Setting the record straight…
A lot was made about the photo in the press at the time but O’Gara is keen to set the record straight once and for all.
Following Ireland’s Grand Slam success back in 2009, the Irish Rugby team had a reception at Stormont where they meet the Queen of England.
During the reception, the team were introduced to the Queen, and this infamous photo was taken, which some people misconstrued as ROG snubbing the Queen.
Image credit: The Irish Times
But as the former Munster legend says on An Irishman Abroad, the hugely popular podcast by Jarlath Regan, that’s most certainly not the case.
“The situation in terms of the Queen was horrendous, I addressed this in the book but it hasn’t really been put out there, people take out of it what they want,” O’Gara said.
“I was in the line to be introduced, my hands were a little bit sweaty, I put them into my pockets to clean them. But the angle taken… you couldn’t have staged it because Brian looks like he’s in disbelief with what’s going on here. But that’s a snapshot, living that live in the seconds, there was no moment for anything.”
You can listen to the clip below…
You can listen to the full episode of An Irishman Abroad below also where O’Gara discusses Munster, Ireland, Kidney, Bataclan terror attacks, Sexton and Zebo. You can also check out Jarlath’s website here.
