Remember The Wild Geese This St Patrick’s Day

Posted on February 27, 2013 by aaron

The St Patrick’s Day celebrations have always been important to Wild geese found throughout the world.

Traditionally, it was a special feast in Ireland, a day for prayer and remembrance. But over time, as many Wild Geese travelled to all corners of the world, St Patrick’s Day became a time for those abroad to connect with their countrymen and remember Ireland: a celebration of the bonds of solidarity.

Solidarity bound The Wild Geese together in 1691. United under their beautiful dream of freedom for everyone, they chose to leave Ireland, thinking they had secured liberty for their country. As they boarded ships bound for France they took the name The Wild Geese in the hope and belief that this would be a temporary strategic exile.

Today St Patrick’s Day incorporates everyone. Its a day that the world can stand together and celebrate the important bonds of the courageous. On this day everyone is a little bit Irish.

So this St Patrick’s Day we’re celebrating those bonds of solidarity and have loads of exciting events coming up in the UK. Join us on Facebook to keep up to date with our events.

Your St Patrick’s Day celebrations start here. Join us in remembering The Wild Geese.

Wherever you are in the world, if you are of Irish descent you are part of this story and entitled to call yourself Wild Geese.

Men of Action: Daniel Day-Lewis Makes Oscar History With Third Best Actor Win

Posted on February 25, 2013 by aaron

First came the Golden Globe. Then came the SAG awards. Then the BAFTA. And now Daniel Day-Lewis has made cinema history by being the only man to win three Best Leading Man Oscars.

Daniel Day-Lewis accepts his third Best Actor Academy Award making Oscar history (Image by Disney ABC Television Group, via Flickr Creative Commons)

At the Academy Awards last night, he echoed the success he’s seen during this year’s awards season:

‘I really don’t know how any of this happened. I do know that I’ve received so much more than my fair share of good fortune in my life and I’m so grateful to the Academy for this beautiful honour’

Courage
We think we have an idea how this happened. He’s been acting since the age of 14 has come to every role with a hugh level of respect and ambition for what may lay a head. When he accepted the role of Abraham Lincoln he found it had a ‘paralysing quality’ to it and the prospect of portraying one of the great American heroes was daunting. He initially declined the role, but his courageous spirit won out and he soon set to work researching the American President.

Commitment
Daniel Daniel-Lewis is infamous for the intensity he brings to his roles. His method acting has lead to him learning to build canoes and hunt for The Last of the Mohicans, studying as a butcher for Gangs of New York and visiting disabled people at Dublin’s Sandymount School Clinic for his role in My Left Foot, for which he won his first Academy award. While visiting Sandymount he built strong relationships with those at the clinic.

However, this intensity hasn’t diminished his charm. In all his acceptance speeches this year he has displayed a humble gratitude and respect for all his colleagues. When accepting the Oscar for Lincoln, he paid tribute to the ‘mysteriously beautiful mind, body and spirit of Abraham Lincoln’

Flight
Daniel Day-Lewis has always been ambitious and horizons ever widening. When he was younger he was enthralled by Martin Scorsese’s Taxi Driver, with lit a fire in him to explore American stories:

‘I just kept going back – I didn’t know America, but that was a glimpse of what America might be, and I realised that, contrary to expectation, I wanted to tell American stories’

By bringing to life one of the country’s greatest leaders he has certainly achieved this. No force seems to be able to quell Day-Lewis’ ambition and has made a significant impact on a culture he admires and loves. Just like a true Wild Geese.

Men of Action: Ireland’s Rural Landscape Inspires John Rocha’s Latest Collection

Posted on February 19, 2013 by aaron

John Rocha often fuses his Chinese heritage with his adopted country (Image from M. J. Dibb, via Google Images)

John Rocha often fuses his Chinese heritage with his adopted country (Image from KaiChanVong, via Flickr Creative Commons)

The catwalks at London Fashion Week came alive with the beauty of Ireland over the weekend, when design power house John Rocha brought his adopted home to proceedings.

John Rocha settled in Dublin after graduating from art college and since then Ireland has been a hub of creativity for him. Its where he launched his first label, Chinatown, before going on to design lines for many of Dublin’s luxury stores, including the renowned Brown Thomas.

He clearly shares a love of the country displayed by The Wild Geese. Although they hoped and believed that they would see Ireland again, many of The Wild Geese did not return. But the country was always in their hearts.

