Month: September 2021

“UNBELIEVABLE,” AN ELATED Doireann O’Sullivan grinned when asked how much it meant to her, and that feeling as the final whistle sounded.

Bríd O’Sullivan with the cup.

Source: Laszlo Geczo/INPHO

“I don’t think you can put it into words. First feeling definitely was relief. Five years at it now, we finally got over the line and I suppose it was just relief. We’ll enjoy it now over the next couple of months!”

She kicked a massive 0-6 as her Mourneabbey side finally reached the Holy Grail and were crowned All-Ireland senior club champions after four years of hurt and heartbreak.

The five in-a-row Cork and Munster kingpins had fallen just short in the 2014, 2015 and 2017 finals, and the 2017 semi-final. The emotional scenes as the rain bucketed down on Parnell Park said it all. This special group had finally did it.

“It’s so emotional and so brilliant for them,” manager Shane Ronayne said as his players celebrated at full hilt in the dressing room.

“They put so much into it. They keep coming back down to that field, I don’t know how they do it after all the hurt there the past few years. Everyone was telling us we had great years — we didn’t think we had great years.

“Years to come, we’d look back at five Munsters and five counties but they wanted this so badly. They’re the first club in the whole country to hold all nine trophies, that’s an incredible achievement.

Shane Ronayne celebrates with Laura Fitzgerald.

Source: Laszlo Geczo/INPHO

“Five or six of the girls have done that, what a bunch. It’s going to be some party down in Mourneabbey!”

Captain Brid O’Sullivan’s face when she lifted the Dolores Tyrrell Memorial Cup was something else. Her words afterwards echoed her manager’s, and her teammate’s.

“For us, as a team, it’s a special moment,” she told the media.

“But this has been such a massive effort not only by this team, but the whole community of Mourneabbey and beyond. It really is just a special moment for the whole community and we can’t wait to share it with them.

“It’s really difficult to put into words to be honest. Eimear Meaney saud during the week that this means everything. It might sound stupid to put so much into something that isn’t a certainty. You’re never going to be sure that you’re going to win. Winning this really does mean everything to everyone on this team and in this club.”

“If there’s one thing that we’re able to do it’s celebrate,” she grinned. “I don’t think there’s going to be anything like it over the next few weeks. It really was a complete team performance and we’re delighted.”

Special feelings and emotions aside, Ronayne had nothing but praise to heap on his team after their 1-13 to 1-7 win over Foxrock-Cabinteely.

Celebrations in full flow.

Source: Laszlo Geczo/INPHO

“They performed to their potential today and that’s the big thing: we said if we’d get a performance out of them, we’d win. That’s what we focused on, we didn’t think of winning or the result, we said if we perform we’ll get the outcome we want.

“They played brilliant football in second half, we kept it simple and there was no panic. That was key. We got the dream performance out of them, they performed to their ability.”

That approach most definitely worked. O’Sullivan referred back to that time and time again: “We knew today that all we needed to do was perform and we’d get the result that comes with that.”

The calmness and relaxed focus of the group was huge, compared to previous years when they may have panicked.

For example, training was called off because of adverse weather conditions the other night and a delay in Naas had them 45 minutes late for their pre-match meal.

“There wasn’t a bother,” he grins. “We had the work done this year.

“Before, they’d have been panicking and worrying about things like that but no, this year was just different. The last few weeks there’s just been a calmness.

Agallamh le Laoch na hImeartha Doireann O'Sullivan ó @MourneabbeyLFC
Sár Cluiche aici! @CorkLGFA #ProperFan#LGFAClubs pic.twitter.com/z8huCwLrmi

— Spórt TG4 (@SportTG4) December 8, 2018

“They got what they deserve there today, you don’t always get what you deserve in life. That’s no disrespect to Foxrock, they said it after the final whistle that we were the better team — and we were the better team today.

“I’m so happy for all the girls inside there and so happy for the people of Mourneabbey.”

A last word to Doireann O’Sullivan and that masterclass, that heroic performance. It’s even more impressive given she’s carrying an injury and trained just once in the last three weeks.

“She’s hobbling around out there on one knee, she shouldn’t even be playing,”Ronayne smiles afterwards. “You wouldn’t think that looking at her. That’s just testament to the way she is.”

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File photo of Laois defender Stephen Attride.

Source: James Crombie/INPHO

Kevin O’Brien reports from O’Moore Park

THERE WAS A slight sense of anti-climax in Portlaoise last night as one of the most dramatic rule-change packages in the history of Gaelic football had a low-key start in the opening round O’Byrne Cup clash between Laois and Meath.

