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JONATHAN O’BRIEN STOPPED by for a High Table Interview during the week.
The Sinn Féin TD opened up about his brother’s drug addiction, and shared his thoughts on leadership within Sinn Féin.
He also spoke about his love of sport and how he was involved in turning around the fortunes of Cork City Football Club. He’s a former chairman of the club and co-founded the supporters’ trust FORAS.
Here are his thoughts on community-ownership of sports teams, as well as some advice for the League of Ireland:
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As a shamrock rovers fan I remember well when we nearly went bust a few years ago. Various fan initiatives were tried, ultimately leading to the 400 club, but I remember when things looked particularly bleak financially all fans stayed behind after a home match against Cork showing support for the club in difficult times. Pretty much every Cork fan stayed behind too, and applauded and cheered on the Rovers fans in their efforts to stave off bankruptcy. Anyone familiar with LOI would sympathise with anybody who might delight in the demise of Rovers, but that show of solidarity by Cork is what sport should be all about. Cork are a fantastic club that would have been an awful loss to the league and country.
The last line says it all Egg Head. Fair play.
To be fair often had a lot of banter with shamrock rovers fans at games, sound bunch of ppl i have to say! Very humbling the way you talk of cork city F.C!
Was that the night in Dalymount? Was a strange end to the game ,the mutual singing and almost good feeling towards each other was strange,but fantastic too and showed the class of both sets of fans .Its rare that something like this happens and is something that shouldn’t be forgotton by either set of fans .Think we were only 2 games from a title too at that stage
C’mon Journal……This should read how this SF TD and 599 others helped save Cork City FC !
The article says co-founded or did you bother to actually read it.
Prime example of a case of “people who assume” and idiots basing a opinion of their own political prejudices rather than actual facts ..Theres 600+ members NOW …far less then that at the start
Wonderful Jonathan, your brother was a drug addict and you’re a big Cork City fan…Anything relevant to say about real issues such as the disappeared or perhaps Sinn Fein’s apparent covering up the alleged abuse of innocent children etc or is this just another entirely superficial interview from you.
John disappointed that you have not realized that all interviews by SF politicians are superficial.
Sure weren’t they all great last week defending Mary Lou but failed to answer any questions asking if they agreed with her in slandering people without any evidence.
Says it all that Mary Lou wouldn’t repeat her allegations outside the Dail.
Seems like a man of the people, rather than most fluffy politicians these days. Doesn’t seem like the sort who made people disappear 40 yrs ago or covered up sex abuse but apparently he still has to answer for it.
Sorry King Kong, here’s me thinking that if a journalist got someone from Sinn Fein to drop by their offices they might ask their view on slightly more pressing issues instead of some casual chat about the family and football…Coming next, more spin as Jonathan reads us all a bedtime story.
@Northen, looking at the man I would venture a guess that 40 years ago he was still in Junior Infants but obviously there are some people who think that he should bear responsibility for actions that took place years ago. Maybe we should question politicians from FF as to why some of their predecessors brought guns into the Dail years ago or ask members of FG why their forerunners admired the fascist Brownshirts and Blackshirts. I would also ask them as to why in 1932 they were throwing shite around that FF were a “communist” party and they likened De Valera to “Joseph Stalin”! http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Irish_general_election,_1932
Note the line ” Instead of offering new policies the party believed that its record in government would be enough to retain power.”
Some things never change I suppose.
@john murphy It was a sport related interview ffs. Just like this is a sport related website.
seem like a nice man , till he loses his rag, and that’s only to wake you up,, by the way cork city football club well there lying 2nd in the table, signed some good players Karl Shepard, Liam miller, so i reckon they be there there abouts at the end, but my money be on the Rovers, that’s Shamrocks rovers.
John Murphy – This I believe is the Third piece in Jonathan’s Interview which appeared in The Journal all week.
Try to work with actual facts and not just your constant Blueshirt hatred of Republicans please ?
There has been loads of comments supporting MLMcD and her use of Dail privilege.. The whistlblower has said that the line of inquiry into the ‘black briefcase’ was halted prematurely and has not been followed up upon..
Ws had been told that the Mc Cabe and Wilson allegations had been investgated and these men were vilified and bullied by the establishment all the way to government. . Only when Dail privilege was used and public outcry ensued were these men exonerated from ‘ disgusting’ to being vindicated. The question here is not MLMcD’s use of Dail privilege but what exactly did that black briefcase contain???
No hatred here Kerry…What facts are you asking me to work with? I saw the other two and if you combined the three together there’d still be nothing interesting in it. Each to their own I suppose!
Ah – so now you admit that you saw and was aware of the other interview – that is not what you inferred earlier in your piece ???
M Bowe the black briefcase contained all the names of players of Cork City F.C.
@Brian the big difference is SF is still lead by the man responsible for moving dangerous paedophiles around the country and murdering innocent people . You might have noticed Eoin o ‘ Duffy is long gone and you don’t hear anyone in fg lauding him
James you might notice that unless you have evidence of such allegations you are breaking the law.
kerry, that shinner tactic of distraction seems to get you very excited, enjoy ur little lightbulb moment. I never said I didn’t see any other bits, my post originates from seeing all three and being equally bored with all of them. I wonder are we going to have a fourth or is his PR budget blown on the three?
John Murphy – Keep digging – you are a Blueshirt Troll – You are just making even a bigger eegit of yourself – if that’s possible – is it ? I doubt it !
More deflection Kerry, this time personal insults too…true to form. Off and troll someone else you’re not worth replying to.
If it had I doubt very much they would have needed 600 Cork fans tp divvy up to bail them out.
If it had I doubt very much they wouldn’t have needed 600 Cork fans tp divvy up to bail them out.
Unusual for a politician to claim all the credit for other people’s hard work.
Not unusual for people to criticize people for getting off their ass and doing something for their community. Did you even watch the clip? He didn’t claim credit alone he mentioned that 600 people own equal shares in the club they love. The likes of you would probably buy 1 share just to go to the AGM and complain about everything and then off out the door to beat the queue to the sandwichs.
Roland – Methinks your political bias mask came off in your sentence ?
If you take the time to watch the video, you will see that Jonathan referred to he being only one of 600 passionate Fans who came together to purchase it?
I have seen this man ‘emerge’ as a Community activist, over the past dozen years or so and can vouch for the fact , that in my humble opinion , that he is a credit to Cork County and indeed to An Dail too.
And that remark comes from a Kerryman !
An Ciarraioch,
No political bias just stating facts.
Disappeared child abuse ira gerrys bad blah blah blah its an article about cork fc fcuking trolls
Instead of bleating about the unfairness of it all, maybe you can post some more INLA remembrance photos on your Facebook page instead.
What has that got to do with a football club?
I’m no fan of Sinn Fein and worry what the fallout of them getting in to power would be for the country economicly.
However this piece is not about their policy, past or any cover ups. In my opinion Jonathan is a genuine Cork City fan. I’m sure there is some political gain in that for him but if he retired from political life in the morning I don’t think it would impact his support for the club one iota.
On this point i say its a breath of fresh air. Its not so long ago that the leader of our country proclaimed his love for and promoted English giants Man Utd.
Well said Sean .
Cork city went to the wall and foras entered a new team in the league and bought the name off the receiver. So he did not help save cork city
The Mafia were also involved in sport.
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