It seems poignantly apt for what I have long dubbed the mud bath Ulster Final of 1993 between Derry and Donegal to be at the forefront of thoughts here only days after one of the greatest combatants therein was taken from this life long, long before his time.
Now, though there’s no concrete evidence available to substantiate the following, it has always been my assumption that there were remedial works carried out on St Tiarnach’s Park in Clones in the aftermath of the quagmire to ensure – if humanely possible – that such an event wouldn’t occur again.
Mind you, just because a pitch may be playable, climatically speaking, is no guarantee it will be able to accommodate all those who require use of it. Mind you, to have any hope of consensus, there must, at least be co-operation.
As well as if it were yesterday, the late, great Myles Fahey can be heard imploring at a club executive meeting that an U-12 player was every bit as much entitled to play on our club’s main pitch as any senior.
Which, notionally at least, he was 100% correct about. But here’s the thing – notionally and practicality aren’t the best bedfellows.
Making such matters even more tricky is OTBFMJ syndrome – only the best for my Johnny. But when a county team’s training arrangements are upskuttled by the staging of juvenile blitz, surely some questions need to be asked.
Yet that is only one example of the difficulties some local camogie ladies have encountered in their efforts to perform at their optimum. But, at this point, let one thing be very clear – this column has no interest in or intention of engaging in a blame game, but, what will be said is that integration cannot happen between the different arms of the GAA quickly enough.
Because, for clarity and fairness here, it seems everywhere Camogie is played, there are issues. Scrambling to find pitches to train or play matches on, then, if a venue is located, having to wait for others to vacate before getting their activity under way.
Or, as was highlighted by Galway manager Cathal Murray in the aftermath of his side’s narrow defeat to Cork in the All Ireland SCC Final last Sunday, players having to scrimp, scavenge and scrounge to fund raise their own team holiday.
The following may seem old fashioned and trite but it simply is fact that a men’s team wouldn’t have to go through the same cr** to have what should be very basic requirements at their disposal.
Like a lot of situations in life, you can either sit on your hands and accept that sh*t falls downwards or you can be proactive about seeking and instigating betterment for yourself. It is a source of great pride – and should be a nudge in the right direction for plenty of others procrastinating about matters of self preservation that need attending to.
In the case of Meath Camogie, that has meant rolling out of their Your Plastic Is Our Pitch novel approach to fundraising. You won’t hear anybody in these parts say a bad word about the much maligned RE-Turn scheme as the county’s stick wielding ladies have taken collecting used plastic bottles and cans to the nth degree. With, it must be pointed out, the full – and hands on – support of county camogie sponsors Noel and Valerie Moran of Bective Stud Tearooms and Apartments.
To fill in the bits that undoubtedly have you scratching your head, what began as the relevant materials being collected on a ‘normal’ scale with whatever monies were raised going to the Meath Camogie pitch fund very quickly morphed into the most unique, gargantuan GAA fundraiser ever undertaken.
Only made possible due to the fact that Noel and Valerie not only gave the concept their full backing and enabled it reach heights never thought possible but quite literally got stuck in and lent a hand.
More significant than that, though, by giving the collectors use of storage space, it multiplied incalculably the amount of ‘goods’ the gathering could aspire to haul in.
Which is why an army of volunteers – comprised of players and their families, team officials and supporters descended upon Stradbally in Co Laois for the Friday, Saturday, Sunday and Monday (morning after) of the Electric Picnic music festival.
This corner wouldn’t even be able to hazard a guess at the volume of material collected or, as a consequence the amount of funding accrued from same but what is known is that hopes are high that any and all such records could be obliterated this time round.
Reason being that there should be no shortage of interest in this locality with Dunboyne’s own CMAT being the headline act of the entire weekend.
The musician – real name Ciara Mary Alice Thompson – has shot to global fame over the past year or so, however, also going by the moniker Dunboyne Diana, has stayed true to her roots. Something which was acknowledged with the commissioning of a mural in her honour on one of the main approach roads to the village.
For her part, CMAT herself showed she was deeply appreciative of the gesture by performing an impromptu gig in Brady’s on the run in to Christmas last year.
That said, given the way in which her career has taken off on a very large scale, Electric Picnic could be a rare chance to see our latest local hero perform (relatively) close to home.
So, if you or someone you know are heading to the madness in the midlands and would be open to helping out those putting in so much to ensure a stable and bright future for Meath Camogie they would love to have you on board.
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