The Van Boxtel’s are a colourful Ballymun family.
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Did that lad up front play with Dunbar?
Michael Van Gerwen is from Boxtel. I sometimes (once, ie. now) think of him as Michael Van Boxtel.
I was aware of the existence of Eddie Van Boxtel from about 1989 when he would have been 15 or 16 as he featured in some television programme or other on RTE. Me oul’ fella surmised that many years from then, at the 1998 World Cup finals in England, Ireland might have young Eddie Van Boxtel from Ballymun in goals. We did not.
Eddie then featured in either or both of Into the West or Roddy Doyle’s Family. I made that bit up. Roddy Doyle did write The Van but Eddie wasn’t in that.
There was however once an incident where Gardai were called to a flat in Ballymun, they tentatively entered the premises to find an actual crocodile in the bath. TDH.
I imagine this as the Van Boxtel family flat. The Snapper was about this incident if I remember rightly.
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Fucking hell what a post - Ashley White, Paul Smyth, Paul Shiels. Paul fucking Shiels. I used to idolise Ashley to an extent that was really embarrassing, considering he was in the school at the same time as me. Paul Smyth only scored worldies. Trevor Vaughan…
POTY.
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Younger brother. 3 boys in the family all top ballers.
Remember he scored a cracking free kick against us. You may have been the end of the wall
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Ten best golf majors since 1987:
2025 US Masters
1996 US Masters
1999 Open
2006 US Open
2019 US Masters
1989 Open
2000 US PGA
1991 US PGA
2008 US Open
1999 US Open
Munster hurling final pairings in my lifetime:
9 - Cork v Tipperary
7 - Tipperary v Waterford
6 - Limerick v Clare
5 - Cork v Waterford
4 - Tipperary v Limerick
4 - Cork v Limerick
4 - Cork v Clare
3 - Tipperary v Clare
2 - Limerick v Waterford
1 - Clare v Waterford
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There follows an examination of the psychological processes of why we generally put particular counties’ names first when referring to a particular pairing of counties.
It’s mainly down to success, but there are exceptions.
In the above example I have Cork as the first county in all four pairings in which they are involved, Tipperary as the first county in three, Limerick in two, Clare in one and Waterford in none. That’s a fair summing up of where the historical power lies in Munster hurling.
However in Munster football, I and I think most people tend to say “Cork and Kerry” rather than “Kerry and Cork” despite Cork historically being Kerry’s whipping boys.
In hurling, I always mentally have Cork as the first team in any possible pairing. It’s not Kilkenny and Cork, it’s Cork and Kilkenny, it’s Cork and Galway, it’s Cork and Wexford, it’s Cork and Dublin.
I instinctively say “Tipp and Kilkenny” rather than “Kilkenny and Tipp”. It’s always “Kilkenny and Wexford”.
But weirdly, Galway tend to have the whip hand over Kilkenny in my mind. Galway v Kilkenny. I think.
In football, Dublin are the first team in every possible pairing. RTE occasionally tried to say “Meath and Dublin” or “Kerry and Dublin”, but it simply doesn’t work. Dublin come before all teams. Dubland Uber Alles. In football it’s Dublin v Cork, in hurling it’s Cork v Dublin.
The triangle of, in alphabetical order, Cork, Kerry and Meath is interesting.
It’s “Cork and Kerry” and it’s “Kerry and Meath”, but it’s “Meath and Cork”. Nobody refers to the “Cork v Meath” finals of 1987, 1988 and 1990.
Down have the whip hand over Kerry. It’s “Down and Kerry”. It just works.
The Ulster football power structure of pairing naming has Tyrone at the top.
They come first in every possible pairing. Down are second. Derry are third. Donegal are fourth. Armagh fifth. Fermanagh, predictably are bottom, even below Antrim.
The Connacht football power structure of pairing naming has, predictably, Galway are the head of things. It’s always “Galway and Mayo”. It’s always Galway and Roscommon. It’s always Mayo and Roscommon.
Then there are pairings where I genuinely don’t know who to put first. I don’t know if it’s “Meath and Galway” or “Galway and Meath”. I don’t know if it’s Fermanagh v Wicklow or Wicklow v Fermanagh.
It’s Longford v Derry. Consistent shock qualifier wins over the same county can get you anywhere psychologically in the public mind.
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