Sideline cut: company to market GAA DVDs

A NEW production company is set to release classic GAA games on DVD for the Christmas market.

Billy McGrath and Gerry Kelly of Sideline hope to have DVDs featuring highlights of the year’s hurling and football action in the shops soon, but that’s just the start.

“We hope to launch a DVD range called the Classics,” said McGrath.

“The first hurling classic will be the Galway-Kilkenny semi-final this year. That’ll be twinned with Cork’s road to the All-Ireland, so it’ll be a double DVD.”

Another will feature the All-Ireland football final and detail Tyrone’s road to glory. The company is awaiting the final clearance from RTÉ archives to proceed, and McGrath, son of former Cork minor star Kevin McGrath, says their plans don’t stop there.

“With the cooperation of the GAA, RTÉ and relevant county boards, we want to look at the history of the GAA through the years, especially since it’s been covered by TV - games like the Dublin-Meath saga in 1991 and the Cork three-in-a-row hurling side of the ’70s.”

The announcement from Sideline comes in the wake of Setanta TV’s confirmation this week that the company will not be involved in the production of a DVD featuring highlights of the hurling season, as they did last year. In 2004, Setanta released the Rebel Rising DVD, featuring the Cork hurlers’ successful season.

However, the Cork squad refused to give interviews to Setanta for inclusion on the DVD, saying a larger contribution to the player holiday fund than the fee offered for player interviews would have been more appropriate.

McGrath confirmed yesterday that Sideline have had no contact as yet with the GPA.

“We’re awaiting the final sign-off from RTÉ. Until then we can’t approach anyone directly, but we’re in this for the long haul, and for that we need support.”

Fans will be offered an email address to nominate classic games for reproduction on DVD, and McGrath says Sideline will be seeking to accommodate reasonable requests.

“We hope to have a set of six classics for next year, but we’ll also be trying to convey the notion that GAA DVDs are not just for Christmas - we plan on releases at crucial times in the GAA calendar, like March, June and September.”

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