Our man Frank on how Luke Littler has propelled darts to a new level; Memories of Jocky Wilson; A ‘private audience’ with rugby great Ollie Campbell… and New Year musings
As I walked in Lenamarla on Saturday afternoon, I also had time to think about the newly-rediscovered appeal of darts, and of course the arrival on the scene of 17-year-old world champion, Luke Littler, who has really propelled darts right up to the top of the sporting tree.
More than three million viewers tuned in to watch his final triumph on Sky Sports and viewing figures for the tournament were up by a massive 40%.
It’s fair to say that as a spectacle, darts is now the most colourful, most bonkers, and craziest sport of all. The outrageous outfits that spectators wear, the drink-fuelled atmosphere and the constant noise makes it almost unmissable telly, and so I can’t really tell you why I didn’t watch any of it. My children, spread all over the area were, like so many others, glued to it for the last fortnight, while I caught up with a few programmes from yesteryear.
As an aside, I happened to see a Dave Allen show over the Christmas and I have to admit I had forgotten what a comic genius he was. Several times I found myself laughing out loud at his stories and that very seldom happens now with our present-day so-called comedians.
However, back to the darts, and I think that my lack of interest goes back to the fact that, like snooker with The Hurricane (Alex Higgins) and The Whirlwind (Jimmy White), darts was full of characters in the 1970s and 80’s, guys like The Crafty Cockney (Eric Bristow), Bobby George – who wore very flamboyant outfits, all heavily bejewelled – and later, Phil ‘The Power’ Taylor.
However, just as Higgins was to make headlines all over for his deeds outside the snooker hall and became the ‘bad boy of snooker’, Scot Jocky Wilson was the undisputed headline act in darts. Like Higgins, he once got a ban for getting into an “unseemly brawl” with an official at a tournament, while his drinking took on a legendary status.
He would have a number of pints of lager, followed by seven or eight vodkas – “so I could play my best” – and also ate large amounts of sweets, but allegedly refused to wash his teeth because “my gran told me that the English poison the water”.
He had lost all his teeth by the time he was 28 and later paid £1200 for dentures, but didn’t like them as they made him belch while drinking. Sadly, illness led to his retirement in 1995 and he disappeared from public life. Jocky died in 2012.
Apparently people in his home town of Kirkcaldy in Scotland, where he lived until his death, were largely unaware that such a legend was living amongst them.
Memorably, he once said “I’m short and fat but so what” and maybe that’s why he is still my all-time darts hero. Luke Littler, you have a lot to aspire to! But at 17 maybe he can be the catalyst to get me back watching the darts next Christmas. I would say the future of the game is in his hands.
Kick-starting the New Year…
It’s Saturday afternoon as I write, and while I don’t make or believe in New Year’s resolutions, I have decided to try to walk a bit more this year than last. Therefore I am kick-starting the New Year by walking the lovely rural roads of Lenamarla.
It’s a beautiful frosty afternoon and even though we have warnings of terrible wintry weather coming, I have to admit that I am thoroughly enjoying the cold clear air, and not for the first time it makes me realise how nice it is to live out in the country. And as I walk I am reflecting on New Year’s Eve, a night that we used to celebrate royally every year as it was Carol’s birthday. We would invariably all go out for an early(ish) meal, and then end up ringing in the New Year in Mikeen’s.
For a number of these years the Karaoke King (that was me) and Dympna would do the musical honours, and when we finished up the mantle was handed over to Paul Browne’s Disco and he in turn handed it on to his son Ciaran.
For the last number of years we would head up and sing and dance to their musical ensemble and ring it in, but this year our daughter Lisa invited us all down for dinner to her house in Castlebar, and the truth is that I wasn’t sure as to what I should do, as obviously it was very different this time around.
However, we all travelled down to Castlebar, had the most scrumptious meal, and as there were a lot of us we booked a few rooms in the Ellison Hotel. After we had eaten our fill we went down to the hotel and found to our great surprise, that it was residents only in the bar – on the night no randomers were let in.
Thankfully, there was no loud music, or any other music either, and so we had a lovely family night in very comfortable surroundings, reminiscing on good and bad times and, for the year that was in it, it was just what the doctor ordered. As for all of us, we were glad to say goodbye to 2024, and hopefully 2025 will be a bit better.
An audience with rugby great Ollie Campbell
It’s Monday of last week and I am reflecting on the 50th Anniversary Dinner Dance that Creggs RFC had last night, and I am thinking of how far the club has come in that half-century.
Now I have told you before about the unbelievable facilities that we have out in Creggs but sometimes I think we all take things for granted when you see them day in, day out. So it was just wonderful to see Ollie Campbell’s reaction to the whole set-up.
Ollie, a legend of Irish and Lions rugby, won 22 caps for Ireland over an eight-year period between 1976 and 1984, when he was unfortunate enough to have to compete with Tony Ward for the outhalf position, and scored more than 200 points in those 22 games. He was capped seven times for the Lions over the space of two tours, to South Africa and New Zealand, and was their leading points scorer in both test series’. And so to get him to be our guest of honour at the dance was some achievement.
When Ger Dowd rang on Sunday afternoon to tell me that Ollie was coming out to see the facilities for himself, and asked would I like to come up to meet him, I literally couldn’t wait. This was an opportunity to spend some time in the company of one of the all-time great rugby players and when I got there, it was special to see his reaction to what he saw.
As someone who has seen rugby clubs all around the world, and principally in the well-heeled Dublin 4, he was unashamedly gobsmacked and said that our little rural club was more than a match for any club anywhere in the world. He took several photos to send to rugby pals all over the world and 50 years to the day since our very first game it was just fantastic to see his reaction.
Later that night he was the headline speaker at the dance and as you would expect, he was a highly accomplished, entertaining and charismatic orator and went down a treat with the 200-plus attendance. He made various presentations to different people and finally he presented all of us who were on the very first team with mementos of the occasion.
Eight of the original 15 were in attendance. Four of the starting team have since passed away but they all had family representatives there to accept the very nice plaques, and three others couldn’t make it.
And so, 50 years on, no one could have foreseen what the club would grow to. The challenge now is to prepare for the next 50 years, and hope when that dinner dance takes place that Creggs RFC will still be right up there with, as Ollie himself said, the best anywhere in the world.