In his latest designs John Rocha has embraced the powerful colours of the rural Irish landscape:

‘The collection is inspired by the Wicklow countryside. The colours and texture of the Sally Gap on a winter’s day’

The Sally Gap in the Wicklow Mountains, John Rocha’s latest inspiration (Image from Brian.Mo via Flickr Creative Commons)

This has helped him envisage what outfits would suit this stunning backdrop:

‘I like the idea of some old-fashioned charm, coat and dresses together. For me, at this stage of my career, it’s all about making women as beautiful as possible – it’s not just about the clothes’

Check out John Rocha’s latest collection inspired by Ireland on his website:
http://www.johnrocha.ie/

Irish Talent: Zoe Jordan Builds Strong Foundations

Posted on February 18, 2013 by aaron

Dublin-born designer Zoe Jordan opened London Fashion Week last Friday with a collection that showed how much her work has evolved. ‘Foundations’ was Jordan’s fifth collection, and although her signature ‘boyish elegance’ offered a very fresh, very grown up opening to one of the major weeks in the fashion industry.

The Duomo in Florence was one of Jordan’s inspirations for her latest collection, ‘Foundations’ (Photo by Steph Gray lesteph, via Flickr Creative Commons)

‘My autumn/winter 2013 collection is inspired by Italian renaissance architecture, specially the Duomo in Florence. Juxtaposed with this opulence, I have also been looking at stark, minimalist, monochrome interiors. I studied architecture, so it has always been a strong influence in my work’ – Zoe Jordan

This intrepid spirit reminds us of The Wild Geese, who journeyed far and wide in their pursuit of freedom for everyone. The fusion of this spirit with her design skills has resulted in the creation of something very special by Jordan. Something very Untamed.

Jordan’s designs really started to garner interest in Ireland back in 2008, where she debuted her label Irwin & Jordan. She also hosted a pop-up shop un Dublin’s Brown Thomas department store in March 2011 – the ‘House of Irish design’ and a great place to start young clothing labels – where people really started to understand the philosophy behind her designs: a love not just of tailoring and fine cuts, which she still channels in her work today.

Like The Wild Geese, Jordan has left Ireland bringing her talent to people all over the world. She still draws on that intrepid spirit, which is evident in her latest collection.

Take a look at some of Zoe’s designs on her website:
http://www.zoe-jordan.com/

Travel Retail’s Wild Geese: Steve O’Connor

Posted on February 14, 2013 by aaron

Throughout 2013 we’ll be running a special column in The Moodie Report profiling some of today’s Wild geese working in travel retail, to find out what keeps them ticking.

Our first column is out today which features Steve O’Connor at Delhi Duty Free. We feel like we’ve really gotten to now Steve – thanks for taking part!

Click here to read issue 68 of The Moodie Report.

Men of Action: McDowell Wins His Second World Challenge

Posted on December 6, 2012 by aaron

Graeme McDowell is one of the world’s top golfers, earlier this year aiding in the European win of the Ryder Cup. But last Sunday was McDowell’s turn to hog the spotlight when he won the World Challenge in California.

McDowell beat off 18 contenders including the defending champion Tiger Woods and Keegan Bradley, who secured second place. McDowell and Bradley battled it out, and although at one point it became too close to call, McDowell ended the 2012 World Challenge with a laser accurate sure birdie putt.

This is McDowell’s second win in the World Challenge, following a victory in 2010.

Although this is an out of season event, the World Challenge is an important step in preparations for the upcoming season. McDowell will use this momentum to start 2013 on a positive note.

‘This really caps off my season. We try not to put winning on a pedestal, but this one feels very sweet because it’s been a grind all year’

‘Certainly I will draw some confidence from this one’

With this degree of confidence supporting McDowell’s skill and determination, we’re looking forward to seeing what he can accomplish in 2013.

Men of Action: Ireland 46 – 24 Argentina

Posted on November 27, 2012 by aaron

We were thrilled to see Ireland’s victory over Argentina at the weekend!

With many of the star players missing, expectations of the score were anyone’s guess, but the team brought some strong Irish spirit to the Aviva Stadium in Dublin. The Test game also puts Ireland in good stead as we head into the draw for the 2015 World Cup, which is expected next Monday.

On the pitch was Insider Centre player Gordon D’Arcy, who saw and reacted to the action as it unfolded.

