Part 8. Helmets, heroes and hounds!

My mantra has always been “I am not a girly-girl”.  This probably started way back when I was about 4 and wanted to be a boy and would only wear hand-me-down clothes from my older brother, and not clothes from my older sisters (sorry girls but I would never have worn any of your clothes).  I always hated skirts and except for a very brief period in the 80`s where I wore what you wouldn’t really call skirts - maybe ‘long belts’ - sneaked out of the house in a bag and put on in a friend’s house.  My father would have had a fit!  I never did high heels, and with the exception of work, the wilder my hair the better.  This stemmed from having constant helmet-head - all you long haired bikers/racers will know what I mean.

I remember my confirmation suit when I was 12:  mum brought me to a department store to get something special, she kept picking out dresses and I just kept shaking my head.  And then I saw it - a three piece blue safari suit (I know, but remember, 12!).  It came with a jacket, a skirt and pants, something to keep both Mum and me happy.  I wore the skirt for the church bit and the minute that was over, straight back to the house, quick change to pants and off to enjoy the rest of the day.  I’m very sorry there’s no photos of this available – hahaha!

One of the hardest things has been clearing out my wardrobe as lots of my clothes and shoes/boots are not suitable anymore. My nieces were all amazed at how un-lady like and retro my clothes were, and delighted to help themselves.  Take away the suits from work and it was all jeans, shirts, dungarees and denim jackets.  I have kept a few of those and two ball gowns both worn only once (yes I gave in twice and went to the ball like a princess and did not turn into a pumpkin at midnight) . I had my hair cut very short in January and hate it, and just want it long again.  So if you see me in the near future and I am wearing a hat, you will know why.

Neil did not see me in a skirt until the MND made me have to wear them for a while - thank God it’s back to jeans now when we go out.  I am also happy to say I have knitted two jumpers for Neil but you will have to ask him if he is happy to wear them.

I have always loved sport, starting with football - being a Crystal Palace fan since childhood (go the Eagles all you non-believers, yahoo we are staying up).  My brother Andy went to a school where they played rugby so had to cheer on the team even if my brother was not on it.  I have been able to swim all my life as far as I am concerned, as I do not remember learning, and I swam for the Dublin Swimming Club and also the Dundrum Swim Club as well.  My wonderful Uncle Barry was a coach with the Dublin Club and I always loved the training sessions as we got to hang out with our cousins too.  When I was not swimming I was running for Dundrum Athletics and also playing basketball in school - even managing to throw in some Irish dancing too!

God it’s amazing how much energy you have when you’re young…  I think a switch goes off in your head when you hit about 17, or in my case you discover boys, and suddenly need all your spare time to go to clubs etc - so no more running or swimming.

When I got my first job as a commis chef in the Green Isle Hotel the lads used to say “Eimear is the only girl in Dublin with two backs” and all because I dressed in jeans and hand-knit jumpers that did nothing to emphasise my figure.  Yes, I did knit - my guilty secret.  And then when I got my first motorbike, my leather dungarees and leather jacket, they were convinced I was a boy with long hair!

So, as mentioned previously I love soccer, rugby, formula 1, motorbike racing, Tour de France (yes I know about the drugs, but having driven one of the stages in a car I’m amazed that they’re not all on drugs!), GAA, and nowadays I am happy to add Hot Rod Racing to the list.  I have been to lots of Isle of Man TT races and I have marshalled motorbike racing at Mondello Park.  I have been to Selhurst Park to watch the Eagles and have been in the stands and shouted at the TV for lots of other football, rugby and GAA matches. I have never been to a Grand Prix but would rather watch on TV, though I am happy to say I have been to watch National Hot Rods in Tipperary, Northern Ireland, Scotland and England.  I still get up at silly o’clock to watch the Grands Prix live and am looking forward to the football world cup in Brazil. I also hope to get back to Northern Ireland soon to watch some more Hot Rod racing.

My hero is Joey Dunlop:  a hero to me not just because he was a brilliant bike rider and racer, but because of what he did out of race season.  He would fill his truck with medical supplies and food (most of which he bought himself) and drive across Europe to orphanages in Romania and other eastern block countries, and never spoke about this side of his life.  That to me is a hero.

I had the pleasure of watching Joey race and win many times, and the great pleasure of meeting him on the ferry from the Isle of Man to Belfast.  He was so nice and easy to talk to, we had a great laugh, and from that time to this I have had a photo of me and Joey on my bed-side locker.  This must be getting on for about 25 years now - it might seem a bit strange to some of you but perfectly normal to me.  Maybe there is some girl out there now who has a photo of her and her favourite Hot Rod driver on her bed side locker?  You never know…

I'm posting a scan of the very "bedside photo" of me and Joey in my Facebook group - and just to kill two birds with one stone, I knitted the jumper I'm wearing in the picture!

I have been playing Fantasy Premier League Football for the past 3 years and was so happy this year when I was able to put Crystal Palace down as my favourite football team.  I am doing crap again this season, never seem to pick the right captain, but just you wait:  one of these years I will beat you Frank the Dog (Neil’s team!). I play Fantasy Hot Rods too on Neil’s Hot Rod website, and have to say am not doing much better on that either this year!  Come on Chris Haird, you have been my Captain all year - I need some wins please.  The Super Six game where you predict football match results is going a little better, but I am never in any danger of winning the jackpot any week.

Maybe if there was a Fantasy Scuba Diver league or Fantasy Knitting league, I would do better.

Something else which most of you may not know; I spent most of my life terrified of dogs – big, small, did not matter.  I would never go near a dog and would walk miles out of my way to avoid one, cowering like a child if a dog came within 10 feet of me.  This was a fear that goes all the way back to a winter in the 1970`s when I was a small girl and an alsatian dog attacked me, and only for my heavy winter coat I would have been torn to shreds.  So my fear was not some random thing.

So now we get to Frank the Dog and how he ended up living in my house…

So I met Neil, thought “he’s okay I’ll have some of that”, and then found out he had a dog!  Well our friendship nearly only lasted about an hour.  Neil had to very slowly help me get over my fear, and with his help I was finally able to pet a dog and allow him to come near me.  I have never let Frank lick me and never will, and I will never put anything into his mouth…all those teeth, far too scary.  My family were all amazed when Neil moved in not because a man was moving in, but because I was letting a dog in the house.  This was something that took all my brothers and sisters by surprise - Catherine did not quite believe it until she came home from Australia for Christmas last year and saw Frank the Dog for real.  All my family have been heard singing at some stage “it must be love love love”.  How right they are!  If you're not too squeamish there's a picture of mine and Neil's first "selfie" in early July 2011 in my Facebook group.

More soon...

Ciao!

Eimear X