The first word in the above headline is a substitute for the original occupant of that slot. Had it been left in, though, the keyboard warriors would’ve been all over yours truly like pepper sauce on a steak. Blurting about hypocrisy and such.
Nothing will ever alter my view that senior inter county players should be paid. They are professional in all but name and deserve to be recognised as such.
Already I can hear the usual protestations about it not being “viable” and “sustainable” and they might harp on about “elitism” too.
But if the latter adjective is brought into the equation, the greatest riposte would be to simply advise the complainants to look in a mirror.
Because you can bet your Sunday dinner that those bleating profusely about the mere mention of the other P-word are the very crowd that would run up the backside of the rancid rabble currently led by Tom Parsons. But I would just ask them this – how can you prattle on about the dangers of elitism when you are allowing it to proceed unhindered under your own noses?
Now, on one hand, whoever came up with the idea of playing the National Football League Finals over the one weekend in Croke Park deserves the utmost commendation. Actually, I would go even further, the decision to have separate league finals for each division was one of the greatest ever made.
If you think back to the in fairness wonderful “It belongs to you” speech by Uachtaran CLG Jarlath Burns on his first occasion presenting Sam Maguire, there must have been many times over the years when many counties did indeed wonder had they any right to Croker. As their chances of playing there were slim and f**k all, and slim just left the building.
At least with each league division now having its own showpiece – and the tiered hurling championship competitions – a final appearance in GAA HQ is the carrot at the end of the stick. However, it is also where the unfairness, imbalance and, yes, elitism, start.
What world-changing reason could there be, for example, why the hurling league finals couldn’t also have their own weekend in the big field in Dublin 3? It should be the source of enough shame and embarrassment to the Association that none of the All Ireland Minor or U-20 Finals are played in the place that allegedly belongs to us all. But to turn that on ‘Senior’ inter county teams is a new low.
The air quotes are deployed for the following reason – for example, Meath’s ‘top’ inter county camogie team play at Intermediate level. And, while it is only right that they – akin to the lady footballers – get their day on Jones’s Road for the different grades of All Ireland Finals, why is the same respect and status not afforded to league finals in the sport?
Particularly as parity of esteem is the very least league competitions deserve parallel to their championship brothers or sisters. For, in reality, the leagues are the fairest, most properly balanced competitions in the entire GAA. After all, belatedly, a team’s championship standing is now determined by and interwoven with their equivalent in the winter/spring competition.
Only once have I vehemently disagreed with a piece written by Eamonn Sweeney. A viscious, personal diatribe against Andy McEntee who was justifiably insensed after his then Meath team were absolutely, barefacedly cheated out of victory in a 2018 All Ireland SFC Qualifier against Tyrone by Paddy Neilan of Roscommon.
That was the only time Eamonn’s copy – which is an immovable dish on the weekly reading menu – had me diving for the barf bucket. For the sake of balance and fairness, then, let it be put on record that another piece produced by the Sligo man domiciled in Rebel territory – his Hurling Man article – is one of the finest pieces of sports writing I’ve come across.
Yes, it was satirical and true also that there were large elements thereof removing the Michael out of Hurling Man under a heading which the author defined as “Hurling snobbery”. Believe me, it really is a thing. I know because I’ve seen it in action and been at the butt end of same.
Admittedly, there has been hand wringing in some places – but not enough – pertaining to the fact that NONE of the National Hurling League finals were fixed for GAA HQ. Granted, some of feeling miffed by that reality is offset somewhat owing to the fact that, seemingly, in the lower divisions, those who topped the table at the end of the regulation fixtures were rewarded with the carrot of home advantage for their final.
In one way, not a bad policy at all, my only slight query with it would be this – is it not the greatest ambition of any GAA player to play at the association’s HQ. But then, the hurling snobbery referred to earlier would be quite likely to advocate that the main games in the small ball code should be played at provincial venues anyway.
However, it’s not only in relation to the venues for the hurling league finals that whiffs of inequality worse than three week old banana stinking up several arms of the GAA. How else to explain the Meath U-20 hurlers being fixed to play at the same time the senior footballers were rubber stamping their return to Div. 1 of the NFL.
Could things be any more nonsensical? For one thing, how does it do anything to develop or promote hurling in a county where it doesn’t command top prominence? With no disrespect meant to the young players involved or their mentors – some of whom have been personal friends of mine since God was a gasun – it realistically meant only those who were related to a player or one of said mentors – were going to be in Donnelly/Loughran Park to see Sean Corrigan’s side take on Antrim last Sunday.
Not only is that desperately unfair to Crash’s crew, it also makes little of the tangible progress being made by the county senior footballers in a relatively quick time. Which in itself should have been worthy of them having every fan available in Tullamore.
Lest anyone forget that integration is a thorny issue that still needs to be pruned, again last weekend you had the hideous situation of the Meath camogie and Ladies Football teams playing at the exact same time in different parts of the country.
Aside from the fact that it unfortunately will most likely prove Jimmy Barry-Murphy’s verdict that the days of dual players (at inter county level at least) are no more, it smacks of utter disrespect.
To the two sports involved, the competitions under their respective banners, the players in both teams and the fans having to choose. Which in some cases will mean families having to split up. Ridiculous and unnecessary. Furthermore, as bad as it is to have such a scenario play out during regulation fixtures, with our lads in a National final on Sunday, there are not enough terms of condemnation in the English language to articulate how insulting and unfair it is to fix our lady footballers to play a home match against Armagh at the exact same time as Robbie Brennan’s side will hopefully be getting their hands on silverware.
Finally, we come to the subject of the Camogie National League Finals. Now, as with the case of teams having home advantage in the hurling league finals, it is not that there’s a thing wrong with the venues for fixtures in the ladies small ball code’s league finals (Banagher, Co Offaly in Meath’s case v. Kerry) other than my steadfast belief that ALL National finals should be played in Croke Park.
After all, if the Croke and Hogan Cup (Colleges) and Fitzgibbon and Sigerson Cup (Third Level) Finals are, rightly, played there, why shouldn’t they all be?
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