Jack Conan eager to witness fanfare of a full-blown Lions tour
Jack Conan has been a British & Irish Lion before but given it was the Covid-hit tour to South Africa of 2021, the Ireland No.8 is relishing the opportunity to embrace a proper Lions touring experience when the squad leaves for Australia on Saturday.
Conan, 32, was in the stands at Aviva Stadium on Friday night as Andy Farrell's squad faced Argentina ahead of departure for Perth and an opening tour match against Western Force next Saturday.
Like another eight of the 12 Leinster players heading Down Under as Irish Lions, the back-rower was held at bay six days after lifting the URC trophy at Croke Park but he was kept busy on matchday.
He and four provincial team-mates Jamison Gibson-Park, Hugo Keenan, Andrew Porter and Josh van der Flier as well English Premiership final participants, Finn Russell and Will Stuart from newly crowned champions Bath and runner-up Ollie Chessum of Leicester Tigers were on Lions duty at Dublin's UCD Bowl earlier in the day, hosting a training session for 90 school children, girls and boys ranging from 8-12 years of age, and from four primary schools nominated by the Irish provinces.
Even a meet and greet with young rugby fans was out of bounds for the Lions on their last tour, with South Africa in lockdown and matches played in empty stadiums as Conan started all three Tests at No.8 against the Springboks, each game behind closed doors in Cape Town with the players bussed in and out from a secluded team hotel and training base outside of the city.
The chance to experience a proper tour, backed by tens of thousands of travelling supporters forming a 'Sea of Red' in Australia, is a return to tradition, albeit one eagerly awaited by Conan.
"Four years ago was still great, I loved it and had a great experience,' he said. 'In a way, you get to know the lads in such a different way because it was eight weeks of kind of solitary confinement. You have to mix.
'You still have to mix now but you're getting out and about in smaller groups whereas four years ago, everyone was just kind of sitting around.'
Conan was even looking forward to watching the Lions on Friday night as they played on Irish soil for the first time in their illustrious 137-year history, just to see those red jerseys play in front of the fans, giving him a taste of what is to come over the next six weeks across 10 tour matches and three Tests against the Wallabies in Brisbane, Melbourne and Sydney.
"The only taste we got of that was four years ago against Japan in Edinburgh (pre-tour) and there was around 16,000 there with spaced seating, so definitely a bit different.
'I can't wait to get over there, everyone says it's just a different fanfare, a different level of excitement when you get properly on tour. But you can even see it walking around town at the moment, people in jerseys, there's a pop-up shop, so many kids outside the Shelbourne (Hotel). It's special and I'm looking forward to getting a proper run-out at some stage."
Conan does believe the 2021 tour, which ended in a 2-1 Test defeat to Rassie Erasmus's 2019 World Champions, can stand him in good stead for this summer's tour, with certain provisos.
'You know what's expected of you when you put on the jersey and when you come into this environment, into camp. Other than that, it's more just the detail, the plays, calling structures and all that, it's different.
'You've lads from other countries coming in is a little bit differently than we would do, so it's just getting used to each other a little bit.
'Now, luckily, the way we want to play is quite similar to how Ireland would play so it's not that difficult to get up to speed, but the calls are all different. There's a bit of overlap with a few Leinster calls but they're different things. The same wording, so I was caught out a few times on Tuesday when you just go into autopilot a little bit.
'So that's the real challenge. But no-one expects it to be perfect in the first few days. Even in the first few games we're going to build throughout the tour and continue to get better. That's the challenge, more than anything else.'
