Paul O’Connell: ‘Some of the best memories of my life are from the Community Games’
Rugby legend tells why he is a big fan of the festival
AT THE highest level of Irish sport, in whatever code takes your fancy, you’ll have to go very far to find athletes who didn’t take part in the rite of passage that is the Community Games.
That’s no different for former Munster and Ireland rugby player Paul O’Connell, who, through a previous working partnership with main sponsors Aldi, is an ambassador for the Community Games.
Speaking at the National Finals in the University of Limerick over the weekend, O’Connell recalled some of his highlights from a childhood spent making annual visits to Mosney.
“Some of the best memories of my life are from the Community Games. I first competed in Mosney when I was six. The Community Games in Mosney, six years of age, headed off up on the train, no parents, into a chalet with five other lads your own age for three days,” he recalled.
“We’d have an unlimited pass for the hurdy-gurdies, bumpers and all those things. We just had to show up for three meals and show up for our races —apart from that, we were left to our own devices.”
As ambassador for the games now, O’Connell was a popular presence with athletes and parents around the grounds over the weekend, as the star took in as much of the action as possible.
“I presented medals at the swimming. I was at the gymnastics, some of the track and field, in at the chess and draughts. We’ve been wandering around watching a little bit of everything. It’s great to see all the athletes and the parents,” he said.
“That’s something that wasn’t there when I was competing; you headed off and stayed in Mosney on-campus and your parents didn’t go with you, which, for us anyway, was a great thing. It’s great to see so many parents around.”
With Mosney no longer the venue for the National Finals, the Limerick native was happy to see UL chosen as the host for the coming years.
“I think the university is a great venue for it. There’s so much accommodation, so much room for the event and it’s a beautiful campus as well, and only five minutes from my house,” he added.
And with that, a dash was made to Shannon Airport, where a flight to France and the U20 World Championship awaited.