Time to bite the bullet on interpro series
That was a statement made by Tommie Davin, a hugely experienced teacher at St. Jarlath’s College in Tuam, at a staff meeting, a few years ago, as we discussed a class we were all finding, shall we say, “challenging” to engage with.
It came floating back into my mind driving back to Galway, from Tuam stadium yesterday after watching Connacht dismantle Ulster in the second half of the Martin Donnelly inter-provincial football final.
There were a few hundred, at most, at yesterday’s decider, and only 70 or 80 paying customers at last week’s semi-final at the same venue.
So, while the players enjoy the competition and constantly advocate the continuation of the series — as Aidan O’Shea did so eloquently after accepting the trophy from Liam O’ Neill yesterday — “Joe Public” are voting with their feet. GAA supporters just don’t take the competition seriously. And neither do the top brass of the GAA.
To prove that point, many football people in Tuam itself and Galway did not even know the semi-final, between Munster and Connacht, was on last weekend.
They did not even know the game was on in their home town. There was zero marketing of the game, zero effort at promoting the competition in the local press. And unless there is a small bit of razzmatazz, a bit of spin, people will not attend.
Another quick point on the lack of promotion, — the match programme yesterday basically consisted of the team sheets and a few fillers.
Surely the final of the Inter-Provincial championship merits a bit more thought and effort? Or does it? Whether the players like it or not, people are not buying into what they are selling.
It is degrading to those involved to have lip-service paid to the competition and then see very little, if any, action to follow up on the spoken word.
In his programme notes (one of the 8 pages) — Liam O’ Neill pointed out that the future of the competition has been debated at length at all levels of the association. And yet we have had no real decision.
It lumbers along, with no real focus or reason for existence, apart from the fact that the players like to get together, with little or no preparation, and have a game or two.
Sure, the gear and kit is nice. And provincial councils are decent with the expenses, and isn’t it lovely to meet up with the boys from other counties who you would normally never get to socialise with.
However, apart from the players and a few high-profile ex-managers, does anyone else care who wins or loses? Does Croke Park care? And if nobody cares, apart from the participants themselves, has the competition got any future?
Most people know the answer, but no-one in authority seems prepared to bite the bullet.
