Month: September 2021

COLM CAVANAGH IS one of just two players in the Tyrone squad with a Celtic Cross in his back pocket, along with Cathal McCarron who missed out through injury on Sunday.

Colm and Sean Cavanagh lift the Sam Maguire in 2008

Source: Morgan Treacy/INPHO

Cavanagh played a part in the Red Hand’s last senior success of 2008, arriving off the bench as a 68th minute substitute for Tommy McGuigan to help Tyrone see out a four-point final victory over Kerry. 

The years have passed quickly.

Yesterday Cavanagh was back in his first September decider since. While Tyrone gave a good account of themselves and certainly laid the ghosts of the 2017 semi-final to rest, they didn’t have quite enough to halt the Dublin juggernaut. 

Cavanagh admitted the prospect of sailing off into the sunset had they been victorious crossed his mind, but Tyrone’s six-point defeat means he’ll return for another crack at the Sam Maguire in 2019.

“Look, I toyed with this,” he said after the game. “I laughed and joked with the boys that if we were to win something this year I could see my days out. I did consider it this year – if we had’ve won.

Source: James Crombie/INPHO

“I’m 31 years of age now, I’m not getting any younger. A lot of these guys are making it harder and harder to come back and compete with.

“However, I don’t know whether I could go out like that. There’s serious potential in this team, we’ve developed a great bond over the last number of months. Moy won an All-Ireland this year and I came in late to the panel, and it took me a wee while to adjust and get back into the scene.

“But to see how the group dynamic evolved over the couple of months through the qualifier run was unbelievable. I think we have a really strong group there who enjoy each other’s company and will go to the well for each other.

“That’s important, and that can hopefully go well for us next year.”

Cavanagh is expected to win an All-Star at midfield but he did the majority of his most important work at either end of the field against the Dubs.

The Moy veteran dropped back in his customary sweeper role while Tyrone were without possession for the first three quarters, before Mickey Harte pushed him into full-forward as they chased the game.

Cavanagh used all his experience to win a late penalty off Philly McMahon that Peter Harte converted to give the Red Hand a slim chance in the closing stages, but Dublin had enough in the tank to seal their fourth All-Ireland in succession.

Source: Tommy Dickson/INPHO

“To be honest I think the fast start was unbelievable and we shocked ourselves in a way going 5-1 up,” Cavanagh said.

“We seemed to go into a panic mode, which is crazy to think because we felt we could manage the game if we went 5-1 up. But we were reckless, we kicked shots away and we made bad decisions. Had that not been the case, it could have been a very different end to the first half.

“It turned out that Dublin got a point back, got the goal and it really took the stuffing out of us and it was very hard to recover after they done that.

“That first 20 minutes we’ll probably look back on the hardest and say ‘why were wee not a wee bit better and put Dublin under pressure?’ 

“You aim to start every game fast, however I think we were in a wee bit of shock that we were doing so well, the scores were going over, we were kicking the ball in, we were winning the play. Everything you’d dream of at the start of an All-Ireland final.

“That’s probably the hardest thing to take in that we took shots on from angles we shouldn’t have and we were making the wrong choice.

“Had it been different and we tried to play Dublin at their own game and keep the ball and made them come out on us, we could have been in such a better position.

“But that’s sport and it’s hard to get that message out whenever the crowd is rocking to keep the ball and be smart.”

Source: Morgan Treacy/INPHO

Did a lack of All-Ireland final day experience cost Tyrone after their impressive start?

“It’s a fair point. It’s a big occasion, everyone wants to do their best and impress. Yeah, potentially a wee bit at crucial times and the game management part of it wasn’t what it should have been.

“And I know that – I’m not trying to have a go at anyone. We just know that we didn’t manage the game well at a crucial time. To be honest we were totally in control and Dublin were under pressure.

“But look, the next part after that 20 minutes, you have to give credit where credit is due. They put us to the sword and they got the scores and their game management was brilliant. 

“Maybe it was the shock factor, maybe it was the experience, it’s hard to pinpoint what went wrong after that for that 10 or 15 minutes before half-time. We were out on our feet and we were lucky just to go in with the margin we did.”

He was involved in an early collision and took a worrying bang to the knee, but he managed to return to the play. Cavanagh says he wasn’t overly concerned it might be a serious injury.

“I think it was Niall Scully who came through and he tumbled and sort of caught my knee.

