Hong Kong’s First Olympic Medal Winner Was Born of Success
Siobhan Bernadette Haughey‘s success in the Tokyo Olympic Games aligned with a similar drive that her great grandfather had when he led his country’s government in the 1980s
It’s late at night as I write this but it’s also early in the morning in other parts of the world. And that’s the thing about night and day they`re completely different. Yet they`re all in one 24 hour period.
Like individuals in a family.
They’re all different when alone. But similar when together.
So the question is which makes them what they truly are?
But that type of thinking I`ll leave until a little later on down the page. Because for now, I`m happy as tonight is a very special one for me. After all, it’s the first time I`ve seen a fellow countryman celebrate a medal at the Tokyo Olympic Games.
And because it’s been a five-year turnaround since the last one I`m drinking in the glory.
Although Irish man Darrach Haughey never won an Olympic medal the delight he showed in the crowd as he rushed to the bottom of the steps to clench the support barrier as he tried to get closer to his Olympian daughter Siobhan Bernadette is something well worth waiting up for in front of a late-night TV.
Because his actions epitomized the Olympic spirit.
Then there was the crowd around him who noticed his joy as he gestured with raised arms in celebration to all those who welcomed to share in his happiness for the special moment.
A moment I won’t forget too easily.
Yet Siobhan Bernadette Haughey is not from my home country of Ireland but instead, she represents the region of Hong Kong.
Of course, she doesn’t have to claim her Irish ancestry or any other country for that matter because after winning Hong Kong’s first Olympic medal she will always have a special place in her home’s heart. And she deserves it.
Because she put in the work throughout her life to claim a silver medal after finishing only three-quarters of a second behind the new Olympic record winner Ariarne Titmus from Australia during the women’s 200-meter freestyle final.
Still, there were many in Ireland who raised an eyebrow as they heard the Haughey name was competing in the Olympics and was favored to become one of the leaders in the world. For they`ll recall Siobhan Bernadette’s great grand uncle was once the prime minister of the Republic of Ireland.
And they’ll remember his temperament too.
Because in a small Catholic country of no more than a handful of a few million Charlie Haughey ruled with vigor and dominance.
And in general, people respected him for that.
Not everyone liked him but they did accept him as their leader.
He was first elected to the Irish government in 1957. In his career in the government, he held ministries for Justice, Finance, Health, Agriculture and Fisheries, Social Welfare, and even for the native Gaeltacht areas.
Haughey was a committed man to the European Union ideals and even held the Presidency of the European Community in 1990.
Throughout his term, it was claimed he advanced the integration of the community at large.
After reigning over Ireland throughout a very tough economic period from m1987 to 1992 his term was said by many to be the springboard of brighter economic days which followed as the Celtic Tiger came about some years later. But perhaps the most notable achievement of his was in the mid-1980s. Because it was then he liaised with Fr. Alec Reid in paving the way for what was to eventually become known as the Northern Peace Process.
So there is no doubt that Charlie Haughey left a mark and was meant for success in his lifetime.
After all, he once spoke of life as being there:
“…to reach dangerously out over the edge, toward some far-off elusive fragment of success.”
And it seems that’s what he did before he eventually retired from public life in 1992.
But he wasn’t the only one in his family who reached out for success. Because that’s what Bernadette wanted too.
And she got it.
After years of putting one arm after another in a pool her eventual tip of the water-soaked wall presented her to where she wanted to be.
But she was born a couple of years after Charlie’s retirement and was busy living on the other side of the world. And when he went to bed as an old man she was swimming in a pool and carving out her Olympic future.
So he couldn’t have had much positive influence on her.
But she had that drive he had and both Haugheys knew what it took to get ahead in politics, sport, and life. They kept on going until they became the first one on their land’s lists of leaders and proved they could be what so many others failed to be.
Both knew what success took and worked their way to the top of their craft.
Although they shared the same name and the same blood they were never together. So they had to be alone and ahead to be considered the one apart from the chasing pack.
Yet although they were two different people they were from the same family of success.
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