I didn't see the 9 o' clock news as i was just coming back from underage training, but I watched the 6.01 news and heard all bulletins today and was shocked by the coverage that Man Utd got.... the sacking or removal of a manager is a story, but does it justify it being the main point in the 6.01 news. With the many events happening both here in Ireland and abroad does our national broadcaster really need to give it so much coverage....Is English soccer that important to the average Irish man/woman and child, does the happenings in an Emglish Club merit or justify the coverage which RTE gave....
As I say this I'm concerned with RTE's GAA coverage or lack of it, Am I over-reacting or is English soccer the main concern with Joe from Tullamore, Patrick from Tuam, or Katie from Kerry...

If Jim Galvin or Mickey Harte resigned or sacked etc, would it be the main point of the RTE news, I don't think so!!

cuchulainn35 (Armagh) - Posts: 1673 - 22/04/2014 21:38:24    1578772

Im not a fan of Soccer, and have little to no interest in it, but being realistic, it is massive global news, the most famous and most supported football club in the world manager being sacked does deserve considerable coverage.

Mayofc (Mayo) - Posts: 95 - 22/04/2014 21:57:21    1578781

Does it really matter?

RebelCork (Cork) - Posts: 789 - 22/04/2014 21:57:27    1578782

Unfortunately cuchulainn, I think it might just be the case.

Many the Sunday I walked my native city of Cork in vain looking for some watering hole to drop in to and watch one of our league games (live on TG4). English Premiership blaring from every establishment is all I got. If my luck was in I might find one place showing Cork on a tiny screen with no sound in some dark corner.

Later this summer Liverpool will come to play Dublin side Shamrock Rovers in a meaning less friendly in Dublin. Liverpool will probably send over some second rate team but the Aviva will still be thronged with 50k none the less, pretty much all of them Irish and pretty much all of them passionately shouting on the English side hoping to see them hammer their own lads. Crazy stuff, the mind boggles!!

dahayeser (Cork) - Posts: 337 - 22/04/2014 22:02:19    1578788

was in athenry over the weekend, a hurling stronghold, could i watch the tipp clare match...?? Not a chance. United Everton on everywhere. Soccer is still the most popular game with the masses BY FAR in this country Cu Chulainn

Liamwalkinstown (Dublin) - Posts: 8166 - 23/04/2014 08:48:14    1578797

English football is big news in this country. 95% of youngsters follow a team, and Id hazard a guess that a high number of 20-30 somethings are on a similar figure. I dont really get this thing where people act like this is something they werent aware of, this whole 'english soccer in ireland, when did that come about?' spiel. It is on the news every day ffs, spare me the routine.

TheMaster (Mayo) - Posts: 16187 - 23/04/2014 09:04:07    1578804

Dahayser - Soccer is a global sport and Ireland is no different to any other country - just ours is tarnished with years of conflict with the British...and I'll hopefully be in the Avivia for that game and also Meath's first championship game.

Laytown Legend (None) - Posts: 424 - 23/04/2014 09:09:09    1578806

Sort of does with them being on Wall Street aswel makes it big with economics

shrek95 (Meath) - Posts: 77 - 23/04/2014 09:30:49    1578810

If I get started on this I am going to get attacked and be called backward, anti-English, closed minded, being told to grow up etc etc (all of which I don't think I am) so i'll try say as little as possible so that I don't offend anyone other than to say if thats what the Irish want well than thats what we have to get. As a nation we have become more English than the English themselves. Engish news is what is now important to us - celeb world, the British royals, English soccer, English soaps etc. etc. Its ironic that when the first English came to conquer Ireland they were described as becoming more Irish than the Irish themselves.

Culann (Dublin) - Posts: 2306 - 23/04/2014 09:43:32    1578813

Unfortunately you are correct Culann. GAA indeed is probably is only visible sign that we have not become completely reassimilated. Having the Queen over for the 1916 centenary will be a suitable consummation of that.

And yes, RTE's blanket coverage of Moyes was a disgrace.

hurlingdub (Dublin) - Posts: 6978 - 23/04/2014 09:54:56    1578819

Lads, Premiership football is a global phenomenon, its only in Ireland we seem to have a problem with that....?

Is that due to our past history with the Empire, and if so, do we not really need to move on lads?

For the record, i appreciate soccer, i have a gra for Everton and i am a sky sports subscriber, but it is insignficant to me when compared to GAA. But i have no issue atall with people loving soccer, English soccer, its just not that important to me.

Liamwalkinstown (Dublin) - Posts: 8166 - 23/04/2014 10:01:47    1578822

But are we all missing the point here, obviously there is a huge demand for English football in this country, otherwise would bars up and down the country fork out a small fortune for Sky Sports, in the hope of enticing customers in to watch whatever big game is on, would thousands of people go to England in their droves every week to watch their favourite team? You can be a huge GAA fan but also a huge soccer fan, Colm Cooper admitted last week that he was a huge Liverpool fan, Kieran Donaghy is a big Chelsea fan, up and down the country you have thousands of GAA players, who would avidly follow an English football team. Some dyed in the wool GAA people would have you believe that it is some sort of a crime to follow an English football team, I am a huge Liverpool fan, and I have regularly been asked on here if I was born in Liverpool, what that has got to do with anything I do not know. There is a certain mentality in this country, that would love an Ireland devoid of any outside influence, a De Valera 'dancing at the crossroads' Ireland, where only Irish culture pervades.

gilly0512 (Galway) - Posts: 1176 - 23/04/2014 10:02:11    1578825

In how many countries would you say that Moyes being sacked was main news story Gilly?