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Irish Independent
2 hours ago
- Irish Independent
Kerry Condon: ‘I did like being violent. That was really relaxing for me, bizarrely. There was something about a character who didn't give a f**k that was really freeing'
'I was really glad that it was at this point in my career, because it was a very big role opposite him, and maybe if I had been younger, I would have been very nervous about it,' she says. 'We had both worked with David Fincher, so we had that in common. So he was really in the moment to act opposite, which was a lot of fun and very relaxed. I knew no two takes were going to be the same.' Condon has, for years, found herself on every type of TV and movie set going, from the Marvel Cinematic Universe epic through to the handcrafted Irish indie film. But being nominated for a heap of major awards in 2023 (including a Best Supporting Actress Oscar) for her role as Siobhán in The Banshees of Inisherin seems to have unlocked another level professionally. 'Two days after the Oscars, Joseph (Kosinski, F1's director, who also directed Tron: Legacy and Top Gun: Maverick) called and said, 'Hey, I'd really like you to be Kate.' I was kind of waiting to hear if I'd gotten it, so that seemed to me that things had changed,' Condon says. 'I mean, I might have gotten it before [the Oscar nomination] but I don't know. I do feel like it was a major bunch of flowers I got two days afterwards.' Condon has always had a knack for picking nuanced and substantial characters — Banshees' Siobhán being a case in point — and in F1, her character is no love-interest shrinking violet. F1 sees her star opposite Pitt, Javier Bardem and Damson Idris as Kate McKenna, the race director of the fictional APXGP team, and the first female technical director in Formula One. The character is heavily influenced by Condon's research work with the Irish strategy engineer Bernie Collins. The film is also produced by Hollywood giant Jerry Bruckheimer, who knows a thing or two about a megabucks project. 'I've always wanted to do a blockbuster movie, and obviously this is the female lead in a massive blockbuster movie,' Condon says, on a Zoom from her home in Los Angeles. 'And then they wanted me to be Irish. I thought, 'Jeez, I don't think I've seen that before, the Irish accent in a female lead, in a big massive movie.' I wanted to wear my Claddagh ring in the movie too, one that my mother got me and I wear all the time, so my character got to wear that.' The filming of F1 happened over two years, and took Condon and the cast all over the world to film at various Formula 1 tracks and real race events. Somehow, Condon shot substantial roles in two other feature films amid it all: Pressure, opposite Andrew Scott, and Train Dreams, alongside Joel Edgerton. 'I just knew we were going to have crazy fun on the movie,' she reflects of the F1 experience. 'Saying goodbye at the end was very emotional. I really didn't want it to end. I could have done it for years more.' As the F1 cast and crew made their way around the world, Pitt, in particular, was photographed regularly by paparazzi as he appeared at various F1 Grand Prix events. Fame and celebrity are part of a world that Condon wants nothing to do with. Condon has long been intensely private about her off-camera life in favour of keeping the focus on the work, and F1's American publicist politely reminds me to keep my interview questions movie-related. Condon is careful not to reveal any details of her personal relationships, although did tell the RTÉ Guide in 2018, 'I don't really care if I never get married. I don't really care if I never have kids. There's loads of things I've planned for my life. So I've gone on and made plans for my life regardless of those things happening to me.' Now, she explains, 'My family are very private. Without me being an actress, we just always kind of were and are like that. So it seems a bit odd for me to be ramming my achievements down people's throats. It's just not my style. And particularly in Ireland, all my friends there have normal jobs, and I like getting the train and going on the bus with my friends to restaurants and things like that. 'I was aware that if I let that go, I would never get it back, and I didn't want to make everyone else's lives around me harder,' she adds. 'I wasn't crazy about the idea of chasing something like that. There's a real joy in being able to walk down Grafton Street and go and do fun things with my friends, where we're all just like it used to be years ago. It just doesn't come naturally to me to be posting private things [online] or be talking about private things.' And yet, Condon was in her element on the Oscar campaign circuit during 2023's award season, often in a Thurles accent that hasn't been blunted one bit by living elsewhere. Pressing the flesh, appearing on huge chat shows and getting into the public's eyeline is very much part and parcel of the nominee playbook, and Condon was memorably charming as she did it. 'To be honest, it was crazy,' she says of the hectic period. At the time, she was also filming Star Wars: Skeleton Crew. 