Corn an Domhain 🏆☘️

So, What’s the Craic?

The Craic is back this week, feeling a little envious of 48 other nations having the time of their lives across the Atlantic. Anyway, we are The Craic, the weekly newsletter from Shift, which is our app to connect the Irish and Irish-ish and Irish-ish-ish globally. Want Shift? Get it here, ye boy ye. And if you want someone else to have the Craic each week, input their email here, where you can also read previous newsletters, because why wouldn’t ye?

News from Home

Shame. You’ve probably seen Belfast on the news for all the wrong reasons this week. With three of the Shift team having lived in Belfast at one point or another, and with family still there, we’re devastated by the week’s happenings. Thankfully things were a bit calmer last night, and we truly hope it stays that way. Everyone, regardless of religion, race, or place of origin should live freely and without fear in the beautiful city of Belfast.

PM Trip. Big Mark Carney, you’ll know him as the Prime Minister of Canada, is literally on his way over here for a visit. He’ll be coming to the village of Aughagower in Mayo on Sunday, which was the home of his grandparents before they emigrated in 1925. As “big as JFK coming,” remarked one villager. We’re sure it’ll be lovely. Will he arrive on time to see Canada vs. Bosnia down the pub this evening?

Alternative viewing. Soccer overkill? We hear ya, pal. So, just a reminder that while the world’s attention is on the Big Cup in North America, there are some cracking GAA fixtures taking place this weekend. They include Donegal vs. Cork tomorrow, and Tyrone vs. Mayo (spicy that one) on Sunday, and we’ve also got Westmeath vs. Galway on Sunday too. Great stuff.

The Craic Recommends….getting out for a pint and the football. If you don’t have a gazillion dollars in your bank to get a ticket for a game, then Irish pubs are the place to be for the craic and fitba. At home, there are brilliant spots like The Camden in Dublin, or a Belfast fave, The Garrick Bar. The best place to look worldwide, of course, is on Shift. Just navigate to the Pubs tab and we’ll match you up with the perfect barstool for the 100 or so remaining World Cup games.

The Irish Influence

Do you know who is considered the Founding Father of American “soccer”? It was Thomas “Bullets” Cahill (what a nickname), and yes, he was Irish, or at least born to Irish parents in New York. RTÉ did a lovely wee profile on him this week in time for the World Cup, explaining how he started building the profile of the game in the US in the late 19th century. Oh, and another little nugget for you. Our very own Mark Evans, who leads mobile development at 3Advance (our dev partner) is the great-grandson of Eugene “Gene” Ringsdorf, who was President of the United States Soccer Football Association in the 1960s. Mark’s grand-pappy is in the National Soccer Hall of Fame, too. 

Cúpla Focal

Corn an Domhain {corn an DOW-in} World Cup. We are all in on the Big Tournament this week, so we’ll keep the theme with Corn an Domhain, which literally means Cup of the World. 

Blast from the Past

Our Blast from the Past this week could only be one thing – the World Cup. We all have fond childhood memories of 1990 and 1994, or if you haven’t got grey hairs yet, 2002. But we were wondering, what is the absolute standout moment of Ireland at the World Cup? The consensus from us is that it was Ray Houghton’s winning goal against the mighty Italians in 1994, but we can appreciate that some would prefer Packie Bonner’s heroics against Romania in ’90, or even Robbie Keane’s equalizer against Germany in 2002. A shout, too, for Gerry Armstrong’s wonder goal against Spain in ‘82 for Northern Ireland. If you have any yourself, please let us know on Shift Socials, even if they are bad memories, like Roy Keane breaking our hearts in Saipan, or that rascal Toto Schillachi sending us home from the Stadio Olimpico.

And One Last Thing….

So, we’ve all been having a chat around Shift Towers, wondering who you, as a Hibernophile, should be supporting at the World Cup? If you are reading this from America or England, sure, we understand that you’ll have to be draped in the old red, white and blues, but who else should get your support? Let’s have a look with the Craic’s guide on who to support at the big tournament:

Who you Shouldn’t Support:

🇫🇷 France – we still haven’t forgiven Le Tricheur, Thierry Henry 👋⚽️.
🏴󠁧󠁢󠁥󠁮󠁧󠁿 England – we’ll allow it if you’re English. Grudgingly.
🇪🇸 Spain – pass, pass, pass, pass – too boring, too successful.
🇮🇹 Italy - Mu-haa-haa-haa

On the Fence

🏴󠁧󠁢󠁳󠁣󠁴󠁿 Scotland – they are basically our cousins, but we are kind of jealous of the Scots out there.
🇺🇸 USA – see England. If it’s called “soccer,” why do 13 MLS clubs have “FC” in their names?
🇳🇿 New Zealand – great bunch of lads. Rugby rivalry could be an issue.
🇨🇦 Canada – sure we suppose so, yeah why not, ok, dead on, grand so.

Raise the Flag

🇨🇻 Cabo Verde – the smallest country by area with Dublin-born Pico Lopes in the team – yes!
🇨🇮 Côte d'Ivoire – just reverse the Irish flag 🇮🇪 and you’re all set to go!
🇨🇼 Curacao – the biggest underdogs of the tournament?
🇬🇭 Ghana – Home of the mighty Guinness Foreign Extra Stout! G’wan the Black Stars.