“I thought something had happened but I heard no snaps or anything. They tell you as long as you don’t hear a snap you’re okay.”

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FOLLOWING THEIR four-in-a-row All-Ireland success, the Dublin footballers continued their celebrations by bringing the Sam Maguire trophy to the children’s hospitals in the capital on Monday.

Jim Gavin’s charges were in good spirits as they came to see the patients and staff in the Crumlin Children’s Hospital and Temple Street after defeating Tyrone on Sunday to win another All-Ireland SFC title.

Have a look at some of the heart-warming scenes from their visit today, starting with their trip to Crumlin:

6-year-old Zoe Lonergan gives a drawing to Dublin midfielder Brian Fenton.

Source: Oisin Keniry/INPHO

Con O’Callaghan stops for a chat with 8-year-old Sophie Lawlor from Templeogue and Lucy Silke who is six years old and is from Lucan.

Source: Oisin Keniry/INPHO

Dublin manager Jim Gavin signs a jersey.

Source: Oisin Keniry/INPHO

Big smiles now!

Source: Oisin Keniry/INPHO

Taking it for a spin! Jonny Cooper is pictured with four-year-old Dawn Fahy from Cork and Zoe Lonergan from Firhouse.

Source: Oisin Keniry/INPHO

Eight-month-old Liam Down settles himself in for a nice sit in the Sam Maguire trophy.

Source: Ryan Byrne/INPHO

Adam Remington from Roscommon has a word with the Dubs manager Jim Gavin.

Source: Oisin Keniry/INPHO

Con O’Callaghan is pictured with Chloe Byrne and Louise Loughman-Byrne from Foxrock.

Source: Oisin Keniry/INPHO

There was also a bit of a sing-song!

The Dubs had a bit of a sing-song with superdub Freya Fitzpatrick in @CMRF_Crumlin's St. John's ward! 🎶 pic.twitter.com/0xlnzLqIXl

— Dublin GAA (@DubGAAOfficial) September 3, 2018

And the Dublin team also paid a visit to Temple Street too. Here’s how they got on:

Aaron McDonnell pictured with Sam Maguire.

The Dublin players pictured with Thomas Loughran.

Tadhg Holder got a feel for the cup too!

Rian O’Brien was all kitted out in his Dublin gear for a snap with Sam Maguire.

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Eoin McNeill gives Jack McCaffrey a high five!

– First published 16.03, 3 September

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FORMER WESTMEATH FOOTBALLER and selector Jack Cooney will be put forward for ratification to take over as the new manager of the Lake County, Westmeath GAA has announced.

The football committee appointed by the Westmeath County board to recommend a new manager will propose Cooney for the position at the next county board meeting, which will take place on 12 September.

The Kinnegad clubman was a selector for Páidí Ó Sé in 2004 when the Westmeath footballers won the county’s first ever Leinster SFC title after a famous win over Laois in Croke Park. He also worked alongside Rory Gallagher with Donegal in 2015.

Cooney has managed club sides such as Rhode and Kinnegad in recent times as he looks set to take over from Colin Kelly, who announced his departure from the position following Westmeath’s championship exit against Armagh in June.

If ratified, Cooney would become the first Westmeath native to manage the senior footballers since Brian Murtagh in 1992, according to Westmeath GAA.

He is yet to finalize his backroom team which will be decided in the coming weeks.

County board Chairman Billy Foley says he is hopeful Cooney will get the backing of Westmeath clubs to become the new manager.

“I am delighted that the selection committee have chosen Jack as our next football manager. We hope all clubs will get behind us now in selecting our first native manager in many years.

“We had a fantastic committee and I believe they have done a super job with their combined experience in selecting the right man to lead Westmeath Footballers in the 2019 season.”

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THOUSANDS OF DUBLIN fans turned out in force at Smithfield Plaza for the official homecoming party to honour Dublin’s four-in-a-row All-Ireland success.

The celebrations got underway earlier on Monday evening at an event which was hosted by Lord Mayor Nial Ring and Dublin City Council.

There were joyous scenes at what was a family-friendly occasion where RTÉ GAA correspondent Marty Morrissey joined Jim Gavin and the rest of his Dublin squad on stage to greet the fans.

Meanwhile, St Jude’s clubman Kevin McManamon treated the crowd to a rendition of the Dubliners classic ‘The Auld Triangle’ as Sam Maguire prepares to spend another winter in the capital.

Kevin McManamon entertaining the crowd.

