NiallOK’s Blog

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I find myself in the all too familiar territory of agreeing entirely with something Twenty Major has said… the Irish blogging scene does feel a little dead at the moment. It’s like we’re in the middle of a lull. A sort of blogging recession, if you will.

Mind you, it’s not like I’m doing much to combat that as my own blog has gone a bit quiet of late… I guess I’ve just not had much to say, really… must work on that. Especially if I’m going to be in with a shout at the 2009 Blog Awards (ha!), which are being held in Cork.

Here’s what Tommy Tiernan thinks of the Cork accent, by the way:

So… um… what’s happening with me ?…

Well, I scored a few goals tonight,- real ones,- playing football down in our local sports & leisure club, before coming home and being beaten 10 - 4 in FIFA ‘08 on the PS3 by my brother. He was Argentina, I was Liverpool (with newly added Robbie Keane ).

Saw The Dark Knight on Saturday in the VIP cinema in “movies @ Swords” and there’s very little I can say about it that hasn’t already been said. It. Was. Awesome.

Not much else going on with me… how are you?

RTÉ’s new “News Now” streaming video service service (as discussed on Mulley’s site, here) is pretty good - it provides rolling news from the state broadcaster with repeats of the latest bulletins and special live events… except, of course, when they go and do this:

This evenings episode of that hilarious home grown comedy Killinaskully was streamed on the news service.

They followed it up by leading up to the 9 O’Clock news with “Disasters”, an RTÉ Factual department production. It’s a documentary about the loss of life on trawlers off the Donegal coast and so clearly fits the “news channel” bill.

No explanation for Killinaskully though… It would appear though that either they somehow consider it to fit that bill too, or someone was just asleep at the wheel this evening in RTÉ…

I went to the Ireland Vs Wales rugby match today - my first time to be in Croke Park for an actual match (the single only other time I was there was for the Billy Joel and Elton John gig - a full decade ago). Was nice to have some father-son time (with my dad) and do something FUN. Pity Ireland lost.

Anyway, doubtless, if you’ve seen my last blog entry, you’ll realise that what I’ve gone through recently (with my four year long relationship with my (now ex-)fiancèe falling to pieces) hasn’t been easy and it’s meant that I’ve pretty much had to go ahead and reinvent myself and decide on creating a whole new life for myself from now on. My ex would probably admit that what I say is true - that the disintegration of our relationship was essentially down to her losing faith, losing respect and just basically not trying any more. So now here I am - starting from scratch again at age 31. Many people would think that’s too bloody hard. To be honest, I did at first - but the hell with it - I said in January that 2008 was going to be MY year… I still say that.

There are a few possibilities that have come up for me. All of them will mean me finding my way one way or another - with a new home, new job and possibly a pretty new location somewhere else in the country. I’m totally open to moving anywhere. For now, I’m in Dublin… and for now, I’m starting fresh;- kick-starting my life with a new way of thinking, a new way of living, and probably (on a smaller, less important scale… sorry…) a new look to my blog… soon… ish. No more “Crunchy Links”. No more bullshit - just straight out writing. Life’s experiences, my thoughts, my words, my pictures… and all that. The way it used to be when I started the blog… only better. I promise.

Thanks to all of you who either posted sympathetic/helpful comments on my last blog entry (seriously - I appreciate it) - and to those of you who wanted to but couldn’t (seriously, I understand), and those of you who spoke to me in person, took me out for lunch, helped me out, etc. etc. (seriously, I’ll never forget ye). It’s been a rough week… just as I knew it would be… and it’s not totally over - I still have to go back there to ‘finish off’ moving out (get the rest of my stuff, basically).

In the words of Coldplay (euch!)… “nobody said it was easy - nobody said it would be so hard - I’m going back to the start”.

Photos (click for larger versions):

Posted on the official FAI web site today :

The Football Association of Ireland has appointed Giovanni Trapattoni as manager of the Republic of Ireland senior international team after successfully concluding negotiations with his lawyer in Milan yesterday. The 68-year-old Italian will take up his post on May 1, 2008, when he has finished his commitments with the Austrian club, Red Bull Salzburg. His first game in charge of Ireland will be the eircom international against Serbia on May 24 at Croke Park.

The President of the Football Association of Ireland, David Blood, said:

“The Board of Management agreed unanimously with the recommendation of the Selection Panel and have appointed Giovanni Trapattoni as the next manager of the Republic of Ireland senior international team. His track record is among the most successful in Europe and he is widely acknowledged as one of the most outstanding and successful coaches in the modern game. He has managed at club and international level and has won 10 league titles in four different countries. In addition he has won the European Cup, Cup Winners Cup, UEFA Cup and Super Cup as well as the Intercontinental Cup. The Board of Management would like to express their gratitude to the members of our Selection Panel – Don Givens, Ray Houghton and Don Howe – on a job well done. We thank all those who expressed an interest in the position and attended interviews with the Panel. We would also like to everybody for their patience during the process and now look forward to the upcoming World Cup qualifying campaign.”

Goody

While the Irish Independent say that Terry ‘El Tel’ Venables is still in the race, the Irish Examiner, on the other hand, are saying that Giovanni Trappatoni has been appointed by the FAI.

Hope the Examiner are calling this one correctly…

SOCCER chiefs last night pulled off their own Italian job by securing legendary coach Giovanni Trapattoni as the next Republic of Ireland head coach. [...] The 68-year-old met in Austria last night with the three-man FAI selection committee and agreed in principle to hook up with the Republic once his contract with Salzburg finishes in May (*1). [...] He is likely to be given a three- or four-year deal, worth in excess of €1.4m per year, with bonuses (*2). [...] Liam Brady(*3) will be part of Trapattoni’s backroom team and will perform a similar general manager role to that which Oliver Bierhoff fulfils with Germany. [...] The Italian, who turns 69 on St Patrick’s Day (*4), boasts an awesome CV in European football. Notes: *1: Apparently, he’ll be in place in time for the friendly match against Serbia on May 24th. WOW, REALLY? THAT SOON?! *2: Bonuses??? What??? 1.4 million euros ISN’T ENOUGH? *3: Yes, Liam Brady. For the current generation, that’s “the ould lad from the Meteor ad that says ‘tell them to grow up’.” … Yeah, him. *4: Is this doubly cool both because he’ll be 69 (Beavis & Butthead style “huh-huh… huh-huh…”) AND because he’s born on our patron saints day, or what?