At some point in the closing stages of Saturday’s Leinster SHC encounter at Parnell Park, Kilkenny’s Cian Kenny got absolutely pulvarised by a Dublin opponent. Now read on…
Social media, it’s a bit the (one of millions) line in Father Ted where the main man is trying to explain something to Dougal and he may as well have been trying to explain the importance of agriculture to Eamonn Ryan.
“Women, eh? “.” Absolutely” replies the other idiot, completely oblivious to the point Ted was trying to make. Which itself was a play on the ‘Can’t live with them, can’t live without them’ gag.
It’s a bit like that with social media. Yes, there are times when there can be enough slurry thereon to feed a 40 acre field. But the examples are numerous examples, too, showing such platforms being employed as forces for good.
Over the course of another epic GAA weekend, there were numerous examples of both incarnations. From attention rightly hovering over Garret McKinless’s moment of utter madness to the fact that, initially at least, nobody seemed to cop Kenny being levelled on his way up the field.
But then there was Davy. As I have often written in this space, there appears to be no middle ground when it comes to the great man from Sixmilebridge, people either love or loathe him. You hardly need telling I am a card carrying member of the former.
Alas, yet again, the ugly side of social media explodes after an admittedly frustrated (and understandably so) Davy was presumably asking of Liam Gordon how he (from well out the field) and the umpire – who may as well have been looking for yellow sliotar in a field of buttercups – could make such a pivotal call with such certainty in the most scrambled of circumstances.
At the very least the other goal umpire or the line umpire on the side nearest to where the incident took place could’ve been consulted. All the admittedly unsightly kerfuffle really did was again underline the need for either an expansion of the remit of HawkEye or a second referee.
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Amidst the chaos (a very useful horse back in the day!) you could be forgiven for forgotten there was an entire match – and what a match it was – before the late lunacy. Unless you’ve been under a rock for 20 years, you’ll know Davy and (Brian) Lohan don’t get on. So motivating their respective sides was never going to be an issue.
A fact sheet would show Clare only trailed once – to an early Dessie Hutchinson free – but, with Mark Rodgers majoring in wizardry and Cathal Malone, Ian Galvin, David Reidy Shane O’Donnell firing points from all angles and distances, allied to the other David Fitzgerald and Daire Lohan netting, you’d almost forget Tony Kelly was still in the dugout. Almost.
To their credit, the typically redoubtable Deise had actually done well to get within a handful of points (2-13 to 0-14) by the break. Made possible by the brilliance of the three Bennett brothers and Hutchinson and Mikey Kiely and Jack Prendergast and Kevin Mahony.
Fitzy’s forces did narrow the chasm still further early in the second half but, in a microcosm of the entire day, every time there were Waterford whispers of an overtake, Brian’s boys managed to create a diversion by way of crucial conversions.
A truly delicious dish to Sean O’Brien’s net by Rodgers and points from Conor Cleary, Diarmuid Ryan, Fitzgerald and Peter Duggan seemed to have closed the case.
Not a shade of it. Ian Kenny, Shane and Stephen Bennett, Mahony, Patrick Curran, Padraig Fitzgerald, Jack Fagan and Patrick Fitzgerald all pointed for the white and blue before – perhaps inevitably – with Stephen Bennett gone off – Shane earned and buried the penalty which – over two minutes into stoppage time deadlocked the sides. But the real drama was only beginning!
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You might have thought that would be the lead GAA story of the day, but no, for this observer at least, that had to be the explosion of Cork and/or implosion of Tipperary. Depending on which way you look at it.
Not that there was any indication of the impending latter early on. With Mark Kehoe drilling low past Patrick Collins after barely a dozen seconds. And, as if driven by the scathing criticism dolled out to them – most notably from their own – Liam Cahill’s charges posted some nice scores via Jake Morris, Jason Forde, Kehoe, Gearoid O’Connor and Darragh Stakelum.
However, as with the first match on Sunday, for every advance Tipperary made on Rebel territory, it was Cork’s ability to get goals, which ultimately set them away towards their desired outcome. Never more so than on the occasion of the first instalment of an Alan Connolly hat-trick right on the call of half time.
Though only leaving the Rebels three up (1-12 playing 1-15) at the turn of direction, the psychological hangover may as well have left the locals trailing by a point a player.
It’s doubtful even if Liam Cahill et al commissioned Stephen King to produce a horror of such magnitude as that which befell the Premier County in the second half. To be fair, a large percentage of that was down to the utter majesty of Cork in the persons of Darragh Fitzgibbon, Shane Barrett, Pat Horgan, Connolly, Shane Kingston and, most especially, Luke Meade.
Mind you, as much as Cork obviously deserve the utmost praise and respect for their devastatlng display, serious questions will surely have to be asked of the paucity of the riposte risen by their opponents.
Now, in the wake of the one sided result, several outlets pondered whether there was a more significant malaise among Tipperary hurling folk in general given the fragile nature of their performances this term and that, literally in the home of hurling, locals were outnumbered by Rebel loyalists by at least 10:1. Unheard of. Especially for a Cork-Tipp match.
So their season is done. The careers of several of their most decorated warriors of recent times may be too. Cahill’s tenure as manager? Only time will tell. If it were my decision, I’d be hoping he stays in situ. If only for the fact that it would be extremely unfair to expect any manager to implement change in just two years. Most especially change of the magnitude of that which is now very evidently required in Tipperary.
If you take it that Cathal Barrett, Ronan Maher, Noel McGrath and Pat Maher – at least – may have faced their final curtain, that would still leave Cahill with the nucleus of a a relatively young team with which to begin what will obviously be a fairly extensive rebuild process.
On the other hand, if there are people – and there are bound to be a few – agitating for outright change, former custodian Brendan Cummins or indeed their ex midfielder Willie Maher who has been making commendable strides in his role as Laois manager. Though regardless of what the Tipperary management structure is in 2025, whoever is in the hotseat will have quite the in-tray to deal with.
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At the polar opposite end of that scale though, Cork boss Pat Ryan has gone from staring into a foggy dew to – on foot of two mesmeric performances against Limerick and Tipp respectively – scenting silverware approaching ‘The Banks’.
At this point in time, you’d be hard pressed to find a weakness in this Cork team. If absolutely pushed to find something, it could be said that Patrick Collins doesn’t inspire the greatest confidence. But then, when you’re being judged against Ger Cunningham, Donal Og Cusack and Anthony Nash you’re on something of a hiding to nothing.
Perhaps, mind you, what sets Cork apart as being liable to be the most credible threat to Limerick is mostly based upon the belief that theirs is the bench of nearest comparable qualitiy.
Where the current kingpins have Conor Boylan, Adam English, Mike Casey, Donncha O’Dalaigh and Aidan O’Connor to run in off the bench, Cork have the equally gifted Conor Lehane, Luke Meade, Shane Kingston, Ger Millerick and Tommy O’Connell to spring from their reserves.
So fine are the margins those are the metrics it may come down to in order to decide the eventual winter holiday destination for the Mac Carthy Cup. Though for sentimental reasons I’d love to see it decked out in either blue and gold or white and blue.
FOGRA – Further hurling analysis will follow very shortly in the next Sideline Cuts. A few other things to be Screeney(ed) in the meantime!
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