Source: Oisin Keniry/INPHO

Marty Morrissey chats to Bernard Brogan.

Source: Oisin Keniry/INPHO

Stephen Cluxton & Jim Gavin take to the stage with the Sam Maguire! 💪 #UpTheDubs pic.twitter.com/mkFlEICuUd

— Dublin GAA (@DubGAAOfficial) September 3, 2018

Eoghan O’Gara’s daughter Ella holding Lord Mayor Nial Ring’s medal.

Source: Oisin Keniry/INPHO

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Lord Mayor Nial Ring speaks to the Dublin fans in Smithfield.

Source: Oisin Keniry/INPHO

‘And that auld triangle went jingle-jangle all along the banks of the Royal Canal.’

Source: Oisin Keniry/INPHO

Sergeant Ciarán Kilkenny!

Source: Oisin Keniry/INPHO

Up the Dubs!

Source: Oisin Keniry/INPHO

Sinéad, Kaitlyn and Jayden Doyle at the homecoming reception for the victorious Dubs.

Source: Oisin Keniry/INPHO

Dublin celebrate their fourth successive All-Ireland football title in front of thousands of supporters in Smithfield. #rtegaa pic.twitter.com/W48XMAYtWC

— RTÉ GAA (@RTEgaa) September 3, 2018

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AS A METRIC to sum up the strength of this all-conquering Dublin squad, it was worth not just considering those on the pitch on Sunday but those not listed on the match programme.

Bernard Brogan is one of the most decorated players at Dublin’s disposal. Multiple Leinster and All-Ireland accolades, the best player in the country in 2010, a serial All-Star winner and a forward who has delivered vital scores on the biggest days for his county.

His remarkable recovery from a torn cruciate this summer saw him back fighting for a squad place but when Jim Gavin and his management sat down to figure out their 26-man squad to face Tyrone on All-Ireland final Sunday, Brogan did not make the cut.

“We don’t do sentiment,” stated selector Declan Darcy, when reflecting on the selection decision.

“That does not wash with us. But we do acknowledge that he is a phenomenal player.

“We did acknowledge the massive effort he made to come back. He broke all the records to get to where he was. He was disappointed but at the same time we had to pick the 26 we felt were going to do the best for the team. 

“Unfortunately Bernard did not fit into that. He was not that far off it, he was just another couple of weeks (away).

Bernard Brogan after Sunday’s gam.e

Source: Ryan Byrne/INPHO

“You still have to be very respectful of players like Bernard and what he has given to the county and the jersey and you can’t ignore that but also the value he brings to the dressing room can’t be underestimated.

“Just to see, even for ourselves, him there and his input was huge yesterday. At the end of the day we just want to get across the line and he was fantastic.”

Despite his peripheral role in the decider, Darcy believes it will be difficult for a long-serving stalwart like Brogan to depart this setup.

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“I wouldn’t underestimate the enjoyment of the group – they excel at what they’re doing and it would be very hard to step away from the group. I think it would be very challenging for any player to step away.

“There is such camaraderie within the group, it’s unbelievable, they really enjoy what they do. And I think it would be very difficult for anyone to step away, especially in the context of what they are likely to be chasing next year.”

Jack McCaffrey, the man-of-the-match in Sunday’s showdown, can relate to Brogan’s injury struggles after undergoing a similar recovery process when he tore his cruciate in the 2017 decider.

Jack McCaffrey celebrates Dublin’s victory.

Source: James Crombie/INPHO

He hailed Brogan’s impact in the Dublin setup this summer.

“He made it in fairness to him, he got back. He just ran out of time unfortunately. If the All-Ireland final had been on the weekend it traditionally is he would have had another two weeks of football under him and he could have been in the mix.

“But I was chatting to Bernard yesterday and for me, Bernard Brogan made the transition from an excellent Dublin footballer to a Dublin legend over the last season because he was given the easy out.

“A man who has won absolutely everything, such a silky footballer, such a once in a generation player and to have an injury happen at his age and the point that he’s at in his life, (with) children and his business and everything, no one would have begrudged him if he said, ‘I’m off’.

“Over the last week maybe he realised that he’d just run out of grass but he was a selfless bloke, he was chatting to the younger lads.

“He’s the kind of man that he doesn’t talk often when we have meetings but when he talks everybody listens because it’s something that’s worth saying. I have massive respect for him already but I absolutely love that man now and I cannot put into words how somebody who just didn’t have to go the extra yard and he’s set such a standard now for the rest of us to live up to.”

