Keith Wood

[Dodge]

I'd guess most people in ireland seen an FA Cup final before they seen the national side play on tv. His job isn't to promote the LOI or the national side. He was just saying what he felt like when he was a kid.

Biggest non story ever

[endabob1]

He said the same thing 8 years ago when Wales were playing their home games at Wembley, not sure why it's a story now when it wasn't then?

[NeilMcD]

Cause I did not see it 8 years ago and its not a story its just me seeing it on TV thats all.

[NeilMcD]

neil, i think you are more concerned because of the fact he is from west clare and he didnt say playing soccer for ireland, than him actually saying he didnt think of playing for ireland....am i right?

more importantly does it really matter.

He is not from West Clare his is from Killaloe which is East Clare. I just thought it was funny that he said mentioned 3 sports and 2 of them mentioned things to aspire as an Irishman and the other was to play in the FA Cup Final in England when he could easily just have said to play in a World Cup Final for Ireland. Just thought it was funny.

[paul_oshea]

he played for west clare in hurling though?!?!?!

[NeilMcD]

Are you sure, I have never heard of a club called West Clare but I would not swear that one did not exist but it would be strange that he played hurling for West Clare as West Clare is all football and there is no hurling past Inagh and Kilmaley.

[geysir]

He said that when he was growing up Kids dreamed of playing Rugby for Ireland playing in an All Ireland and playing in an FA Cup Final.

Keith doesn't say here what were his dreams.
Nor is the distinction made between ages of kids and the different dream activity at different ages.
Looks to me that Woods lived his dream anyway.
In general, Kids who played soccer, even as early as 1970, for the most part were already English League obsessed.

[paul_oshea]

according to the independent on saturday before the france game he did!!

[NeilMcD]

Well it could be true but I would be very doubtful of it as there is no such club as West Clare and as I said hurling is not played in West Clare at Senior level. Unless during the 70s and 80s they formed a team of different clubs from teh West Clare region to play hurling. But then Wood would have to play for a hurling team in a non hurling area, when he is already from a strong hurling area so I doubt it but I stand to be proven wrong on this.

[paul_oshea]

I said hurling is not played in West Clare at Senior level

he played it at u16

[Roadend]

There is no West Clare hurling team.

[NeilMcD]

Yeah there is none at the moment and I dont think one ever existed but I would not swear on it and why would Keith Wood play for a west Clare hurling team that may or may not have existed in the past at some point when he is from East Clare which is wall to wall full of hurling teams. It does not make sense so it seems dubious if you ask me. West Clare is only Gaelic football really and and small bit of rugby and Football.

[NeilMcD]

Evidence of Hurling in West Clare

Clare Association Yearbook, 2003

John Rattigan, Curator, Clare Museum

In 1995, Christy Kelly, a farmer from Mullagh in West Clare, contacted the National Museum of Ireland to report a ball he had found years before on his land. It measured approximately 6.7 cm in diameter, and had been recovered from a trench he had been digging for gravel in 1980. On the same day he had located an old hearth, complete with charcoal at the same level. Mr Kelly kept the ball as a curiosity at his home for more than a decade, showing it to interested visitors and always intending to find out more about it. He suspected the mysterious object he had found was a type of hurling ball and following the Clare All-Ireland Hurling win of 1995, decided it was about time he contacted the National Museum.

Dr Anne O'Dowd of the Irish Folklife Division of the National Museum of Ireland confirmed the identity of the object as a hurling ball. To find a hurling ball in the football heartland of West Clare may seem strange today, but references in the Clare Journal of the 19th century indicate that hurling was once played in Kilkee.

Hurling is an ancient game and is attributed to the Celtic peoples of ancient Ireland, who appeared on the scene about 500 BC. The game of hurling is mentioned in the earliest Irish literature, written down by monks during the early medieval period, recording tales that originated in a much older, oral tradition.

Physical evidence for the ancient game of hurling is not unknown, and is found in the form of hair hurling balls, all made from the body hair of cattle and horses and all found at considerable depths in bogs. Eventhough they are organic in composition, these anaerobic (oxygen free) conditions provided by bogs, preserve them well.

Generally, hair hurling balls consist of a core of felted hair covered by a network of plaited cord made from the long tail hairs of the animal. These balls may have been used in earlier versions of the modern hurling game or in competitions such as the poc fada contests of today. Most of these balls have been located in Munster, with one found in Kilmihil in 1971, but an example found in County Sligo in the 1960's indicates a wider distribution.

