John Fogarty: Push and pull keep Mark Keane and Oisín Mullin at home
Ballygiblin centre back Mark Keane wins possession against Clyda Rovers in the Avondhu JAHC Final in Buttevant. Picture John Tarrant
The surreal nature of the 2020 All-Ireland championships will live long in memories but none more so than those of the participants.
After losing the SHC final to Limerick 13 months ago, Waterford players spoke of the disconcerting stillness that greeted them upon returning to their homes that night. After losing by 11 points, to quote the song “And The Band Played Waltzing Matilda”, some of them might have “thanked Christ there was nobody waiting for me” but for others the eerieness compounded their dejection.
The previous month, the night of November 8 to be precise, Mark Keane drove back from Páirc Uí Chaoimh to a still Mitchelstown. It was only when he caught sight of his ecstatic family and neighbours that there was an ovation befitting a man who downed Kerry.
In the middle of the second lockdown, the elation that night and around the town the following days meant even more and it would have given Keane a deeper understanding of what it meant to represent and win for Cork. By allowing Keane to return home early in August, Collingwood might have believed they were doing their homesick player a favour. As it turned out, they were only reinforcing the 21-year-old’s belief he should stay put.
With every appearance Keane has since made for his clubs Mitchelstown and Ballygiblin, the call of home has grown louder. His interventions for them have been considerable too. His vital second half goal after moving from defence to attack in Ballygiblin’s county junior final win over Dromtarriffe in November. Another late three-pointer Mitchelstown against Ballydesmond in the county intermediate quarter-final.
Aside from the odd trip to see him in Australia, Keane’s long-time girlfriend Caoimhe English has remained in Ireland since he moved in 2018. It’s the same wretch that might have faced Oisín Mullin and his girlfriend of six years Jessica Diskin had he chosen to follow through with the switch to Geelong.
With a large family and the itch of an All-Ireland medal he is yet to scratch, the pull of remaining was a massive one on Mullin. He was disconsolate on the field after last September’s final defeat to Tyrone. Like Ciarán Kilkenny after the 2012 All-Ireland semi-final loss to Mayo, it was always going to be brutally difficult to depart on such a note.
But there was also a push from going to Australia. Geelong may have jumped the gun in announcing him when the deal wasn’t completed. While they went ahead and gave him a jersey number, the club may have been guilty of believing their Irish ties and the presence of Mark O’Connor and Zach Tuohy in their squad would ensure his smooth passage to Victoria.
Just as Collingwood may have erred in allowing Keane back early, Geelong made the mistake of taking Mullin’s county for granted. “I’m sure they (Mayo) are working really, really hard behind the scenes to retain him but we’re obviously excited that we’ve got him available to us so we’ll keep working through it,” said Geelong chief executive Steve Hocking this past weekend.
Mullin is also believed to have spoken to players who had returned from the AFL. If Conor McKenna was one of them, the picture he painted of such a transfer wouldn’t have been an altogether pretty one.
The 21-year-old would also have received good counsel from his club Kilmaine. One fellow member is namesake Jonny Mullin, Horse Racing Ireland’s director of consumer and corporate affairs, who worked previously as "Irish Daily Mail" sports editor, Ireland editor of the "Racing Post" and RTÉ GAA correspondent.
The rumblings of a wrinkle in his departure were known late last November, less than a couple of weeks after the announcement. He was not comfortable discussing it in interviews. Appearing on RTÉ’s All Stars show last month to receive his second successive young footballer of the year award, any question about the matter was deemed out of bounds.
A generational player, Mullin’s decision has deservedly been greeted with great fanfare in Mayo. If Cillian O’Connor’s injury was the difference between Mayo losing and winning last year’s All-Ireland, Mullin’s involvement this year should at least convince the doubters within their boundaries that their best chance under James Horan of ending the wait is not yet gone.
Whether it’s for the hurlers who need players of his size and stature or the footballers for whom he has already attained legendary status, Keane is an asset. Forsaking a reasonable salary in the second and final year of a full-time contract, a sacrifice has been made but there was no counter offer, only the comfort of being among his own.
Convincing Cathal McShane to stay and McKenna to come back, patrons of Tyrone GAA sweetened the pot with enticements such as jobs and the result speaks for itself. As the Geelong Cats CEO intimated, Mayo might have done the same to keep hold of Mullin.
For such talent, playing the Australians at their own game is understandable but, as “The Irish Experiment” has so often demonstrated, home is home.
Going back to the comments of their chief executive Tom Parsons in early November, you would believe the Gaelic Players Association (GPA) would be supporting the red option (updated Proposal B) for the All-Ireland SFC at Central Council this weekend. "It needs to be Proposal B Revision Two versus the status quo, and go for it,” the former Mayo midfielder told .
Parsons has got his wish in that only one motion for the 2023 Sam Maguire and Tailteann Cups will be on the Clár of Congress in his native county next month. What has also transpired since is the emergence of the green option, which he or his organisation may not be opposed to seeing become a reality.
A GPA spokesperson told this column yesterday: “We see the fact there will be a motion for change in the football championship at Congress and the recognition that there is momentum for change being real positives as a starting point.
“In terms of the options, both have their merits and what we find most positive about it is that they both met the key criteria we set out before Special Congress in October, which was fairness, development and change. We also have to respect the debate at Special Congress. While neither of them are perfect, both of them also incorporate a league-based qualifying system, which we had set out was a priority for us."