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HE WAS NOT present to help Dublin to their latest All-Ireland triumph but the door is not closed on a potential return to their senior setup for attacker Diarmuid Connolly.

The mercurial forward last lined out for Dublin in a league game last spring against Mayo but has been absent for their 2018 championship campaign.

He helped Donegal Boston win a senior championship title last Sunday week after spending the summer in the US city. 

Connolly has been a key figure in Dublin’s five All-Ireland triumphs since 2011 that were achieved before Sunday’s win over Tyrone.

And selector Declan Darcy insists they have ‘the highest regard’ for Connolly and it is possible that he could be back in their plans next season.

“We have the highest regard for Diarmuid and we back him 110%. He’s due back in two weeks. If he’s playing to form, he’s happy, he wants to be part of the group and we feel he can fit into the group then absolutely.

“There are no issues from our end towards Diarmuid. Again, it’s an amateur sport. There are no having to do things, it’s all about choices. He decided this year that he needed to take a little bit if time away, and he should have been allowed that, and we allowed him to do that

“Jack McCaffrey left us, Rory O’Carroll left us, the same rules would apply to those players as Diarmuid. If he comes back, we have an awful lot of loyalty towards him.”

Darcy has seen players like Paul Mannion and Jack McCaffrey both rejoin the squad in recent times with a renewed energy after taking time out to go travelling. 

“I think when they go away the first thing they’ll say is they miss being in the group and when they come back they’re energised by it. It’s good for them I suppose and healthy in their own life cycle to do what they do and then come back.

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“If they want to travel they should be allowed travel, do what they have to do and then come back and play football. Again, it’s very hard for them because it is a special group, to leave is a big decision.”

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Updated Sep 4th 2018, 12:01 PM

THEY SAY PERSPECTIVE is everything in life. 

For Tyrone boss Mickey Harte, Sunday’s All-Ireland final defeat to Dublin certainly hurt, but he was able to keep things in context.

Harte has known true loss. 

Source: Tommy Dickson/INPHO

Death and illness have been frequent visitors to Harte’s door over the past three decades, most notably the 2011 murder of his daughter Micheala and his 30-month cancer battle from 2015.

Speaking at the team’s Citywest hotel yesterday, Harte spoke philosophically about the six-point reverse to Dublin. 

“Obviously, the different perspective is that I have to think and balance all of these things and how football can become a life and death issue for people who have never experienced life and death issues. 

“I understand that and they’re passionate about the sport and they’re heartbroken about this here and so I would never take away from their sort of sense of hurt or loss. I would perfectly understand it, but I would like them to think outside the box as well and say there are many worse things that you can wake up to on a Monday morning. 

“Just think about that, that people have to think and wake up to those things, things that are more permanent, loss or hurt, involved in. I’ll think about their hurt and loss as football people and fanatics and I appreciate that.

“I empathise with it but I’d ask them to think about how people wake up to something that can never be the same again, and there’s never another chance to get back to where you’d have like to be.

“And then they’ll begin to understand that while it may be life and death in words, in real terms it’s not. There are things that are more important than that. So I have to think carefully about the balance of that and not be taking away from people’s normal day to day sense of loss in terms of sport. So I really have to think about that but I’d like them to think about the other as well. 

Source: Morgan Treacy/INPHO

“That’s maybe what makes this more possible for me today, I would have probably been more heartbroken about this if life had been different in our case. But the fact that I know something that’s much much worse than this and never could be compared to this, then I feel hurt about this but it’s not like the real hurt of loss.”

All-Ireland final defeats have had a major impact on Harte before. As a player he lost the 1972 minor final, something which created a burning desire inside him to scale that mountain. After taking over in ’91, the summit of his ambition was to win an All-Ireland minor title.

“It really stuck with him,” Brian McGuigan recalled recently when speaking about his minor days under Harte. “He always threw it up to us, saying he lost that final in ’72 and this was his chance to redeem himself.”

Tyrone lost to Laois in the All-Ireland final of the ’97 minor campaign, recovering from the tragic death of half-forward Paul McGirr in June to reach the September decider. Harte considered walking away, but the players persuaded him to stay on.

Micheala helped too. She wrote a note predicting this “special” group of players would win the Tom Markham Cup in ’98, the All-Ireland U21 crown in ’00 and the Sam Maguire in ’03. And they did exactly that, before adding further senior titles in ’05 and ’08.

