Nicknames in the GAA

EoimarMuppet

Specifically Inter County.
Does anyone else get so sick of hearing Commentators refer to players by their nicknames?
Gooch, Sparrow, Brick etc.
The worst I ever heard was GC commentating in Parnell this year for the Dublin Cork Hurling Qual. Not ONCE did he refer to Kieran Murphy as Kieran Murphy. It was the Hero this, the Hero that....
I am in danger of being called anti GAA or something with this thread but it just annoys me no end.
Call them by their name and throw in the nick name the odd time if you have to!! Seriously. MM is the worst for this.

pbug21

What is worse is using the full name; e.g. Colm "Gooch" Cooper, Michael "Brick" Walsh. This proceeds in making the names longer.

Nicknames should be left to among players, commentators should stick to names.

It doesn't happen in other sports. You dont hear rugby commentators calling Felipe Contepomi "Dr. Phil" or Shane Horgan "Shaggy". Its just his teammates.

holymolyHS

Was it Marty Morrissey that once explained that Gooch got his name because it was short for Gucci - because the boy is pure class and style. Only to find out a few weeks later that he was called Gooch cos that was the name of his dog!!

It was very cringey hearing GC call Setanta O'Hailpin Santy or Jason Sherlock Jayo!! You don't hear John Motson or Martin Tyler call Frank Lampard Lamps or Roy / Robbie Keane Keano

ANXIOUS

i like when they use nick names as i feel it makes it feel more personal. The reason soccer or rugby commentators dont use nick names is beacause unlike the gaa. the commentators and players have prob known each other years and there fathers knew there fathers and so on...

EoimarMuppet

The first i remember was Ger "The Sparrow" O'Loughlin with the 95 Clare team.
As someone said there, Nicknames are for mates and associates, Not Marty "The Rat" Morrissey and Ger "The Tosser" Canning.....
A friend of a friend had a dog who knew a cat who knew someones who knew them in school, swares that was their nick names.......

JayoCluxton

I think they often refer to Horgan as Shaggy but it may be his appearance rather than his nickname. He obviously should've got the Imaac or whatever gig rather than ROG - God there's another one! It might be better if they used ironic nicknames such as "The Bull" Stringer or "Twinkletoes" Du Randt.

Yeah GAA nicknames can be a PITA. No wonder the Americans neve took to the game.

"Its the Gooch, passes inside to Star but its intercepted by Jayo who finds Wheelo out on the right - that will please Pillar". WTF is all that about!

JayoCluxton

No Holy - I heard Gooch got the nickname from one of his team mates cos he looked like some doll that was doing the rounds at the time. Mind you how come then than Sheff isn't known as Cabbage Patch!

There was a guy in the GAA once called Ballboy - I think he was from Mayo. Anybody shed any light?

EoimarMuppet

Just gives the game a real rural feel to it and I dont mean that in a bad way but if your gonna try and get city kids be they in Limerick Dublin Cork Galway into GAA then this kinda thing really is cringe material. They hear that, laugh their arses off and slag the GAA off.
I have seen it happen with my own brother and his mates. Out the back laughing their heads off about "Star" and "Gooch" and especially "Brick" !!

Kerry On Tour

JayoCluxton wrote: »

No Holy - I heard Gooch got the nickname from one of his team mates cos he looked like some doll that was doing the rounds at the time. Mind you how come then than Sheff isn't known as Cabbage Patch!

There was a guy in the GAA once called Ballboy - I think he was from Mayo. Anybody shed any light?

Gooch had the nickname before he ever kicked a ball for the Crokes living in Ardshan. It's source is lost in mythology! I think we should let ballboy go to the past or we will end up never shaking him off. He's gone, let's enjoy it!

holymolyHS

Spot on KOT
Anyone know why Michael Walsh has the nickname 'brick'. Is he a bricky or is it something else altogether -built like a brick etc

EoimarMuppet

dead right KOT!
we have found our spititual home!

An Citeog

Looks like we've had an influx from Hoganstand!

This forum could use a bit more life, so you're all welcome.

Kerry On Tour

An Citeog wrote: »

Looks like we've had an influx from Hoganstand!

