The Irish Examiner ran a competition this week for which the winner would be given two tickets to Ireland's game against France.
The winner was contacted by newspaper marketing executive Catriona Buckley, who inquired whether she could travel.
It turned out she could travel, but it soon became apparent she stood a good chance of getting tickets regardless of whether she had won the competition.
Yes. But is it OK if I am Paul O’Connell’s mother?
Shelagh O'Connell had a copy of the Examiner in her hand and was apparently gazing at the picture of Paul looking composed and in control on an Alton Towers ride.
A dedicated Examiner reader, she said she buys the paper because the 'sports coverage is excellent', a verdict which no reasonable person could dissent from (least of all, this writer).
The paper were minded to ask her whether, given her proximity to the team's captain, she had a ticket already. Apparently the players don't get them til match-day.
He doesn’t get tickets until the day of the game. But to be honest, match tickets are not the problem. It’s the flights and actually getting there. For the last game, when Ireland played Canada in Cardiff, we had to fly into London, followed by a four-hour drive to Cardiff. I wasn’t the best after sitting in the car for four hours.
And I’m really looking forward to flying straight to Cardiff and having somewhere to stay, which in Cardiff is a huge problem.
I’ve never won anything of significance before so this is a great surprise. But hopefully we’ll have a few good wins in the World Cup too and we’ll have the [Webb Ellis] Cup at the end of October.