As the 2019 season got underway on a miserable December evening, the Royals ran out comfortable 14-point winners and, by and large, the five experimental rules had the desired effect in improving the game as a spectacle.

The five proposed rule change are:

1. Handpass: Limit to three successive handpasses, after which the ball must be kicked.
2. Sideline kicks: Sidelines except those inside the opposition’s 20m line, must go forward.
3. Advanced mark: A player can call a mark if they make a clean catch inside the 45m line from a kickpass taken by an attacking player on or beyond the opposing team’s 45. The ball must travel a minimum of 20 metres and can’t touch the ground.
4. Sin-bin: The current black card sanction is replaced by ten minutes in the sin-bin.
5. Kick-outs: All kick-outs must be taken from the 20m line and cannot go backwards.

The restriction of three consecutive handpasses had a major impact on how often the ball was kicked. Both Meath and Laois put far more emphasis on the kick pass all over the field and the game benefited as a result.

There were far more contested possessions and plenty of turnovers from either team, with both counties more willing to move the ball into the full-forward line quickly and early by foot. On first viewing, it appears corner-forwards will no longer be forced to live off scraps and may get a steady supply of possession from deep.

The most noticeable difference during the game was how the footpass became the first option for most players, rather than giving off the simple handpass. It also limited the amount of lateral handpassing over and back in front of a defensive screen, with the team in possession more eager to kick an early ball into the full-forward line. 

On just four occasions did the referee blow for four handpasses – twice for Laois in the opening half and twice for Meath in the second. Both of Laois’s transgressions came at midfield but the Royals were denied two point-scoring opportunities.

On both occasions, a Meath player was sent into a scoreable position with a first pass when the play was called back. Andy McEntee suggested after the game that fatigue may have been a factor in those late errors. 

Source: James Crombie/INPHO

Both sides also left more bodies on the half-forward line when they defended, which allowed them to transfer the ball quickly from attack to defence by foot.

Interestingly, a member of the Laois backroom team counted the handpasses out loud on the sideline for the benefit of their players, while McEntee left his players up to their own devices. 

On the negative side, players sometimes availed of sloppy close-range foot passes when three handpasses were already taken. Neither team ran the ball down the middle due to the risk of running out of handpasses, but that took little away from the game as a spectacle.

Of the rest of the experimental rules, the kick-outs from the 20m line saw the majority of restarts being contested in midfield. On some occasions, the respective goalkeepers were able to get short kick-outs away, but most were long 50/50 balls t0 the middle.

Neither Meath nor Laois claimed an advanced mark but in truth, neither side tried it too often. A couple of Meath defenders claimed marks from high balls inside but the wet conditions made making clean catches difficult.

Both teams were still happy to give kickpasses inside that bounced in front of the recipient. With only a couple of weeks of training with the new rules under the belts, it’s likely sides will try to make better use of the advanced mark over the coming games.

Of the other proposed rule changes, it’s still debatable whether the new sideline rule will benefit the game, while the sin-bin was not required on the night. 

General view of O’Moore Park.

Source: Cathal Noonan

Referee Fintan Pierce, from the Raheen club in Offaly, is only in his mid-20s but is considered locally to have a bright future ahead of him as the man in the middle. His rise through the ranks has been quick – he only managed his first Offaly SFC final in October – but Pierce had little trouble applying the new rules in O’Moore Park despite difficult weather conditions.

Meath boss McEntee made some relevant points after the game, suggesting a potential tweak to the handpass rule that may work.

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“The three hand-pass rule, you know, I could live with that,” he said. “The area of the pitch where it’s difficult is in close to goals where there’s a crowded defence.

How do you beat that only with quick hands, two or three little short hand-passes and all of a sudden (under new rules) you’re in trouble because there’s so many players back there. In a way, it would almost encourage more defenders back there.

“If I was to tweak it I’d restrict to between the two 50s (45m lines). Because I think inside when you get closer to goal, bodies (are) there and it’s going to lead to a lot of rucks and scrums.

“You saw a certain amount of those there tonight,” he continued. “Where fellas are trying to kick a five-yard footpass, it’s going to lead to a lot of turnovers.”

All in all, the initial backlash to the rule changes may have been a little premature. While the handpass limit rules out a goal like Corofin’s brilliant move in this year’s All-Ireland club final, it also removes the sort of back-and-forth handpassing moves outside the 45m line that puts spectators to sleep.

It may be a price worth paying for the overall betterment of the game.

A week before the Allianz Football League begins on 26 January, Central Council must decide whether to extend the experimental rules trial into the league campaign.

There’s plenty of football to be played between now and then and they might need further tweaks, but on first viewing, the rule changes have the potential to greatly improve football.

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THE FINAL FOUR. 

