Donal Óg Cusack out of the closet and into the clover
As a sports addict who would support any type of game I could not help but hear the story of Donal Óg Cusack over the last few weeks.
Donal is the goalkeeper for the Cork Hurling team if you didn’t already know that and has just told the world that he is gay, I admire his decision 100% and fair play to him.
It stops there though.
In what I see as an incredible cynical move Donal timed this announcement with the launch of his book “Come what may” and thus ended Cork’s worst kept secret, I mean in fairness lads the dogs on the street knew Donal was gay (not that it mattered a jot to anyone whether he was gay or straight) it wasn’t as if he had gone to any great lengths to hide it.
Donal’s book which was serialised in the Daily Mail, a homophobic newspaper which last week suggested that Stephen’s Gatley’s death was down to his sexual orientation, surely if Donal was as honest and open he would have canned this serialization immediately, no the rumoured €50,000 made it all better.
Declan Cashin in yesterdays Irish Independent practically made me sick
“I cannot convey to you how proud I am of Donal Óg, and how momentous an event this is for gay men and women in this country”
In fucking fairness Declan are you fucking kidding me?
“A momentous moment for gay man and women in this country” Non celebrity people come out to that their family and friends everyday and they don’t get lines in newspapers. They don’t get love from Perez Hilton.
Everyone in Cork knew Donal Óg was gay, this was announced as his career was on the wane and to push sales of what would probably have been a very average book written by a guy who certainly isn’t the most popular in real life.
I spoke to a bunch of gay friends before I wrote this as I was worried it would come across as rather glib but the overall response was very positive.
What do you think?
Is he taking the Michael with the title of that book?
Strikes me as the kind of guy who is desperate to believe – and for the rest of the world to believe – that he is a special snowflake. Being gay wasn’t of use to him until now, but he needs a few quid and some attention as he’s no longer in the spotlight as much as his big ego would like.
‘ a guy who certainly isn’t the most popular in real life.
What is the point in this statement? I think you make some fair points in your post, but in my opinion, his likeability is completely irrelevant.
Emmmm… not just in Cork Pat. I don’t know anyone (who actually knows who he is at all) who didn’t know he is gay.
Opportunistic fool.
I didn’t know he was gay.
But then, I know more about time travel than I do about GAA.
Come What May, though? Seriously?
I can think of one worse, but I’m not gonna…..no, I won’t post it here. It’s a cracker, though.
And why the hell is he dressed like a lycra Ninja?
Tricky one Pat. It was almost certainly identified as a no brainer to boost sales, and just couldn’t resist his one time pension shot. Where to go from here? Next book??
Grayzie, I think the point was that he’s not well liked by people who know him, and so needed all the help he could get to even secure a book deal, let alone sell copies. That’s my interpretation anyway. If you’re a jerk to people, it does come back to bite you on the backside, and then you have to pull stunts like this in a mad scramble for relevance.
Not well liked? Well obviously not well liked by many because he had the rallying power and respect/fear from so many players to turn the GPA into a more powerful organisation.
The GAA is no sweetness of an organisation and very resistant to change – nicely nicely gets you crushed.
Also timing the national talking point alongside a product launch is exactly what businesses do to survive – yet when someone Irish does it, it’s cynical. This smells of Paddywhackery to me.
The Irish Mail and UK’s The Mail both attract the same type of reader so I see getting major space inside that paper to tell his story as a major bonus and possibility to change the opinions of the readers – now I think THAT makes it all better.
I didn’t know he was gay. Cork isn’t the centre of the universe and what’s common knowledge there isn’t necessarily a big deal in the rest of the country.
GAA players write books all the time. This is a big deal to him, a big part of his life, why wouldn’t he put it in his book? It’s his right to come out in whatever way he wishes and a book is not the worst way, allowing as it does something a bit more three-dimensional than the rumours and whispers that have followed him up to now.
The coming out of a famous person is a bigger deal in terms of national attitudes simply because more people hear about it. That is why this is different from the coming out of a non-celebrity. Sport, and GAA in particular, are bastions of traditional models of masculinity. That’s why it’s more different again from other types of celebrity.
Its unfortunate that at a time when he is so exposed, there are a line of people taking shots at him, even if they are all careful to deny that it has anything to do with his sexuality. I’m not questioning the sincerity, but the timing strikes me as crass.
