After 15 minutes a cabbie eventually appeared (Shannon is as Uberless as Brighton) and whisked me to my hotel. During the trip I enquired as to the lack of taxis. My driver's response was succinct, 'The feckin' eejits are all watching the football.'
Silly me - I had forgotten that the Republic (as us English football pundits are obliged to call them) had been playing the world champion's, Germany, that evening. And joy of joy the Republic had won. Catching up on the highlights on RTE in the typically Irish (i.e. never shutting) hotel bar later, I was even more delighted to find they had done so with the ultimate route one goal. Hopeful punt upfield, one touch and whack into the net by Shane Long, who I was reminded is not one of those 'plastic paddies' but a proud son of my ultimate destination, Tipperary.
The purpose of my visit was to catch up with some old friends, win lose some pounds Euros on the dogs and horses and drink plenty of Guinness. I managed all of these feats with some ease but am delighted to report that the trip provided many more sporting thrills as well - and left me considerably heartened for the future of English/Irish relations.
Cashel is known for its Rock (famously visited by HM the Queen in her truly iconic 2011 trip to Republic) and as far as I am concerned for the welcome its residents give to a retired English copper.
On a previous visit I had taken in a hurling match but on my own - and therefore not really known what was going on. The Cashel locals were quick to tell me that the Cashel team is actually 'shite' so we headed to Thurles (Turr-Les) for the County Tipperary semi final between Drom & Inch and Neagh Eire Og.
The official match report describes the action better than I can but in the end the less fancied team won it by 1 point after extra time.
The crowd was incredibly over 4,000, for a match which in Sussex football terms is the equivalent to Mile Oak playing Peacehaven. The community element is exemplified by how many children come along, and during the half time interval they all streamed onto the Semple Stadium outfield with their hurleys to play themselves.
The most notable difference between this and the cricket games on the outfield at Hove during the intervals, was not just the sheer numbers but also the preponderance of girls playing. I gather camogie is just as popular, if not more, than hurling amongst the youngsters.
Of course the Gaelic games played in Ireland suffer the same drawback (but for entirely different reasons) that American football and baseball suffer from in the USA. Because no other country really plays these games there are no credible international fixtures.
Maybe that is why the Irish, in recent years anyway, have become so good at what I like to keep reminding my Tipperary friends, are 'English games' - soccer football, cricket and rugby.
Jack Charlton is still a national hero in the Republic for his exploits with the - admittedly heavily plastic paddy influenced - Irish soccer football team at the 1990 World Cup. The English one day cricket team is captained by an Irishman in Eoin Morgan, and even without him the Irish cricket team continues to perform respectably (and on the basis of performances is probably more deserving of test status than either Zimbabwe or Bangladesh).
It is though the ultimate public school, Protestant game of rugby that Ireland have succeeded at most. It was a privilege to be in a pub in Cashel and watch Ireland comprehensively defeat France in the Rugby World Cup this weekend. Despite the injuries, every Irishman and woman I spoke to is convinced that Ireland will go on to lift the trophy on 31 October. Judging by the celebrations this weekend they will need a whole month off work if that were to happen.
But - and sorry about this - on a serious note I am incredibly heartened by the success of the Irish rugby team for political reasons as well. The rugby side is - in stark contrast to the football (well done Northern Ireland by the way) - an all Ireland team. Even at the height of the troubles serving police officers in the RUC would travel to Dublin to play for the Irish Rugby Team.
Bearing in mind the history the rubicon was probably crossed when the GAA agreed to allow the Irish Rugby team to play matches at Croke Park (when the Lansdowne Road rugby/soccer stadium was undergoing a long overdue refurbishment). This event is movingly commemorated in a wonderful sculpture at Shannon Airport.
Paul O'Connell
is sadly just the latest injury victim of the brutal nature of the modern professional game of rugby. It is a shame he cannot play again but this news maybe adds to the potential emotion of an Irish rugby side being cheered on to victory in the 2015 World Cup by Enda Kenny, Gerry Adams, the Rev Ian Paisley jnr, Peter Robinson, David Cameron and the prime plastic paddy of them all, me.
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