You
are fortunate enough to win a place on the TV quiz show ‘Who wants to be a
Millionaire?”.
You
have worked your way successfully to the final question. One Million Pounds lies
on the answer you give, but you have no lives left.
The
Programme’s host Chris Tarrant looks you in the eye before you asking you the
question that could pocket you one million pounds and wishes you well. The question
pops up in Chris Tarrant’s screen. He remembers the little chat you had with
him before the first question was asked. Remind me he says, where did you say
you come from? Waterford you remind the hosts and he asks ‘Does anyone remember
Judith Keppel appearing in this show?’
Keppel
appeared on the show in November 2000. She was a grand-daughter of the ninth
earl of Albermarle. Her Great-Grandfather was a brother in law of Alice Keppel,
the mistress of King Edward VII, a great grand-Uncle of the Duchess of Cornwall,
wife of Prince Charles. Her family connections can be traced back to Eleanor of
Aquitaine and Henry II.
At
the time there was speculation that the programme in which she appeared was
fixed. ITV put it against the popular BBC Programme ‘One Foot in the Grave’
which was airing for the last time.
She
had worked her way through the questions and reached the one million pound
question. Up pops the question on Chris Tarrant’s screen. ‘Which King was married
to Eleanor of Aquitaine? A). Henry I. B).
Henry II. C). Richard I. D). Henry V.
Imagine
her surprise at getting asked a question about one of her own relations from
the past. There in lies the end of the history lesson, and back to the show in
which you are taking part in.
‘What
Waterford person has won the most caps for the Republic of Ireland?’ Your eyes
light up straight away. Chris Tarrant asks you before giving the four choices
of answers if you know the answer, and you reply you do. Who is it Tarrant
asks. John O’Shea you replay. Let’s see if he is there Tarrant says, and begins
to read out the four choices. A). John O’Shea. B). Jim Beglin. C) Stephen Hunt.
D) Ciara Grant. Get the question right, you become a millionaire, get it wrong
you drop back to 32,000 or 50,000 depends if you are playing the fifteen or
twelve question version of the game.
Tarrant
asks if you are going to answer the question or stick with half a million
pounds. I’m going to answer you say. What’s your answer Tarrant replies.
Feeling cocky you tell him A – John O’Shea. Your asked if its your final answer
and without hesitation you clearly say yes.
A
phrase used by Captain Alberto Bertorelli in the BBC comedy
Allo, Allo immediately comes to mind. "What a mistake-a to make-a!"
The former Manchester United and current
Sunderland player may have won 87 caps and is closing in on the amount of caps
won by those above him namely Tony Cascarino (88 Caps), Niall Quinn (91), Damien
Duff (100), Stephen Staunton (102), Kevin Kilbane (110), Robbie Keane (123) and
Robbie Keane (125), but he is not Waterford’s most capped player.
When Ciara Grant announced that
she was to retire from international soccer recently, many may have been
somewhat surprised to learn that the former Benfica, St Patrick’s Athletic and
current Arsenal player has 105 caps for the national’s senior side.
Since joining Arsenal in 1998,
the soon to be thirty five year old has achieved success that most can only
dream about.
Since joining the Gunner’s or
should that be Gunnerette’s she has help the side to win the UEFA Women’s Cup
Winners Cup in 2007, two Super League titles, nine Premier League titles, two
FA Women’s Super League Continental Cups, eight FA Cups, six Premier League
Cups and five Charity Shield’s.
She announced her retirement from
International Soccer in February 2013. In addition to winning a record breaking
(for the women’s game) 105 caps she hit the net eleven times in her glorious
seventeen year career in a green shirt.
She made her debut
as teenager in a 3-1 win over the Faroe Islands. Her last appearance in an
Ireland jersey was the 2-0 victory away to Israel in a Euro 2013 qualifier last
September. Since 2000 she has captained the senior ladies team. Her 100 cap
came against Scotland in April 2012, a game played at Tynecastle, the home of Heart
of Midlothian, a game which was shown live on TV.
Despite calling a day to
her International Career, the Waterford lady plans to continue playing for
Arsenal for whom she works on a full time basis for some time to come.
She was part of the
Arsenal’s Ladies team that bowed out of the Champions League recently, going
under 2-1 away to German side Wolfsburg having lost the lost the first leg of the
round 2-0 at Arsenal’s home ground Meadow Park (the home ground of Boreham
Wood F.C) a game that Ciara Grant missed because of suspension. The defeat was
the third consecutive year that Arsenal exited the competition at the penultimate
round of games stage. Coincidently, it was Ciara Grant that got Arsenal’s goal
in that game.
No
doubt plenty of more titles will come the way of the Waterford lady before she
retires full from the game. However, the greatest pity is that she has not been recognized more within her own native county for what she has achieved, but for a
woman to gain the true recognition that they deserve in most areas of Ireland,
they really have to stand out.