'I didn't realise how much of a big deal it all was until I came home and my mother showed me all the newspaper cuttings. I wasn't sitting back observing this — it's very different when you're in it. I was miles from home too. I was here in LA on my own and all my family were in Ireland. So I would get texts where my mum would say, 'Oh, there's this thing and that thing' [in the media], and I would be like, 'Oh, that's nice.' And then I'd have to go to work.' Even now, Condon gets a bit emotional about the run-up to the Oscars in 2023. Famously, she watched the telecast of the nominations in her co-star Colin Farrell's house as he too got the Oscars nod. One memory from that time in particular sticks out, and it's largely down to the people of her hometown of Thurles. 'Loads of people in my hometown sent my mum cards to give me; it actually kind of made me cry,' she says. 'Everyone was so happy for me, and that was lovely. That was more moving to me. All these sweet families for no reason buying a 'well done' card. I just saw a lot of goodwill there. People were very generous and proud and that made me feel amazing.' She watched the Oscar ceremony at home earlier this year. 'My first thought was, 'My God, that was me.' It's very hard to explain.' It wasn't Condon's first Oscars rodeo — she attended in 2012 for her part in the short film Shore, which won the Live Action Short Film Category. She attended the 2023 ceremony with her younger brother, whom she described as her 'little lucky charm'. 'I was so nervous,' she admits. 'I said it to Saoirse [Ronan] when I saw her, 'Were you that nervous?' Like, you know it's coming. They say 'Supporting Actress' and your heart starts pounding. There's a camera in your face that you're really aware of, and then Brendan [Gleeson] and Colin [Farrell] want you to win, and ay-ay-ay… there's a million things on your mind. 'I remember at the Golden Globes, which was the first [major awards ceremony of the season], and when they said Angela Bassett, I was like, 'Thank God.' I just wasn't ready. I just wasn't ready to go up on the stage. I was just really cool with being nominated. There was no sense of entitlement — I've always wanted [just to be nominated]. But the fact it was a major career moment wasn't lost on me, you know.' Growing up in Thurles as the third of four children, Condon came from an unstarry family with few links to showbusiness. Still, the youngster showed an interest in acting from a very young age. She spent so much time talking about her escape from her hometown that, according to one report in the Los Angeles Times, her father gave her the nickname 'Fledgy-poo'. At the age of 10, she reviewed The Lion King for a local radio station. At 16, she wrote to Alan Parker, director of The Commitments, telling him about her dream of becoming an actor. It would turn out to be a fortuitous letter. At 16, and after she went for the audition entirely off her own back, Parker gave Condon her first on-screen role in Angela's Ashes. She played Theresa, the first love of the teenage Frank McCourt (when Condon won her Bafta in 2023 for The Banshees of Inisherin, she gave Parker a shout-out). A small role in Ballykissangel also materialised, and two years later, she starred in How Harry Became A Tree opposite Cillian Murphy. Not long after that, she was getting head-butted by Colin Farrell's character in an iconic scene for the movie Intermission. Though she had attended courses at the Dublin Theatre Arts School as a teenager, Condon was already working regularly and steadily by the time the idea of formal training at drama school came up. She reportedly enrolled in the now-defunct acting degree course at the Samuel Beckett Centre in Trinity College, but only went for one day as she got a call offering her a role in the film Rat on that very first day. She then moved to London for work at the age of 19, and was offered the role of Mairead in the premiere production of Martin McDonagh's The Lieutenant of Inishmore at the RSC. Not long after, she was cast in the same company as Ophelia in Hamlet. She was the youngest actor to appear in the role for the company and, at the time, she was the only person in the cast not to have attended drama school. Speaking of education, Condon is keenly aware that it's Leaving Cert season back at home. 'I look back and think, 'Why was so much pressure put on us at the Leaving Cert?' I remember how stressed I was doing it,' she says. 'It's only when you go to other countries that you do realise how amazing our education system is. We are so lucky to have such an incredible education. This character [Kate] is so smart and I was so proud that I had the education where I was able to go, 'Yeah, I can see an Irish girl doing this.'' There has never been a shortage of prestigious gigs for Condon down the years, but it hasn't always been smooth sailing. She has missed out on the odd role (including, according to some reports, the lead in The Girl With The Dragon Tattoo. That eventually went to Rooney Mara). 'Oh my god, I boycott the movie,' she says of the roles she doesn't get, laughing. 'I'm like, 'Go off, fine, that's your choice.' You have to think you're good or you're not going to get anywhere, but if I'm not even considered for it and someone else gets it and I would have liked it… ah, there are times when it goes to the right person for the right reasons, and I would like to think that I can give credit where it's due. There are great actresses and sometimes they just suit that role at the time more than I would have, and that's OK. 