Tommy Tiernan Show recap: Martin O'Neill on football career and managing Ireland
Martin O'Neill appeared on the Tommy Tiernan Show on Saturday night. Picture: RTE One.
The Tommy Tiernan Show on Saturday night discussed the trials and tribulations of managing the Republic of Ireland football team, explored the meaning of the universe and the Big Bang Theory, and reflected on the importance of music and Scottish culture for one singer-songwriter.
Tiernan’s guests on Saturday night included former football manager Martin O’Neill, astronomer and astrophysicist Jocelyn Bell Burnell and singer Marti Pellow.
Tiernan’s first guest of the night was former Ireland football manager Martin O’Neill, who reflected on his career.
O’Neill, who spent five years in charge of the national team, spoke about his early life in Derry, his big break at Nottingham Forest, winning a double European Cup win and his biggest regrets.
He discussed his early days at Nottingham Forest in the 1970s, the influence of Brian Clough and Peter Taylor, and his transition from amateur to professional football.
He discussed his financial situation during his playing days, noting that he was not financially well-off despite winning games.
O’Neill reflected with Tiernan on significant moments throughout his career, such as scoring against Barcelona and quickly becoming a professional player and also touched on his time managing the Republic of Ireland, his regrets, and his personal life, including his wife Geraldine McGrath.
He recalled playing for Derry and participating in the All-Ireland final, where they lost to Cork, and signing for Distillery and winning the Irish Cup, which led to playing in the European Cup Winners Cup against Barcelona.
He shared the story of how he became a professional player with Nottingham Forest within three weeks of scoring against Barcelona and also discussed the challenges he faced in his early career, including being unfit for the Nottingham Forest dressing room.
“Interestingly, and the irony of it all, is that after three weeks I got into the first team and came in as a sub and scored against West Bromwich Albion On my debut.
“And a couple of weeks later, I came on as a sub again at Old Trafford on 4th of December, 1971, you can get it on YouTube, and I pick up the ball - I’m only on four or five minutes- and it’s against George Best, Bobby Charlton and Denis Law.
“I race past Bobby Charlton, George Best told me a couple months later that wasn’t difficult because Bobby Charlton was 114 at the time, and I scored the goal and… I’ve made it, I’ve made it.
“Unfortunately, I hit a bad spell which lasted about four four a half years and the roars that go up, ‘O’Neill you’re rubbish, get back to Ireland where you belong', and I thought this is a long, long way to go.
“So, if you’d said to be by the end of the decade that I’d be in a European Cup winning team, you would have got long odds that day."
Speaking about his later career in management, he said he felt “privileged” to have managed the Republic of Ireland, recalling the excitement involved in the role and support from fans.
Touching on his regrets, including not achieving more as a player and manager, he spoke about the impact of these regrets on his life.
He spoke about his relationship with his wife, Geraldine McGrath, and how she supported him throughout his career, and also spoke about his father, who he said was treated like a king at football matches and was a significant influence in his life.
O’Neill said that reflecting back on his life at the age of 73, he would have done things differently if he had the chance but shared that he is content about his achievements and expressed gratitude for the experiences and the opportunities he had.
Tiernan’s second guest was astronomer and astrophysicist from Oxford, England Jocelyn Bell Burnell, who spoke about her contribution to astronomy.
She discussed the changing picture of the universe due to better telescopes and revised understanding of cosmic events and explained the concept of the Big Bang theory, describing it as the universe expanding from a tiny, compressed state.
“It does seem that immediately before the Big Bang, everything was compressed into a tiny, tiny volume and probably it didn’t like to be compressed into a tiny, tiny volume, so, it went whoosh. And that’s what we call the Big Bang and we can still now see the universe expanding," she said.
She explained how “the whole of the universe was in that tiny ball” and said that we can’t answer questions about what is outside the universe.
“The universe has been slowed to expand,” she said, and when asked by Tiernan what it had expanded into, she responded: “Something beyond our ‘ken’”.
Their conversation touched on the idea of the universe having no boundaries and the challenges of visualising its vastness.
She discusses her personal spiritual beliefs as a Quaker and how they influence her perspective on life and the universe.
Discussing her discovery of pulsars while working on her thesis in Cambridge, she described the initial signal she found on paper charts, which turned out to be a pulsar, a new type of star, and then went on to discover more pulsars and spoke of their significance in the field of astronomy.
She mentioned the Nobel Prize awarded to her thesis advisor and the head of department, which became known as the ‘No Bell Prize’, as she did not win.
Reflecting on the challenges women faced in science during the 1960s and 1970s, she shared her experience of academic sexism during her undergraduate years in Glasgow, where women were often subjected to disruptive behavior and also spoke about the impact of the Nobel Prize on her career and the recognition of astronomy as a field of physics.
The pair’s conversation shifted to the importance of perseverance and the role of serendipity in scientific discoveries and Bell Burnell spoke about the importance of not letting bitterness consume one's energy.
Scottish singer Marti Pellow arrived into the studio donning a kilt, which he described as a significant part of Scottish heritage and culture.
Speaking to Tiernan about his musical career, both with the band Wet Wet Wet and as a solo artist, he discussed his love for pop music and the influence that his parents' eclectic music tastes had on him growing up.
He reflected on the early days of his career, the excitement of youth, and the challenges of maintaining success.
He also touched on his struggles with addiction and the importance of seeking help and finding support, his journey to sobriety and the ongoing challenges of staying clean.
Pellow opened up to Tiernan about how his addiction to heroin affected his life and family, who he said he received support from during difficult times in his life.
He also shared his belief in the presence of his deceased parents and how they continue to influence his life.
He spoke proudly of his Scottish heritage and the significance of wearing a kilt, speaking about the practical aspects of wearing a kilt and the cultural importance it holds for him.
Asked by Tiernan to tell him the “adventures and realities of wearing a kilt”, Pellow said: “Well, as long as Gus and the twins don’t make an appearance here in front of you Tommy.
“A Scotsman really only wears a pair of shoes underneath his kilt, and let’s hope they’re not shiny ones.” He said he has been wearing a kilt since he was a boy.
“It’s part of my wee heritage… I just love wearing them,” he said.
“I wear them on stage as well.”
He also shared his love for traditional Scottish music and how it has become a central part of his life and reflected on the importance of embracing all aspects of one's identity, as well as the beauty of diversity.
While discussing with Tiernan the challenges and rewards of performing solo, Pellow shared his plans for upcoming performances, including a solo show at the Trinity summer ball and a gig at Edinburgh Castle.
The show closed out with a performance of Behind the Mask by Glasshouse Movement.