Micheala’s note from Kicking Down Heaven’s Door: The Diary of a Football Manager

As far back as ’93, Harte was confronted with death of a player. Arthur Mallon had been a member of his minor panel that year but withdraw from the squad due to injury. The night before they played Donegal in the Ulster semi-final, word came through that Mallon had been killed in a car accident. 

In ’98, Harte’s minor midfielder Kevin Hughes lost his brother Paul in a car crash. The Omagh bombing the same year deeply affected everyone in the county. In ’01, Hughes was part of Harte’s U21 set-up when his sister Helen was also killed in car accident in between the drawn and replayed All-Ireland semi-finals.

Cormac McAnallen captained Tyrone to All-Ireland senior success in ’03 and died in his sleep of an undetected heart condition the following year.

In recent years, Micheala’s murder while honeymooning in Mauritius and Harte’s 2015 bladder cancer diagnosis further tested his resolve and offered fresh perspective.

“It was difficult, obviously, when you get that news it’s not something you want to hear,” he said of his cancer battle.

“But I was very, very lucky that I got the best possible treatment in Craigavon Hospital. Mark Haynes was the consultant who dealt with me and he was very, very good and the whole staff there and all were more than helpful.

Source: Morgan Treacy/INPHO

“It just shows you the quality of the health service that people often speak about how under pressure they are, and they are under pressure, but there’s still really quality people there who care so much about people. I just felt very well looked after.

“Yeah, it was a shock to the system at a time when we weren’t going very well as a team either. We got relegated that year in 2015, and it seemed to be like things were taking a turn for the bad, so to speak. But thank God things came good again. With prayer and medicine and everything it’s possible and I’m back and well again thank God.”

While Harte says there were “moves afoot to try to get me to go” as manager, he never considered stepping down.

“No, I think it was important that I had the football to take your mind to other things and to have something to drive for. It’s one of those things, in the journey of life you meet many things and it’s great to have the power and strength and the grace of God to live with it and deal with it and here we are today.

“For every sort of bad day there’s always a good day and maybe that’s the way of life. Enjoy the times that are good and then manage the times that are not.”

He confirmed he’ll return to the helm in 2019 for his 17th season as senior manager and his 28th consecutive year in the inter-county game, having taken over the minors in ’91.

“I would like to think that alright, I think you might look back and say that I’m on here for three more years and this is just the first of them over, so I have no real desire to walk away from that. No, not at all.

“This to me is just a wonderful opportunity to experience something really new and to bring a new and young set of players to the highest level if we can. I believe it’s possible, they believe it’s possible, we have to go and do what will be required to make it possible.

“I don’t need anything to make me hungrier to be quite honest with you. I have just got an insatiable appetite for working with quality players, and I feel it as a privilege from the first day I came in with the Tyrone minors in 1991.

“I have seen it as nothing but a privilege to work with the best players at any age level in our county. This to me just gets better and better. The fact that this is a completely new team; none of them up until yesterday had started an All-Ireland final.” 

Mickey addresses the supporters at Healy pic.twitter.com/yto6mKjsN9

— Tyrone GAA (@TyroneGAALive) September 3, 2018

Harte had choice words for Tyrone’s critics who claim they lack the marquee forward to win an All-Ireland, saying some pundits are “living in the distant past” with their analysis of his team.

“I just think it’s a tired sound bite, it really is. This thing called marquee forwards; it’s something of the past. It’s not about being a marquee forward; it’s about the number of quality finishers wherever they come from on the field.

“The marquee has maybe strength, but it’s also going to be a great weakness. If you have a marquee forward and he’s double-teamed and stuffed out of the game, what do the rest of the people do? Do they say, ‘Oh, our marquee forwards are not getting seven or eight points’ when we are beaten?

“I think you need a spread of scorers in the modern game and people capable of taking them. And the fact that a forward is only described as marquee because he gets six, seven or eight points in a match, to me is absolutely childish.

“We have plenty of marquee forwards who are quality players who can do lots of things with the ball, and if somebody wants to give me the definition of a marquee forward, I’ll give them plenty of them, not people who get 0-6 0-7 or 0-8 in a game.

“The game has moved on, and people are living in the distant past. It’s sound bites, it’s just a lack of independent analysis and thinking and it’s actually boring. These sound bites just get rather boring. People never really dig into them and say, ‘Is there substance to this kind of statement or not?’

