SOMETIMES THINGS JUST fall into place, like when you happen to be spending a few days in a new town at the same time as your favourite band.
The Ireland women’s team have adopted Kingfishr’s ‘Killeagh’ as their World Cup anthem, belting out the song in their dressing room following the pool wins over Japan and Spain in Northampton.
The squad have since moved down to the more lively setting of Brighton, and as luck would have it, Kingfishr happened to be in town on Friday to do a small gig in a record store just a short walk from the team hotel, taking top billing at a shop which had welcomed CMAT and The Manic Street Preachers earlier in the week. Arrangements were made and the team managed to squeeze in for the show, where, in their own words, they left the Cork band “blown away” by their response to the tune.
“I think they were even stunned by the volume we sang it,” says Ireland co-captain Sam Monaghan. “They saved it for the end, which was great, and you could see in their faces they were blown away, we were blown away, it was just a really special moment.
“Just by chance, they were playing in Brighton which was amazing. They were on tour but it just happened to work out we were playing on Sunday. Those lads are amazing. Their messages are to inspire communities, and if you listen to the lyrics of the song, it’s all about community and how they can galvanise together and inspire people through their performances which aligns really well what we’re trying to do.
“It was a really special moment. I think we almost blew the roof off that place. It was a really intimate gig. The lads were great, they put on one of our jerseys and we all sang together and got a picture afterwards. Unfortunately, they can’t come on Sunday. They’re playing in Belfast, but I know they’ll be watching on.”
Ireland have been singing Killeagh in the changing rooms after their World Cup games. Ben Brady / INPHO
Ben Brady / INPHO / INPHO
The gig was another memorable experience on what has been a special week for the Ireland lock in Brighton. It was here where Monaghan, who won an U16 All-Ireland with the Meath footballers, first took up rugby, joining Lewes RFC in order to make friends as she settled into life in a new town. Even as she climbed the rugby ladder to become an Ireland international, Monaghan was juggling her sporting life with managing two pubs in Brighton. One of which, Molly Malone’s, she stopped by the other day.
“I met my old boss, and we had a good chat and she reminded me of some stories. I used to bring the rugby team in there quite a bit. It was a fan favourite and it’s mad because I remember working one night, it’s an amazing venue for live music, and one of the lads was up singing and I was like, ‘God, imagine if all my favourite people were in this room, and I got to have a huge party with everyone there’. And this weekend all my favourite people are in Brighton, one of my favourite places, and bumping into people like my roommate, Maud Muir who plays for England, she’s staying down (the road) below, we met for coffee yesterday.
There’s such an excitement in this town and you can see what it’s creating and hopefully inspires the rugby clubs around here and everyone at the games. Just feel very lucky, the stars aligned that we could play down here”
It all leads to tomorrow’s meeting with New Zealand at the Amex Stadium [KO 2.45pm, RTÉ2/BBC2], where over 30,000 fans are expected. While both teams are already through to the quarter-finals, the sense of occasion hasn’t been diluted. New Zealand want revenge for last year’s defeat at WXV1, while Ireland are determined to step up and show how much they’ve developed as a team.
And of course, there’s the incentive that the winner will likely avoid a quarter-final meeting with France next weekend. So no, Ireland are not treating this clash as a free hit. Scott Bemand’s team will be massively up against it, but hope they can deliver a performance to repay the thousands of supporters, friends and family making their way over for the game, and those who will be watching on from further afield.
The players enjoyed nice windows of time off during the week, visiting saunas and heading to the amusements on Brighton Pier, but now, as the fans arrive in numbers, the size of the occasion is beginning to hit home. On Friday evening the team had a walkaround at the Amex, which today hosts England v Australia. When they came in from their Captain’s Run earlier this afternoon, their families had gathered to welcome them back to the team hotel, perched right on the long, busy seafront. These are days to savour.
“I’m looking forward to this evening,” says Monaghan. “My brother has just flown over from New York with my niece, she’s six months old, so that’s really special again for me. They’ve never seen me play, and we’ve been greeted coming in from our Captain’s Run there by so many families coming over and it’s just really special.
“There’s so much to play for on Sunday, and that’s what’s really driving us. Not just the players that are in that green jersey, the ones that played in Vancouver (v New Zealand last year), the ones that have been with us in this green wave all along, the support, the people at home, the kids growing up wanting to pick up a rugby ball and hopefully, as I was inspired in 2017, hopefully more players and people will be inspired from 2025.
“It’s been so special the last couple of weeks, seeing so many green jerseys in the stadium,” Monaghan added.
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“I was stuck for words at times. I keep going back to the moment of Eve’s (Higgins) intercept in the Japan game, and the eruption of the crowd still gives me goosebumps. How much people have invested in this, taking time off work, booking flights, accommodation, to come and support us and the green wave. It’s really special and we really hope we can do them proud on Sunday.”