Did none of your bunch of gay friends notice you’d mis-spelled Gately?:)
I’m on the other team. Lived in Cork since 2005 after living abroad for 30 years. Know nothing about hurling except that it’s a game designed for Kilkenny to win. I never even heard of this great goalkeeper until this week.
Is this practice at knocking a person over? Irish people often give me the impression they are experts at knocking and lousy at supporting each other.
He’s a hero as far as I’m concerned. Anything that makes it easier for gay people to live without fear of criticism from the others is good by me. I admire the man. I expect he coming out will make it easier for many others.
You may all know things about Donal Og I don’t know. He may be a dreadful person for all I know. But taking it on face value, he’s made Ireland a slightly better place in my eyes.
As for making money from it, we all need to eat and clothe ourselves. What’s the point of begrudging him good sales? Of course, he may be an awful writer? May have hired a ghost writer? I do know Rohan O’Gara’s book wasn’t high literature, or ever a good autobiography. But sports people who write are usually not much good at the writing and much better at the story telling.
Now I suppose I’ll have to read the book and see what it is that most people in Cork get excited about.
Didn’t take long to be branded a homophobe did it Pat? You obviously don’t know the right gay people Pat.
LOL at Pat bring marked as an Irish-basher. Yeah, show me anyone who does as much to big-up Irish entrepreneurs as Mr Phelan.
You’ve struck a nerve, Pat.
I can hardly think of a better way to help demolish some of the old gay stereotypes people have in their minds then for a star Irish hurler to come out as gay. Will it confuse some heteros? Sure it will, but so what? Hopefully it will teach them the lesson that gay people are everywhere—-even, most likely, within their own families.
Pat, gay people DON’T just come out everyday in this country – that’s why Donal Og’s high profile coming out is such a big deal, and for you not to grasp that, and to pettily dismiss it just because you and sone local people in Cork knew about it (or more accurately had heard rumours to that effect) displays an astonishing ignorance about what it’s really like to be a gay person in this country, particularly in rural Ireland. Like it or not Pat, he is the first major GAA player to do this, and whatever his reasons, it’s a huge event for gay people in this country. Apologies if my article made you sick; I assure you that your spiteful bilge on this blog post induced the same effect in me
@declan @commentors
people seem to have gone down a road here that wasn’t written on this post.
I made it clear in the first paragraph that I admired Donal Og for “coming out”
what I dislike about the whole think is its use as a cynical marketing ploy to sell more books.
Very few haven’t commented on that?
I wonder why?
Am I seeing something that “NOBODY” else sees?
You are knocking him Pat – not for being gay (Mulley got it wrong when he said you were labelled a homophobe), but for where his agent sold his book and for making money from his book. What you want – for him not to make a few bob?
If he said nothing about being gay he’d be lambasted. I dunno why GAA players have to tell us about their sex lives in the first place. Who gives a sh*t?
Pat, you say you admire Donal Og for coming out, but then snidely dismiss the wider implications of his coming out for other gay people, closeted or otherwise in this country.
I go back to your statement that “non celebrity people come out to that their family and friends everyday and they don’t get lines in newspapers”. They don’t Pat, and I’ve received emails from quite a few gay men this week, and in the past when I’ve written publicly about being gay, guys who are intensely sad and anxious about their sexuality, and some of whom would even rather die than admit it. If Donal Og’s coming out makes any difference to that situation, if it normalises it someway for people, and drives home the message that gay people really are in every walk of life, then I don’t give a shit how much he makes from the book, or what publicity he gets.
My point, and the point of my sickening article, is that this is about something bigger than Donal Og’s coming out. If it is to publicise the book, so what?
I can’t believe that a professional journalist would leave an unprofessional and nasty comment like the one above under Declan Cashin’s name. Pat, you may have an imposter on your hands who’s trying to smear Cashin’s name by leaving barmy comments here.
Twitter: paulsavage
22nd October, 2009 at 8:21 am
I too knew he was gay, but never really thought anything about it. To be honest I didn’t know if wasn’t public knowledge. Either way I applaud his steps for “publicly coming out”, but the idea that releasing this info now to increase sales is a bad one. Whoever thought that this would be an extra (or even the only) reason people would buy the book this Christmas, is probably right (hell we are discussing it now).
