Unlikely fan McGuinness leads Twitter cheers for Ireland

Saturday, 28 February 2015 00:00 - - {{hitsCtrl.values.hits}}

Reuters: Hours after Ireland made it two wins out of two at the cricket World Cup, the team were still the most talked about topic on Twitter back home. Cricket might not be played widely in Ireland but for the third World Cup running, the national side are winning new fans as they followed up their opening game upset of West Indies with a nerve-shredding two-wicket victory over United Arab Emirates. Congratulations on Twitter – including from politicians like Northern Ireland Deputy First Minister Martin McGuinness – made sure Ireland’s cricketers replaced Barcelona and Luis Suarez as the top trending topics on the country’s social network. “Came out of an important Ministerial meeting with PR (Peter Robinson, Northern Ireland’s first minister) and Irish Govt Ministers Flanagan and Sherlock to learn that @Irelandcricket won. #thrilled,” McGuinness tweeted following the victory. McGuinness, an Irish Republican Army (IRA) commander during its bitter war against British rule in Northern Ireland, is an unlikely fan of a sport that for years was shunned in Ireland because of its associations with its former colonial ruler. However, Sinn Fein’s McGuinness has talked almost nothing but cricket with his 44,000 Twitter followers, including a late night of live-tweeting as West Indies wickets fell before appearing on national radio the next day to analyse the win. Asked in parliament if he would pass his congratulations on to the team, local media quoted Prime Minister Enda Kenny as replying; “279 in Sunny Brisbane and we wish them good luck,” referencing the team’s innings score against the UAE. Ireland, who have now recorded four of the top 10 all-time World Cup run chases, face South Africa next on March 3 in Canberra.

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