Donegal rolls out red carpet as All Blacks get back to their roots

A WET field at the bottom of a lane in Donegal seemed an unlikely spot to find a half-dozen All Blacks during the week. Michael Moynihan reports.

JERRY Collins, the powerful All Black forward, had the bottle poised uncertainly over the boulder. “Go on, Jerry,” said his captain, Tana Umaga, while Joe Rokocoko and Nemia Tialata grinned at their teammate.

Collins gritted his teeth and swung the bottle, and there was a light shower of glass as the cameras flashed and the crowd applauded. For the people huddled around there was a distinct, sharp scent of champagne in the unlikely setting of a muddy field in Donegal.

The All Black trip to the northwest last Wednesday wasn’t a visit. It was more of a pilgrimage. They travelled to honour the memory of Donegal-born Dave Gallaher, captain of the 1905 New Zealand team, the ‘Originals’ who set the template for generations of All Black players. Gallaher’s place in the New Zealand pantheon was sealed when he enlisted to fight in the First World War and died at Passchendaele in 1917 aged 43.

Jerry Collins’ bottle-breaking at the dedication of the new Letterkenny RFC pitch as the Dave Gallaher Memorial Park was only the start of an afternoon of polite chaos, however. Conrad Smith spoke well at an official function afterwards in Letterkenny IT, outlining Gallaher’s status in New Zealand: “We hold him true and dear to our hearts not only because he led an All Black team here 100 years ago, but because he gave the ultimate sacrifice. He gave his life defending our country and their values.”

Later on in Ramelton, Smith expanded on the theme: “Last week in Wales Anton Oliver made a great presentation and made us aware of what had happened in the past, and what’s happened here today is only reinforcing that.

“I didn’t realise people over here were so aware of Dave Gallaher, and that’s blown us away. It’s great to see that people on the other side of the world celebrate the life of a great man.”

It was difficult to speak to Smith - not because the affable centre was reticent, but because the rapturous welcome in Letterkenny had been superseded by adoration in Ramelton. Night had fallen but spotlights played on the sloping main street and banners welcoming the team were visible everywhere. When the All Black bus stopped, a troupe of majorettes snaked around the front and diverted the players towards the hundreds of people waiting behind crash barriers.

They weren’t complaining. New All Black Angus McDonald was happy to sign as many autographs for the punters outside the Old House Cafe as they wanted.

“Aw, this means everything to us,” said McDonald, “Obviously touring with the All Blacks is great, but coming to a small town like this, where Dave Gallaher was born, means everything to me and to the other guys who are here.

“We didn’t know what to expect, but look around - there are hundreds and hundreds of people here, and it’s great.”

Eventually the party had to move on to the Gallaher birthplace itself, now a bed and breakfast called Crammond House. The players were easy to round up: the gardaí simply converged on the camera flashes erupting at regular intervals along the crash barriers. The plaque was unveiled and the travelling party disappeared into Crammond House for some refreshments with owner Mrs Ena Corry.

“It was a great evening,” said Mrs Corry, “But I’m afraid I didn’t actually get the chance to serve them any tea. There were so many cameramen and photographers in the house we couldn’t get into the kitchen. We could only give them shortbread and biscuits.”

The bed and breakfast proprietor found the players “very nice, all of them. They chatted away and signed autographs for members of my family. I spent most of my time talking to the captain, and the chap with the blond hair - Guinness, they were calling him.”

After their brief visit, the players headed down the hill to the Town Hall, happy to pose for cameraphones as they went.

Tana Umaga addressed the crowd in the hall, mostly local schoolchildren. The All Black captain hadn’t sought the limelight during the visit, but he’d received the warmest welcome at each stop; the tone had been set when he held up the team coach at the City of Derry Airport because so many parents wanted him to pose for photographs with their kids. No citing commissioners required.

The other panellists had wanted to come to Donegal, Umaga said, but they had to rest for the game. He’d thought some rocks would be thrown at him, but he was glad he had thought wrong.

“We never thought in our wildest dreams we would get this kind of reception,” said the powerful centre. He said it was humbling to have stood in the Gallaher family home: “I can understand why they moved to New Zealand to be among like-minded people. So I am happy to be here.”

At that point a toddler in an Ireland jersey careered across the stage, only to be tackled - gently, mind - by Tialata. As the child wasn’t grounded he was free to break away back to his parents, and when Umaga said the child would have to change his green jersey, he brought the house down.

At the airport, Jerry Collins put the visit in context over a Snickers.

“That welcome took us by surprise. I suppose these places are the real Ireland, so it’s great for us to visit them. Nowadays you only see the bright lights and the big cities. The air’s nice and fresh and there’s plenty of rain - just like home.”