This forum could use a bit more life, so you're all welcome.

It could grow, that will end up becoming a junior cert gaelic football knowledge level soon. If even that!

yahoo_moe

An Citeog wrote: »

This forum could use a bit more life, so you're all welcome.

ouch fair point, though

as for nicknames, it depends really - if someone knows gooch as gooch, then I've no problem with it. On the other hand, no matter what marty morrissey says it'll annoy me anyway...

In other sports, though, generally it's only managers and ex-players working as pundits who'll refer to Lamps, JT, Dr. Phil (Reggie Corrigan said it in commentary the other day), Drico, etc. which I suppose is fine but it can still be bloody annoying in that "I know him better than you do" kind of way

EoimarMuppet

Maybe its just Marty's head that annoys me. I cant look at him for more than 20 seconds without expecting Donattelo Raphael Michaelangelo and Leonardo to appear and beat him senseless with their Kudo sticks!
I saw him in Limerick last year with a cracking blonde bird....says it all really:eek:

An Citeog

Nicknames I hate are Hero and Star for Donaghy. The problem is that they're used way too often.

kevmy

It depends on the nickname really. Some people are known as well by their nickname as they are by their real name. Gooch would be case in point. Don't like obviously made up ones like Star for Donaghy or shortened ones like Wheelo being used in commentary. Don't know why just the way it is.


For all the giving out about Marty at least he recognises the players well enough to call them by their nicknames. Canning never feckin knows who's on the ball, it really pisses me of. For example in the Hurling Final he said at one stage "King Henry has got another thats 3 from play *nudge from Duignan* - sorry that was Eoin Larkin, of course Shefflin has gone off injured" or something to that effect. How poor do you have to be to not remember that the star player in the country has gone off?

Kerry On Tour

kevmy wrote: »

It depends on the nickname really. Some people are known as well by their nickname as they are by their real name. Gooch would be case in point. Don't like obviously made up ones like Star for Donaghy or shortened ones like Wheelo being used in commentary. Don't know why just the way it is.


For all the giving out about Marty at least he recognises the players well enough to call them by their nicknames. Canning never feckin knows who's on the ball, it really pisses me of. For example in the Hurling Final he said at one stage "King Henry has got another thats 3 from play *nudge from Duignan* - sorry that was Eoin Larkin, of course Shefflin has gone off injured" or something to that effect. How poor do you have to be to not remember that the star player in the country has gone off?

Star in fairness has been with him a long time since he was a young fella with Stacks and Tigers.

Can someone explain this one, a hurling match a couple of years back. Canning: "Cork are at the embryotic stage of merging"

WHAT THE FU3K!!! ????

EoimarMuppet

is there anything weirder that watching the premiership and hearing Canning talking about "Victor Anichebe and Goodison Park" !!!
For some reason Daragh Moloney can seem to switch effortlessly, ala Jimmy McGee but with Canning you just cant help but feel he probably thinks Everton are a club from down around west cork somewhere.........

pd101

The ones that get to me the most are Ciaran "Star" Donaghy and Owen "Mugsy" Mulligan

Mossy Monk

This annoys me also. It is Michael Walsh, not Michael 'Brick' Walsh. They tend to say Dan 'The Man' Shanahan aswell. I just wish they would stop. I hate Ger Canning and Marty Morrissey for it.

cournioni

Sean Johnston = Jelly, hence the Jelly 3:16 signs in the crowd for some Cavan games.
Paul Brady = The Gunner
James Reilly = Miller
Eamon O'Reilly = Chesty

Can't think of any more Cavan nick names at the moment, but if any commentator started calling them by their nicknames I would probably be forced to turn off the tv. Marty Morressy annoys me enough as it is.

Kerry On Tour

Geezer gets on my nerves for McGeeney. I mean is he a gaelic footballer or an East London gangster?

One Cold Hand

Do any of you guys have similar nicknames?!

JMULL

Have never heard any of them refer to Conor Mortimor as the litte **** head. Hear him referred to as that a good bit in Mayo

An Citeog

JMULL wrote: »

Have never heard any of them refer to Conor Mortimor as the litte **** head. Hear him referred to as that a good bit in Mayo

Lol! I've only ever heard him referred to as Morts.

ybbi

A few in the hurling side of things would be.