'I mean, not to be doomsday, but we're all going to die. I mean, that's the great equaliser, so it's not the be all and end all. But if I'm down to the last two and I don't get it… yeah, I don't even want to hear about [the film].' Around the time Condon was in the RSC as a teenager, she met Martin McDonagh and the actor David Wilmot, who became two of her closest friends. Her collaborations with McDonagh have been especially fruitful, and he is said to have written the role of Siobhán in The Banshees of Inisherin with Condon in mind. Condon notes that Wilmot, who has appeared in The Guard, Intermission and Calvary, made her 'a better actress'. 'That's not even just being nice to David, that's the truth,' she says. 'David gave me so many tips to this day that I still call him up for advice on certain things that I'm having trouble navigating.' What's the best advice anyone has ever given her? 'I don't know if it's acting advice, but I was told, as a woman, to always have your own money,' she says. 'I do think that was really good advice, because you can be really independent when you have your own money. You can get out of any situation. If you have your own money, you can get a cab and get the hell out of there. I hate to give money that power, but I do think, as a woman, it's very important. To this day, I'm very adamant that I have my own money.' Is there a type of different acting role she might like to take up in the future? 'I don't know, but I did like being violent,' she says, referring to her role in In the Land of Saints and Sinners, which she filmed in Donegal and starred opposite Liam Neeson. 'That was really relaxing for me, bizarrely,' she says. 'I did go, 'Huh, that's interesting.' There was something about a character who didn't give a f**k that was really freeing. It made you kind of go, 'Jeez, why do I analyse everything in my life?' Like playing someone who doesn't care what anyone thinks of them, it was very empowering and fun. You'd think it would make you angry, but it was the opposite. I was sitting in Donegal, looking out at the baby lambs, thinking life was great.' After one of the most gratifying streaks in her professional life, a long overdue break is still very much on the cards this year. 'I've always wanted to be an actress my whole life and I still have that, I just love it, but there are other things in life,' Condon reflects. 'There's my horses — I want to be a better rider, and I want to learn so much about the ocean. I have my horses, and think that when my horses are older and they're gone, what other thing would I like to explore? 'Scuba diving and marine life and freediving, all that ocean stuff really appeals to me. And I think that might be the next phase of my life. Horses are such a commitment, and such a lifestyle, so when that's wrapped up for me, I think I'll have to pivot to some other kind of all-consuming thing. It seems like a big second, hard mountain to climb, but that I could do something good in that way. 'I love taking care of things, I love being a mammy,' she adds. 'I love minding animals and making them feel good. I love knowing that my money is being used for something greater than me.' Condon describes her farm, just outside Seattle and home to her horses, dogs and cat, with huge affection. Her father bred horses when she was growing up in Tipperary, and her cousin, Richard, is a jockey. 'I mean, I basically bought my horses a house,' she says. 'That brings me a lot of joy, because sometimes I do feel that I don't understand my drive as an actor. I don't know where it came from. I don't know why I have this obsession. So it eases me a little to know, 'Well, I'm going to do this on the farm with the money I make from this movie,' as opposed to, 'Me, me, me, I'm going to buy a Prada handbag and I'm going to be famous.' That does nothing for me.' 'F1 'will show in Irish cinemas from Friday, June 27
Irish Independent
3 hours ago
- Irish Independent
‘I am the queen of being ghosted,' says Love Island's Dubliner Megan Forte Clarke
The Dubliner has been in a couple with English landscape gardener Tommy Bradley and, coincidentally, the pair share Italian heritage. So far, their 'coupling' on the show has been smooth sailing, but it is still early days in the explosive dating series. The reality dating show, where singles known as 'islanders' live together in a luxurious villa and must couple up to stay in the competition, is expected to run for approximately eight weeks. Viewers vote on their favourite couples and the winning pair at the end can walk away with a cash prize. Before entering the Spanish villa, Forte Clarke, from Finglas, shared exactly what she is looking for in a man. 'I tend to go for personality over looks, which has not done me very well in the past, but if I was to narrow down a type, I love a Timothee Chalamet-esque kind of vibe,' she said. 'I do love a ginger as well, but I think that's the Irish in me.' Forte Clarke (24) now lives in Brighton in southern England, where she works as an energy broker. She is also an aspiring actor, having trained as a musical theatre performer, and starred in panto. With her Irish charm and quick wit, she has been talked up as the new Maura Higgins for this year's show. Longford woman Maura gained fame in 2019 as a finalist on the fifth season of Love Island UK and has since carved out a successful career in television, modelling and presenting. It looks as if a similar success could be on the cards for well-liked Forte Clarke. When asked how that made her feel before she entered the Love Island villa, she said: 'Unreal! I'm like, yes, thank you. It's the biggest compliment ever, and a big boost.' Discussing whether she is feisty and outspoken like Higgins, Forte Clarke said: 'Definitely. I am my mother's daughter in that way. 