in the Pub! Now I’m a fan!