We’re down to back-to-back champions Dublin, 11-time winners Cork and Connacht rivals Galway and Mayo in the TG4 All-Ireland senior championship, with Croke Park hosting the semi-finals on Sunday, 25 August.

The last four meeting of arch-rivals Dublin and Cork was confirmed last weekend, and now we know who’s joining them in the double-header at HQ after Peter Leahy’s Green and Red and the Tribe won their respective quarter-final clashes on Saturday.

• ‘I love those days’ – Arch-rivals Dublin and Cork relishing Croke Park semi showdown

The general feeling after, of course, was joy to be heading to Croke Park, where the semi-finals will be staged for the first time ever, with the race for the Brendan Martin Cup well and truly reaching the business end.

Mayo were three-point winners over Armagh on Saturday; Sarah Rowe and Maria Reilly hitting the all-important goals that sent the Westerners on their way.

Emma Needham and Sarah Rowe celebrate their win.

Source: Matt Browne/SPORTSFILE

Reaching this stage of the competition this year comes as a huge feat for the county, considering the rollercoaster ride they’ve been on over the past 23 months or so.

From defeat in the 2017 All-Ireland final to the well-documented mass player walkout last summer, they’re definitely clawing their way back to the top. Their revival has been nothing short of admirable.

• From 2017 All-Ireland final to mass player walkout, Mayo now clawing their way back to the top

“It is good to be back in Croke Park,” Leahy said after their quarter-final win. “There has been a lot of tribulation over the last couple of years for Mayo.

This is a journey for the girls. We did a video for them recently about their journey. Every team has a point where it becomes a new team. We became a new team last year after all that happened.

“We are an open book. Warts, cuts and all we just get on with it. It has been my most enjoyable year coaching any team.”

Connacht champions Galway, meanwhile, set up a repeat of the provincial decider – which took a replay to decide after a thrilling drawn game — after their five-point win over Waterford in dreadful conditions. Tracey Leonard’s 1-5 helped Tim Rabbitt’s charges overcome a stern Déise challenge, and march on.

While they’re back in the last four once again, the Tribe haven’t progressed to the showpiece since 2005, where they lost to Cork. From there, the Rebels, of course, went on their reign of terror.

Sarah Conneally, Charlotte Cooney, Olivia Divilly and Lisa Murphy all smiles after Galway’s win.

Source: Matt Browne/SPORTSFILE

Having last won in 2004, they’ll hope to use the hurt of past defeats to bridge that gap and ultimately, end their silverware drought.

“It’s a fantastic occasion for the girls to be getting up to Croke Park,” Rabbitt, who’s in his first year as manager, said after their win.

“Galway supporters have been great all year long and we will be asking them to come out. No doubt Mayo will have a big crowd at it. We lost the semi-final last year. We know what that will be like although it will be a unique occasion in Croke Park.

I was with the girls last year when we were beaten so I know what it is like to lose a semi-final as well.

“It is a nowhere position because at least if you get to the final you are there on the biggest day of the year. It will be very important we put in a big performance.”

He added on the game itself: “I couldn’t take away from us, the amount of heart, the effort, the tracking, hassling and tackling we did.”

“We really had to dig in today in these conditions. It wasn’t a day for nice football. I would be really proud of the girls.”

TG4 All-Ireland semi-finals – Sunday, 25 August

• Mayo v Galway, 2pm, Croke Park
• Dublin v Cork, 3.45pm, Croke Park

TG4 All Ireland Semi-Final’s

Sun Aug 25th Croke Park

Mayo v Galway, 2pm

Dublin v Cork, 3:45pm

Adults: €20.00, Students/Seniors: €10.00, Juv(U-16's): €2.00

Tickets on sale – https://t.co/4yILVC1MhK, LGFA office 01-8363156 & select Centra / SuperValu stores #COYGIB pic.twitter.com/btcN9y3iIB

— DublinLGFA (@dublinladiesg) August 11, 2019

Elsewhere over the weekend, Cavan secured their senior status for 2020 with Westmeath and Monaghan now set to battle it out in a relegation dogfight. 

In the intermediate grade, 2018 All-Ireland junior champions Limerick were relegated back down after losing out to Laois, and Wicklow also dropped following a dramatic defeat to Leitrim.

The semi-finals there had already been decided with 2017 champions Tipperary and Sligo [throw-in 3pm], and Meath and Roscommon [throw-in 4,45pm] going head-to-head for two final places at Nowlan Park, Kilkenny, on Saturday, 17 August.

Fermanagh and London, and Antrim and Louth form the semi-final pairings in the junior grade.

– With reporting from Daragh Small, and quotes from the LGFA  

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All-Ireland winning captain Anthony Daly and his Clare team-mates of the 1990s feature prominently in this week’s episode.

