Being a spy penetrating the IRA & # 39; IRA who exposed sports & # 39; | step

& # 39; yTimmy Creed said in peace, wielding a stick that protruded from my head. “As long as you use the ball, you can do what you want.” Creed teaches you how to use your “waist” correctly. Because I'm considering a transition to the world of Gale sports (with the fact that I can't hold the stick correctly is a total bog I hate to hurt) play, splicing. The Irish sports creed played many of the teens and twenties at very high club levels. But it is also more than such as masculinity, peer pressure, body image, fitness, feminism and self-discovery.

Creed thinks knocking on the hurdle ball to get a feel for the game will help the interview. (The game in Edinburgh is enough for a squash court, but the play is usually played outdoors in one of Ireland's numerous handball alleys.) Mercifully, he plays softly, explaining his love-hate relationship with the sports he's shaped. . "It gave me an identity," he said. “But that identity forms the same way you see men, women and the world. I miss the other side. ”

Creed is a shy, skinny boy who grows up, not good for hurdles. But this sport practiced alone until he gained the respect of his manager and teammates, as he helped him connect with other boys. His club Bishopstown in Cork was a huge success by age group, winning the county championship every year, making the players a local celebrity.

Creed says. “You are the chosen people in this area and can act the way you want. In school, they were treated specially because they were stars. 'Why don't I have homework?'

But to be successful, you need to maintain a devoted attitude. The weekend was considered to disappoint the team because it was out of training or interested in other hobbies. He could not even get skateboard training. The comrades also had an unpleasant side. Could you have regretted your actions?

He paused, saying “yes”. “The way you used to find women think It was how to do it. It was not too aggressive, but it was never to find an emotional relationship. This is what I do best now. ”

While playing, Creed began to realize that the male behavior we often hear of as "toxic" was a mindset that was trained for boys across Ireland from a terrible young age. “We are trained within this group that this is your way of acting. Nobody taught us otherwise. If someone is talking and calling you in a despised manner about a woman, & # 39; how are you sudden and undermining our way? & # 39; Conditioning that the boy does not know. It takes a long time to unpack and say 'What did I do at this age?'

He is not shy in the play, and honesty can be a crutch. One line about the macho mindset is: “Take home, take a shower, place your fingers, pack your luggage. Send her package Please tell the story of the road to shame. Let them laugh Do it crazy and keep going !! ”

Creed said he had a hard time mentally after quitting sports and that he had to rally himself again. The road ahead was a lucky break – he plays his part in the Irish film My Brothers and eventually gets a lead. "They wanted an 'immigrant who is observant and prone to trouble.' The experience showed him that another life was possible, and when it was time to write his play, he knew what it was about.

Named after the metal band that holds Hurley together, Spliced ​​is dedicated to the thrill of the sport in the first half, and the rest tells his story with disillusionment, self-discovery and redemption. To write it, Creed re-registered with the old Hurdles team in seven years. “I seem to be a spy penetrating the IRA,” he says. "I was seeing a culture that created me from a new perspective."

His return caused a lot of negative emotions. On the first day of his first training, the coach raised his Puny calf muscle and prescribed a weight and protein program. But more complicated he found that he fell in love with the game again. "It's really beautiful to play," he says. "There is a deep connection between the earth and ancient Ireland."

Creed finds himself slowly sucked into his former way of life. "Jesus, you are doing all this to solve all these things. But you can easily fall into it." Then he bro forced his hand to retire.

Creed's insider position and true love of sports make it a trustworthy way to deal with the less attractive aspects of men. “Many people say that they should call poisonous masculinity. But toxic is such a powerful word. People hear that and their initial reaction is 'I am not' or 'I don't want to talk to me', which excludes men from the open and respectful dialogue about women. Can't we share their experiences? ”

One of the most important moments in Creed's life was when he performed to perform in front of players in the club. "I was ruining myself because I was using the material I got when I came back," he responded. “Some of the big and strong outsiders who have dedicated their lives to this sport have come to us all in tears, but thank you very much for expressing what they have never said. . They were not accustomed to seeing the theater and were not familiar with how to react. Instead, their reaction was so honest and simple that they went to the core. It was beautiful. ”

Didn't people get angry that he acted in secret? “Some people said, 'Who do you think he is?' But we cannot hide from these things. I wanted to leave it open and see how people react. ”

Creed is thankful for giving Hurdles so many things. After he performed, the club president told him: "If this game did not give you anything else, it will help you stand in front of the team and tell his story."

Creed says: "It taught me courage."

• Access to Edinburgh Sports Club by August 25th.