It does seem like a marketing ploy to increase sales and I don’t think it was the best way to do things. I do wonder what the opinion of the gay community on this, does it just highlight something that has been hush hush for a long time, i.e. the difficultly of being gay in a (semi-)professional team sport ? Or is it just a ploy to get books out the door.
I would be with you Pat and be more on the cynical side of the fence.
Paul
As i said in my tweet when this was being bandied about last Monday, ‘Donal Og is gay, well done, now move along nothing to see here’
Im happy for Donal even if, like Pat i query the timing of his announcement given Gatelys untimely passing and his book launch. But unless im wrong i live in a country where im allowed to do that without being branded a homophobe. Pat should be afforded the same courtesy i believe. And if only the bandwagoners would jump on the cancer services wagon with the same vehemant defence you show to gay rights .. Just a thought!
I think Pat the point you are making is he came out to say he was gay to sell his book? am I right or wrong?
if that is the case , does not everybody use what means they may to sell? newespapers use stories to sell ,good or bad they use them , and we as sometimes fools believe every thing they say , to tell you the truth I could not care less if he was gay or not , if his book is good I will read it , if you had lets say a phone to sell to me , you are going to use what ever means within the law to sales talk me into buying that phone ,right? and having a partner as a sales man I know what shite they talk so they can sell ,Donal might be using that he is gay to sell his book ,or maybe after writing the book he decided to be honest with himself and the people around him .who knows , but one thing donal does not deserve after giving pleasure in hurling to thousands of people is for people who has never met him to come on here and slag him off , I know you are not slagging him off, but the people who wrote there comments on here slagging donal off has never met the man , no more than I have, just to agree with what and I say what ,they think your saying pat ,
Donal og good luck on your book , good luck on your sex life and Pat good luck on what you do best in your job to make a few pounds and if we leave everyone alone to do there thing in life we will all live happy ever after , have a good day all
I’m a gay hurling fan, and have heard the rumours for years. But there’s a big difference between rumour and public confirmation. Anyone who can’t see how important it is for gay men in rural Ireland to have someone like Donal Og come out is blinkered beyond belief. It’s very significant for gay people in Ireland.
A bit of me wishes Donal Og didn’t sell his story to the Mail, of all papers, if I’m honest! The timing after the Jan Moir article couldn’t have been worse. I’ve no problem at all with him getting money for it – a book is the natural forum to discuss his sexuality – he’s not going to do it the week before an All Ireland in an interview, is he?
And he deserves extra praise for coming out while he’s still playing – all over the world, most sportsmen leave it until they retire.
Never really liked Donal Og, but always thought he was a good keeper. Still don’t think I like him, but kudos to him for this!
I think the first incredibly brave move he did, was coming out to his family. The second was coming out publicly, as he is the first Irish sports star to do that. I also think he was very smart to do that via a book.
You seem offended (the point of your post?) that he will make more money/book sales because he chose that medium to come out. Would you have been happier if he did it via a Sunday Indo interview, where the Sindo gets all the benefits of extra copies sold? That’s just plain stupid. With your new found aversion to making money, are you going to hide your next MAXroam press release to minimise sales?
In all fairness, this was a very Moirish type post.
Liam, how on earth can you compare this post to the vile pig filth written by Jan Moir? Way to further discredit an already illogical response.
I think a re-read of the post is in order. Pat is not anti-profit (puh-leeeeze!). He can stick up for himself, but I have to wonder if anyone is bothering to read what he wrote. In summary:
1) Dónal’s sexual orientation was about as much of a secret as Liberace’s.
2) Dónal had no qualms associating himself and his book with the paper that published Jan Moir’s disgusting slurs against Stephen Gateley and gay individuals.
3) Dónal is no more a hero than the non-celebrities who come out to friends, family, and colleagues every day with no fanfare whatsoever, and without the cushion of public recognition, fans, or considerable wealth to soften the potential hit. Where’s their glory, praise, and recognition?
4) Dónal is a bit of a berk and thus perhaps not the role model many would have you believe.
5) Much ado about nothing.
Personally, I think if you can get rich on a non-story, more power to you – as long as you are not defrauding or otherwise stealing from someone. That doesn’t mean it’s not dodgy as all get-out that this guy’s being lauded as the Great Gay Hope.
