No matter what you are doing in life, or what’s going on around you, a personal connection to it of any sort makes it all the more relatable.
Even without any of that, though, there’s absolutely no persuasion or enticement required to get yours truly hyponotised by the near three weeks action at the World Darts Championship in London’s Alexandra Palace.
A bit of Irish interest – and in one case local interest – makes any dish taste all the sweeter. And, during the second Friday’s action at the most unique sporting venue on the planet, Irish eyes were smiling for most of the day.
With Daryl Gurney and Josh Rock both advancing past Beau Greaves and Gemma Haytor respectively, and, though Mickey Mansell lost out in a cracker of a match with the entertaining American Leonard Gates, the best was yet to come for the forty shades of green.
For those from outside of Ireland, there’s an old saying relating to magpies – One for sorrow, two for joy. Which would make you wonder how Willie O’Connor arrive at The Magpie for his darting nickname!
However, the man from Cappamore in Co Limerick defied the old dictum about the black and white avians by producing his best ever performance on a big stage.
Doing so again will of course be another matter entirely. But then, if you’re not in, you definitely won’t win.
It’s not very often at a huge global sporting event you’ll have a relatively local interest to heighten appetite therein. Granted, actually locally to yours truly, Dunboyne Athletic Club earlier this year honoured member Olympians Gerry Reilly, Sarah Treacy and Emma Costello.
We may not have anybody that good literally locally at slinging arrows, but, for context in an event with competitors from every corner of the world competing, Duleek counts as not far away at all. Thus, Keane Barry is very much one of our own.
The bespeckled Blitzkreig shooter burst onto the scene some years ago and though not surging up through the rankings, you must remember, he’s still only 23. Right now, Paul Lim of Singapore is still in the mix, and he 48 years older than the lad from east Meath!
He now faces Martin Schindler of Germany and while there’s no doubt the aforementioned is also on the improve, gut feeling is that Dynamite may have enough smarts to sidestep Doppleganger of Martin Prince from The Simpsons!
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