EPISODE THREE OF Behind the Lines, our sportswriting podcast available exclusively to The42 Members, is available now.

In case you’re unaware of the thrust of the show – each episode features a long interview with one of the best writer sports writers working in the English language. Each guest brings along a few of their favourite pieces as a way to discuss sport, writing and sportswriting.

To get access to our back catalogue along with this week’s episode, become a member of The42 for €5 per month – or just €42 for a full year – by following this link.

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This week’s guest is arguably the most famous Mick Foley on Twitter – The Sunday Times’ award-winning journalist and author Michael Foley.

Along with covering the writing from some of the biggest sporting and cultural events on both sides of the Atlantic, Mick tells us of how he managed to delete most of Aertel on his first day of work at RTÉ and of poetry written by Kieran McGeeney’s father.

Listen to a teaser below.

Source: The42 Podcasts/SoundCloud

We hope you enjoy it, and you can get in touch with the show by emailing [email protected].

IN HIS 2017 autobiography, Jackie Tyrrell pulled no punches when it came to his assessment of Tipperary. 

After the Premier ended Kilkenny’s five-in-a-row hopes in 2010, the Cats defeated their rivals in championship during each of the next four seasons.

Tyrrell described Tipperary as a “flaky” team and of forward John ‘Bubbles’ O’Dwyer he said: “You could get at Bubbles. [He] was a genius who could nearly make the ball talk, but he was as flaky as any of them.”

While he has no regrets over any of his comments in The Warrior’s Code, the nine-time All-Ireland winner admits “there’s a bit more about this Tipperary team.”

“There’s a bit of backbone about some of these players,” he says.

“You look at what Seamus Callanan is doing, you look at what Noel McGrath is doing. Even Brendan Maher this year. He’s a stylish wing-back but he’s sacrificing his game to take Tony Kelly out of it, to forget about hurling against Limerick and just marking Aaron Gillane. 

“These lads, they’re just doing things I’ve never seen them done before. I think they’re mean and I think they’re hungry for this All-Ireland. I’d say they know that time is against them and that all bets are off.”

However, if the game is in the balance coming down the home straight the James Stephens man still feels Kilkenny hold the edge.

“I do think if it’s going down the final straight and there’s five or ten minutes to go and it’s tight, I do think there’s a psychological advantage for Kilkenny in that any time Tipperary beat Kilkenny it’s in an open, free-flowing game.

“When it’s tight and tense, Kilkenny generally win those. You think even the league final last year where Tipperary had the better pool of players on the pitch but Kilkenny just came out in the second-half and blitzed them and Tipperary had no response. 

“If you flip that, if it’s the other way around, when Kilkenny are out of the game they have an unbelievable ability to hang in there. Instead of the other team getting 3-3, they’ll just get 1-2. That’s that durability, they just won’t wilt.”

John O’Dwyer takes a shot during the semi-final.

Source: James Crombie/INPHO

O’Dwyer’s form has dipped since the beginning of the summer when he took the Munster round-robin by storm, but Tyrrell says he’s still capable of lighting up the final.

“Him and John McGrath were flying at the start of the year and they just had a little slump in the middle. Now, maybe John McGrath didn’t come back as well, Bubbles got three excellent points when they needed them.  

“But that is Bubbles. You just don’t know. He could go out the weekend and he mightn’t touch the ball. Or he could score 2-2. When he does get the ball in his hand he generally scores.  

“I think they should play him inside because if they play him half-forward there’s going to be a lot of bodies and he’s not going to get that much room. He’s not the best at pace. 

“Bubbles’ strengths are his wrists and his accuracy and he’ll get a bit more space inside. I’d be looking at leaving him inside and getting ball into him. Because when it’s in the trenches I don’t think it suits Bubbles.” 

The youngsters who drove Tipperary to that famous victory in 2010 form the core of the current side. Padraic Maher, Brendan Maher, Noel McGrath, Seamus Callanan and O’Dwyer remain hugely influential figures in Liam Sheedy’s team.

Tyrrell believes time is running out for that crew to deliver another Liam MacCarthy Cup.

“I think there’s a bit more pressure on the ageing profile of the core of that Tipperary team,” he says.

“I do think their chances are probably getting slimmer and slimmer. The [likes of the] Noel McGraths and Padraig Mahers.

“I’m sure they’ll be looking to draw a line in the sand and say, ‘Lookit lads there’s been years where we didn’t really get the very best out of ourselves. We find ourselves in an All-Ireland final, what better way than to put Kilkenny to the sword and to really go after them.’