NB “The gay community” isn’t like a big senate where every gay person votes on what “the gay community” thinks. It’s made up of individual human beings, each with his or her own ideas and opinions. Identity politics has convinced far too many people that collectives matter more than individual humans. Wrong.
I was writing a different post on here, but it was so double entendre laden that i just had to stop writing it. Giggles etc. But …anyway….
I certainly dont think the “Cashin Bashin” of Pat was necessary or any of the other “Moirish” comparisons…..(Read the article? actually read it?)
But, as usual, a fairly rational article, is cast in to the fiery pulpit of irrational debate/point scoring, that only a threaded comments section on a blog can become.
We really should all be more shocked by some of the aforementioned Opiate mimicking, knee (Brain) jerk responses in this comment section than anything else. Getting het up for nothing is…well….pointless. But i hear thats a valid hobby these days!
Liam (and others),
I think you miss the point here.
The use of “coming out” as a cynical marketing tool, timed to maximise book sales rather than any honest principles is what is somewhat distasteful imho. That together with selling his soul to the most homophobic and low-brow “Oirish” tabloid, to maximise short-term gain, smacks of “cashing-in” on his sexuality rather than honesty and openness.
Just my 2 cents….
J
I have to agree with Pat here. I admire anyone that comes out publicly or privately about their homosexuality but in this instance it has been tarnished.
It’s as simple as this, if Donal Og cared at all about making the biggest psychological impact on the Irish people about homosexuality and if he cared about changing people’s mindsets maybe he would have chosen a less self serving time to come out so that people wouldn’t be able to question his motives.
If in fact he decided to come out because his agent said it would be a good way of increasing sales he was in fact using his sexuality and the remaining taboo in Irish society about it to generate increased book sales and didn’t give a shit how it may have been perceived by a large proportion of the Irish people (including homosexuals themselves).
I’m all for public figures coming out and trying to change the mentality of the puritans or helping other gay people accept their sexuality but to do so in the circumstances in which Donal Og has done it(and for the reasons Donal Og did it and then be labelled a hero) leaves a sour taste in the mouth, for me anyway.
To a certain extent I can understand the criticism of Dónal Óg, But the serialisation of a sportstar’s autobiography in the Sunday newspapers is hardly uncommon. How many soccer players have done it in the past? I honestly think that Dónal has just been unfortunate in his timing that his article coincided with the death of Stephen Gately and the Daily Mail’s ‘homophobic’ article on this subject the previous week. If Donal had signed a big money deal with the Daily Mail he was hardly going to cancel it at the last minute was he? 50k is alot of money for an amateur sportsman….and pub owner!
no offence….. but is really that [or at all] ‘controversial’ to be gay. For me, as long as you’re not an eejit, I don’t really care what you are [I feel a Martin Luther speech coming on here.... ]
In that context, i’m gonna write a book call ‘its not easy being green’ and ‘come out’ as a horticultural heterosexual….. then Pat can write a post on me
Warm up the couch there Tubridy…
peter
@jackie
1. It was not public.
2. Assume book deal signed before that article?
3. Agreed, but this is his story and the fact that he is a sports star, makes it a very public story.
4. I have no idea if he is a berk as I do not know him, but I’m not sure it’s relevant.
5. Yet you seem to be a very active PA here?
Have re-read the post which seems to say “grand fella for coming out, but the fecker is going to make money out of it”.
I just don’t begrudge him the money. It’s a fairly big decision coming out in Ireland. More power to him for doing it his way.
enough from me.
@liam Only if “PA” stands for “pillock alarm”.
I think someone’s values and the way they treat others is quite relevant – indeed, I find it much more relevant than who they fall in love with or have intercourse with. That’s why I, and millions of others, are desperate for the homophobia to stop and for sexual orientation to be taken off the table as a factor determining a person’s worth. Your mileage may vary.
Of course @patphelan is no homophobe or unsupporter of Irish bizfolk. The very opposite in fact.
However Paul O’Mahony makes a great point. We are rubbish at supporting one another. Twitter would never happen here. And that’s just silly.
OK let’s do this in big letters for the slow readers in the class:
Coming out = YAY!
Coming out coincidentally timed with your book = BOO
Coming out and serialising your story to the Daily Bloody Mail of all places, a paper with a *barely* masked anti-gay agenda = DOUBLE BOO
You may disagree with this line of reasoning and are free to hold another opinion, but concluding Pat is homophobic based on the above line of logic is nonsensical.
