LAST Sunday, Joe Biden’s presidential campaign was drawing to a close as he hunkered down in Rehoboth Beach, Delaware where he finally let go of his dream to be a two-term president.
Even Covid 19 seemed to be nudging him to step out of a race the whole world could see was slipping away from him. It must have been an excruciating decision to make for a man who has battled against the odds, and won, for his entire life. It was the right decision.
At the same time, in a field on the northside of Dublin, so too ended the Cork hurlers’ heroic campaign to end our All-Ireland hurling famine which has been raging around the lanes and boreens of Cork for nearly 20 years.
Politics is a cruel bloodsport as we all know. Hurling is as cruel as any on days like Sunday when a team that did very little wrong, came up against a team who matched them for skill and passion and who were just a bit cuter and more ruthless in the end. In games like this, that go down to the wire, and then on into extra-time and go down to the wire again, absolutely anything can make the difference.
We weren’t helped this year by a few timely and dubious refereeing decisions. I certainly wouldn’t be a hurling referee, with the breakneck speed at which the game is played. In the end, a pulled jersey and a narrow miss ended our dreams of bringing Liam MacCarthy home. What a shame and how hard it will be for the players to dust themselves off and go again. But there were signs of hope the morning after the game - Hoggie and Harnedy staying on for 2025, talking already of winter training and going at it again ... Cork hurling is back – big time.
Wise words from Burns
My true Dub neighbours, who will be missing out on their annual trip to the football final this year, were having the craic with me during the week, asking me if I needed directions to Croke Park, which is a 10-minute walk from our house. Another one of their brethren, a work colleague of mine who edits television programmes, came good for me in the days before the game, securing myself and Fachtna two amazing tickets on the Hogan Stand, almost on the halfway line. I have rarely felt so privileged to be in Croker for what is one of the greatest spectacles on the planet.
Our neighbours across the water got to enjoy it too this year, as the game went out on BBC2. The online comments from wildly entertaining and somewhat bemused Brits were a treat. Tweets included ‘Any British people wondering what the story is with Hurling on BBC 2, just imagine two teams of Roy Keane, but they all have a large weapon in their hands.’ and ‘I don’t think I’ve ever been so invested in a game I know nothing about.’
Magic.
After a ropey year of bad press for the organisation, they have ended on a high and GAA president Jarlath Burns used the international spotlight to remind the nation, and those who might be tuning in, about our values. ‘For those people who are our diaspora, who left this country because of war and famine … We thank the countries who took you in and gave you jobs and allowed you to make a new name for yourselves with our native games.’
After the disastrous week of violence in Coolock, it was a timely message indeed.
Veep to tango with Trump
Back in Washington, all eyes turned to current Veep, Kamala Harris, who is now a clear favourite to become the Democratic candidate having been endorsed by the Bidens, the Clintons, the Congressional Black Caucus, as well as many significant party donors. Long thought of as not being a strong or realistic option, the more I read about Harris the more intrigued I become.
Her background as a district attorney is already being pitched as her greatest asset and already the November showdown is being pitched as the prosecutor versus the felon. She is in her comfort zone tearing strips off the cheating, lying, edition of Tango Man.
Whether middle America is ready for a female president, especially one from a diverse background, is a whole other story.
The truth is that much of the election will swing on the results in a small number of states, where the difference can often come down to as little as hundreds of thousands of votes. Suddenly, the Republicans have to worry about the age problem. Trump started his speech to the Republican convention last week with some scripted lines that were, on the face of it, conciliatory and about bringing the country together.
But he couldn’t help himself and rambled off script for what felt like three hours, spouting lies and hate as if the very molecules in his body were rebelling against the thought of being a unifying voice.
Democracy rarely felt so fragile in the USA where it appears two sides of the population now live in completely different realities.
We know from our experiences of violence on this island where that goes.God only knows what happens on the international stage if an unencumbered Trump gets elected and begins his reign in 2025.
No pressure Kamala.