“Give us something better than that you know? That’s what being an analyst should be about. It should be insightful and trying to come up with new ways of describing things rather than leading on some old clichéd throwaway sound bite. Get better thinking out of it all.”

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THE RACE FOR Sam is over.

The winners have been anointed and the rest of us can just go home and whistle. To be clear, that’s not this year’s All-Ireland final I’m talking about. It’s next year’s.

According to the bookies, as well as pretty much all of Monday’s newspapers, Jim Gavin’s Dublin side are now a lock to clinch five-in-a-row in 2019.

A banner at Monday’s reception in Smithfield.

Dublin were worthy winners of last Sunday’s final. But a football supporter, I have to hope they don’t continue to rule the roost indefinitely. Kilkenny dominated hurling for over a decade and it didn’t do that code any harm. But that was different. Hurling is a religion in Kilkenny. Football barely registers as a passing fad in Dublin.

I live in the capital and it’s galling to see how blasé the natives have become about winning All-Irelands. I watched the game with a good friend of mine who’s about the biggest Dublin fan I know (which, granted, isn’t saying much.) He barely cracked a smile at the full-time whistle and he took off fifteen minutes later when he’d finished his pint.

Granted, he and his partner have a small baby at home. But if Mayo won the All-Ireland, and I had a baby at home, it might be a month before that poor kid got as much as a postcard from me.

Also, not to talk out of school or anything, but when Kieran McGeary was dismissed in the 49th minute, for mowing into Brian Fenton, my supposedly football-loving Dublin supporter friend had to ask me what the difference is between a black card and a yellow.

(He’ll deny this, but it’s true.)  

So no, no, no… All-Ireland success is wasted on these fair weather hobbyists and Sunday drivers.

As a Gaelic football supporter, I need to believe the Jackeens will be knocked off their perch next year. And as a Mayoman, I damn well have to convince myself we’re the county who’ll do it.

Yes, I’m well aware that Mayo crashed and burned so dismally in the 2018  championship, with an aging squad, it seems utterly deranged for me to reckon we’ll do any better in 2019. Well, duh…

Groundless, delusional optimism is pretty much the basic entry requirement for being a Mayo supporter. When it comes to rationalising the irrational, I’m an old hand. I was a kid when Mayo lost the 1989 final narrowly to Cork. Not worry, I told myself. We’ll be back next year and victory will taste all the sweeter at the second crack.

I was a teenager when we lost to Meath in a reply by a point in 1996. Third time’s a charm, I consoled myself.

The following year, Kerry’s Maurice Fitz defeated us almost single-handedly. But the year after that, in 1998, Galway brought home Sam. This would open the floodgates for Connacht football, I said, the same way Down’s victory in 1991 had done for Ulster.

Well, things didn’t quite work out that way.  

After heavy defeats to Kerry in 2004 and 2006, I still figured our day would soon come. We just needed to make sure Kerry weren’t also there when it did. By the lead-in to our 2012 clash with Donegal, I had to get a little more creative in my thinking process.

This would be my seventh time going to see Mayo contest an All-Ireland final in Croke Park. I remembered a story I learned in school about Robert the Bruce and the spider who fails to jump from one beam to the next six times, but succeeds on the seventh attempt. (The spider’s example inspired Robert to return to Scotland and defeat the English at his seventh attempt.)

Seventh time’s the charm, I told myself. Except it wasn’t. In 2013, I redid my calculations slightly. Excluding replays, this year finally would be the seventh time that was the charm. This would be the year we broke the curse. Events, inevitably, proved otherwise.

As things currently stand, I’ve been to eleven All-Ireland finals without tasting victory. I’ve scoured the annals of Scottish, Lithuanian and Outer Mongolian folklore. Nowhere, but nowhere, unfortunately, does there exist a proverb which claims that the twelfth time’s the charm.

Outgoing Mayo boss Stephen Rochford.

Source: James Crombie/INPHO

Stephen Rochford’s resignation as Mayo manager last week came as a surprise. If he’d gone after the Kildare defeat, that would have been one thing. But to wait two months suggested turmoil behind the scenes. I listened to his interview with Miriam O’Callaghan on Sunday and it seemed to confirm the widely held view of Rochford as an extremely decent and modest man.

