RiverGdansk troupe set out on epic journey to Euro 2012

The desperate search for a Euro 2012 match ticket prompted Moynalty resident Peter Ward to come up with the words of a song that has become one of the Irish anthems for the tournament. Ward, who is originally from Ratoath, says he spent countless frustrating hours on the UEFA website trying unsuccessfully to secure a ticket for one of Ireland's three group matches. The experience encouraged him to pen the words of a song to the sound of Gloria Gaynor's 'I Will Survive' in the hope of generating some response. It worked, and now Ward and a number of his friends are off to see Ireland take on Spain in Gdansk. To turn the song from an idea into reality, Ward recruited the services of two colleagues, brother-in-law Tommie Reilly and a friend, Paul Quinlan. The threesome combined their talents and put the song - 'I'm Gonna Drive' - on YouTube, along with a video, and so far they have got thousands of hits. The song is, according to Ward, a tongue-in-cheek nod to "Gaynor's female empowerment '70s disco classic with a distinctly Polish, Ukrainian, Celtic touch". Reilly is a gigging musician covering weddings and other social events while Quinlan is involved in the video production business. They put the song together under the collective name of RiverGdansk. "I spent many's the dark hour on the UEFA portal trying to get tickets, logging in, logging out, many nights in front of the computer. I probably wasn't talking to the missus for about six weeks," recalls Ward with a laugh. "I sat down at home one night and I put together the lyrics for the song," added the maintenance manager for Silverstream Healthcare, which operates the Ratoath Manor Nursing Home. "We thought if we got a profile and some publicity with the song, we might get tickets." He was right. Full story in our four-page Euro 2012 special in this week's Meath Chronicle