However, Dr O'Dowd noted an unusual characteristic of the Mullagh ball: its surface was hard and shiny, resembling leather, but was entirely seamless. To find out more information, the ball was submitted to the State Laboratory for analysis. One of the functions of the State Laboratory is to provide technical and analytical assistance to museums concerned with the conservation and identification of historical artifacts. As the surface of the ball was slightly damaged during its recovery in 1980, a small sample could be easily taken for examination by the Laboratory staff. A report of the examination carried out on the ball was published by Conor Murphy, Joe Foley and Dr Anne O'Dowd in the Irish Scientist Yearbook of 1996.

The report noted that the ball was found to contain approximately 35% calcium phosphate, 5% Nitrogen, unusually high concentrations of Manganese, and traces of Iron. The high level of Manganese indicated a type of resin mix on the surface of the ball, perhaps as a preservative or colourant, while the calcium content suggested that egg yolk or a bone glue of animal origin was used to bind it together. It is thought that the seamless surface of the ball was created when coating was applied as a liquid or semi-liquid, which subsequently hardened. The traces of Iron suggested that the ball had been immersed in bog water at some point in the past, while the phosphorous content came from ground water it was exposed to while buried.

The depths at which hair hurling balls are found in bogs indicate the length of time they have been there and most of them have been found at least 5 feet down, indicating an age of 500 years or older. The depth at which the Mullagh ball was located, 18 inches, suggested to Dr O'Dowd that the ball was 19th century in date. In addition, Mr Kelly theorises that the find may be linked to the occupants of eleven mud-walled homes that stood nearby until the early 20th century.

This unique hurling ball roused great interest in the National Museum of Ireland, but was returned to Mr Kelly after its analysis in 1996. In an article in the Clare Champion in January 1997, Mr Kelly said he was disappointed the ball was not considered to be of a greater age, but added, "The important thing is that it is part of our heritage and I am determined to keep it here in Clare ". True to his word, in November 2001, Mr Kelly donated this unusual hurling ball to the collection at Clare Museum, where it is being kept for posterity. The Mullagh hurling ball is of a type previously unknown, and perhaps other examples are awaiting discovery

[geysir]

Scientific evidence to support the use of the term "bogball"?

[passinginterest]

I think the whole playing for West Clare thing probably stems from county trials. I played for south Wexford in trials at u14 and u16 but there's no club called south Wexford.

On the whole dream of playing in an FA cup final i think i probably dreamed of this as much as playing for Ireland when I was a child too. It's a fairly common aspiration for most people who take an interest in soccer, any time a foreign player arrives in England one of the first statements is always I dream of playing an FA cup final at Wembley.
Might not have been the right place to say it but I can see why he did.

[Roadend]

I live about 20 minutes from Killaloe, I am telling you there is no West Clare Hurling team, and especially not one that represents east clare.

[NeilMcD]

Yeah I agrew with you Roadend I just tried to cover myself in case of the unlikely even that there was a team during the 80s set up for a brief time called West Clare and that poached young guys from East Clare called Keith Wood to be in the team. But to be honest I would bet my rented house on the fact he did not pay for West Clare at any time.

[Guy Incognito]

Hi guys, I dont want to start a whole Killaloe/Ballina hoo ha here but could he not have crossed over the bridge in to Tipp to play his hurling?

And remeber, when Keith Wood was growing up Ireland weren't exactlly world class in soccer. Most peoples exposure to soccer would have been the FA cup. Growing up in the mid 80's I know it was for me. Pre Euro 88 Irish football always took a back seat.

[woodie]

Mr.Wood, my namesake, did play Under 16 hurling for Clare. Other members of that team included Anthony Foley, Jamsie O'Connor, Anthony Daly etc... The current Clare Manager, Tony Considine, was manager of that team. As far as I know, they won a Munster title. Considine said that Wood was very talented but became to immobile due to his size for top level hurling as he grew.

Also, as was rightly pointed out, Keith's father was a former international. He died when Keith was very young. So I cannot see why he wouldn't be dreaming of playing rugby for Ireland.

I am also around his age and I can say that I grew up dreaming of playing in FA Cup Finals. I used to get up early in the morning of the FA Cup Final and watch the coverage all day. It was the cup of glamour with great finals such as 79, 82, 85, 86, 89 etc... played in Wembley which seemed to have a mystical aura on tv. Watching Cup Finals in crumbling Dalymount certainly did not have the same element of glamour, especially as Rovers seemed to own the Cup.

Also, before Euro 88 there was not the same level of support for the soccer team outside of Dublin. The crowds were not tiny for games before the Charlton years as the media try to portray. We wouldn't moved from Dalymount if they were. However, they were certainly more Dubln based than they are today.

Anyway, to sum it up. I think anyone is entitled to whatever dreams they have. Keith Wood might have wanted to be a ballet dancer in Russia and that would be his divine right.

[CollegeTillIDie]

Keith Wood is a sporting legend. He would have made the grade in any sport he turned his hand to. It was such a pity injury curtailed his career.