At face value, you’d have to think our county board have screwed us over once again, ousting one of our most successful ever managers with no backup plan for who is to replace him. But maybe, just maybe, there is method to their madness. At least, that’s what I have to convince myself.

Maybe’s Rochford’s decency and modesty were part of the problem. Maybe we need a manager with a little more guile. Or maybe even, we just needed a change just for its own sake.

Again, I’ll cite a precedent from military history. During the American Civil War, the Union side possessed all the advantages they needed for victory over the South. They had the men. They had the guns. They had the will. All they lacked was a commander who could get them over the line.

So what did Abraham Lincoln do? He had no idea know who was the right man for the job. So he just kept firing commanders until he found the right guy. He chose Winfield Scott. When that didn’t work out, he took personal charge of the army. When that didn’t work out he chose McKellan.

When that didn’t work out, he chose Halleck. When that didn’t work out he chose Ulysses S. Grant. And Grant succeeded.

What did Ulysses S. Grant have that those other men lacked? Who the hell knows, Lincoln certainly didn’t. The point is Grant won him the war. It’s the same with Mayo.

Our veteran players seem to be hanging in for another year. We still have the 2016 All-Ireland U21 winning players, as well as the 2018 All-Ireland U20 finalists, yet to be integrated into the senior team. All we’re missing now is our Ulysses S. Grant.

In the words of the Battle Hymn of the Republic, mine eyes have seen the glory…

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THE MAYO LADIES football squad have broken their silence for the first time following the high-profile departures which rocked the panel this summer.

The Mayo team before they took on Cavan

Source: Morgan Treacy/INPHO

In a statement issued to The42, the players said “no player welfare issues exist or have ever existed under the current management” led by Peter Leahy, and they “categorically disagree” with that claim which was made when 12 players left the squad.

“We were surprised and disappointed to hear of these issues and if we had witnessed any welfare issues, we would not have hesitated to highlight them to the management,” the players said.

It also claims that the departure of four of the players, along with two of Leahy’s backroom staff, followed “a failed coup” at a players’ meeting in the days following the initial withdrawal of eight Carnacon players in July.

The statement was issued on behalf of the current squad through a player representative on Tuesday.

Eight Carnacon players, including all-time leading scorer Cora Staunton and vice-captain Fiona McHale, left the squad 10 days before they played Cavan in the first round of the All-Ireland qualifier group stage.

Captain Sarah Tierney and three players from other clubs later left the panel for personal reasons. Two members of the backroom team also departed.

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The players who left the panel released a statement through the Women’s Gaelic Players Association (WGPA) on 10 July, citing “player welfare issues that are personal and sensitive to the players involved”.

Mayo manager Peter Leahy

Source: Morgan Treacy/INPHO

Two days later, the Mayo Ladies county board publicly backed Leahy and the players who remained part of his panel.

“The board feels it important to state that the senior management team has adhered to all protocols and guidelines set out at the beginning of their tenure,” the county board said.

“The board has made players and management aware that they have our full support going forward.”

A much-changed Mayo side went on to enjoy a 3-23 to 4-13 win over Cavan in Clones to put a week of upheaval behind them. 

Mediation talks took place on 18 July in Castlebar involving representatives of all parties, but they proved inconclusive. A confidentiality agreement was signed afterwards by those involved in a bid to keep a lid on the discussions.

Mayo went on to reach the All-Ireland quarter-finals, where they lost out to Galway by 5-11 to 0-12.

At a Mayo county board meeting on 21 August, club delegates voted in favour of removing Carnacon from this year’s Mayo league and championship.

The delegates agreed the reigning Mayo, Connacht and All-Ireland champions had brought the Association “into disrepute” for withdrawing their players from the Mayo squad in the summer.

Carnacon confirmed they would appeal the ban to the Appeals Committee of the Connacht LGFA.

Carnacon celebrate their 2017 All-Ireland victory

Source: Oisin Keniry/INPHO

Speaking at an Off The Ball event in Croke Park last Thursday, Staunton said: “The right story will eventually come out. You know, I think we’ve been very dignified over the last number of months.”

Carnacon’s appeal was successful and they were reinstated to all competitions. The Mayo county board are set to meet tonight to discuss whether they will appeal that decision to the Connacht LGFA. 

Now, the Mayo players have decided to speak out for the first time. 

The Mayo Senior Ladies Team Players Statement

“We, the Mayo senior ladies panel, believe the time is now right to make a statement regarding events in June and July 2018. On 6 July, eight players were withdrawn by their club without consultation or discussion with their Mayo team colleagues.

