WHIDDY ISLAND LOST one of its giants in May. Noreen O’Leary passed away in her 93rd year, having witnessed the world change from her home on the little island off the coast of Bantry in West Cork.
Among many other things, Noreen was Tadhg Furlong’s grandmother. The Leinster and Ireland prop has lots of memories of her to cherish, but Whiddy is poorer for the departure of a woman who was at the heart of her family and island life until the end.
The population of Whiddy was close to 800 back in the 19th century but these days, it’s around 30. It’s a serene place, a haven for wildlife, and it’s where Furlong’s mother, Margaret, called home until she moved to Campile near New Ross in Wexford to marry James Furlong.
One of Tadhg’s uncles, Tim, runs the welcoming Bank House bar out on Whiddy, which is well worth a visit. His other two other uncles, Danny and James, live on the island too. They’re fishermen, with mussels, crabs, prawns, and wrasse to be found in the local waters. The O’Learys also operate the ferry to and from the mainland.
Whiddy is a charming place and Furlong loves getting out whenever he can, even if trips won’t be the same without Noreen there.
“Real kind of forgotten Ireland stuff, she was,” says Furlong.
“She used to tell stories of when television first came in, when electricity first came in, that kind of generation that we’re losing.
“They had so much craic because they were very sociable, they had to be in those days. There’s that sense of community and the sense of old Ireland, one I couldn’t fathom without television. She had a lot of good stories.”
Like the rest of the family, Noreen became a huge rugby fan as Tadhg rose through the ranks. She would watch every one of his games she could. She wanted every bit of news too.
“She would ring my mother, my mother would tell her the happenings and the goings-on, and she’d write it down on a piece of paper under her placemat at the table. So when anyone would ring her then, she’d be, ‘Yeah, Tadhg was playing against…’ and she’d look under the place mat and have all the news for everyone.”
Furlong says it was the same with his other grandmother in Wexford, the late Maggie Furlong. None of them were steeped in rugby but they learned quickly.
Indeed, out on Whiddy, Noreen went as far as to cheer for Leinster. Tadhg never thought he’d see that day in West Cork.
Still, his uncle Tim delights in welcoming him to the island wearing a Munster jersey, with the southern province’s flag pitched in the bar. Funnily enough, Furlong might have ended up playing for Munster if he’d made a different choice when two roads diverged as he left school at Good Counsel College in New Ross.
He wanted to become a PE teacher and the course at the University of Limerick appealed.
“I was going to go to UL and Munster offered me a place in the sub-academy, they wouldn’t offer me a place in the academy down there,” he says.
“Then Gerry Murphy [the former Ireland coach], who got inducted into the Leinster Hall of Fame at the end of the season, talked me into coming up to Dublin. He said he saw something in me and I went with that.”
With things having worked out so well, Furlong hasn’t really wondered what might have been.
“Maybe you’d have got drawn into the college lifestyle in Limerick! I was a bit raw back then and all the boys from Ross went there, so you just don’t know.”
Anyway, Wexford was home. Even if some New Ross folk defected across the border with Waterford to shout for Munster, Furlong came through as a Leinster player and has been proud to become such a key man in blue.
He’s back in Campile this week, with Ireland breaking up from World Cup camp in order to train on their own and get a bit of a mental breather. Furlong loves getting home and out of Dublin for a while.
“I like seeing grass and being out in the fresh air,” is how he puts it, explaining how he also enjoys the car journey.
“It’s an extra space where you’re in the car on your own, you might turn off the radio for half an hour, 40 minutes, and just think – get your head straight because the world we live in just comes at you from all angles.
“Sometimes just having the time and space to think and reflect is massive. It’s very important for your self, not just as a rugby player but in life as well, that understanding of where you’re at and understanding yourself so you’re never swamped.”
This is relevant because Furlong is promoting the Tackle Your Feelings Schools programme run by Rugby Players Ireland. For his part in it, Furlong recently visited Good Counsel College, meeting teachers and students as he remembered some of his own experiences in school.