‘I take my hat off to them. It’s a very Irish thing not to tell people when they do stuff well, but I was the first one over to those guys’

He paid particular tribute to Jonathan Sexton who picked up the pace after a missed penalty against South Africa two weeks before. Sexton not only scored vital tries for his team, but added points with his conversions as well.

‘You might take Johnny for granted but we don’t,’ D’Arcy continued, ‘we’re absolutely blessed to have him. His selection of plays was first class and he showed why he’s one of the best out-halves in the world. He controlled the game’

A great game and as George Hook described in the Irish Independent, ‘happy days may be here again’.

London 2012: The Olympics Is The Next Step For Murphy

Posted on July 26, 2012 by aaron

Ireland’s best hope in the pool this summer is Gráinne Murphy. She has been making her appearance known in the water since 2009, and already holds three individual national records: the 800m freestyle, 1500m and 200m Individual Medley.

At the 2010 European Aquatics Championship Murphy won a silver medal in the 1,500m freestyle and a year later she had her eyes on the London 2012 Olympics.

Murphy qualified for the Olympics on the 3rd December 2011 at the Dutch Open Championships, after a memorable performance in the 800m freestyle. She secured an impressive time of 8.31.14, which also won her a bronze medal at the event.

She had already raced with qualifying times in 2009 and 2010, and this was the next step in her career. Her coach, Ronald Claes said:

‘Qualifying for the Olympic games is obviously a fantastic achievement… a great step in the right direction but not the end goal’

But like the other Olympic athletes we have featured, Murphy isn’t letting the pressure get to her. Instead, she’s using it as inspiration to make this a summer to remember:

‘I don’t feel under pressure from anyone. I’ve got my own goals and obviously if I achieve them I achieve them, but I’m going to the Olympics to do the best I can, to enjoy the experience and have as much fun as possible’

For Gráinne, London 2012 will be a vital step on her career path, but she already has ideas of where she wants to go when the Games come to an end.

‘I suppose the Olympics do only come around every 4 years, but I’m still only 19. The World Championships are next year again, so there’s always something on the horizon’

This is an exciting time for Gráinne and we’re looking forward to seeing her do what she does best.

London 2012: Team Ireland Adopts Jezierski In The Sprint Canoe

Posted on July 25, 2012 by aaron

Another Olympian with his eyes on a medal for Team Ireland is C1 200m sprint canoeist Andrzej Jezierski.

Polish by birth, Jezierski opted to compete for the Irish Olympic Team when the opportunity arose. He is an adopted son of Ireland as he lives in Cork and regularly trains at the National Rowing Centre in Farran Wood.

After winning his second Gold medal at the World Championships in 2005, Jezierski decided to retire from his sport and moved to Ireland in search of work. It was in Ireland that he returned to sprint canoeing and was quickly on the radar of the Irish Canoe Union. In May, he announced that he would compete for the Irish team at the Summer Games and qualified at the European Sprint Canoe Qualifier, held in his native Poland.

He battled challenging conditions to finish in second place and secured his Olympic spot. But the road has not bee easy since then. After qualifying, he promised only that there would be ‘more hard training’, and mixed with his sheer determination, Ireland certainly has another competitor for an Olympic medal.

London 2012: Katie Taylor Leads The Fight For Olympic Gold

Posted on July 20, 2012 by aaron

Katie Taylor is part of the Irish Olympic Boxing team, and the four time World Champion is leading the way in the fight for medals at London 2012.

The Irish Boxing team has already come together for intense training session in preparation for the Games. The pressure is on for them, particularly for Katie, who has been leading the way in her category. The team’s head coach, Billy Walsh knows this better than others:

‘Katie is the flagship of the women’s sport and one of the main reasons it got into the Games. Other countries are chasing her and trying to find ways to beat her’

But even in the face of such pressure, Katie remains determined and is thriving on the opportunity a head of her:

‘For me, it has been a lifelong ambition to represent my country in the Olympic Games, so I want to enjoy the privilege and take it all in’

‘I am aware of the expectation that is on me, but nobody expects more of me than myself’

For Katie, there is more to the Summer Games then a medal hunt. As the world number one, she will be leading the way in the return of women’s boxing to the Olympics in over 100 years. Not since the 1904 Games in St. Louis have women battled it out in the boxing ring at the Olympics.

‘The world is going to see how competitive it is and I think people will be shocked when they see it’ says Katie.

This is an exciting time for the entire team and we wish them luck in the coming weeks.

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