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So, What’s the Craic?

The Craic is back in your inbox, delivering news and views on the Irish. We’ve a sporty aul edition this week, with a bit of music thrown in too. The Craic is the weekly newsletter from Shift, the app to connect the global Irish. Haven’t got Shift yet? You’re missing out, so find out more here. Want friends and fam to get The Craic? They can input their digits here.

News from Home

Humbled. Well done, France, we guess. Nah, it was expected that Ireland would not be firing on all cylinders as this year’s Six Nations rugby got underway, but it was really rammed home by a thrashing in Paris. We face the Italians next, before a crunch tie with an improving England on Feb 21st. Oh, and a little extra sports news with a Gaelic-Gallic flavor: Ireland will not be getting an NFL game next season (Boo!), with Paris chosen instead as host. We could be a little cheeky and say that hosting a game featuring the hapless Cleveland Browns and New Orleans Saints seems like cruel and unusual punishment for the French, but we won’t go there.

Hopes. A little shout-out to Ireland’s four Winter Olympians who are out in Milan ready to become, err, princes and princesses of the piste. You might snigger at us sending out such a small contingent, and we’ve never won a medal at the snowy games, but we reckon these guys are superhuman, because where do you even start practicing skiing or slalom in Ireland? So the best of luck to Cormac Comerford, Benjamin Lynch, Thomas Westgard and Anabelle Zurbay! You’re already winners in our eyes.

Hero. There’s an amazing little story that came out of Australia this week, telling us how a 13-year-old Irish boy swam for just under four hours ‼️ in rough waters in a bid to save his family, who had been swept out to sea while kayaking and paddle-boarding. Austin Appleby then ran a further 2km to reach a phone to sound the alarm. Thankfully, everyone in the family was rescued thanks to Austin’s big and brave swim.

Pitt Spot. Rumors of Brad Pitt sightings have been circulating on the aul socials over the last few days, and we can confirm they are true. The former Mr Jolie-Aniston is here filming a new movie. This lad’s excellent Twitter account has some fantastic snaps of Brad doing the business if you’re into that type of thing.

The Craic Recommends. An avid Swifty are you? Well, we know that Taylor is kind of famous for releasing billions of different versions of the same album, but would you like to listen to her songs in a new way – as Gaeilge? A host of Taylor’s songs have been translated into Irish by Róisín Seoighe, who takes to the mic alongside IMLÉ, ****an Irish language musical collective. It’s all in aid of an upcoming show to showcase the best of Swift in the Irish language. Sign us up.

The Irish Influence

On the anniversary of the great Gary Moore’s death, we wanted to take the opportunity to highlight one of the Northern Irish musicians following in his footsteps, not just in releasing great music but in gaining the respect of fellow artists. Sister Ghost is the alter ego of Shannon Delores O'Neill, an NI musician who’s been playing in bands since the age of 12. Sister Ghost, in her words, represents her move toward creative “autonomy,” allowing her to do things her own way. The result is a raw yet accomplished wave of feminist punk. “Like Joan Jett, Donita Sparks, and Joe Strummer rolled into one,” said one reviewer. That’s quite a tribute.

Cúpla Focal

Bíonn súil leis an bhfarraige  {Bee-un sool lesh on var-igga} – there’s hope with the sea. We were scrambling around trying to find an Irish phrase for finding a silver lining after that defeat in Paris, so we settled on the wonderfully abstract bíonn súil leis an bhfarraige, which literally means there is hope with the sea, but is probably best translated as hope springs eternal. 

Blast from the Past

99 years ago today, the legendary Sam Maguire passed away aged 49. His name is synonymous with Gaelic football, with the All-Ireland Football Championship trophy (we say, cup 🏆) named after him. A but like Vince Lombardi, then. Except that Maguire’s story is intertwined with our history; he is credited with recruiting Michael Collins to the Irish Republican Brotherhood, for instance, a fact that led to our independence. He will, however, be chiefly known as the eponym for the Sam Maguire Cup. We don’t have any videos of Mr. Maguire, but we can show you a little video from the Border Boys, singing “We Want the Sam Maguire”. And yes, they are ripping off Billy Joel, and, yes, it’s brilliantly awful. 

And One Last Thing….

Yo! We know that we are always blarting on about Shift socials and all that craic, but, you know, it’s nice to give yourself a wee pat on the back now and again. Anyway, we just wanted to give you an update on how well things are going: We are now on our 20th official Shift video; Content from Patrick and Paul has reached over 100K views across platforms; we have exceeded 2,500 followers on the old TikTok, too! Cap in hand moment, but all your wee likes and shares and views do help us, so if you see us on the old socials – or aren’t following us already – please engage, as it helps us immensely. 

@shift.irish

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