He feels grateful the mental side of rugby gets such a big focus now and believes some of the principles are applicable to young people in school. Furlong remembers the frustration of struggling with languages in his own Good Counsel days.
“Secondary school is a major pinch-point in people’s lives in adolescence in terms of growing up, so it’s trying to implement and help students gain an understanding of the mental side of it,” he says.
“The more you go on in life, it ain’t a straight line all the time. But if you’re having issues or something like exams not going your way, not getting picked on a sports team, whatever it is, it’s knowing there’s a strategy there. You can identify someone in your friend group or a teacher in the school to be able to share stuff and get it off your chest. That’s really important.”
He knows the value of being open because Ireland have put a strong focus on it under head coach Andy Farrell, with performance specialist Gary Keegan now a major influence in the group.
“There’s a growing appreciation within the professional game of, you know, being a little bit vulnerable to be able to play your best rugby,” says Furlong. “I think it’s the way society is going as well.
“There’s an understanding that there’s no social hierarchy within squads now. The views of a fella first time in camp, if he sees something that can make us better, we want to know it and discuss it.
“Off the pitch, the social interactions we have are about how you can be yourself, how you don’t have to worry about people’s views or people judging you, how you’re fitting in. The mental side of the game is so important.”
Going back to his old school was an “eye-opener” for Furlong. He sat in a classroom with some students and noticed how they weren’t saying a whole lot to start with. As he shared a bit about the stresses of playing rugby – the pressure of big games, the self-doubt – and how he looks for support, he found they opened up too.
It’s not hard to imagine Furlong sitting there chatting with a bunch of teenagers from New Ross. He is one of the most popular players in the country and certainly one of the biggest stars in Irish rugby, but many fans find him relatable.
That said, he doesn’t embrace the limelight. He has accounts on Twitter and Instagram, but they’re pretty much inactive apart from the odd post about sponsorships he’s involved in or good causes he wants to promote.
“I wouldn’t be a lover of social media or sharing everything about my life,” says Furlong. “I get that rugby means you’re in the limelight. I have no problem doing interviews, I have no bother talking about it, but I like to be left alone when I’m outside it as well.
“I used to do it when I was younger, then rugby started taking off. You gained a bit of perspective in life and what’s important to you. It’s probably not social media. I have no problem with people using it but I’m probably too far the other way.
“It’s not something I look for or want to look for. I don’t think it’s a true reflection on people’s lives either, putting up the best picture of holidays.”
Even without regular social media updates, or perhaps partly because of the lack of them, Furlong is beloved by Irish rugby supporters, whether they’re from Leinster, Munster or wherever. Many of them feel a sort of affinity with Furlong.
“I just try to be honest, I suppose, and be yourself,” he says. “Whatever way it comes across, it comes across. I’m sure there’s plenty of people out there who hate me as well.
“The lads give me plenty of slagging about paddywhackery as well! They’d be slagging me about being pure country but that’s part of who I am. I love West Cork, I love Wexford.”
With his third World Cup looming, Furlong is busy with the rugby but he’s keeping an eye on life after the game too. Though he’s only 30, rugby players have to think about what’s next.
Having previously done a Business degree in DCU, Furlong is now in the midst of accountancy exams. He has nine of the 13 done so far.
Furlong likes the process of the field, its “rhyme and rhythm,” but he’s still not sure he actually wants to be an accountant. He knows he will need to be “out and about,” dealing with people. PE teaching isn’t on the cards anyway, but he definitely would like to give something back on the rugby front.
“I’d love to get into coaching lads in New Ross or whatever,” he says.
What about getting a rugby team going on Whiddy Island?
“That’ll be the day, you’d want to find a flat bit of land first.”
Tackle Your Feelings ambassador Tadhg Furlong shared his experiences in school and in rugby as part of a new video series to encourage young people to focus on their wellbeing.