“Kilkenny have gone after Tipperary for years and I think Tipperary need to go after Kilkenny and go after their key players.

Conor Fogarty challenges Niall O’Meara during their league encounter earlier this year.

Source: Oisin Keniry/INPHO

“Brendan Maher needs to take TJ Reid out of it and Bubbles O’Dwyer needs to take Padraig Walsh out of it, Callanan needs to be an assassin inside. That’s the mentality they need to have to bring to this game.

“If they stand and go toe-to-toe, there’s no better team that will stand there, take the punches and come back for more than Kilkenny and just wear you down.

“They found a way to get over the line against Limerick and that’s what Kilkenny have, they just don’t die and they won’t die on Sunday. If there’s any team to die on Sunday it’ll be Tipp.

“I don’t think they will because I just think there’s a sting in this Tipperary team still but this Kilkenny team are quite durable and will go the distance.”

Tyrrell is leaning towards a narrow Kilkenny victory.

“I don’t think it’ll be open at all. And I do think two things – that when Tipperary have their spell, Kilkenny have the ability to claw in and not concede big scores when they’re totally out of the game. 

“And I just think if they do put Brendan Maher on TJ Reid, how the rest of the defence will shape up around that? Who will cover that centre?

“Kilkenny might be able to create a mismatch up there and that they could hammer the hammer and the likes of Adrian Mullen could be a real assassin at the weekend.”

*****

Style icon and hurling legend Jackie Tyrrell has collaborated with Littlewoods Ireland to design a bespoke O’Neills jersey ahead of the 2019 All-Ireland Hurling Final. The jersey is to celebrate the launch of a range of official GAA county jerseys available on LittlewoodsIreland.ie in partnership with the GAA and O’Neills.  

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– Congratulations to Robbie Dunne, our competition winner. Enjoy the game!

IT’S ALL-IRELAND HURLING final week — and we want to send you to Croke Park on Sunday.

Few would have predicted it at the start of the year but, for the sixth season since 2009, Kilkenny and Tipperary are the last two standing in the race for Liam.

GAA Headquarters is set to host a capacity crowd on Sunday and, as ever, tickets will surely be like golddust this week.

That’s where we can help. The first of our big monthly prize draws for The42 Members takes place this week, and to kick things off, we’ve got a cracking hurling final prize: a pair of tickets to Sunday’s game as well as an overnight stay for two that night in the four-star Brooks Hotel in Dublin, with a meal in the Jasmine bar, and a full Irish breakfast the following morning.

If you have already joined up as a member, you don’t need to do anything. You’ll be automatically entered into this draw and we’ll contact the winner with the good news this Thursday, 15 August.

If you haven’t joined up as a member yet, don’t worry, there’s still time — join up before noon on Thursday and we’ll make sure your name is in the hat too.

For more info on The42 Membership and all of the great benefits you get, click here, or visit members.the42.ie to sign up.

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ANOTHER WEEK, ANOTHER great GAA documentary.

We were treated to another fantastic episode of The Game on RTÉ last night, this episode entitled ‘The Big Show’ with excitement well and truly building ahead of Sunday’s 2019 All-Ireland hurling final.

With the traditional pairing of Kilkenny and Tipperary set to lock horns at Croke Park this weekend and Brian Cody and Liam Sheedy going head-to-head on the line, the episode explored the intensity of All-Ireland final day. 

Through unseen footage and interviews with current and former players and managers including Joe Canning, Sean Óg Ó’Hailpín, Martin Storey and Terence ‘Sambo’ McNaughton, we got a taste for just how much it means.

Starting with Limerick’s big day last August, we took a trip through time — and through the great battles for the Liam MacCarthy Cup. From smiles and laughter to tears, with raw emotion and passion on show throughout; we enjoyed every second.

What a game it is. 

If #Hurling's all that's on your mind this week, this new episode of #TheGame is just what you need! Watch it tonight on @RTE tonight at 9:30pm! #GAABelong pic.twitter.com/poDrr8Dh7B

— The GAA (@officialgaa) August 13, 2019

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SINCE PARAIC FANNING announced his decision to step down as Waterford boss, Derek McGrath has been linked with a return to the hot-seat just a year after he vacated the position. 

Paraic Fanning spent one year in charge of the Deise.

Source: James Crombie/INPHO

McGrath, a school teacher in De La Salle College, guided the Deise for five seasons, delivering the Division 1 league title in 2015 and bringing them to the All-Ireland final in 2017. 

The 43-year-old was “genuinely surprised” when the news of Fanning’s departure came through while he was on a family holiday. 

While he admits he’s “not really” interested in the role at this point in time, McGrath has not entirely dismissed the prospect of a return. 

