Apology and plea to GAA managers

AN apology this week, and a plea, but they are not unconnected.

A thought that struck me on Sunday evening, while speaking to Brian Cody after the hugely-entertaining Leinster senior hurling final - what a stressful, demanding, draining job, that of the modern inter-county GAA manager. It was out on the pitch, long after the last of the fans had left the massive stadium, Brian had just finished his interview with RTÉ television, and I intercepted him as he rushed for the dressing-room. He’s a genial kind of guy, so he paused, and we got into the game.

“Was it really a good game,” he asked, anxiously, beamed when assured it was. But he hadn’t noticed, he explained, hadn’t been able to enjoy what 40,000 of us had enjoyed, what a TV audience of millions had savoured - hurling at its best.