Fogarty Forum: All-Ireland draw overshadows provincial finals
MEETING AGAIN: Kerry's Sean O'Shea is policed by Donegal's Finbarr Roarty. Pic: Oliver McVeigh/Sportsfile
Well, that escalated quickly. Say nine weeks and five rounds earlier than most people would have expected.
Previous All-Ireland finalists have met early in the following championship. Cork and Kerry renewed acquaintances in June 2010 as they did in July ’07 but nothing as soon as Kerry v Donegal in May.
All hail the democratisation of the new All-Ireland senior football championship structure, right? Isn’t it wonderful that arguably the two best teams get to play each other early rather than not meet at all?
Yes and no. Yes, that Kerry really have to work for their corn so early in the championship, something they haven’t had to do in a normal season since the 2000s.
Yes, that Donegal face a serious consequence for losing an Ulster quarter-final at home. Yes, that in the space of three weekends over 60,000 people should be in Fitzgerald Stadium (not since 1987 when the Munster senior replays of Cork-Tipperary and Cork-Kerry attracted almost 95,000 in the space of a couple of weeks will the town have seen such numbers).
Yes, that whatever happens that day, neither team will be out of the championship and will have three weeks to lick their wounds and because of the repeat pairing regulation may not be meet again until the very end.
Yes, that we have not one but two repeat league finals, meaning rivalry should also be well and truly stoked in Cork when Meath visit for a second time this year.
Yet no, that as much of an improvement as this format is on the group stages, an element of meritocracy has been lost and provincial runners-up are treated the same as winners purely for reasons of expediency (on that count, the counties are to blame).
No, that the objective is now to reach a provincial final, not win it.
No, that the draw — admittedly by virtue of luck — is lopsided, that the reward for the winners of Cavan v Westmeath is the same and a guarantee of two more games in the championship.
No, that Kerry’s easier provincial base compared to Donegal’s gives them home advantage and probably will in the opening round of the Sam Maguire Cup for the foreseeable future.
The GAA has become accustomed to one of its competitions encroaching on another. Provincial launches take place during the National League so this draw is simply following form.
It happens in hurling too. Last year, a new structure for the league was introduced. Involving more jeopardy, it breathed some life in the competition but only to an extent. A greater competition organised on the same round-robin basis still succeeds and overshadows it. The sequence of the Munster SHC is also known before that of the league.
By compelling the Central Competitions Control Committee (CCCC) to bring forward the All-Ireland SFC draw ahead of the provincial finals, the counties have put another nail in the coffin of the regional finals.
Sure, Kerry will want to win the inaugural Páidí Ó Sé Cup awarded to the Munster champions. Most definitely, Cork will seek to lay to rest the ghosts of Killarney past and beat Kerry there for the first time in championship in 31 years.
But will they be distracted? Will Jack O’Connor press a brake on a player or two with Donegal in mind? Might John Cleary hold off on Dara Sheedy and keep him for the visit of Meath? You wouldn’t blame either for having one eye on what’s coming up behind Sunday.
What effect might yesterday’s draw have on provincial final attendances? A crowd of upwards of 25,000 had been expected in Fitzgerald Stadium but will supporters be more discerning with their money knowing that larger games lie ahead?
The Ulster SFC final is the truest exception where Armagh’s ardent following will turn out in anticipation of the county winning their first Anglo-Celt Cup in 18 years. Monaghan will also show up on their own soil in Clones to see if they can death-defy once more.
Galway could match their team of the late 1950s if they complete the provincial five-in-a-row this Sunday but some of Pádraic Joyce’s attention has to be on Kildare. Likewise, Mark Dowd must consider what Tyrone will being to the Hyde even if Roscommon aren’t going to sneeze at the chance to claim a first Nestor Cup in seven years.
Will Dublin be so bothered about Croke Park on Sunday week or meeting Louth again two weeks later? Even if they did turn up in their droves in Portlaoise last Saturday, they may tune out for a few weeks. In recent times, they have been known to pick their battles.
Westmeath have generated such momentum beating Meath and Kildare but Cavan coming to Mullingar might appeal more to families than traipsing to Dublin.
“One game at a time” – that hackneyed line will be stretched to its limits these next couple of weekends.
Aidan McCarthy may no longer be part of the Clare senior hurling panel, but what happened to him in the 2021 Munster semi-final echoes to this day.
His sin-binning and concession of a penalty prompted a refining of the rule applying to cynical fouls preventing goalscoring opportunities. It played a major part in Tipperary winning that game and occasionally it’s referred to in the county.
The 10-minute dismissal, a black card since 2022, continues to upset Clare, as Adam Hogan picked up one in Sunday’s loss to Limerick. It was their second in three matches following Rory Hayes’ sin-binning in the Division 1B final.
“I think there are a couple of teams in Munster who’ve never got a black card,” said Brian Lohan. “That's five (in championship) that we've got now. Obviously, I'm not a fan of the black card. I think the penalty is very severe for the crime.
"I don't think Tipperary have ever got a black card. Limerick have got one, I think. Waterford, zero, Cork, maybe one. So, it's a difficult rule for us."
If Lohan was referring to championship only, since McCarthy, Clare have received three sin bins – David McInerney (2023 v Tipperary, ‘24 v Wexford) and Hogan.
Limerick have received two – Kyle Hayes v Cork in the 2024 round game and Peter Casey against the same opposition three years earlier. As have Cork – Ciarán Joyce v Waterford in 2024 and Niall O’Leary v Clare in their 2021 qualifier following a yellow. For Tipperary, Dan McCormack was sin-binned in the 2023 preliminary quarter-final with Offaly. Waterford have yet to pick up one in SHC.
“There doesn't seem to be too many other teams that get hit with black card penalties,” Lohan said in 2023. “We've been hit twice against Tipp. Has there been a black card penalty in a championship game since?”
There had (O’Leary).
Lohan bangs the drum but he should count the beats.
Down manager Conor Laverty didn’t shy away from what was a hiding of immense proportions to Armagh.
"We’ll have to chat to the lads and see where our hunger is at,” he said following the 28-point defeat. “We are in the Tailteann Cup now. It wasn’t in our plans, but that’s life.”
When the dust settles on missing out on an Ulster final and Sam Maguire Cup football, the preoccupation with beating Donegal and the seven-day turnaround to this semi-final will be discussed. Armagh had just one more day since their quarter-final, but it hardly compared to Down’s who hadn’t yet come down from their triumph in Letterkenny last Sunday week.
Finding another week between games in the Ulster Championship is easier said than done. Unless the league moves back a week or the Ulster Council changes its competition format, the schedule is going to remain the same.
Back to Down, can the Division 3 winners be added to the list of in-season final victors who have struggled this season and before? They obviously beat Division 1 champions Donegal but Division 2 and 4 winners Meath and Carlow also failed to carry their league form into championship.
Last year, three divisional champions lost their first provincial game – Monaghan, Offaly and Limerick. In 2024, it was the same – Derry, Westmeath and Laois. Whenever a title is won, the hangover is real.
