Celtic campervan convoy lays siege to Kiwi shores
Official figures released from travel agents last July predicted only 500 Irish people would make the 48-hour journey to the other side of the world for the tournament.
That statistic was based on travel packages, however, and did not take into account the thousands of fans who hired a campervan and travelled New Zealand the rustic way. And by God, have they arrived in force.
Dunedin has a real laid-back vibe to it, due to the young population that attend the Otago University in the city centre. The hub of the action yesterday was the octagon — the trendy compact arena that hosted the Irish en masse before the big match with the Azzurri.
Katie and Damo from Dublin have bought an old a battered Hiace for the tournament, and nicknamed it Gráinne.
“I worked in Queenstown for three months as a butcher, and I bought this campervan about seven weeks ago. It cost me NZ$1,500 (€854) and I’ve been living in it ever since,” says Damo.
“It took a few days to get used to it, but once you get into the routine of washing in the nearest river, it’s grand.
“We’ve been to all the matches and anywhere the team are playing, the army of campervans roll in. In the first game in New Plymouth for the USA game, the main bar in the town ran out of beer on the night of the game.
“It’s mad the way, for the Australia match, our country’s in the darkest recession in I don’t know how many decades, but we managed to outnumber the Australians two to one in Eden Park. They’ve only a three-hour plane [trip] to go as opposed to us.”
Kildare man Dermot Fenley, who was been working as a dairy farmer in Invercargill for the past two years, has been dumbstruck by the sheer volume of his compatriots in the country. “It’s incredible, You’d swear Ireland were hosting the tournament… it’s unreal.”
There were stories galore in the small South Island city, such as that of Paul Mulcahy from Glounthaune in Cork who decided to travel to Dunedin on a whim after meeting a group of fellow Irish rugby fans while he was doing farm work in Brisbane.
“I’m a Man United fan first and foremost,” says Paul. “But it’s been great to come out and support Deccie and the lads.”
Mayo man Rory Kilsey and his friend JP arrived into Dunedin for the game and the campervanners were in fine spirits.
“We rented a van up in Queenstown, we stayed in Wellington for a few days and arrived down here yesterday,” said Rory. “It’s great; it’s the only way to go really,” said JP. “I woke up the other morning and I was wearing Rory’s underpants. It’s an awful tight-knit community around here.”
Not all the Irish are slumming it however; Declan O’Donoghue from Fermoy has been renting motels, taking public transport between venues and has been loving the experience. “It’s the five-star way. We’re not slummers,” he says.
Karen Brennan from Kilkenny is sharing a rented campervan with four lads and has been “having the time of her life” but admits that being the sole female occupant of a crowded van has its drawbacks.
“There’s four boys and I’m the only girl so I’m trying to keep it clean, but it’s tough. It’s great craic because there’s so many other campers and you just end up meeting the same gang everywhere.
“I was at the lake campsite in Rotorua and there were easily 70 campers there.”
Conor Daly from Cork and his girlfriend Breda O’Neill have been travelling the world for the past seven months and are traversing New Zealand by campervan to follow the fortunes of the Irish team. “The holiday park here in Dunedin is ridiculous,” Conor says of his temporary residence.
“The park owners opened up the rugby fields next to the site and there’s just rows and rows of Irish camper vans.”
Roscommon natives Donna Kilmartin and husband Tom Connolly are using a converted eight-seater car as their mobile home for the tournament.
“It’s good value; it’s worked out at about 700 quid each for almost four weeks. It’s going to test the marriage that’s for sure. I can’t believe how many Irish are here, particularly the younger crowd.
“I think a lot of them are on the way over to Australia and stopping over here first, but there’s still a load of people who have just come over specifically for the World Cup.”
Donna also had a tale to regale of the extraordinary exploits of the travelling Irish support in Rotorua for the Russian game.
“They couldn’t cope with the amount of Irish fans in Rotorua. On the night of the game, there were only 26 taxis on duty, and eventually the police had to start bringing people home.
“The night before the match, one of the pubs ran out of beer in an hour, and they ran out of vodka by midnight.”
The newlyweds both have full-time jobs back in Ireland and managed to secure the time off to come and support Ireland.
“We’re here till after the semi-finals… possibly. We could be asking our bosses for another week off.”
After Ireland’s superb display at the Foryth Barr Stadium, the Roscommon pair, along with many of their travelling comrades, may also be putting in for some more annual leave. The final attendance at 28,000; almost the same capacity of a sold-out Thomond Park, and, at times, you couldn’t tell the difference in Otago.
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