'I'm a fiery lady, but I think, first and foremost, the Irish side of having a laugh and stuff comes first. But if I do have a problem with someone, I'm not afraid to say it.' Recalling her mum's reaction when she broke the news that she would be flying to the Spanish island, Forte Clarke said: 'She loves it. She loves Love Island, so she is buzzing with it.' Forte Clarke also considers her lookalike mum, Alison, her best friend. 'She is so clued up on it which makes me feel better, because I'd rather her know what goes on than for her to be shocked, but she's delighted.' Forte Clarke previously described herself as a modern-day Bridget Jones, to which she added: 'My dating life is hell and horror. I am the queen of being ghosted, so I feel in that sense I would compare myself to her. It just never seems to be going well for me.' Reflecting on her decision to give Love Island a shot, she said: 'I've done the whole dating apps. I'm just excited because it's a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity 'It's just a lot, the whole Hinge and Tinder [online dating process]. It's just awkward meeting up and it never goes well – for me anyway. 'I know some people find their husbands on Hinge, but I'm like, what Hinge are you using? I decided this was right for me, because you can't ghost me while I'm in the villa, because I'll be in the kitchen.' Despite being catapulted to overnight fame, Megan insisted she has friends in the industry who have been a guiding hand. 'I'm friends with Harriett [Blackmore] from last season. We worked together in Brighton for two years, so she's prepared me, and she's told me what to pack and stuff. 'We actually went to the same university, but not at the same time, and we worked in [clothing store] Flannels together. I feel like that has been a big help having her. 'I'm just excited because it's a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity." The Dubliner added she hoped her stage persona would work to her advantage on the hit show. 'I feel it puts me in a position where I'm used to meeting new people a lot, but in terms of confidence, I feel like I've been this way since I came out of the womb. 'It's a blessing and a curse – I'll yap to anyone.'
Irish Daily Mirror
3 hours ago
- Irish Daily Mirror
EuroMillions winner Dolores McNamara's life since €115 million win
This week one lucky Irish EuroMillion's player scooped up a record-breaking €250 million, sending the country reeling. The winning ticket, sold in Clifford's Centra on Shandon Street in Cork city, marks a first for the Rebel County and is the largest prize ever claimed in Ireland since EuroMillions launched here in 2004. After days of speculation and excitement, the National Lottery confirmed that the lucky winner has made contact with their Prize Claims team, officially ending the guessing game. The shop's owner, Ted Clifford, said he was delighted with the win, and there has been a great buzz in the shop since they found out the news. "Very exciting. It's huge. It's definitely going to be the hottest day of the year in Shandon Street," he said on RTÉ Radio One. One of the most famous wins prior to this week's historic jackpot is Limerick's Dolores McNamara, who snapped a life changing €115 million back in 2005. From her luxury homes to kidnap threats, here is everything you need to know about her life since her massive win. When Dolores picked up the life changing sum in 2005, she declined to speak to the press, with her solicitor issuing a statement on her behalf instead, RSVP Live reports. He said: "She is absolutely determined that her feet and the feet of her family, will remain firmly on the ground." Her win made her the 58th richest person in Ireland at the time, richer than Van Morrison or Enya. After her win, Dolores and her husband Adrian moved into Lough Derg Hall, a vast property and estate in Ogonnolloe, overlooking Lough Derg. The Limerick native purchased the 10,000 sq ft hill-top property for €1.75m in 2005, after it had reportedly attracted the interest of Hollywood actor Robert De Niro. The lavish country manor, boasting amazing lakeside views, at the end of a half-mile long private entrance, fronted by electric gates and an eight-foot high wall, is set on 38 acres, including a coach house. Dolores additionally purchased houses in and around the area for her six children, Dawn, Gary, Kim, Kevanne, Dean, and Lee. In the years after her win, it was reported that the family had to invest in around the clock security after receiving a number of kidnapping threats. In 2005, the media reported that Dolores' son Gary McNamara, his partner and their child left their Castletroy home to stay at a private location after reports of a kidnapping plot. In 2021, Dolores' husband Adrian passed away following an illness. He passed away at home surrounded by family, and was laid to rest at St Flannan's Church, Killaloe, at 12pm, on Saturday, April 24. Dolores has only ever spoken once publicly since the lifechanging win, when she gave an interview to her local paper, the Limerick Leader. "Buying a ticket for that Euro jackpot was a spur of the moment decision. I'd actually gone into the shop to buy a top-up for my phone and just asked the lady for a Lotto ticket," she told them.
