1. Ireland wins the Six Nations
That minute was the longest minute in recorded history. That minute seemed longer than the last minute against New Zealand. That minute was longer than the distance Ireland had travelled in the previous 12 months up to that point.
That was one long minute.
Ireland were embarrassed in the 2013 6 Nations, finishing 5th with one win and a draw. The previous November under Schmidt we were labelled as a work in progress as Australia hammered us and New Zealand broke our hearts. It was the first 6 Nations where there was no expectation to win.
It all came down to one minute. That’s how long the TMO took to replay that pass over and over.
And then? Delight. Glory. Tears. The fairytale ending to a fairytale career. The ending that the entire nation wanted, and we delivered.
2. John O'Shea's equaliser against Germany
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gyrb-qFkjKs
Watching Ireland playing away games against teams like Germany is a grim business. You essentially spend the game hoping that nothing happens. Those of us in the Irish corner of the futuristic stadium in Gelsenkirchen spent 70 minutes watching Glenn Whelan and the Irish midfield sitting in front of the Irish defence, resolutely keeping their shape, simultaneously guarding against through balls and remaining crouched and ready to get a block in should one of the German midfielders have a pop. Unglamorous work requiring great concentration. There was nothing enjoyable about it but as a supporter you were locked into it.
When Germany scored, we actually relaxed somewhat. Well that’s that then, the worst had happened. Ireland showed little indication that scoring a goal was even on their minds before that.
McGeady and McClean started making impetuous little forays towards the German box. The German attackers stopped making themselves available for the ball and their defenders were reduced to hoofing the ball forwards.
Late in the game Wes Houlihan had a chance. We winced when it was blocked out. That could have been it. 1-1. What a result that would have been!
Then, very late in injury time, a looped cross, a brilliant hook back into the box, a flick goalwards. Neuer dives. But the ball nestled in the bottom corner.
Fans collapsed on top of one another. Pandemonium reigned. Everyone was hugging and whooping and hollering as the German fans in the neighbouring section, the bulk of whose demeanour resembled that of a bunch of polite theatre goers, looked on part-annoyed at the football, but also partly bemused by the joy it inspired in the away fans.
I momentarily craned my neck to make sure it hadn’t been ruled offside (bitter experience) but could see the Irish players converging at the corner flag, hugging each other.
The word went out that Houlihan had scored. But then better information came through that it was John O’Shea. There was a breather as we waited for the kick off and then the final whistle sparked another round of celebrations. Everyone was celebrating wildly, singing boisterously, swinging their shirts over their head, saluting the players.
Two minutes after full-time, my friend turned to me and said ‘Guess what Dunphy is after saying about the performance.’
3. Luis Suarez bites Giorgio Chielline
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=z2NI-QjKhEo
Did he really do it? No, he couldn’t have, why would he?
So many questions. Not a chance in hell of an answer. It was such a big story that everyone wanted to have their say. It reached an all new level of ridiculousness when TMZ stopped Bruce Springsteen on the street to ask him what he thought. He didn’t have a clue what they were on about but he was still a bit appalled.
‘Ban him for life’. ‘Lock him up’. ‘Imagine if you did that to someone on the street’. All valid points but in the end the world kept going. Uruguay went through before being beaten by Colombia in the second round. Suarez was banned from even looking at a Subbuteo set for four months and he still ended up going to Barcelona. Whatever you think of him, there’s no doubting Luis Suarez’s ability to generate infamy.
4. Brian O'Driscoll's goodbye
It’s not often that a nation of grown men all shed a tear at the same moment, yet that happened on consecutive weekends back in March. It’s even rarer that a true great gets to bring the curtain down on a fairytale career in a glorious manner, just ask Ronan O’Gara. O’Driscoll said goodbye to Lansdowne Road with three jaw-dropping assists in a big win over Italy, before the 6 Nations crown was secured the following weekend in PAris, 13 years after announcing himself to the world with that hat-trick.
We’ll never see someone have as big an impact on Irish rugby again.
5. Bubbles nearly wins it
The incident prompted one of the great GAA photos of all time - the men on the line all turned towards the big screen at Hill 16, awaiting the verdict.
Eamon O’Shea was in giddy, joyous mood all day and took the opportunity to share a joke with the linesman, Cody still smarting from the ‘criminal’ call probably, is nonchalantly blowing his hands.
In Hill 16, people were nearly laughing. Breathlessly laughing at the absurd drama of it all, laughing at the idea of a computer screen in the corner telling everyone whether or not Tipp would be All-Ireland champions. It was mainly Tipp fans who were laughing. Kilkenny supporters were too distressed.
Hawkeye decided that Bubbles free was high and wide and that was that. Tipp fans sighed and Kilkenny supporters let out a relieved but defiant roar and went back to being angry at Barry Kelly some more.
Picture credit: Ray McManus / SPORTSFILE
6. Rory McIlroy wins The Open
When he’s 80 years old, Rory McIlroy will probably remember 2014 in his life more than any other. He struggled to get a win to open the year, frequently lighting up the course on the opening Thursday of a tournament, only to collapse the following day and stumble into a top 10 finish. Curiously, once he broke off his engagement with tennis star Caroline Wosniacki, he won the BGW PGA Championship.
Then came the big one. McIlroy lead from start to finish at Hoylake to win his first British Open, and become the 3rd youngest player ever to win 3 different majors. His win earned his Dad a huge sum of money, after placing a bet on young Rory in 2004, that Rory would win the Open within 10 years.
Rory’s year got better after the Open, going on an unprecedented winning streak, bagging the WGC Bridgestone and his second major of the year- the USPGA Championship.
7. Mayo Mick
It reads like a story from Cúchulainn. Maybe for future generations it will be.