“Understandably, we as players were left shocked and saddened by this decision which was taken 10 days before our championship match with Cavan. Another four players, one selector and one backroom staff left following a failed coup which took place at a players meeting two days later.

“To date, we have not been given any reasoning or clarity as to why this course of action was taken. We feel deeply let down and hurt by the actions of those who left our panel.

“We believe that no player welfare issues exist or have ever existed under the current management and categorically disagree with the statement issued in July by the individuals that departed the Mayo senior ladies panel regarding the welfare issues raised.

“We were surprised and disappointed to hear of these issues and if we had witnessed any welfare issues, we would not have hesitated to highlight them to the management.

“It is fair to say that there was considerable upheaval in advance of the Cavan game. This was the biggest game of the year for us and our preparation was distracted.

“We take offence to some of the comments that have been made by certain players over the last few weeks in the media.

“We fully support our management team and as a team believe that all of their decisions and selections were made fairly after careful consideration. We had a fantastic league campaign culminating in a league final appearance in Parnell Park and while the last few months were difficult and disappointing; many new players were given an opportunity to perform at county level.

“Our manager Peter Leahy has shown integrity and honour under tremendous pressure and he has always treated us as elite athletes, has supported and stood strong for us allowing us to play football without fear or intimidation.

“The management set up has been top class with no stone left unturned to make sure we can avail of top level coaching and facilities. The management ethos is focused on teamwork and also on how we as individuals can perform to the highest standard.

“All players are treated with honesty and respect in an environment where generosity and passion for the county are to the fore.

“Ultimately, we want to play football and honour our county jersey and we trust and support our manager, Peter Leahy, and his management team to take the county forward. We always have and always will welcome any player to the panel to help us achieve our goals.

“Mayo Ladies senior football panel would like to thank our management, county board, families, friends, supporters, general public and ultimately our clubs for supporting and trusting us during this difficult time as we strive to bring honour to our county.

“Go raibh míle maith agaibh.”

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FORMER KERRY BOSS Jack O’Connor has distanced himself from the vacant senior manager position in the county, saying that he is content to continue working with the U20s team.

Kerry are on the hunt for a new manager after Éamonn Fitzmaurice stepped down from the role following their championship exit at the end of the inaugural Super 8s competition, and O’Connor is among the names linked with the job.

O’Connor had two previous stints in charge of the Kerry senior team which delivered All-Ireland success for the Kingdom in 2004, 2006 and 2009.

Speaking on Radio Kerry’s Terrace Talk on Monday night, O’Connor was initially reluctant to discuss the vacancy, preferring to speak about the Kerry minors and their historic five-in-a-row success.

But when pressed on the matter by presenter Tim Moynihan, he said his work as manager of the Kerry U20s is his priority at the moment:

I had two goes at it and that might be enough for me. I’m enjoying what I’m doing with the U20s at the moment.

“The Kerry senior manager is a very tough assignment in the sense that it’s a huge commitment. People don’t realise that you basically wouldn’t want to be working and you’d want an awful lot of energy.

“It’s a huge commitment, there’s no question about it. The level of professionalism that’s in the game now basically demands your full attention. That’s not a job to be taken lightly, there’s no question about that.”

Interesting comment from Jack O Connor tonight on Terrace Talk where he revealed to me that he is content at the moment to remain involved with the u20 side and looks forward to working with the younger players next season. Be sure to catch the podcast tomorrow if you missed it! pic.twitter.com/KrDboSzE1g

— Tim Moynihan (@moynihan_tim) September 3, 2018

Moynihan then asked O’Connor what he would do if he was hypothetically invited to meet Kerry county board chairman Tim Murphy to discuss the possibility of returning to the helm once more.

O’Connor laughed off the question and said, ‘that’s not a question for me to answer.’

“Look I’m getting a great kick out of being involved with the U20s. We were a bit disappointed this year but we were close.

We were probably missing a bit of class up front but there’s a right good group at U20 level again next year and that’s where my intention lies to be honest with you.”

Other names which have been mentioned as potential candidates to become the next Kerry manager include Maurice Fitzgerald, former Kerry goalkeeper Diarmuid Murphy and Peter Keane, who guided the Kerry minors to that fifth consecutive All-Ireland at the weekend.

You can listen to a podcast of the full show here.

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