Daily Mirror (Northern Ireland)
People keep banging on about my Lambeg drum
O’driscoll still gets grief for playing instrument
BRIAN O’driscoll insists he has no regrets about playing a Lambeg drum at the Twelfth – even if he still gets some grief for it.
The Irish rugby legend tried out the iconic instrument at an Orange demonstration in Loughgall, Co Armagh, two years ago.
Video footage of the Dubliner went viral but the reviews weren’t all positive.
The former British and Irish Lion later revealed how he was threatened on social media during the making of the documentary Shoulder To Shoulder.
The film tells the story of players from both sides of the religious divide who played for the all-island team during The Troubles.
Speaking on The Contact Book podcast with Craig Doyle, O’driscoll recalled the moment he was invited to try out the drum.
He said: “It was one of those snapshot moments where I had a couple of seconds to decide what I should do.
“Everything in my head is saying, ‘This is a bad idea for you, personally’.
“But the flip side is that if you want balance in a documentary you have to put yourself out of your comfort zone and do things you normally wouldn’t do.
“It was to get a sense of what this day meant to them, so I decided I would give it a go.
“We live in a world of social media where cameras are brought out immediately. I knew there would be a reaction
to it, which was challenging. But for the sake of doing the documentary, I’m really pleased I gave it a go.
“I still get a bit of abuse on social media now and again for playing it but I’m alright with that.”
O’driscoll recalled one threat at the time which warned him against visiting Portadown wearing his Ireland jersey.
He told the podcast: “They said if I did then there would be five or six guys there to give me a hiding. So there was that sort of stuff.
“As brutal as I felt throughout it all, my gut feeling was that I had done the right thing. That I’d chosen a more difficult route.
“Yes, it would cause hassle for myself, but for the overall show I knew it was the right thing to do.”
The man who offered O’driscoll a drum on the Lambeg in Loughgall was DUP MLA Jonathan Buckley.
Recalling the day on the podcast, Buckley said it was a “great shock” to have the rugby legend in attendance.
He added: “There was an inquisitive nature as to what he was doing there. I think it was because it was Brian O’driscoll the rugby player.
“I suppose the longer Brian had the drum over his shoulder, and watching the interest of those who had gathered around him, I started to really appreciate the significance of Brian’s appearance in Loughgall.
“I suppose I have a lot of respect for him doing that.”