Nemeton Spotlight Feature: Mickey Bird

In this week’s Nemeton Spotlight Feature we chat to our #GAABEO floor manager Mickey Bird about his role working on the games.

Tá mé i mo Bhainisteoir Urláir ar feadh ceithre bliana le haghaidh Nemeton. Is é mo ról mar nasc idir an truck agus an taobh líne. Tosaíonn mo lá amach go luath agus go hiondúil táim sa gcarr ag taisteal ar feadh cúpla uair chuig an cluiche. My day starts early and I’m usually in the car driving for a few hours to the game. As soon as I land, I have a chat with the director and the producer. I then look for the county PRO and the stadium announcer to ensure that we’re all on the same page regarding timings etc.

Théis lón bíonn cleachta againn síos ar an bpáirc agus déanann muid taifead ar na hagallaimh le na bainisteoirí roimh theacht ar aer. Nuair a thosaionn an cluiche bíonn orm a bheith i dteagmháil leis an mbosca ó thaobh ionadiagh agus aon action eile ar an taobh líne. Théis an cluiche, tá orm laoch an chluiche a fháil chun an gradam a bhronnadh agus an agallamh a dhéanamh leo, chomh maith leis an mbeirt bainisteoir. After the game I have to arrange for the Player of the Match to be interviewed and his award presented to him, as well as interviewing both managers.

An rud is fearr liom faoin jab ná na daoine suimiúla eagsúla a bhuailim leo. Gach seachtain táim in áit difriúil agus taithníonn sé sin go mór liom. Feicim an tír ar fad leis an jab. My favourite part of the job is meeting various interesting people. Every week I’m in a different place and I really enjoy that. I get to see the whole country with this job!

Tá brú áirithe ag baint le teilifís bheo ach ag an ám céanna sin leath an craic. Táimid uilig ar an foireann céanna agus braitheann muid ar a chéile. There’s a certain pressure that comes with working on live tv, but that’s half the craic! We’re all on the same team & we all depend on one another.

Mo bhuaic ag obair do Nemeton ná cluiche ceannais na hÉireann 2021. Is as condae na Mí mé agus bhí an lá sin speisialta do muintir na Mí, bhí sé uainn. One of my highlights has been the day I worked on the Ladies Football Final in Croke Park in 2021. I’m from Meath & it was a special day for the people of Meath.

Basically, if you don’t mind travel, if you love sports and if you enjoy working with lots of different people in different counties every week then its the best job I can think of.