Come on lads i think we are getting a bit too hot headed over this – everyone has made valid points – he has used this to sell his book its a fact – its not to be a role model to younger gay men – its about sales and promotion. He is due to do Late Late this week and i bet he would never of got an invite on if he had not come out – so its media sensationalism. @Declan – Declan to be fair you have used your coming out to advance your career. You seem to mention it in alot in your articles and having seen your facebook page – you constantly use it to promote yourself and post pics of yourself enjoyin the benifits of your “so called” fame. Enough already – we are bored with it mate
Nobody called anyone a homophobe. The only comments here where that word is used are those accusing those who disagree with this post of alleging homophobia. Several people have had their motivations questioned here, but the author of this post isn’t one of them.
Maybe it’s naive but could it not be that he:
1) Previously made no secret of being gay but didn’t make a big deal about it either, refraining from commenting on his sexuality in interviews etc. (assuming he was asked).
2) Wrote a full account of his life in his bio which included his sexual preference.
3) Had that account serialised by a newspaper that would, naturally, seek out the most attention-grabbing aspect of what I imagine to be a generally dull piece of work?
That’s not to suggest that he’s not taken advantage of the publicity to generate book sales, nor does it forgive him for doing a deal with a generally homophobic newspaper.
All I’m suggesting is that his sexuality was going to be in this book assuming he was honest in it and to most people (outside of Cork at least) it’s a new piece of information.
(1) Almost the first thing a publisher asks is “what will make people buy this book?” “Is there the equivalent of a ‘killer application’?”
By implication, unless there is more than an account of GAA matches, the book will not sell enough.
(2) The publication date for such a book is set months in advance. There is a marketing campaign planned, booksellers to urge order copies for sale. That’s why it’s unwise to make points associated with your view of what the (unknown-until-now) journalist wrote about Stephen Gately.
(3) When my book is ready, I hope my publisher sets up an auction among Sunday newspapers. I’ll be keen to make as much money as possible, and if the newspaper is being read by a lot of people, I’ll be keen to get my stuff a big audience. So what’ll I do if the Daily Mail is the high bidder? [If I was to decide on the basis of the newspaper I respect most, it would be the Financial Times that I'd want to serialise my book on Depression...]
Certainly this blogpost & thread is drawing some interesting stuff out of the woodwork. Thank you all.
Just to add – those saying the deal would have been done with the Mail well before the Gately/Moir controversy are right but the newspaper’s homophobia is not a new-found thing.
You could also say the same as to why you wrote this blog post in the first place.
I suspect it’s because in reality it gets you more blog hits and a reaction which you seem to be relishing in.
The fact is, he used his coming out to sell more books is a marketing ploy. I say fair play to him. He has that right and no one can deny him that. Which one of us who have left a comment here would not have done the same thing? And dont lie! Also we as a nation/race or whatever we choose to call ourself are hell bent on taking our own down. Why do we do it? I am at a loss. At least Pat you got people talking, thinking and arguing on the topic.
Tony
no one can deny him this “marketing” ploy, well I suppose that’s your opinion
if it’s all a marketing ploy don’t be selling him to me as some sort of gay hero then
you can’t have it both ways
Pat,
It is my opinion and I bet a lot of others too. Who is selling him to you as a gay hero? The Indo? Not the chap himself. Other people (non celebs) use their own crutches/ailments in life to garner support for their own reasons and so what. Is this just a matter of you just not liking this guy?
Coming out – YAY!
Coming out DELIBERATELY timed with your book = double YAY! as maximises impact and might move Ireland on from “it’s ok to be gay, but don’t go shouting about it” mentality
Serialising in Daily Mail = triple YAY! as this (+ perhaps The Sun) is the audience that needs educating the most.
By the law of averages, there must be many gay GAA stars & when a good smattering leave the closet, it will become a non-story, but he is the first and will be an icon as a result and like anyone else, is entitled to market and promote his book. He will make money but that does not take away from the fact that he was the first “all star” to step out and that (whether he is a berk or not) was a very brave move.
Pat,
I think your criticism is based on a flawed understanding of what happened. Adam Maguire’s comment above should set you straight on a few things.
