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CATHAL DERVAN

Kerry win All Ireland Football Final in classic style

Cathal Dervan

Published Wednesday, September 23, 2009, 11:55 AM

Updated Wednesday, September 23, 2009, 12:15 PM

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Declan O’Sullivan and Kerry boss Jack O’Connor celebrate after their All-Ireland win.

American music fans are well used to the concept of classic rock radio, but it’s still a relatively unfamiliar idea on this side of the Atlantic.

There are exceptions to the rule, and there’s even talk of an Irish station of such ilk coming on stream next year by the name of Nova 100.

The best station currently available on these shores for those of a certain vintage broadcasts out of London and goes by the name of Planet Rock.

It is a classic rocker’s aural paradise and even boasts the likes of Alice Cooper and Rick Wakeman, of Yes fame, among its presenters.

Available on the web, Planet Rock also beams into those Irish houses with a Sky satellite dish, which is how we pick it up here at Chez Dervan.

A regular listener when sitting in my “office,” I do happen to like both the music mix and the lack of bull presented by Planet Rock, something I hope Nova 100 imitates when it comes to our attentions in 2010.

Classic rock was the order again on Tuesday morning as the weekend’s sporting events were digested in said office, and the ears stood to attention when the presenter spoke of a new Lynyrd Skynyrd album.

The “Free Bird” men are the subject of a brilliant documentary which passed a very pleasant three hours during my recent recuperation from knee surgery, so I was more than a little interested in the segment.

The new album is entitled God and Guns, and it will be available for purchase and download, the new thing apparently, from September 28.

Described by Planet Rock as a “frankly stunning comeback record,” it features both “trademark Skynyrd licks with a noticeably modern sound full of monster riffs and catchy hooks that rank up there with the best of an already superlative back catalogue.”

What an introduction for a new album. It was so good that I couldn’t wait to hear a track from this “stunning comeback” album.

I’m still waiting.

Instead of offering us some new Skynyrd, our presenter at Planet Rock reverted to hype and played the classic “Sweet Home Alabama” that still fills dance floors at 40th birthday parties all over Ireland.

Coming the morning after Kerry welcomed home their latest All-Ireland champions, I actually found the decision to play “Sweet Home Alabama” prophetic.

Like Lynyrd Skynyrd’s new offering, the latest Kerry team served up a treat every bit as superlative as anything in their back catalogue as they won an All-Ireland they were supposed to lose to Cork on Sunday.

And like the Skynyrds, everything about this new edition harked back to the old days when Kerry ruled the football world.

That’s the way it is when you are the best in the business. No matter how good the current LS line-up is, it will always be compared to the men who brought us “Free Bird” and the band whose soul died with the deaths of three members in a plane crash in October 1977.

Likewise, every Kerry team that comes to Croke Park on All-Ireland final Sunday has to live with the ghosts of their glorious past.

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Posted by jgraven on November 15,2009 | 08:26AM

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Irish sport is popular and widespread. Levels of participation and spectating are high on the island of Ireland. Throughout the country a wide variety of Irish sports are played, the most popular being Gaelic games (such as Gaelic football, hurling and camogie), soccer, rugby union and boxing. By attendance figures Gaelic football and hurling are by far the most popular sports in Ireland, (34% of total attendances at sports events being to football and 23% to hurling), while golf and soccer (including 5-a-side) are the most played at 17% of the population each. Many Irish sports, such as boxing, cricket, rugby union, Gaelic football and hurling, are organized in an all-island basis, with a single team representing Ireland in international competitions. Other Irish sports, such as Association Football, have separate organizing bodies in Northern Ireland and the Republic of Ireland. At the Olympics, a person from Northern Ireland can choose to represent either Ireland or Great Britain. The various GAA discipline finals are easily the largest sporting events regularly held in Ireland, in both terms of attendance and media coverage. The biggest national sporting event in Ireland is the final of the All-Ireland Senior Football Championship, held annually in Croke Park in September. It usually attracts a sell out crowd of 82,500 to Croke Park. Many of the matches in the championship attract crowds of 50,000, depending on who is playing. Aside from the GAA, the biggest multi-sport event held in Ireland regularly is the Community Games. The games are organized every year from a local level, where hundreds of thousands of young people compete in different disciplines such as athletics, swimming, cycling etc., in the first half of the year. Winners progress to county level, and then to the Community Games finals. One of the biggest international Irish sport events is international Association Football. The Republic's national team has punched above its weight in recent years, qualifying for the 2002 World Cup, and performed well against such teams as Brazil and Portugal. In rugby union, Ireland's national team has been ranked in the top five teams regularly over the last few years, and has produced major stars such as Keith Wood and Brian O'Driscoll. In golf, Ireland is home to several top golfers such as Padraig Harrington.

Kerry win All Ireland Football Final in classic style

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