GAA must take the crowd to the Railway Cup
The first initiative comes to us courtesy of the newspaper industry.
For all round stupidity, I suspect this one might well never be beaten, either in this century or the next.
Imagine a grocer who owns two stalls at two different markets. The same selection of fruit and vegetables is available at both stalls.
At one market, our grocer sells his produce. At the other market he gives it away for nothing. After the word gets around, guess which stall will prove most popular? As a business model, giving your goods or services away for nothing is about as idiotic as it gets. But try telling that to the geniuses who run newspapers. Faced with the choice between buying a newspaper and reading it free of charge, many punters have already switched markets.
The second sublimely inane scheme that we have all witnessed during the past few years has been the GAA’s pathetic attempts to revive the Railway Cup. Every time the competition appears to have received a mortal blow, another group of misty-eyed romantics insist on trying to give the competition the kiss of life. The great hope is that one day, the thousands will return. The men who persist in peddling this nostalgic pipedream remind me of the old fighter who believes that with the right trainer and the right promoter, he will be able to land one last title.
But old boxers only travel in one direction — and that’s towards the canvas.
Like its traditional name suggests, the Railway Cup is from a different era. It belongs to the radio age.
When the competition was at its peak, most people ‘watched’ the legends of the game on the wireless. In those days, sports reporters and radio commentators had much more power than they do now.
You only have to talk to anyone who lived through that period. When Derry played Kerry in the 1958 All-Ireland semi-final, many Oak Leaf fans were amazed when they realised that the footballers in green and gold were just ordinary men — mere mortals.
Having been subjected to years of ‘journalistic licence’ there was a firm belief that every Kerry footballer was six foot four, had shoulders like barn doors and legs like tree-trunks.
It’s no surprise that supporters travelled in their droves to watch an inter-provincial competition that enabled them to see their heroes.
Up until about 25 years ago, RTÉ only provided live broadcasts of the All-Ireland semi-finals and finals. Yet even by then, the Railway Cup was on life support. But television, the All-Ireland qualifiers, and 50 live games a year, have now killed the competition’s ability to draw crowds.
There is no longer any novelty in seeing a great player in the flesh. The typical GAA fan has an emotional attachment to club, county and country but not to province. Regardless of your opinion on the aesthetic values of the International Rules, crowds at the games are still counted by the thousand rather than the dozen.
In contrast, there was about a baker’s dozen in Croke Park for Sunday’s M Donnelly inter-provincial football Championship final.
The game proved beyond any doubt that most GAA people come to matches to support teams, and not to watch players.
The former GPA leaders who used to lecture us that it was the players who drew the crowds would have learned a harsh lesson on Sunday.
The curtain-raiser in Croke Park was the junior football final between Kenmare and Ballinasloe. It attracted a crowd of roughly 2,500. When the final whistle blew, they made a beeline for the exits.
Remember that the Railway Cup final featured some of the best players in the country. But nobody could keep the citizens of Kenmare and Ballinasloe in their seats. They came to watch their junior footballers and not even the great ‘Berno’ was able to hold them a minute longer.
So, the question remains, what should we do with the Railway Cup? Scrap it or save it? Even though a vast body of indisputable evidence tells us that the competition has lost all of its popular appeal, the inter-provincials still deserve a place in the calendar.
Why? For the plain and simple reason that the players want the competition to be retained.
Despite their incredible commitment, elite inter-county players don’t actually enjoy a huge amount of perks. Many fine players toil for years and win nothing.
For some, their selection on a provincial team provides lasting testimony of their ability. A medal provides yet further proof of their class. But it’s incumbent on the GAA to provide a setting which will do justice to a competition that showcases the best players in the country.
Taking the final abroad has failed. Taking it to Croke Park has failed.
After a decade of disastrous ideas, it should now be abundantly clear that the Railway Cup is not going to draw a crowd. It’s time the GAA tried the exact opposite. It must take the crowd to the Railway Cup.
The solution which has been mooted for years deserves a trial-run.
Play the inter-provincial football final as the curtain-raiser to the All-Ireland club football in Croke Park on St Patrick’s Day.
The hurling equivalents should be staged in Semple Stadium, the home of hurling, which by reliable accounts has the best surface in the country.
At the very least it’s worth a try.
