John Fogarty: Cork's Belfast clash with Antrim couldn't be timelier
4 June 2022; Thje Antrim squad celebrate with the ciup after the Joe McDonagh Cup Final match between Antrim and Kerry at Croke Park in Dublin. Photo by Ray McManus/Sportsfile
If that despicable song about the late Michaela McAreavey did something other than unite opposing sides of the community in the north in their abhorrence of such behaviour, it served as a telling reminder to us outside Ulster of the challenges the majority of the GAA people face in the northern province.
Our ignorance, at times blissful, and patronising of the “great work being done” in Ulster, especially in hurling, doesn’t suit us. When Sambo McNaughton talks about how carrying a hurley was provocative and dangerous in his playing days and there being “notes left for me and my name on a bullet” because of his pastime, we have tut-tutted and thanked the heavens that those times are in the past.
Yet sectarianism, as pronounced as it was in that Orange Hall in Dundonald outside Belfast and misguided as it has been articulated as forms of sledging on the field of play, is clearly alive and well.
Days before that video was published on Facebook, there was great news that the Casement Park saga could be coming to an end with the judicial review rejecting the opposition to the stadium’s planning permission.
The nine-year wait to build the Andersonstown Road venue is also a reflection of the hurdles the GAA faces in Ulster.
In a city as masonic as Belfast, many handshakes have to be of a secret kind before the deal is done and funding, because of the inflated building costs, remains an issue even if the Euro 2028 staging may work in its favour.
This Saturday, Cork’s hurlers travel to Belfast for their first senior competitive game in 14 years. They will be given the red-carpet treatment up until throw-in time when it will be swiped from under them as Darren Gleeson’s men intend horsing into the visitors as they have done the likes of Clare and Dublin in the past couple of league campaigns.
Antrim may not win but Corrigan Park is something of a fortress for the newly-crowned Joe McDonagh Cup winners.
That victory will mean the game also serves as a homecoming for the team but they are not considering the match as one that will cap off a fine season that also saw them consolidate their Division 1 status.
Just how vital was that promotion/relegation play-off win against Offaly? Budgets were predicated on them staying in the top-flight. The county’s U17 and U20 hurlers wanted for nothing in their preparations assuming the seniors would come good. The minors topped their tier three group in Leinster and then beat tier two Kildare before losing to would-be provincial champions Offaly.
The days of Antrim getting by on traditional hurling counties coming to Belfast to open pitches or commemorate people or events are long gone. Yes, their geography hurts them but so long as they are competitive they know teams will come and not just because they want to.
What once were visits have become contests. Clare and Wexford know all about the strength of Antrim on their own patch. With silverware to show off this weekend, there is an element of a homecoming about the fixture but 4,200-capacity Corrigan Park would be thronged regardless as it was when Dublin and Waterford played there earlier this year, as Cushendall’s Páirc Mhuire was when Limerick were there in 2018. The Belfast venue will again be packed early in 2023 when Kilkenny and Tipperary make the trip up the M1.
Tony Shivers, long-time Antrim GAA patron and managing director of Premier Electrics, a sponsor of the county, is one of the most driven hurling men you will meet. If he has your phone number, you can’t but be informed about the fortunes of the Saffrons. His ambitions and those of the rest of the Saffron Business Forum are lofty but they know it is a process. They first must make the established Liam MacCarthy Cup teams treat them as peers, not paupers.
The idea of Team Ulster seven years ago, which did seem to attract some support in Croke Park, flew in the face of the advances they intended to make. That they were expected to even contemplate throwing their lot in with others in the province whose football pursuits “sabotage” hurling, as former national hurling development manager Martin Fogarty put it, was an insult.
Some in Cork have taken Antrim lightly but Kieran Kingston certainly won’t. If their strong Division 1 form in Corrigan Park isn’t enough to put him on guard, there is Dublin’s defeat to Laois at this preliminary quarter-final stage in 2019. The prospect of Galway and Thurles for Cork on Saturday week must wait until Saturday evening.
Cork expect a game, not an exhibition.
That is progress in itself but respect is only the first of Antrim’s goals. The way it should be.
Proposing rule changes to Gaelic football is a national pastime but judging by the reaction to those suggestions which this column laid out last week there is a real urgency to improve the game.
Seán Boyle wrote about allowing the direct pick-up: “ We need to listen to Mick O'Dwyer. It is criminal when a player plays a nice kick pass to a forward and the forward is out in front of the back and gets penalised for picking the ball off the ground. Is it any wonder players will choose just to hand pass the ball instead of kicking a long ball to a forward? As part of the rule to allow the ball to be picked off the ground, it should not be allowed to dive dangerously onto a ball, especially when ball loose on the ground.”
Tom Walsh sees merit in restricting numbers to one half of the field: "N ot once have I heard anyone eulogise about the five lads who stripped the ball from the corner forward. Every team should keep a minimum of four forwards in the attacking half of the pitch, that allows six defenders two midfielders and two forwards to do the defensive work.”
Liam McDonnell wants a rule to promote kick-passing: “ Both rugby and soccer have offside rules, which forces players to constantly run seeking better position to receive ball. In Gaelic we get to this static position of obsessive possession, which the analysts tell you is very cerebral as they are seeking out openings. This is a pathetic excuse and is not bought by the fans. Proposal: If a ball player is forced to back pass once then the receiver has only one option, that of kicking the ball forward a kick which must travel 20 metres minimum.”
Brendan Brosnan commented: “No more short kickouts. Ball has to be kicked past the 45m line. A mark should be won by a player only catching the ball over his head.”
Having to face Donegal yet again, Armagh might be cursing their luck and Cork blessing theirs after another qualifier draw.
Next Monday’s All-Ireland SFC quarter-final draw should be the last of the season and of its kind.
What, I hear you cry?
Well, next year’s first All-Ireland series draws will be seeded and pertain to groups. The four Sam Maguire Cup groups of four will feature the provincial champions as top seeds, the runners-up as second with the third and fourth teams qualifying as per the Allianz League finishing position.
The following draw pits the four second-placed teams against those in third in preliminary quarter-finals and after that comes the quarter-final draw. Repeat provincial final pairings are avoided and where possible other previous championship clashes that season. Semi-finals lots will be a novelty next year and the Tailteann Cup draws will be subject to similar criteria.
There is nothing to say that Armagh won’t feature in a group next year that includes their opponents from last and this weekend - Tyrone and Donegal - but they could lose to both and still qualify for the knock-out stages.
As Tyrone become the first All-Ireland champions in the backdoor era to bow out without winning a game, they can at least look forward to a season where they should play at least four games. The format change may also lend itself to Sam Maguire Cup holders in Ulster making stronger defences.
