At some point during Pat Comer’s excellent video diary of Galway’s 1998 All Ireland SFC win – A Year ‘Til Sunday, then Tribesman wing forward Shay Walsh said that the season was going “A whole lot better than being beaten by crap teams in Tuam”. Now read on…
A few people who were very dear to me but are unfortunately resident down here took it as an afront to Leitrim because they were sure it was their lovely county he was referring to. That being in relation to their defeat of Galway in 1994 en route to winning their first Connacht title since 1927. Indeed, they could and should have beaten Galway again the following year in their own Pairc Sean but had their hearts broken by two late points from Neil Finnegan and Sean Og De Paor.
The football world has altered seismically in the ensuing 28 years. Galway and Mayo have flip flopped control of the province ever since barring the few winters with the Nestor Cup nabbed by Roscommon.
In contrast, counties such Leitrim – and many more like them – have basically become marginalised. The reasons for that are not the point here. What’s of greater importance here is the rank inequality infesting the football championship.
Look, for as long as Gaelic Games have been played, certain teams have enjoyed spells of dominance over their contemporaries. The difference between then and now, however, is that there was a chance of teams upsetting the elite.
Like the Leitrim and Clare footballers and, in another way, the Clare and Wexford hurlers. At the moment, though, with the exception of the Munster hurling and Ulster football Championships, things are all too predictable now.
Meaning that, and this is no reflection on Dublin, Wexford or any other team, there are counties in competitions they simply are not fit to be in. Comparing football and hurling isn’t always something which sits well. In a large percentage of ways, mind you, they are very similar if not identical.
Where they do fundamentally differ, however, is in the governence thereof. Eamonn Sweeney’s auld pal Hurling Man is definitely more open to change than their footballing brother. See the McDonagh, Ring, Rackard and Meagher Cup competitions as the greatest example of same.
Which brings us to the nub of the issue for this column. If football doesn’t follow suit fairly lively the old game will be totally down a one way dark alley with no reverse gear.
In contrast to the willingness to diversify in hurling, when similar initiatives were tried in football – namely the All Ireland SFC B and the Tommy Murphy Cup were treated with disgraceful apathy and disrespect by both counties and the GAA hierarchy alike.
With no disrespect intended, Wexford’s performance against Dublin was probably the poorest display the one seeing eye has perused in 32 years of being attuned to such things. But that is absolutely no reflection on Shane Roche or his players. The fault lies in the fact that they are being asked to compete beyond their means.
They are far from alone in that bracket though. Being realistic, are there a handful of counties who can claim genuine ambitions of lifting the Sam Maguire? If the Brains Trust don’t introduce tiers – properly – there will be plenty more tears. That in turn will boost sales of tickets to Boston and the like.
The Tailteann Cup is a welcome and much needed start, but, ultimately, only a Champions League format entwined with the National League – and running the provincial championships as separate entities to both the leagues and All Ireland Championship will insert even a scintilla of fairness.
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