The Diplomat and the Déise: Why one corner of Washington DC will be shouting loudly for Waterford

Dan Mulhall, Irish ambassador to the United States, remains an avid Waterford supporter

Dan Mulhall: Could only get Waterford results from a week-old newspaper in a diplomatic bag in 1980.

In 1963, when Waterford reached the All-Ireland final against Kilkenny, Dan Mulhall’s parents had a dilemma.

To bring Dan to the game or not? He wasn’t yet 10 years old, a big crowd was expected ... his father eventually made the call: “We’ll wait until the next year they get to the final, when he’s a bit older.”

Mulhall, now Irish ambassador to the United States, chuckles at the memory.

“The next time Waterford got to the final, I was in my 50s. It showed the dangers of putting these things on the long finger.”

Growing up in Waterford City, the young Mulhall absorbed an interest in hurling, “a permanent feature” of life in the city.

“I went to a hurling school, Mount Sion, and we only played hurling in the school. I wasn’t a great hurler — it requires a level of skill I just didn’t have at the time, and I was also pretty spindly. I filled out around the age of 15.

“But hurling was a permanent feature of Waterford life. There were two sports in the city when I was growing up, hurling and soccer, and at that time, the 60s, soccer had the upper hand because Waterford were one of the top League of Ireland teams at the time — they competed for the league regularly, they played Manchester United, they played Celtic.

“But I always followed the hurlers as well, and went to games as often as I could. I was very proud of my Déise roots and that’s something which has become more and more important to me over the years.

“I can remember the year Waterford got to the All-Ireland semi-final in 1998, and myself and my son went to all the games. We had a great summer, it really reignited my interest in the game all over again.”

After decades in foreign postings all over the globe, Mulhall is well qualified to describe how the expat’s engagement with Gaelic games has changed.

“I subscribed to GAAGO as soon as it came on stream, and that’s been a great development. Before that you had to go to an Irish pub early in the morning somewhere and have a few pints when you didn’t really want to have them — now you can watch it at home. I’ll be glued to it on Saturday evening. Shouting at the screen, really.”

As opposed to shouting into a telephone handset. There were locations where an Irish pub wasn’t an option.

“When I was in Malaysia, I can remember timing the games in my head from when they’d start and calculating, with the time difference, when the first half would be ending.

“You could ring a certain number in Brussels and listen to RTÉ Radio on the line, and I’d ring that number for the last couple of minutes of the first half, then I’d hang up. And then I’d work out the time to ring and get the last five minutes of the game. You couldn’t ring to listen to the whole game because it would cost a fortune, but that’s how it was.”

At least there was a phone line. When Mulhall went to India in 1980, “there was nothing. We got a daily telex from the Department of Foreign Affairs summarising the news at home, but no sports results.”

“We had to wait for the diplomatic bag, which might have the Monday newspaper — but a week late. Seven days we’d be waiting for the results of Gaelic games, soccer, rugby, everything. Now you pull out your phone and you can follow whatever sport you want. Tonight, for instance, we’ll also be on the family WhatsApp group to discuss everything that happens.

“I’ll probably have my Richmond GAA top on — it’s the closest I have to the Waterford colours.”

What does he reckon?

“I’m hopeful. My experience of hurling in recent years suggests to me that a team comes out of the blocks early on in the championship, surprises everyone, and carries on to the final stages.

“Waterford have been fast out of the blocks this year — they didn’t just beat Cork, they beat them more handily than the four-point margin suggests, it was really a six- or seven-point win.

“Against Limerick it was even-steven for long periods — fair enough, Limerick got on top after the second water break, and Waterford weren’t able to come back. But against Clare it was a nine-point difference. Waterford pulled away in the second half. Now, I know the track record against Kilkenny down the years isn’t great, but Waterford are physically strong, they’re fit, there are some very skilful players there and they’re well organised and fight hard.

“I’m also hoping that on the law of averages, given the number of times Kilkenny have beaten Waterford, we may be due a day when Waterford outmatch Kilkenny.”

Lately the ambassador has been branching into other sports as well. On social media he broached the subject of a Major League Baseball game being played in Ireland.

“I’m looking into it, I have a few friends in the baseball fraternity that might be able to help,” he says.

“The Irish-American Baseball Society, which is very active, reminded me that baseball was played in Waterford and other places in Ireland during the 50s — there are newspaper cuttings about games between Waterford and Tramore, including games played in Walsh Park.

“I understand Croke Park is big enough to house a cricket oval, so why not baseball? Wouldn’t a Major League game between the New York Yankees and the Boston Red Sox in Ireland attract a huge crowd? You’d fill Croke Park. Irish people love sport generally, the novelty of a proper baseball game would surely appeal.

“I’m going to look into this. The Irish-American Baseball Society have pointed out that a lot of the early baseball stars were Irish or Irish-American — and perhaps that was because they were used to a flying ball from playing hurling, I’m not sure.”

Circling back again to hurling. The permanent feature.