John Dolan: Cork duo a reminder to RTÉ that a World Cup is meant to be fun

For the past fortnight, I’ve been trying to work out why I have been avoiding watching World Cup games on RTÉ.

Given the chance, I will tune into BBC instead - but since I can’t get ITV, I have had no choice but to tune into the Irish national broadcaster for half the matches.

The production is perfectly fine, but I couldn’t put my finger on what was giving me the ‘ick’.

Then I accidentally tuned into a TV World Cup show presented by Cork actors Dominic MacHale and Shane Casey, and found my answer.

Fun!

Entertainment!

The astonishing concept that soccer is just a sport and only a game, and is far less important than life or death!

All of that shone through in MacHale and Casey’s daily TV show - and podcast - Up All Night.

I wonder could someone send that memo to po-faced RTÉ regarding the rest of its World Cup coverage?

The tournament is the greatest show on earth, but RTÉ’s punditry panel has carved out a reputation for grouchiness, nit-picking, and all-round negativity.

In the build-up to the event, the broadcaster sombrely held forth about a host of serious issues connected - and some unconnected - to the World Cup - human rights, Donald Trump, ICE, the Iran team’s accommodation, FIFA’s greed.

That pious attitude seems to have spilled over into its daily coverage. Its pundits are a severe bunch, with a tendency to look on the miserable side of life. If a player were to score a ‘worldie’ 40-foot volley, you get the impression they would find holes in the defence somewhere.

There is a belief that the World Cup you watch at age 11 is the one you will hold dear for the rest of your life. In that case, I pity any 11-year-old Irish kid watching this year’s edition on RTÉ. They want to grow up to be Lionel Messi, not a human rights lawyer.

Where is the joy for the beautiful game? The belief that this is an event that connects the world? That both glorifies in our differences, and celebrates our unity?

I appreciate Ireland aren’t there, but there have been so many positives in the past fortnight. The World Cup has lived up to the hype. The stadiums are magnificent and full to the brim with fervent fans from all 48 nations - even Iranians proudly fly their country’s colours in a country that has been intermittently at war with theirs for four months,

Brilliant! Truly, the Land of the Free. Imagine U.S fans doing that in Iran.

The games have been mainly excellent, the referees too, and stars like Lionel Messi, Erling Haaland, Cristiano Ronaldo, and Kylian Mbappe have all turned up and shown their class.

It’s a good news story, damn it!

But over in the RTÉ studio, a pall of misery often hovers menacingly, daring us viewers not to have a good time on their watch.

It’s as though the shadow of Roy Keane - the soccer pundit supreme who plies his World Cup trade on ITV - has left all the Irish ones trying to mimic his death stare and ruthless one-liners, unaware that even Roy needs the light and shade of an Ian Wright or Micah Richards to be most effective.

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When I heard that Norway players had celebrated qualifying from their World Cup group in the early hours of Wednesday by joining their fans in a ‘Viking ship’ rowing routine, it reminded me of the sheer glory and joie de vivre a sport can bring.

It was the sort of crazy, fun stunt the Irish players and fans would once have done.

The current po-faced lot at RTÉ? I fear they would be quick to complain about Norway glorifying the Vikings’ pillaging of Europe, and perhaps enquire whether the players and fans had obtained the requisite EU boating licence in order to carry out their stunt.

The ‘celebration police’ have become a scourge of punditry and of social media in recent years, and RTÉ pundit Alan Cawley was quick to don his uniform and badge when the manager of Canada Jesse Marsch jubilantly reacted to his nation’s first ever World Cup win.

Cawley said his celebration lacked decorum and class - but the guy has the pressure of managing a home nation at the World Cup, let him have his moment of pleasure in victory for gawd’s sake!

The sad fact is, we in Ireland used to do this TV soccer stuff so much better.

Dear old Cork man, Bill O’Herlihy, and his argumentative trio of Eamon Dunphy, Liam Brady, and Johnny Giles were compulsive viewing back in the days when even the Ireland team qualified for the odd World Cup.

Sure, that RTÉ panel could deliver withering criticisms, but they were fun and entertaining too, just like soccer should be. They put on a show.

And remember what used to follow them? Aprés Match. The daft, zany comedy show that lampooned all and sundry, including the aforementioned trio.

The Irish were a fun nation then. What happened to us?

MacHale and Casey, best known for their stint on The Young Offenders, reminded me of that fun-loving past in their World Cup show this week.

It had gone under my radar, and was only announced by RTÉ the day after the World Cup actually kicked off. It also isn’t helped by the fact its showing time on RTÉ2 differs daily, as it precedes the various kick-off times.

Although it lacks the zany laughout-loud antics of Aprés Match, Up All Night does inject that vital element of fun and humour to the event.

The episode I saw featured Cork actress and fellow star of The Young Offenders Hilary Rose, and was chilled, laidback, and often funny. I hope the Irish public latch on to it.

It has got me thinking. Is it just RTÉ who have lost their inner joy, or is it the Irish people as a whole?

After all, large cohorts of our nation backed the boycott on Eurovision - another fun event we turned into a political football and tried to suck the life out of.

And it appears many Irish people are also in favour of Ireland boycotting the forthcoming Israel game, even if it damages our chances of qualifying for the next World Cup.

Everybody needs a bit of joie de vivre every now and then - and if a World Cup can’t provide it, then we might as well give up the ghost.

Okey-doke, I’ll leave it there so.