In particular, it’s worth pointing out that Cusack wrote about his sexuality in a section of his book that was serialised in the Mail on Sunday and Daily Mail. This is an autobiography so it is proper that a fullsome account of his life would talk about this aspect of it. It’s not fair to criticise him for that.
Also, the serialisation of books is common practice and I do not see anything wrong with it. A newspaper is right to choose whatever section it feels will be of most interest to its readers. So it is no surprise that in this case it chose a section dealing with the sexual orientation of the first ever high profile Irish sportsperson who is openly gay. It should also be noted that the paper serialised sections about the Cork hurlers strike and Cusack’s experiences growing up and playing for Cloyne. They didn’t make the frontpage but they are important aspects of Cusack’s story and their inclusion in the paper emphaises that there is much more to the book than Cusack’s sexuality and it was the newspaper that chose to focus more on his sexuality.
As you said, Cusack’s sexual orientation was common knowledge in Cork. I’m from Longford and I heard about it more than two years ago. So to characterise as announcement the inclusion of something in a autobiography that was fairly common knowledge is wrong.
Finally, the Damien Mulley is wrong to say that the comments before his had accused you of being homophobic. They did not. Wouldn’t you agree on that point, Pat?
Tony
thats a pretty cheap shot from you, did you read the post at all
I will leave it off and put it down to inexperience
Never met the chap in my life and confirmed in the post I support him all the way in his decision.
I agree though people who aren’t celebs use lots of different forums to tell us about the crutches/ailments, quite a lot actually
I no longer understand why coming out is still considered so brave. Am I from a younger generation that that has moved on from the ‘shock value’ of being gay?
Is the slightly older generation still that hung up on someones sexual choices?
No matter what anyone says, its not the fact that Donal Og is gay that is driving this blog, or making waves in the media. What is making this such a big deal is peoples reaction to it. Get over it.
Its a money maker for him. I would have done the exact same, no doubt. But stop praising this man for whoring himself out to the media to increase his book sales, as that is all he has done.
Call me naive, but if you still think coming out is such a big thing then you are living in the past.
Pat,
My comment was certainly not a cheap shot. And I did read the post that is why I commented. Please do not put it down to inexperience. I am bigger than that. I was simply making a comment based on what I felt from the post.
Chris, coming out might not be a big deal to the world at large, but for the individual who has to do it, it’s massive. Even if one comes from a “liberal” family, it can cause all kinds of ructions. It’s a hugely stressful life event that many of us are fortunate to be spared.
Dónal is still a shameless berk. I’d rather hear the stories of ordinary folk who decide to shed the secrecy and take their (undeserved) lumps as a result.
Tony: Not everyone is motivated purely by money and self-glorification. Thank God.
Jackie,
I still believe that most people if given the opportunity to increase sales of their book, film or whatever else they are flogging would do the same. It gives them an edge. He announced he was gay,so you now have a bunch of people who probably would not have bought it, now go and and get it. Maybe they want to see if there are some real “juicy” bits in there. I dont know.
I still dont know why he is a shameless berk.
Tony: I don’t begrudge him writing his truth. Aligning himself with the Daily Mail – a paper which openly hates gay people (and immigrants, and women) – is offensive, as are the breathless proclamations that Ireland has found a new hero in Dónal Óg Cusack.
Whatever motives Cusack had, coming out in the old fashioned machismo world of GAA / Hurling is big news. Having witnessed a family member coming out in the last couple of years, and the sheer agony he went through to get to that position, including extreme depression and thoughts of suicide, ANYTHING that normalises coming out in Irish society today is a positive thing.
It may have been common knowledge (I’m one of the ones that didn’t know, and wouldn’t care) but he was hardly going to have a press conference just to announce that he was gay. So, writing a book seems to be the perfect way to confirm something that the dogs in the street already knew. If it makes that guy with the megaphone in Thurles an even bigger gobshite, all the better.
Sorry i can’t say i fully agree, yes the timing is most definately to make euros for the book but in these times of economic rescession who’d really blame him.
As for those who think he isn’t a hero, i’m sorry but he’s the first of the GAA (and sporting) community in Ireland to come out publicly, i’m sorry but that IS a big deal. It may have been common knowledge but not to everyone, and certainly not to the kids who idolised him. This is a big step for Ireland (and the GAA who, in my experience, predominantly consist of ignorant country folk) to finally realise that being gay is normal, and from living in somewhere like Sydney you see how far Ireland still has to go.