“I haven’t really thought about it,” he says. “I was saying to my wife on holidays, ‘Would you be mad to even consider it?’

“Then I was saying to myself, ‘Would you consider it?’ So my mind is a muddle on it really and that’s being completely upfront with you. There’s very, very good candidates in Waterford that are interested in the job. 

“I might be more interested in going back and getting involved in my own school and maybe rebuilding in school there and maybe coming again and having another opportunity at it.

“You can’t just walk into it either, you have to go through a process where there’s a committee appointed and if they deem you a suitable candidate they’ll interview you and they’ll have that right to do that.

“Is it interesting to me? At the minute, not really. I’m not sure I’d have the energy to invest everything I have into it again. But it’s not something I’d completely rule out either.”

Given the success he enjoyed with his native county, McGrath’s name has also been mentioned when various other inter-county jobs have cropped up. 

“It probably would interest me down the line,” he says of managing a county other than his own. “It would if the opportunity was right if there was some sort of connection with the team.

Electric Ireland GAA Minor Star awards panel member Derek McGrath.

Source: Morgan Treacy/INPHO

“Obviously you’d have to establish the connection. But if there was something there that was linking me with it. I don’t know. ‘This is an interesting project that would interest me here’. Or something. It would definitely interest me because if you’re a hurling person, you’re a hurling person.

“If you think you could make a difference to a place, ultimately that’s what you’d go about. It’s just learning from the Waterford experience in terms of, you put your life on pause really while it was on.

“Would you be able to do that again? I took a couple of career breaks and things like that. You wouldn’t. You wouldn’t be able to facilitate that.

“So it’s about learning from it, I’m not saying you’d be less emotive or being less into it, but maybe being better with time management or better with dedication.

“All the things you’d associate with management that you want to get better at, in terms of when you go back at it. I’m just trying to learn along the way.”

McGrath has assumed the role of pundit this season and shipped criticism after The Sunday Game recently when himself and Donal Og Cusack engaged in a lively debate over hurling tactics and sweepers.

A chorus of former and current players, supporters and pundits all chimed in with their disapproval of the segment, which was aired shortly after the highlights of the Tipperary-Wexford semi-final.

McGrath stands over his defence of the sweeper system but admits it wasn’t the right platform to air his views.

“I actually got on a plane at 4am on the Monday morning, I went straight to the Clayton [Hotel] where my wife and two boys were waiting. I had a feeling, ‘Well hang on here, I’m in bother here.’

“First of all, to talk about the sweeper issue, I’d say I definitely left a little bit of the lingering hurt that I experienced as a manager that I felt was inaccurate criticism of how we played.

“I definitely let that get the better of my emotions and I didn’t articulate my point in the manner that I should have. I have regrets about that definitely, even though the points I was making I’d stand over.

“But I’d have regret for using that platform. It wasn’t the right forum, the right platform for it. It was just off the back of a brilliant game and I think I allowed the emotion and lingering hurt get the better of me on the whole sweeper debate.”

He also referenced how the majority of inter-county players came through the college system and feels his point was taken up in the wrong way. 

“The second point along the college thing was more annoying from my point of view,” he says. 

“I wasn’t saying that to hurl you had to go to college, I was saying that was the pathway that often guys are choosing nowadays.

Derek McGrath with the Waterford team during the 2018 Musnter SHC round-robin.

Source: James Crombie/INPHO

“I was on the panel in ’98 for Waterford, one fella on the panel had a mobile phone. I know you’re wondering why I want to compare hurling to technology, but thing have changed dramatically.

“Fellas are saying to themselves, ‘I’ll go to college and I’ll have the Monday off for recovery and be able to drive myself ambition-wise.’ I wasn’t saying for a minute that there’s not room for a farmer or a magician or a guy that’s on shift work not to go up and play [inter-county] hurling. 

“I was mad over that because I’m heavily invested in school and the Leaving Cert Applied programme, which is the old pre-employment course for guys that want to go on and do apprenticeships and do PLCs.

“I’m passionate about, I’ve been teaching about it for the last 20 years in the English and Communications section of it. It steers guys of a lesser academic ability to say to themselves, ‘There’s opportunities here.’

“The point I was making, and I’m sorry for being so passionate about this, my parents never went through secondary school. But they borrowed and stole if you like to put me through college and give me an opportunity.

“I think it’s more a reflection of what I was trying to say was that parents are now learning and thinking, ‘What will I do now to give my son an opportunity?’

“I read a strange stat yesterday: 33% took the Higher Level Maths paper [this year], as opposed to the 2011 level where it was 16%. I thought, ‘Why was that, why are people stretching themselves? Are they being encouraged to go for it more? To challenge themselves more?’