As we’ve indicated before, when the story of Mick Barrett is told one hundred years from now, it is our strong belief that the number of stewards that were required to drag him off the pitch will have increased substantially.
Even on the evening in question, elected politicians were tweeting that it took fourteen stewards to get the man off the field. (a cursory viewing reveals there to be nine less stewards than that + his daughter).
By the time 2114 rolls around, we reckon it’ll be gospel that 45 of the bastards were needed to haul that mountain of a man out of there.
Picture credit: Dáire Brennan / SPORTSFILE
8. Kieran Donaghy's All-Ireland Final goal
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=C25x0vpb350
He wasn’t on the pitch. He didn’t even play a Championship game but Colm Cooper still exerted influence on the All-Ireland football final.
Cooper had been telling Kieran Donaghy all year that he should pass the ball into the net. Stay calm. Don’t smash it.
So when Paul Durcan’s under hit goal kick gave Donaghy the chance to strike a colossal blow to Donegal’s chances, the Traleeman remembered Gooch’s words.
A crucial three points in a three point game.
The goal is also an unforgettable plot point in one of the comeback stories of the year. One which would culminate in Kieran Donaghy being named Kerry captain for 2015.
9. Andy Lee wins WBO middleweight title
It wasn’t supposed to be like that. Andy Lee was supposed to rock up in Vegas, give Matt Korobov a decent fight and eventually succumb to a unanimous points decision at the very most. Korobov, one of the best amateur boxers for many a year would go on to face Gennady Golovkin in the winner takes all middleweight fight that everyone expected.
Step forward Limerick’s finest and with one stinging right in the sixth round everything changed. The world title that Manny Steward always said would come his way was now his. The majority of people assumed that he had had his one and only chance and that was that. Lee went away, put in the hard yards away from the spotlight and when his chance came around he took it. An absolutely sensational performance from a true sporting hero.
10. Eamon Dunphy swears on live TV
Some people despise Eamon Dunphy as a football pundit. I don’t get that. The man is an entertainer. We’ll be sorry when he’s gone.
From an Irish point of view, he was responsible for one of the most entertaining moments of the World Cup.
His “inexactitude”, as Billo eloquently and mollifyingly put it, nearly broke Twitter.
RTÉ’s coverage of the World Cup’s opening game between Brazil and Croatia had come back from a break. Eamon was unaware. He spoke as he was down the local with the lads, telling Billo that Neymar was “fucking dreading it” taking the penalty which would give Brazil a 2-1 lead.
An on-air apology followed.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XpKE-7-v10A
11. GAA signs deal with Sky
April brought news that Sky Sports had signed a deal with the GAA for exclusive island of Ireland rights to 14 Championship games.
Ha! Jim White doing GAA match reports we joked.
It didn’t take long for that to become a reality and also for the ‘British Twitter reaction to GAA’ to become a thing.
It wasn’t all bad though. Sky did start using stats more than we had seen previously on GAA coverage. Player graphics during games included little differences like number of scores, shots and possessions.
It may have even force RTÉ out of their comfort zone a little bit.
12. Billo's farewell
RTE love a good montage and they got a great opportunity with the departure of the beloved O’Herlihy.
In 1978, he and Dunphy first teamed up as part of RTE’s World Cup coverage. Six years later, while covering Euro 84, both he and Dunphy were in the room when the latter insisted that Michel Platini would be found out. Two years later Johnny Giles joined the team and in the following decade, Liam Brady became part of the setup.
The first of the old team left the stage as Bill signalled his intention to retire at the end of this year’s World Cup and RTE provided the goods. At the end of a global event of which Ireland themselves had little part, it was pleasing to drift back to this local celebration. Well into the following day, he was still trending on Twitter.
13. Steven Gerrard slips
The most important moment of the 2014 English football season wasn't a goal or a piece of world class skill; it was a player losing his footing.
Steven Gerrard's slip against Chelsea was made for people who like Balls.ie. It spawned a million memes, vines, GIFs and tributes.
The 'no-one deserves it more' narrative that had built up was gone in an instant and replaced by collective impressions of Nelson Munson. You probably won't remember who scored the goals that clinched the league for Man City.
You will remember, however unfortunate, Stephen Gerrard's slip
14. Kerry vs Mayo in Limerick
How did an All-Ireland semi-final end up being played in Limerick on a Saturday in August? It came down to several factors really.
The Penn State vs UCF college football game at Croke Park being scheduled for the same date and headquarters not being available the following day.
Then there was the drawn semi-final. A classic encounter. Lee Keegan was harshly sent off in the first half. Would Kerry have pulled out the draw with him, one of the best half backs in football, still on the pitch? Probably not.
The introduction of Kieran Donaghy was a masterstroke from Eamonn Fitzmaurice. The target man changed the game. Mayo could not deal with him. And then the Kerry captain, Kieran O’Leary, stepped off the bench to kick the equaliser.
The progeny of all that was an even more epic game at the Gaelic Grounds on August 30th. Mayo lobbied to have the game played at Croke Park. Former GAA players decried it as a disgrace that the game be moved away from Jones Road. The Association would not budge.
It was on. Penalty controversies ensued. Extra-time was needed. Kerry drained the bench. Players who had seen just minutes of Championship action turned into heroes for the Kingdom.
Picture credit: Diarmuid Greene / SPORTSFILE
15. Ireland women beat New Zealand
New Zealand women had never lost in a World Cup since 1991. Ireland had never beaten a New Zealand side of any gender or age in history.
It didn’t look like that would change when New Zealand struck first to take a 5-0 lead. But two tries, the second a fantastic finish from Connacht winger Alison Miller, gave Ireland the lead.
It took until the last few minutes for Niamh Briggs to strike the winning penalty and Ireland shocked the world.
