“Ask not what your country can do for you, ask what you can do for your country”.
The utterance of the above quote by John F. Kennedy is one of those occurrences in world history that,not only will you instantly recognise it,those who were around at the time will probably be able to tell you where they were when the immortal words were delivered.
Big moments in history can be like that. Such as when the same man was assassinated in 1963 or the moon landing or 9/11.
In a sporting context, my comparable list would include the following among an unending supply: the penalties in Genoa in 1990, Ireland’s defeat of the All Blacks at Soldier Field in Chicago, Padraig Beggy’s victory in the Epsom Derby aboard Wings Of Eagles – I could go on.
J.F.K’s words came to mind during the week. At some stage in the last quarter century, some of the sponsors for the All Ireland SFC swapped County for Country as part of their advertising slogan.
I remember it really bugging me one night in particular. Meath were playing Westmeath in the Leinster JFC on a Wednesday evening in Pairc Tailteann.
As usual, the home side were resplendent in gleaming new gear – jerseys, togs, socks, tracksuits, the lot. Their opponents, on the other hand, took the field sporting jerseys from about three different sets and with a number of players wearing what were presumably club shorts and/or socks.
I just remember feeling incredibly angry. Right so it may not have been the most important or highest profile competition to some – there were scarcely 200 people at the match and most of them were relatives of the players – but every inter county competition is important and deserving of respect.
Representation is important, whether sporting, political or military. For many of the players involved that night, it may have been their one opportunity to play at inter county level. In such instances, you’re not only representing yourself, but your family, your parish, your club and your county.
To see it treated so frivolously was annoying and upsetting in equal measure. Though the hierarchy of the GAA are hardly exemplars of best practice in that area either.
See the Railway Cup,Tommy Murphy Cup and their current treatment of the All Ireland Minor finals as evidential exhibits on that front. Scandalously, the All Ireland JFC has now been similarly ostracised while its hurling counterpart appears to have been culled altogether.
It now appears to have been ring fenced for a handpicked handful of specific teams. Namely Kilkenny and a few from overseas.
Now, as if that wasn’t asinine and disrespectful enough, consider the following – the ‘All Ireland’ JFC semi finals will be played on Friday evening next in Abbottstown, with the Final Less than 48 hours later as curtain raiser to the All Ireland SFC penultimate round encounter between Kerry and Derry.
I honestly wouldn’t even know where to begin dismantling and analysing that. Romantic Ireland is definitely dead and gone, even in a sporting sense.
The All Ireland Junior Championships have a storied history of their own and deserved markedly better and fairer treatment. Even from a Meath perspective, the two Junior Championships provided some unique and historic chapters in our GAA annals.
From Brian Smyth winning an All Ireland Junior Hurling medal in 1948 before becoming the first man from the Royal County to lift Sam Maguire the following year. To Bertie Cunningham adding an All Ireland Junior medal in 1962 to the Minor one attained in 1957 with both joined by a senior accolade in ’67.
Aside from all of the above, my own club has what may be a unique history with the Junior Championships. If they’re not unique, I apologise, but, I know Vinny Maguire has All Ireland medals in both football and, Enda McManus played in at least one Junior Hurling Final as well as having football All Irelands at Minor, U-21 and Senior (x2), while Brendan Reilly and his brother Peter lined out in green and gold in Croke Park in Senior and Junior respectively on the same day and Niall Jones – brother of Ronan – was part of the last Meath panel to win a Leinster title at the grade.
Lest anyone think I was having a bit of a Dunboyne love-in, perhaps the greatest tribute to the much maligned grade is that it was there the county’s most recent (male) All Star Stephen Bray cut his teeth at inter county level.
Also from that team which Martin Barry guided to All Ireland glory in 2003, Barry Kieran (Meath Hill), Barry Lynch (Kilmainham), Ciaran McLoughlin (Wolfe Tones), Brian Farrell (Nobber) and John Donoghue (Moynalvey) went on to adorn the biggest stage of all at different times.
Some of those mentioned above were undoubtedly destined for the highest level, but for many others, the Junior Championships were their shop window for pitching their cases for elevation to the highest level. They will be missed.