Former Waterford manager Derek McGrath consults with selector Dan Shanahan.

Source: Morgan Treacy/INPHO

“And I wasn’t in any way taking from a fella that was doing an apprenticeship or whatever.

“So the first debate around the sweeper, I didn’t articulate in the manner I should have, and the platform wasn’t right. Even though the points I made I’d stand over. But the second point around college students…I could have probably articulated it better.

“I didn’t like that it perceived in a way that I was an ‘academic snob’. I’d be anything but. I struggled through college.”

In addition, McGrath felt his point about the benefits of players from different counties sharing ideas in college was lost somewhat.

“The perfect example of that, when I was in charge of Waterford, Philip O’Mahony, Darragh Fives and Tadhg De Burca were living in a house with Matthew O’Hanlon, Noel McGrath, Cillian Buckley and Walter Walsh.

“They were all in the one house, six or seven of them are teachers. My point being that when it comes to big championship matches there’s a lockdown, there’s going to be no talk. Darragh could be picking up Walter Walsh, and they’re living in the one house! It’s hard going for any young fella. 

“In the off-season fellas that go to college – what you are sharing? ‘Did you get that gear tonight? We’re not getting any gear like that.’ Don’t tell me for a second that when you have a few pints over the winter, they’re not saying, ‘Were you out training tonight? Jesus you’re training hard, how many nights in a week are you doing? What are you doing strength and conditioning-wise, who’s your psychologist? Who’s your nutritionist?’

“So they are sharing, that was really my point. So then people come back to the set-up and saying, ‘Hang on they are doing this in Wexford.’

“They don’t say that but to an extent, you are probably saying to yourself, ‘We have to be on top of this, we have to be ahead of it.’ That often gets lost to the point where it can kind of add to your mind. I think that was really the point I was trying to make, but look, I learned from it.”

****

Electric Ireland GAA Minor Star awards panel member for 2019, Derek McGrath highlights the importance of the pre-game ritual to Minor players, encouraging fans to be a part of “The Championship Haircut” which returns to Croke Park for the Electric Ireland GAA All Ireland Minor Hurling Final, for the second year running. Fans can avail of a free cut or style between 11.30am – 1pm on the Cusack Stand Side. #GAAThisIsMajor

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THE GAA HAVE confirmed that David Gough will take charge of the the 2019 All-Ireland senior football final. 

The meeting of five in-a-row-chasing Dublin and Kerry at Croke Park on Sunday, 1 September, will come as the Meathman’s first senior decider to take charge of, with Conor Lane (Cork, standby referee) and Barry Cassidy (Derry) on the line and Sean Hurson (Tyrone) named fourth official.

Gough has been one of the top referees in Gaelic football in 2019 but there’s been furore in the lead-up to his appointment in the Kingdom as the 36-year-old lives and works in Dublin.

“I think it’s an injustice if he does get the game,” former Kerry manager Eamonn Fitzmaurice told the Irish Examiner GAA podcast this week, leading the calls.

“I am not going to be dictating here who I feel should get the game, but a final referee has to be a neutral referee.

“Of course when David Gough goes out to referee a match he is trying to be neutral and impartial, I am not questioning that, but it can’t be fair that if you are living and working in a place, that you get to referee an All-Ireland final involving that county.”

While debates kicked off on social media after Fitzmaurice’s comments, Aidan O’Mahony echoed his former manager’s words:

“David Gough shouldn’t be allowed to ref the All-Ireland final, he lives in Dublin and you need a neutral referee, that’s how I feel,” he wrote in his Paddy Power column yesterday.

Source: The GAA.

“It would take questions about his performance away from him if he’s not selected to referee it. With Dublin going for five-in-a-row, it puts huge pressure on him to given that he lives in the capital.

“Gough is undoubtedly in the top three or four referees in the country, but Croke Park must pick a neutral for the final.”

The Slane clubman was in the middle for the Super 8s meetings of Donegal and Mayo, and Dublin and Cork, the Ulster semi-final clash of Donegal and Tyrone and Mayo and Galway’s Connacht semi-final meeting this year.

In the league, he refereed Kerry-Tyrone, Down-Westmeath, Cavan-Roscommon and Cork-Donegal.

Gough was on the whistle for the 2015 All-Ireland minor final between Kerry and Tipperary, the 2013 All-Ireland U21 final meeting of Cork and Galway, the 2017 Connacht final, the 2018 Ulster final, and the 2018 All-Ireland s enior club final.

He will bring family members Eugene Gough, Terry Gough, Stephen Gough and Dean Gough as umpries.

Meanwhile, Cavan native Noel Mooney will referee the Electric Ireland All-Ireland minor final meeting of Galway and Cork.