Michael 'Brick' Walsh (Waterford)
Henry Shefflin 'King Henry' (Kilkenny)
Andrew O Shaughnessy 'Shocks' (Limerick)
Michael O' Brien 'Rasher' (Limerick)
Diarmuid 'Rock' O' Sullivan (Cork)

blackbelt

How about Derek "smiley" O Reilly?(Dublin)

We called that whole family smiley O Reilly when we 4 years old.Who could foresee that it would follow him to Craobh Chiarain and the Dublin Panel.

banner blaster

LiamWalkinstown wrote: »

The first i remember was Ger "The Sparrow" O'Loughlin with the 95 Clare team.
As someone said there, Nicknames are for mates and associates, Not Marty "The Rat" Morrissey and Ger "The Tosser" Canning.....
A friend of a friend had a dog who knew a cat who knew someones who knew them in school, swares that was their nick names.......

i agree to all what you say marty morissey is a rat i hate everything about that deformed midget ill give 5 reasons why 1.he is a clare man like myself thus drawing unnecessary shame on me 2.the way he pronounces the word debut as "dayybooo" and says it way too many times during games 3.i once saw him in ennis stuffing a mars bar into his horrible face and i felt physically sick 4.i cant enjoy any game commentated by him i hate his voice so he wrecked large parts of my summer 5.he was born in the bronx what a flute

An Citeog

banner blaster wrote: »

i agree to all what you say marty morissey is a rat i hate everything about that deformed midget ill give 5 reasons why 1.he is a clare man like myself thus drawing unnecessary shame on me 2.the way he pronounces the word debut as "dayybooo" and says it way too many times during games 3.i once saw him in ennis stuffing a mars bar into his horrible face and i felt physically sick 4.i cant enjoy any game commentated by him i hate his voice so he wrecked large parts of my summer 5.he was born in the bronx what a flute

That's it banner blaster, let it all out! I particularly enjoyed the bolded line!

flahavaj

holymolyHS wrote: »

Spot on KOT
Anyone know why Michael Walsh has the nickname 'brick'. Is he a bricky or is it something else altogether -built like a brick etc

Not sure of the origin of that one, but quite wonderfully his brother's nickname is "The Block!"

EoimarMuppet

Bannerblaster, just to cheer you up I thought u would like to know, Marty is acdtually a Cork man who has been living in Clare a long time, but is, by origin, apart from his Bronx birth, in fact, a langer!! So your safe!

JayoCluxton

Kerry On Tour wrote: »

Geezer gets on my nerves for McGeeney. I mean is he a gaelic footballer or an East London gangster?

Mmmmmmmmmm. Good question!:cool:

Tomthepost

Played club with a guy called Eoiny the Lonely. Corner Forward didn't pass the ball much and never came for pints after a game.

patmac

Lot of guys on our club team are called "ya feckin' Bollix" haven't figured out which one it is yet, could be any of them I suppose;)

MrJoeSoap

flahavaj wrote: »

Not sure of the origin of that one, but quite wonderfully his brother's nickname is "The Block!"

Genius. Any idea of his first name? Would love to know where they come from, I'd imagine it is just used as a means of differentiating, given the popularity of the surname Walsh in the south-east.

chubba1984

In relation to the Hero I think it's very important he's called that cos otherwise Keiran Murphy would be man of the match everytime cork play cos there's two of them in the forward line. You can't be sayin Kieran Murphy (sarsfields) and Kieran Murphy (erins own) all the time. Fraggy and Hero are what Micheal O'Muircheartaigh uses so you can know which Kieran Murphy is on the ball.

An Citeog

chubba1984 wrote: »

In relation to the Hero I think it's very important he's called that cos otherwise Keiran Murphy would be man of the match everytime cork play cos there's two of them in the forward line. You can't be sayin Kieran Murphy (sarsfields) and Kieran Murphy (erins own) all the time. Fraggy and Hero are what Micheal O'Muircheartaigh uses so you can know which Kieran Murphy is on the ball.

