Come Out

Yes, I’m gay.

Not my confession, but that of Cork hurler Donal Óg Cusack. He officially came out of the proverbial closet in yesterday’s Mail on Sunday. They sold the story as “an All-Ireland hero becomes the first Irish sportsman to come out”.

First things first. Not to stereotype homosexuals or anything (i.e. that’s exactly what I’m about to do), but there’s a gay hurler? Given the nature of soccer these days, it wouldn’t surprise me if a large number of its players were playing for the wrong team so to speak, but hurling? It’s so raw, so passionate, so physical, so intense, so up-close-and-personal. What possible appeal could it have to a man who likes other men? Oh, right. My bad.

A gay hurler. Honestly, I never thought I’d see the day. The very words stuck together almost represent a contradiction. I just couldn’t see those two cultures ever overlapping. I’m almost certain that not a few within the hurling community have had to be told what “gay” actually means in light of Cusack’s revelation. ("He's wha?") The idea of someone -- anyone -- being that way is completely foreign to a large number of those who’ve grown up loving this most Irish of sports. I wouldn’t be surprised if some die-hard hurling fanatic reading the Mail on Sunday thought that Donal Og was simply saying, Yes, I’m happy. Ah, isn't that nice.

The story itself -- which is made up of extracts from Cusack’s forthcoming autobiography -- is a little bit depressing. The general impression I was left with after reading was that for Donal Óg, being gay consisted mainly of waking up with fellas in bed. He tells the story of skipping away from “the lads” (his Cork colleagues) in Ho Chi Minh in order to find a group of lads with slightly different items on the agenda. “Next morning, I woke up with a fella”, he says. “Hungover. Demented. Lost.” His words, not mine.

Perhaps it’s due to fear of being found out to be a gay hurler, but for Cusack the whole thing smacks of being a vice, or a problem; maybe even an addiction. Doesn’t it strike you as odd that a man who goes training on Christmas Day would also sneak out on his team-mates, get plastered and have sex with a complete stranger? What’s going on here? On the one hand, he is so disciplined, so controlled. On the other, a bit of a mess. Or perhaps only a bit of a human (let the reader decide).

The repercussions for this quite shocking and unprecedented revelation are hard to predict. The bond between hurling and Catholicism runs deep, therefore something like this will hardly be accepted as progressive by many of those for whom hurling alone is a way of life. One imagines that there will be confusion, awkwardness, and even anger inside the minds of some of those involved in the game. Donal Óg was never the most beloved hurler in the country prior to Sunday; I have the feeling that that isn’t about to change anytime soon.

Of course for others, the Cork hurler will be held up as a symbol representing the modern Irish nation. His name will become known to people who have perhaps never seen or heard of him before. He will be used as evidence in long-standing arguments, regarded as a courageous hero who broke down barriers not only in the culture of hurling, but in the culture of Ireland as a whole. If our hurlers can be gay, who can’t? To some, this is a question filled with wonderful possibilities. To others, it is a question asked in fear.

Crossing a line is always seen either as progress or rebellion; something to be embraced or something to be frowned upon. With Charismata supposing itself to be a Christian blog, where does it lie on the matter?

Well as for me, I frown upon Donal Óg Cusack. Not because he's gay, but because of those short bloody puck-outs.