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The Cavan Gaels clubman refereed this year’s Super 8s meeting of Cork and Roscommon, the Ulster senior club final, the Leinster SFC meeting of Wicklow and Kildare and the Antrim-Kildare qualifier.

Roscommon’s Paddy Neilan will be the standby referee, with Brendan Cawley (Kildare) also on the line and Jerome Henry (Mayo) named sideline official.

Mooney’s umpires on the day will be Michael Mooney, Michael Graham, Berney Quinn and Martin Sheridan.

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HAVING EXPERIENCED 17 senior All-Ireland finals as a manager, and 24 altogether when you factor in his playing career, Brian Cody knows exactly what to expect on Sunday afternoon.

No man has experienced the rarified air of hurling’s showpiece game anywhere near as much as Cody. It’s unlikely anyone will ever come close to his extraordinary record of dining at the top table.

But the James Stephens man admits he still gets those big-game nerves and this weekend will be no different. 

“It’s the same kind of feeling you get,” he says.

“There’s something very important on that day. If you’re playing a match you have that feeling for it as well, or whatever it is you’re going doing.

“Something massive in work, whatever it is. It’s just that you know this is important, this is special and you’re totally focused.”

One of Cody’s great strengths is getting his team up for the battle. Reigning champions Limerick failed to live with the ferocity of Kilkenny’s tackling in the semi-final, while their second-half blitz of Cork in the quarter-final was similarly impressive. 

“It’s a huge part of the game,” he says of the mental aspect.

“The importance of your head on the day is crucial. Everybody is physically prepared and everybody is skill-wise, you’re all prepared, but you’ve got to bring yourself to it and allow yourself to play.” 

While the game has tactically moved on over the years, Cody says little has changed in terms of preparation. 

“Not an awful lot, not a lot at all. Everybody can speculate and talk about differences and all the rest of it. Like I said, you bring whatever you bring.

“Essentially, you prepare well, the team has to be physically up for it and prepared well physically which they are.

“Mentally as well as everything else and obviously the skill levels, it’s the same thing – the fundamentals have to be looked after.

“I do believe that for certain. The fundamentals are – it’s a game of skill, first and foremost, it’s a game of physicality, athleticism, pace, energy and all of those things, commitment and determination.

“You can’t dilute those things. Then you can bring whatever tactics you want that you believe are going to help you to implement those fundamentals as best you possibly can. That’s every manager’s prerogative to do that. That’s what everybody does but the fundamentals are absolute in my opinion. 

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Cody and team trainer Mick Dempsey on the sideline earlier this summer.

Source: Morgan Treacy/INPHO

While Cody acts as team psychologist, Kilkenny’s physical trainer Mick Dempsey is tasked with having the players peaking at the right time. The Laois native has been an integral part of Cody’s backroom team for the last 15 years and they’ve enjoyed tremendous success together.

“I just trust implicitly that Michael will prepare the team physically as they need to be. He has proven that many times and that’s what he does. I don’t interfere and tell him what to do. We talk about it and we’re obviously on the same wavelength.

“But if ever I felt something else should be done, I would…I’ve never felt it, I couldn’t feel it because I’ll say, What’s the story Mick?’ and he’ll tell me what he’s thinking of doing and I’ll say, ‘Off you go.’

“I wouldn’t even need to tell him that, he’s just very, very good at what he does.”

Tipperary provide the opposition, the side who defeated Kilkenny on their last trip to the final in 2016. Liam Sheedy, is one of a handful of managers who’ve managed to beat Cody in an All-Ireland final in the past.

The Portroe man will be hoping to become the first boss to defeat Cody in successive finals and record back-to-back championship victories over his rival nine years apart.

The Premier’s character has been questioned in the past, but Cody refutes the claim that they’re lacking in that department.

“I wonder who said that, I’ve no idea who said it because I don’t know what they mean by it. Lacking character, I’ve never seen it. Like I said when I referenced the last day, character is not something you switch on or off, it’s either there or it’s not there. 

“And if it wasn’t there in Tipperary in abundance they could have not have come out the way they came out in the last 25 minutes of the game the last day and played with the character that they played with. It’s either there or it’s not. 

“They’re excellent hurlers. Always have been and always will be I’d say as well. You know, I mean, Tipperary, no matter what you say, all you have to do is look at the last day. Down to 14 men with 25 minutes to go and playing against Wexford who were flying and the response from Tipperary was outstanding, what they brought to it. 

“And the confidence that will bring as a result of that as well is going to be massive for them. But, look, that’s no surprise in that they have all that ability and terrific skill, great experience. It’s a huge challenge for us, definitely.” 

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