Fair enough point, but how often do the two of them actually get to play together? I don't mind when Mícheál Ó Muircheartaigh does it though because it actually sounds natural. Man's an absolute legend!

chubba1984

An Citeog, the two Kieran Murphy's play together everytime Cork play.

Be The Holy

Kilkenny hurler in the 70's, Liam "chunky" O'Brien, anyone know where in the sweet name of all thats good and pure in the world did they get that name?

On Marty, he was commentating on his first all ireland a few years ago and all he kept saying was how meticulous the manager was, pernounced "mick- tick-uulous". Promptly hit the mute on switched on o muircheartaigh

whatalanger

What about John "Turkeyhead" Mullane?

MrJoeSoap

Or John "Cheat-at-the-first-opportunity" Gardiner?

Sliced pan

I think it is a great thing just like hurling its unique to other sports, the only one I can think of that uses nicknames is Boxing, its probably part of Irish culture Irish American sports stars go by their nickname's added to their real names as well.

Rockfish

Be The Holy wrote: »

Kilkenny hurler in the 70's, Liam "chunky" O'Brien, anyone know where in the sweet name of all thats good and pure in the world did they get that name?

I saw an All Ireland final from the 70's recently and he was playing and even Micheal O'Hehir constantly referred to him as chunky. So it's not just a recent phenomenen

An Citeog

Rockfish wrote: »

I saw an All Ireland final from the 70's recently and he was playing and even Micheal O'Hehir constantly referred to him as chunky. So it's not just a recent phenomenen

There are some commentators who can get away with it: Marty Morrissey is not one of those! From Wiki,

Marty Morrissey is a commentator with the sports department of Ireland's national broadcaster, Radio Telefís Éireann. Known to most as Puggface, he is a native of Clare and currently resides in Kildare. The intrepid Morrissey has commentated on many sporting events but his bailiwick is Gaelic games. Following his native Clare's Munster football final victory in 1992 Morrissey famously remarked live on air that "there won't be a cow milked for a week" in the county. The loquacious Morrisey has a regular column entitled "Ballhop" in the weekly regional newspaper The Clare People. Marty is a regular on the side lines at championship Gaelic games matches and has gained notoriety for his pronunciation of the word "fabulous" as "fabbalas" as well as his rugged good looks. He is an avid supporter of club teams in his native Clare where he often undertakes fund raising activities. He allegedly auctioned off his underpants for his local club, however there were no takers and Marty had to withdraw the article. However this may be an urban myth (see WHO CAN WE TRUST IF NOT THE INTERNET?)but Morrissey has neither confirmed nor denied the claim. Morrissey has recently denied the claim - [1]

Mweelrea

LiamWalkinstown wrote: »

Specifically Inter County.
Does anyone else get so sick of hearing Commentators refer to players by their nicknames?
Gooch, Sparrow, Brick etc.
The worst I ever heard was GC commentating in Parnell this year for the Dublin Cork Hurling Qual. Not ONCE did he refer to Kieran Murphy as Kieran Murphy. It was the Hero this, the Hero that....
I am in danger of being called anti GAA or something with this thread but it just annoys me no end.
Call them by their name and throw in the nick name the odd time if you have to!! Seriously. MM is the worst for this.

Marty Morrisey really does over do it.
What if i was new to the sport and tuned in to see players called star and hero......I'd be a bit confused.
MM was never a good comentator but he is steadily getting worse

Mweelrea

MrJoeSoap wrote: »

Or John "Cheat-at-the-first-opportunity" Gardiner?

Oh burn!:D

telecaster

Morrissey loves a bit of Bruno and Beano when Laois play

McArmalite

Remember watching an Unbelievables sketch on a Gaelic match and the name of the player they were glorifying was ' the Bullock O'Reilly '

whatever73

I know of a fella who when playing u14 hurling at full forward when a ball came in around the square, his hurl being held scored a goal with his arse. The man is now mid 30's and still called "botty Walsh"

beggars_bush

John 'Jigger' O'Connor played for Roscommon in the 70s/80s
Diarmuid 'The Rock' O'Sullivan - SIPTU
Kevin 'Chunky' Hayes - Galway
Peter ' The Great' Canavan