Kelly wants to see Railway Cup revival
It doesn’t take a massive exercise of the grey matter to imagine either of these teams, particularly if you happen to be in Kilkenny or Galway this afternoon.
Sadly, few within the GAA public realise such an opportunity exists. Fewer still care. On the face of it, the possibilities of Railway Cup competition are endless. In concept, at least, the games should be similar to the NBA Allstar games, the cream of each province doing battle with pride on the line.
Instead, the games are largely ignored. It will be no different this weekend. The only coverage the games have generated in the recent past has been that famous photo of a solitary figure watching from the Fitzgerald Stadium stands, as 30 of the best footballers in the country parade their talent on the pitch.
The prolonged death of the Railway Cup, as protracted an affair as a speech from an elderly delegate at Congress, has been a consistent theme in recent GAA history. For every person imploring Croke Park to put the tournament out of its misery, there is another talking about the disgrace of letting this once proud contest go to rack and
ruin. The Association’s apathy was amply demonstrated last week and shows it remains anchored to its past. Next year is the 100th anniversary of the inaugural inter-provincial competition. Founded to commemorate the life of Archbishop Croke, the competition’s profile grew steadily until the golden era of the Fifties, when they would come from the four corners of the island, their sandwiches in foil and tea in flasks, to Croke Park on St Patrick’s Day.
The Railway Cup was an event then, attracting die-hards from Malin to Mizen. As it should. Without the competition, nobody outside of Carrick-on -Shannon would have heard of Patsy McGarty, a legend in Leitrim football, who had the Railway Cup to thank for his national profile. And there are many more like him.
“This competition should remain as long as the players want it,” says
incoming president Seán Kelly. (Given that a player survey last year indicated 95% support, the players are in favour).
“But we have to look at ways to rescue and revive it. We should all sit together, officials, players and supporters and come up with ideas as to what can be done to save this competition.”
So why are so many within the GAA eager to put the competition down? Why do they insist on giving a competition, already deprived of oxygen because of the raised club profile, the weak life support of the first weekend in November?
Noel Walsh is one of the few people within the Association who wants the competition retained. His radical plan for its overhaul is currently under consideration by Árd Chomhairle.
Of course they have tinkered with so many fast route ways to rescue the Railway Cup from its inevitable doom, it is little wonder the competition has nauseated people. But Walsh believes his plan is workable, if the Association allows it to be so.
“A lot of people in the GAC are very casual about the competition and many want to see it abolished,” Walsh says. “They abolished three competitions at Congress last year, the Oireachtais, B Football and the Waterford Glass. Only a few delegates like myself stood up and spoke against it, we swayed the vote 2-1.”
But there are so many problems with the competition, you have to wonder what is the point in keeping it. That there is no fixed date for it doesn’t help. Oh, for the heady years when people knew what to expect on St Patrick’s Day: two Railway Cup finals. Now anyone interested has to search the GAA calendar to see where the powers-that-be have wedged the games in this year.
“I would like to see the hurling semi-finals fixed for the first weekend in October, the football games fixed for the second weekend,” Walsh said. “A fixed date in a provincial venue will give the tournament more of a sense of purpose.” For the final, Walsh proposes bringing them out on foreign fields on the October Bank Holiday weekend. He thinks the tournament will benefit more from playing the finals in places like New York, Brussels or Madrid. With the incoming president known to be sympathetic to the plight of the Railway Cup, Walsh is more confident than recent years.
“The time has come to show our wonderful game to the outside world and particularly in a competitive atmosphere,” Walsh said.
“We could expect a strong attendance from our own people in those major cities, but they will also be encouraged to bring non-Irish. It would not only be a sporting occasion, but a cultural and social one.”
Certainly, 5,000 spectators in Rome shows much more respect for provincial players than the curious 25 or so who will convene at Nowlan Park and Pearse Stadium this afternoon.
“What shouldn’t be forgotten is the brightest point of Railway Cup is getting players from weaker counties playing with players from stronger counties,” Seán Kelly says.
“I remember Declan Browne coming off the field six or seven years ago and talking about playing with the Kerry lads in the full-forward line. That has always been the greatest strength of the competition.”
Meanwhile, Limerick’s Andrew O’Shaughnessy will write himself into the history books today when he pulls on the famous blue jersey of Munster in the Railway Cup. The 17-year-old St Colman’s youth will become the youngest ever to wear the Munster jersey. Already this year the Kilmallock tyro has won a Harty Cup and All-Ireland colleges medal with Fermoy. He followed this up by playing for Limerick in the minor and senior championships, thus joining an elite band of hurlers including Eddie Keher, Jimmy Doyle, Ken McGrath and Brian Whelehan who managed to play minor and senior championships in the same year. In September, he was the star performer in Limerick’s march to the All- Ireland U21 title helping, himself to 2-2 in the final. It was his second medal at this grade.
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