A Kind of Homecoming?

Gergiev

As I write, it appears that some kind of sense has prevailed and there will be an event for the public on Dawson St, during the week.

But it seems extraordinary that our competitors would have put their heads together and decided to skip any kind of event and head home straightaway.

I can actually see both sides of this argument but there seems to be no recognition that most of these competitors are receiving public money and the only tangible thing the public might get back in return would be to come up and see them 'in the flesh'.

The proposed alternative would have seen our participants bused out to Farmleigh to meet the blazers and government and provide a photo-opportunity for 'Official Ireland' with the 'great unwashed' locked out and looking on from the gates.

Which is typical of our current society where the public's money is taken away and transferred up and then sod all comes back to citizens, in return.

But I have to admit, I found this idea that competitors couldn't stay around a for a few more hours quite astounding, particularly when it took 70,000 patriotic and unpaid volunteers in London to make this whole thing work as well as it did.

It's resolved now but the sentiment rankles...

Syferus

Gergiev wrote: »

As I write, it appears that some kind of sense has prevailed and there will be an event for the public on Dawson St, during the week.

But it seems extraordinary that our competitors would have put their heads together and decided to skip any kind of event and head home straightaway.

I can actually see both sides of this argument but there seems to be no recognition that most of these competitors are receiving public money and the only tangible thing the public might get back in return would be to come up and see them 'in the flesh'.

The proposed alternative would have seen our participants bused out to Farmleigh to meet the blazers and government and provide a photo-opportunity for 'Official Ireland' with the 'great unwashed' locked out and looking on from the gates.

Which is typical of our current society where the public's money is taken away and transferred up and then sod all comes back to citizens, in return.

But I have to admit, I found this idea that competitors couldn't stay around a for a few more hours quite astounding, particularly when it took 70,000 patriotic and unpaid volunteers in London to make this whole thing work as well as it did.

It's resolved now but the sentiment rankles...

All the medallists are having homecomings in their own towns, so characterising it as 'heading home straight away' is false.

It's crushingly self-centred to think these athletes owe you anything more than what they've given in the gym and in the ring. They earnt their far from huge salaries and then some long before any parade or even the Olympics came into focus.

To say a fúcking parade in Dublin is the only possible tangible thing we're getting in return for that money is utterly ludicrous and coupled with you're jaw-dropping assumption that the boxers are somehow the ones entirely or even mainly planning the itinerary and not the IABA or the OCI belies the fact you've little interest in the sport or knowledge of its inner workings.

I'm not even touching the fact that even on its own terms your logic falters for anyone more than 20 minutes down the M4. I suppose the good people of Carlow are screwed if they want something 'tangible' for their tax money, eh?

The OCI made a balls of the planning and somehow a spokesperson blamed it on Pete Taylor not wanting a Dublin parade. They fixed it after Pete Taylor confirmed he hadn't even been consulted. The OCI have a long history of miscommunication with and mistrust of the High Performance Unit.

You've got an agenda and it's blindingly obvious your post is more quasi-political and economical and the athletes are little more than a stick to beat other aspects of the country with.

I recommend you apologise for tarring our Olympians with a baseball bat-sized brush.

Gergiev

Syferus wrote: »

I recommend you apologise for tarring our Olympians with a baseball bat-sized brush.

Well...first of all, I won't be apologising to anyone as the point I made was legitimate and unaccompanied by bad language or pejorative remarks, unlike your own, unfortunately.

As it happens, I'd agree with you to a certain extent as the local homecomings are more appropriate, seeing as our competitors draw most of their 365 day a year support from these communities and it's terrific they get 'first crack at the whip', so to speak.

Syferus wrote: »

you're jaw-dropping assumption that the boxers are somehow the ones entirely or even mainly planning the itinerary and not the IABA or the OCI belies the fact you've little interest in the sport or knowledge of its inner workings.

Don't know where you got the boxers quote from as I never mentioned any sport in particular; boxing, equestrianism or anything else, but I do understand how the Olympics and OCI works so your assumption is wrong there.

(In fact, if I was forced to make an assumption it would have been the opposite and that members of other, less successful sports would have been the ones that wished to get out of town as quickly and quietly as possible).

Syferus wrote: »

The OCI made a balls of the planning and somehow a spokesperson blamed it on Pete Taylor not wanting a Dublin parade. They fixed it after Pete Taylor confirmed he hadn't even been consulted. The OCI have a long history of miscommunication with and mistrust of the High Performance Unit.

After I wrote this piece last night, I happened to catch the re-run of RTE's politics programme which covered this topic with Sonia O'Sullivan, in some depth.

She's not the best of communicators, but did manage to give some insight on how things had developed over the last few days that adds some creedence to your own view as expressed above.

Syferus wrote: »

You've got an agenda and it's blindingly obvious your post is more quasi-political and economical and the athletes are little more than a stick to beat other aspects of the country with.

The only agenda I have is as a taxpayer, that's all, but there was certainly a cultural aspect in the point I made, which is legitimate to make.

(We live in a republic, the whole idea of which is that everyone gets to have an agenda, by right)!

To conclude: I think the programme as it's now fixed is a good compromise between everyone's interests - the participants get to celebrate in their own communities first and then have a modest enough day in Dawson St on Wednesday.

(I do think dragging them back for another day at Farmleigh on Thursday is just ridiculous and simply another political junket at our expense, which is part of the point I was making above).