It may surprise you to know that no other place on the planet is so anglo centric as this place.

hurlingdub (Dublin) - Posts: 6978 - 23/04/2014 10:12:42    1578832

Gilly, u mean to tell me there are "premiership fans", wearing premiership jerseys...in ireland....OUTSIDE of Dublin.....are u codding me??
We are led to believe on HS that Dublin is the only place in the ROI that you will see a Man Utd jersey being worn casually, or a Liverpool one for that matter

Surely your not going to shatter that illusion for us all are you??!

Liamwalkinstown (Dublin) - Posts: 8166 - 23/04/2014 10:14:32    1578835

It's a big story and there's plenty of Man Utd supporters in Ireland and plenty of sports fans who are interested in it. Not just RTE, Newstalk, Today FM, Nova and 98fm, just some that had it on their news headlines. I've nothing to back this up but I think it's a commercial decision to keep the United manager story in the news, it brings in more viewers and listeners, some new that can be attracted to their channels/stations and get them some much needed advertising revenue. What annoys me is those people from the Marion Finucane school of soccer punditry texting and phoning radio stations with their thoughts.

It annoys me that the Premier League and Rugby seems to to get top billing in sports bulletins over GAA. Many times on a Monday morning after a full program of league hurling and football I'll be informed that Chelsea beat Hull and there'll be no mention at all of some great hurling and football. Talking here won't change a thing. They obviously see a better market for pushing English football.

Culann, a large part of the viewers and listeners are becoming more American I would say. Same with the English themselves, so if we're taking the trends from the English it's only trends copied from the US.

GreenandRed (Mayo) - Posts: 7344 - 23/04/2014 10:15:47    1578836

Culann and hurlingdub thank-you for your contributions,

Firstly I'm not anti-soccer , and fully understand that Man united are big, its a big story, there's the financial implications surrounding it, with stocks/shares probably impacting on our future pensions etc...., BUT if Real Madrid or Barcelona etc sacked their manager, it wouldn't be the main point of the news....
Ireland as Culann states is becoming more English than the English , and this is refleced in the quality of TV programming from RTE..... the coverage of GAA affairs is lazay as Aidan O'Shea states last week,
Yes the Man UTd story was a big news story, but it wasn't the main point, or second, third point of the news in any other European Country,
the way our national broadcaster delivers the news, is important to all of us, including the GAA, for what is told today will be impacted into the future....

cuchulainn35 (Armagh) - Posts: 1673 - 23/04/2014 10:16:07    1578837

sports news should be kept to the sports news section like every other day.
there was definitely enough legal,tragedy and politics stories yesterday happening in this country
like any other day, after all the irish national news is ment to show irish national headlines
they dont show what happens in the house of commons over what happens in the dail every evening
so why show manchester united over the dail proceedings or the woman who was attacked and fighting for her life outside
an apartment complex

hill16no1man (Dublin) - Posts: 12665 - 23/04/2014 10:22:01    1578843

gilly2308
County: Galway
Posts: 983

There is a certain mentality in this country, that would love an Ireland devoid of any outside influence, a De Valera 'dancing at the crossroads' Ireland, where only Irish culture pervades.

Just for the recoed, what would be wrong with that? Is that not the way things are in most other 'independent' countries? Their own cultures pervade?

Where I have the problem with this whole Moyes thing is that it was the main headline on all news buleetins i heard yesterday apart from Raidió na Gaeltachta. Deaths on roads were reported in Ireland yesterday, Quinn, the minister for Education, came out with some nonsense yesterday. Theses are things that effect the people of Ireland yet David Moyes (a scot) and Manchester United(an English business) were given more air time and higher importace to the news of Ireland.

People here are trying to justify this by saying its economics and its global news. Fair enough report on it but not as the main news that takes up one third of the whole news!

Culann (Dublin) - Posts: 2306 - 23/04/2014 10:25:42    1578845

GreenandRed
County: Mayo
Posts: 728

It annoys me that the Premier League and Rugby seems to to get top billing in sports bulletins over GAA. Many times on a Monday morning after a full program of league hurling and football I'll be informed that Chelsea beat Hull and there'll be no mention at all of some great hurling and football. Talking here won't change a thing. They obviously see a better market for pushing English football.

Its worse than that. The likes of Ipswich Town and Nottingham County get reported over football and hurling too.

Culann, a large part of the viewers and listeners are becoming more American I would say. Same with the English themselves, so if we're taking the trends from the English it's only trends copied from the US.
I wouldn't agree that the US has a huge influence over us but it is not to the same extent as the Brits.

Culann (Dublin) - Posts: 2306 - 23/04/2014 10:30:03    1578847

Sorry green and red - I WOULD AGREE!! I said I wouldn't agree above by accident.

Culann (Dublin) - Posts: 2306 - 23/04/2014 10:34:03    1578850