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Greta, chafing, cancer alley, Cameroon, joy, Jack, crappy quiz and cocktails... it has to be the Christmas Cracker!

On 11th December, we hosted our final FOMO-inducing Climate Cocktail Club of 2025 - Christmas Cracker: Game Changer! It was a magically festive fact-filled field of dreams, where the speakers and spectators alike exercised the mind-muscle to build new connections between climate and sport.


In a world where 5 billion people tune into the Olympics and World Cup, and the global industry is valued at over $1.5 trillion, its a space like no other for bold impact at scale. But also one where climate change is having real and meaningful impacts today - where almost 50% of the previous Winter Olympic host cities will have insufficient snow to ever host an event again in 20 years (or sooner!).


Musical maestro and storyteller Jack McHugh opened the night, welcoming guests into The Sugar Club. His mellow, folky sound provided an escape from the relentless rain and traffic Clubbers braved to make it to the party! 



CCC Founder Tom Popple MC'd the night, sharing his own sporting and climate connections. Kicking the night off via a fireside chat with Irish and Leinster Rugby Player Linda Djougang. Linda opened up about her personal journey moving to Ireland and later finding a place within the world of rugby - both as an athlete and citizen. As an elite athlete she has become a role model, using her platform to inspire young people and promote conversations about critical social issues. Linda shared her experiences of what climate means to her, first outlining the increased injury risks to sportspeople via enhanced heat, cold and rain events. Going further she highlighted the transition of traditional grass pitches to artificial ones, owing to its perceived economic benefit of being playable in more weather conditions (and allowing gate revenues to still come in), but how these pitches make for uncomfortable playing and increased injury risk. Then Linda connect climate with her homeland in Cameroon, what a changing climate means to here family and community there. A world away from sport but a familiar set of economic and social challenges dues to enhanced weather events.


Sean McCabe, Head of Climate Justice & Sustainability with the now world-renowned Bohemians Football Club, talked us through some of the absolutely incredible work the fan-owned club is doing. Sean's work at Bohemian Football Club places football inside the wider struggle for climate justice, treating the club as a civic platform rather than a mere sporting institution. Drawing inspiration from figures such as Greta Thunberg, Bernie Sanders and Mary Robinson, his approach links climate action with social equity, worker solidarity and intergenerational responsibility. Through initiatives like the Community Hub at Dalymount and the club’s partnership with SPARK, Bohs becomes a living example of how a local football club can act as a cultural amplifier for climate justice, rooting global issues firmly in community, identity and collective action.


Alice Ward, Creative Director at Sea Pea Films stunned us with her incredible ability to capture the essence of the sea and the emotion of surfing. She brought to life stories of injustice and neglect, urging individuals, businesses and authorities that “the price of the perfect wave is greater than you think”. Alice spoke powerfully about "The Big Sea" documentary, using the story of neoprene to reveal how deeply materials, oceans and communities are intertwined. Her contribution centred on creativity as a bridge, weaving together people and place through intimate storytelling rather than abstract science or blame. By foregrounding lived experience, coastal culture and emotional connection, Alice reframed sustainability as something felt and shared, not just measured, showing how narrative can move audiences to care for the sea as both a home and a responsibility.


Daragh Morgan, adventure athlete with Swim Éire, reflected on his near six-month swim around the entire coastline of Ireland as both a physical feat and a lesson in climate action. His journey underscored three non-negotiables: deep local knowledge drawn from tides, weather and coastal communities; creativity in adapting to ever-changing conditions; and endurance as a quiet but radical act of commitment. For Daragh, these qualities are as essential to compelling climate action as they are to survival in cold open water, rooting global challenges firmly in lived experience and place.


Daragh also shared his endurance previous run - a full end-to-end crossing of Ireland on foot from Mizen Head in the south to Malin Head in the far north, covering roughly 625 kilometres on rugged roads and trails! The run deepened his connection to land as well as sea. Along the way, he took water samples from local wells and listened to people across Ireland tell stories of place, memory and nature, grounding endurance sport in lived community knowledge. Daragh framed local knowledge, creativity and endurance as non-negotiables not only for his own journey but for meaningful climate action, urging everyone to find their own time and way to reconnect with community, place and the natural world.




In the third quarter, Alice and Daragh were joined by Laura Lahiff, Sustainability Lead for Munster Rugby, and Ben Johnson, Paris Olympian, International Hockey Player for Team Ireland, and Sustainability Professional for EY. They huddled together on a panel to explore how climate impacts are reshaping performance, participation and decision-making across sport. The panel talked through everything from the heat stress at the Olympics to the “sense of belonging” that comes with the shared experience of sport.


Laura spoke about raising the bar for climate and environmental action at both club and provincial level, framing sustainability as a performance challenge rather than a burden. By leaning into sporting analogies and deliberately positive language, she showed how ambition, teamwork and marginal gains can translate seamlessly from the pitch to environmental leadership. Laura emphasised the joy of sport, the shared energy of training, match days and community, and how that same collective spirit can be channelled into meaningful action, turning environmental responsibility into something motivating, inclusive and proudly part of sporting culture.


Ben reflected on how competing at major events such as the Paris Olympics brings climate reality sharply into focus, from playing in extreme heat to managing performance under environmental stress. He highlighted the role of Team Ireland in embedding sustainability into elite sport, showing how preparation, logistics and values must evolve together. Ben spoke about how sport shapes his consulting work, using lessons from high-performance environments, resilience, adaptation and systems thinking to inform his day job, demonstrating how sport can sharpen both climate awareness and practical advice in the business world.



(From left, Alice Ward, Ben Johnson, Laura Lahiff, and Daragh Morgan)


Before the final whistle, it was Crappy Christmas Quiz time, proctored by Tom Popple and Jane McDaid, Founder & Head of Creative Innovation at Thinkhouse. As it was the season of gifts and giving, the winners left with some brilliant prizes from speakers of Christmas present and past!



Massiveeee thank you

to our absolutely amazing partners, sponsors and supporters. We couldn't have made it through 2025 without you all. A very special thank you to:



The Climate Cocktail Club operates on a voluntary basis and needs the support of partners to ensure the events are a success - please support our future events and become a sponsor.


We can't wait to see clubbers old & new for another year filled with CCC magic! Stay tuned for our 2025 Wrapped Blog and keep an eye out for upcoming events on our socials!


@climatecocktailclub everywhere!



 
 
 

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