Every tour since 1997 but they got pushed out of other rugby rights.
Likely Amazon
Itās great to see the mighty all blacks emulating Irish rugby once again, in rugby journalism this time.
They could do with an editor at rugbypass
Alickadoos love putting initials on their middle name
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On a scale of 9-10, how bored are you exactly?
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Ciara Kelly pal. Donāt be wasting the server space.
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Knock yourself out kiddo.
Ciara Kelly: The Irish who celebrated the loss of our āelitistā rugby team are snobs themselves ā I have no middle-class guilt about calling them out
Today at 02:30
Inverted snobbery against societyās middle class is unacceptable, particularly when it comes to sport
āThere are Irish people who wonāt support the rugby team because itās a middle-class sport played by āthe eliteā and inverted snobbery apparently is fine.ā Photo: Xavier Laine/Getty Images
A week on from the Rugby World Cup final, Iāve been processing our collective reaction to it. (Yes, my brain does move slowly). Not whether weāre cursed to remain forever stuck at the quarter-finals stage or how our nerves let the All Blacks get away from us, but more that a cohort of Irish people took some perverse pleasure in us being knocked out and had no problem expressing their gleeful schadenfreude publicly.
And I donāt get it. I donāt care if soccer is your game or youāve no interest in sport at all. The clue is in the name. Theyāre the Irish rugby team. And surely whether itās the Irish darts team or the Irish axe-throwing team, when they put on the green jersey, we support them. (As it happens, I know a couple of our axe-throwing team and theyāre a lovely bunch!).
But no. There are Irish people who wonāt support the rugby team ā despite them playing their hearts out and bravely putting their bodies on the line in an incredibly physical sport. Despite them punching above our weight internationally as a tiny country and despite them being our best shot at actual success in a major sport. They wonāt support them. Why? Because itās a middle-class sport played by āthe eliteā and inverted snobbery apparently is fine in a way ordinary snobbery isnāt.
And the vitriol against them was so unfettered because rugby fans love their sport enough that it more or less prevents them from being cowed with middle-class guilt or middle-class shame ā in the way they usually are about most other things. So it drives some people mad. Itās only the middle class who say, āGosh no! I donāt need an energy credit and Iād much rather you gave it to someone who does!ā or āIād happily pay more taxes for better public services.ā (Even though Iāve already opted to work my ass off to pay for health insurance for my family). Middle-class guilt is why Labour and the Social Democrats are led and voted for by a solidly middle-class demographic. Same as Labour in the UK. More working-class people in the UK vote Tory than Labour. Labour is a party of college graduates.
Middle-class guilt was why some Irish fans were afraid to belt out The Fields of Athenry during the Haka in the Stade de France, in case they were being culturally insensitive. And itās why no one complained when predicted grades, in the 2020 Leaving Cert that never happened, didnāt actually predict what kids were likely to get in the exam.
Because itās not cool to be middle class is it? The bourgeoisie has always been despised. Even though as a wealthy country (yep, we actually are), thatās loads of us. Working-class protagonists are salt-of-the-earth heroes. Middle-class ones are Ross OāCarroll-Kelly-type eejits.
Iām only first-generation middle class. I donāt feel that guilt. My parents were Dubs. Dad was one of a family of nine who grew up in a two-up-two-down and Mum was from a tiny cottage in Ringsend. Work not privilege was how we did well and I make no apologies for it. Punching up may be more acceptable than punching down, but itās still punching. The chip-on-their-shoulder brigade are not actually better peoplethan the prawn-sandwich brigade. Allez les Verts!
A second opinion
Speaking of rugby. I was lucky to make it to the Ireland-New Zealand game in Paris but I was still on crutches post hip surgery and had to fly out through Heathrow, which also meant changing terminals so I asked for airport assistance.
Basically, if you have a mobility problem, theyāll provide you with a wheelchair and a person to help you navigate the airport. We had a very nice man who knew nothing about the Rugby World Cup and was a bit perplexed by my green Ireland hat with horns on it. We realised quite quickly when he berated my daughter for not letting me push the lift button ā after I went to push it but she got there first ā that he thought I had a learning disability.
It suddenly made sense why he was speaking to me slowly and over-explaining about the bus between terminals. Whilst thereāre people who know me well who may think he has a point, it really struck me that this must happen towheelchair users a lot and maybe we should all stop presuming that just because someone canāt walk, that they canāt do other stuff as well.
Well said Ciara
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And calling others snobs no less.
Theyāll still get the RTE Team of the Year for the Grand Slam.
C OāC
What in the name of good jaysus is that? She is abusing working class people and thinks itās football fans who hate rugby? All the anti rugby heads on here are confirmed Gahliban and absolutely middle class if not upper middle class.
Bizarre shite altogether.
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Ciara, you were wearing a hat with horns on it.
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Itās Ciara Kelly.
Sheās playing to her audience
She has an audience?