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Kingfishr and Molly Malone's tee up Ireland's big weekend in Brighton
SOMETIMES THINGS JUST fall into place, like when you happen to be spending a few days in a new town at the same time as your favourite band.
The Ireland women’s team have adopted Kingfishr’s ‘Killeagh’ as their World Cup anthem, belting out the song in their dressing room following the pool wins over Japan and Spain in Northampton.
The squad have since moved down to the more lively setting of Brighton, and as luck would have it, Kingfishr happened to be in town on Friday to do a small gig in a record store just a short walk from the team hotel, taking top billing at a shop which had welcomed CMAT and The Manic Street Preachers earlier in the week. Arrangements were made and the team managed to squeeze in for the show, where, in their own words, they left the Cork band “blown away” by their response to the tune.
“I think they were even stunned by the volume we sang it,” says Ireland co-captain Sam Monaghan. “They saved it for the end, which was great, and you could see in their faces they were blown away, we were blown away, it was just a really special moment.
“Just by chance, they were playing in Brighton which was amazing. They were on tour but it just happened to work out we were playing on Sunday. Those lads are amazing. Their messages are to inspire communities, and if you listen to the lyrics of the song, it’s all about community and how they can galvanise together and inspire people through their performances which aligns really well what we’re trying to do.
“It was a really special moment. I think we almost blew the roof off that place. It was a really intimate gig. The lads were great, they put on one of our jerseys and we all sang together and got a picture afterwards. Unfortunately, they can’t come on Sunday. They’re playing in Belfast, but I know they’ll be watching on.”
The gig was another memorable experience on what has been a special week for the Ireland lock in Brighton. It was here where Monaghan, who won an U16 All-Ireland with the Meath footballers, first took up rugby, joining Lewes RFC in order to make friends as she settled into life in a new town. Even as she climbed the rugby ladder to become an Ireland international, Monaghan was juggling her sporting life with managing two pubs in Brighton. One of which, Molly Malone’s, she stopped by the other day.
“I met my old boss, and we had a good chat and she reminded me of some stories. I used to bring the rugby team in there quite a bit. It was a fan favourite and it’s mad because I remember working one night, it’s an amazing venue for live music, and one of the lads was up singing and I was like, ‘God, imagine if all my favourite people were in this room, and I got to have a huge party with everyone there’. And this weekend all my favourite people are in Brighton, one of my favourite places, and bumping into people like my roommate, Maud Muir who plays for England, she’s staying down (the road) below, we met for coffee yesterday.
It all leads to tomorrow’s meeting with New Zealand at the Amex Stadium [KO 2.45pm, RTÉ2/BBC2], where over 30,000 fans are expected. While both teams are already through to the quarter-finals, the sense of occasion hasn’t been diluted. New Zealand want revenge for last year’s defeat at WXV1, while Ireland are determined to step up and show how much they’ve developed as a team.
And of course, there’s the incentive that the winner will likely avoid a quarter-final meeting with France next weekend. So no, Ireland are not treating this clash as a free hit. Scott Bemand’s team will be massively up against it, but hope they can deliver a performance to repay the thousands of supporters, friends and family making their way over for the game, and those who will be watching on from further afield.
The players enjoyed nice windows of time off during the week, visiting saunas and heading to the amusements on Brighton Pier, but now, as the fans arrive in numbers, the size of the occasion is beginning to hit home. On Friday evening the team had a walkaround at the Amex, which today hosts England v Australia. When they came in from their Captain’s Run earlier this afternoon, their families had gathered to welcome them back to the team hotel, perched right on the long, busy seafront. These are days to savour.
“I’m looking forward to this evening,” says Monaghan. “My brother has just flown over from New York with my niece, she’s six months old, so that’s really special again for me. They’ve never seen me play, and we’ve been greeted coming in from our Captain’s Run there by so many families coming over and it’s just really special.
“There’s so much to play for on Sunday, and that’s what’s really driving us. Not just the players that are in that green jersey, the ones that played in Vancouver (v New Zealand last year), the ones that have been with us in this green wave all along, the support, the people at home, the kids growing up wanting to pick up a rugby ball and hopefully, as I was inspired in 2017, hopefully more players and people will be inspired from 2025.
“It’s been so special the last couple of weeks, seeing so many green jerseys in the stadium,” Monaghan added.
“I was stuck for words at times. I keep going back to the moment of Eve’s (Higgins) intercept in the Japan game, and the eruption of the crowd still gives me goosebumps. How much people have invested in this, taking time off work, booking flights, accommodation, to come and support us and the green wave. It’s really special and we really hope we can do them proud on Sunday.”
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