Tara McGanah at Croke Park 
Tara McGahan
When I was planning my Summer holidays this year, I had no idea that they would include a unique experience as part of a group of international media who were in Ireland for the visit of Pope Francis for the World Meeting of Families 2018. But, that’s exactly what happened on Saturday and Sunday (August 25, 26) when I was invited by the WMOF2018 Media and Communications Manager to be part of her team.
Having recently been offered a place on the Journalism Course in DCU, I grabbed the opportunity with both hands.
Saturday, August 25
There were a total of five media centres in operation for the visit of Pope Francis to Ireland with the main one in Dublin Castle. I arrived there for 8 am on Saturday, August 25 feeling nervous and excited. I had to go through a full security check before I received my official accreditation to be part of the media covering the visit.
I was taken aback by the huge numbers of media in the Dublin Castle media centre (about 1200 in total from 31 countries). There were desks as far as you could see with busy journalists writing and recording. I was taken aback by all the well known faces who were there from across RTÉ, BBC and UTV. I stood alongside Miriam O’Callaghan, Bryan Dobson and Conor Pope.
I was assigned to the Italian broadcasting company RAI as a runner. The RAI team were accredited as part of a group known as the VAMP – the Vatican Accredited Media Pack.
These are a small group of media who travelled to Ireland with Pope Francis on the papal flight and had access to all the venues he was to visit while he was in Ireland. A total of 68 VAMP came to Ireland on the papal flight.
I met up with the RAI TV team in Dublin Castle after their arrival with Pope Francis for his address to Civic Society. I was straight in at the deep end and was shown how they record and edit TV clips. I helped the cameraman set up for filming and had to ensure that the location we chose was suitable.
It was exciting to watch the crew set up and to see the reporter prepare to go live. It was a unique experience for me to be behind the scenes and I learned so much.
On Saturday evening I boarded the last media shuttle bus for Croke Park for the Festival of Families event with Pope Francis.
We were directed to the level 7 Media Centre in the Hogan Stand. The place was buzzing with journalists, editors, technicians and more well known personalities such as Marty Morrissey and Brendan Donohoe. It was incredible to see how much effort goes into everything behind the cameras.
From my position at level 7 in the Hogan Stand I could see the crowd beginning to build. Broadcasters began going live around the world. As the time approached for Pope Francis to arrive we were escorted by the media team down to the pitch so as we could access more close up shots of the Pope as he arrived to celebrate with families from across the world.
It was surreal to be standing just a few metres away from Pope Francis as he passed by in a customised golf buggy. He received a wonderful Irish welcome from the crowd of almost 80,000. The Festival of Families event was amazing.
The media and comms team had a debrief afterwards up in level 7 and we received our places and instructions for the Closing Mass the next day. I returned to my accommodation feeling tired but exhilarated, ready for day two.
Sunday, August 26
I had a really early start again on the Sunday morning. The VAMP were split into two groups – one was bound for Dublin Airport for the flight to Knock and the other [the group I was in] was bound for Phoenix Park. We met at Dublin Castle for a security screen and were given a garda escort directly to the media centre in the Phoenix Park site where the Mass was to take place.
There was another large media centre in operation for the 1,200 journalists. It was a hive of activity by the time we arrived.
The TV crews and photographers were escorted to their positions for the Mass – some were on large media risers (platforms) and others had staged movements accompanied by a press officer and a garda. I assisted RAI TV with more of their live broadcasts in Italian. Their pictures were colourful and cheerful and showcased a very positive image of Ireland.
The day passed by in a blur of enthusiastic Mass-goers and a busy media centre. The VAMP were moved onto their buses for the airport just before the end of the Mass.
They had the return journey home with the Pope. I stayed behind in the Phoenix Park media centre. It was a lot to take in.
There were several media team selfies and pics to record the amazing team I was part of. The entire experience was over in a matter of 36 hours but it was an amazing opportunity.
It has really motivated and excited me for my future studies in journalism. Who knows, there may even be a papal visit somewhere in the future where I will be one of the VAMP on the papal flight, sharing the story with the world!