So what if he makes a couple of thousand out of it, more power to him i say. He devoted his life to a sport that consumes you and gives you little back in return. I can’t stand this type of Irish begrudery , and that is what i think this is. So he sold his story, so what, how exactly does it affect you?
Oh and if it was so easy to come out as a male sports star then why isn’t there anyone else doing it???
After reading all the comments, in which everyone has had their own point, the thing that is really annoying me is Jackie’s insistence that Donal is a “berk”/ “shameless berk” as she is at such pains to repeatedly point out. If you know him personally then ok, but I get the feeling you have never met the guy Jackie?
As someone who doesn’t know him from Adam I don’t think I could make this prejudgment.
how can you pass judgment on something like this? i am presuming you dont know him, or his family?!? so you dont know. I think it was incredibly brave. the main reason that everyone is talkin about it is because being gay and playing gaa just dont go togther in the country, and thats a shame. donal has given men and women all over ireland, who play gaa or not, a chance to be who they want to be. fair fucks to him, i hope he rakes it in from the sales of the book!
Leave the guy alone. The people who say he came out to make money are begrudgers.
The politicians in this country are stealing from the taxpayers everyday and nobody seems to be able to get through to them.
Fair play to him and I hope he makes lots of money from his book. Just like our Bertie. Nobody said anything about him, did they.
I heard the rumour years ago that he was gay, I heard the rumour during the week that the book was serialised in the mail because they wanted to out him last year and this serialasion was payoff.. Think what ye like but I think he is the gaa answer to Roy Keane
An international perspective (from the U.S.):
I don’t have a clue who Pat Phelan is, but Google led me here. Suffice to say that this story has international legs. I don’t know if Mr. Cusack is a “berk,” but at least on the Late Late Show segment I watched (YouTube, natch), he comes across as acceptably well-spoken and forthright. Conclusion: this is news, good news, and the marketing “ploy” (can we say “tactic”?) is well-suited to carry the story beyond the limited bounds of County Cork. Open your eyes a little wider, please.
Wow, it really gets peoples’ backs up to use the word “berk”. I can only hope they know what it’s cockney rhyming slang for…
A brave post Pat, one that resonates with many people, and needed to be made. Cusack could have gone public on this without lining it up with his book launch. It’s exactly this kind of cynicism that makes acceptance of gay people all the harder. And his involvement with the mail is disgusting, given the circumstances. That his book will be accorded tax exempt status is all the more cringe-making. Besides his homosexuality, the rest of the book is frankly boring, and just tells us what a bunch of tossers GAA players can be.
The media hagiography of Cusack – and it must be said Gately too (as a resident of the inner city I can tell you Sherriff Street was not united in grief for somebody who put SFA back into that wretched community – nor is it some kind of San Francisco Castro on the East Wall) – is just frightening.
Thanks for having the courage. I have no doubt there will be those who dont like your post and will be immediately running to Damien and co to start a twhate campaign. Tough titties bhoys.
It took alot fo courage for him to come out. His book is getting great reviews I have heard.
I think everything that could be said on this issue has been said, but did someone up the line in a post just generalize gaa supporters as ignorant country people? Donal’s orientation was an open secret. He remained on the team. Are there any current soccer players in urbanite Ireland or the UK openly secretly gay. Or do we need to find some dogs in some streets to ask. I believe there was a soccer player in England who came out quite a few years ago, believe he took his own life. I actually think rural people can be just as open minded as urbanites
“Cusack could have gone public on this without lining it up with his book launch. It’s exactly this kind of cynicism that makes acceptance of gay people all the harder.” (CJ Byrne)
As a gay man, I’ve always found it a lot easier to accept straight people who don’t use personal revelations to get media attention to launch a book (imagine doing such a thing..)
Still CJ has read the book (and found it boring) so a marketing job well done by Donal.
Declan’s piece was one of the worst pieces of journalism I’ve read ever. It’s 2009, there are difficulties in coming out for a minority these days in Ireland but older gays have an issue with the world that was hostile to them decades earlier. Build a bridge and get over it. The world is moving on so save the moral outrage for something else.
Declan makes his money from being the default gay for the Indo and this article was just one more shameless piece exploiting sexuality for monetary gain.