It was a big day yesterday for Mossie Molony, aged eight, from Castleknock. He may have been the smallest person in the beautiful Victorian conservatory at Farmleigh House, jam- packed with members of Ireland's Six Nations Championship-winning rugby team, but inside soft-spoken Mossie's head you just knew he was standing eight, maybe even 10 feet tall.
In his Ireland shirt and clutching a rugby ball, he did the rounds. As the ball became covered by more and more of his heroes’ signatures, he seemed to hold it to his chest with greater and greater devotion. Doubtless, he slept with it last night.
Like Mossie, Caitríona Bairead from Raheny was similarly excited to be in the presence of greatness, albeit for her, the excitement was ever so slightly different.
“I like them all,” she said. “They’re legends!”
Peter O'Mahony, Rob Kearney, Conor Murray and Fergus McFadden were lounging against a pair of French doors, chatting among themselves. Caitriona had them all well marked. "I'm gonna make my way over there now," she said.
The lads obliged, posing for a snap with her.
Enter BOD
Just then, there was a bit of a scrum in the adjoining ballroom, the arrival of You-Know- Who provoking a blizzard of flashbulb mania from the photographers (professional and amateur). After he freed himself from the clutches of an adoring Michael Ring, BOD entered the conservatory, where Mossie presented him with a card he had made especially for him.
Thank you, it said.
And that pretty much was what it was all about: a small-scale but heartfelt official "thank you" reception for the squad and coaching staff – not just for winning but for the manner of their victory and the pleasure it gave so many Irish people, here and far away.
Incredulous silence
Minister for Sport Leo Varadkar, the only one present who seemed the equal in height to Paul O'Connell, stepped on to the stage, the shining Six Nations trophy on a pedestal beside him. He praised the team's victory. It was, he said, "something the country has never seen before – and I suspect will never see again. . ."
A momentary, incredulous silence descended. . .
“It is something that will never be forgotten by any of us who had the pleasure of seeing it in its glory. I am, of course, speaking about Gordon D’Arcy’s beard.”
Leo managed several O’Driscollesque sidesteps to avoid the Shatter maul. We shouldn’t “rush to judgment”, he said; he was still trying to get his head around the taping disclosures – “That’s why we set up an inquiry.”
“Overall,” he said, “he’s been a very good Minister for Justice. He’s done really major reforms. He deserves our confidence.”
The Aviva has seen few more deft offloads.
