Angry fans
RTÉ gets its usual weekly lash but – surprise, surprise – this time it’s directed at the senior service, steam radio. The regular fans’ ‘pop’ at a Manager is directed this week towards the redoubtable Mike McNamara, of Clare, following his side’s heavy defeat by Galway. But his players, and those of Galway, come in for criticism for not showing respect to the national anthem. And there’s much more, but sure, read on and you’ll find out exactly what’s angering the fans.
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AS A TIPPERARY fan, the Munster Final on Sunday was a strange but enjoyable experience, delight with the senior success and disappointment with the minor loss. I have to comment on our treatment of the Waterford minor team after they received their well deserved trophy. The idea of a torch run and the celebrations for 125 years were excellent. However, could someone not have delayed the torch ceremony by just five minutes? The Waterford minors had just been handed their cup and deserved their lap of honour but this was cut short by the ‘Torch Arrival and Hand Over’ just at the very time when they should have been the absolute centre of attention. I`m sure it won’t have dampened their enthusiasm but it showed a lack of respect for their achievement.
A generous comment, Tipp Man. I’d be surprised if the Waterford minors even noticed, they were on such a high and, sure, they may yet get an even bigger lap of honour on September Sunday in Croke Park. That’ll make up for any slight felt.
WHY ARE GAMES in the Qualifiers allowed to start at seven o’clock at venues where there are no floodlights? Reporter Paul Keane raised this issue after a recent match in Clones went to extra-time and the street lights were on as he walked down the town afterwards. Last Saturday, I attended the Meath v Westmeath game in Cusack Park, Mullingar, a ground which does not have floodlights and it got quite overcast during the second half. Luckily, there was no danger of two additional periods having to be played because that could have caused major visibility problems. Surely, it is not asking too much for games to start at six or six thirty in such venues?
The GAA spends months planning the logistics of events like ferrying the torch to Semple Stadium on Sunday, yet they often miss the most obvious things. Like the point you’ve raised, Seamus. Apart from the spectators’ discomfort,
there is a real health and safety danger to players playing in rapidly fading light.
WHAT AN ABOLUTELY shambolic day in Wexford Park for the game between Wexford and Limerick. After bucketing rain, the pitch was completely unplayable. The GAA should cop themselves on and ensure that grounds are of a certain level before they are approved for top level hurling matches. The area of the pitch where Donal O’Grady was injured was an absolute disgrace. Eventually, they opened the covered stand to let some of the soaked people in but then the stand became filled to about one and a half times its capacity. It was very dangerous.
I arrived in Wexford Park on Saturday forty-five minutes prior to the hurling qualifier with a season ticket. The stand was full and I was denied entry and forced to remain out in the rain. I received a token email on the Friday
telling me that the stand was on a ‘first come. first served’ basis for season ticket holders, but by that late stage I was unable to make arrangements to travel earlier to the game. I think a GAA season ticket holder is entitled to preferential treatment. At the very least, there should be reserved seats under cover with a good view, NOT front row seats near the corner flag where the rain blows in on top of you. On a wet evening, a season ticket holder could be two hours early or ten minutes late, and still go to the reserved seat and watch a game in comfort. After all, isn’t that why we shelled out hard earned cash earlier in the year? Most grounds appear to view season ticket holders as an inconvenience when, in fact, the GAA cashed in big time on the sale of these tickets at the start of the year. I got a soaking instead of my money’s worth.
IT WAS AN insult to the Wexford and Galway camogie teams to ask them to
play on a churned up dangerous pitch on Saturday night after 170 minutes of hurling and football had already been played on it. The camogie should've been played at 1 pm instead of 7.30 pm by which stage most people were leaving.
GAA ‘offeeshals’ might argue that the weather conditions in Wexford were exceptionally poor but that is no excuse for what happened. A so-called county standard ground should be able to cope even if there’s 1939-style thunder and lightning storm. Packing football, hurling and camogie games into the same relatively small venue on the same evening was a recipe for trouble, at least on the covered stand.
SATURDAY NIGHT’S coverage on RTÉ radio of the hurling was nothing short of a disgrace. There was almost uninterrupted coverage of the Kerry v Longford rubbish game despite the
fact it was live on TV. When that was over, they went over to Wexford Park but only stayed for a few minutes and it was off again for a trip around the grounds to preview the ‘Clash of the Titans’ that is Clare v Donegal and Wicklow v Cavan. Then, there was a lengthy update on the Ireland v Malaysia hockey international from UCD before barely making it back for the end of the Wexford v Limerick match. And you wouldn't want to rely on Aertel to keep updated. They usually don’t have the result until around tea time the following day.
The production on the programme was haphazard, to say the least. Sticking with a game that was live on TV was a mistake, while the excursion into international hockey was the kind of eccentricity I thought had disappeared from RTÉ Radio Sport a few years ago. Instead of popping in and out of games with increasingly confusing updates, they would’ve done
better to stick with the Wexford v Limerick hurling game and end the show with a comprehensive roundup of final scores and short reports from all the games.
I CANNOT SEE how Mike Mac can expect to survive Saturday’s defeat to Galway. Clare took to the field with absolutely no game plan. There were times none of the players knew who they were supposed to be picking up or what their role was. Nine games played now and only a draw against Dublin to show for it. You can talk of building a team all you want but this year has been a total disaster. We’re relegated to Division Two and are now playing with the same ineptitude as we had in the bad old days.
It’s a funny old game, the hurling. A few weeks ago Clare were within a couple of pucks of a Tipp side who are now Munster champions and Mike Mac would have
been a hero if they won, up there with the great Jim O’Hehir. The strength of that Galway team that defeated them should not be underestimated. Mike Mac and some of the Banner’s long serving hurlers will know when it’s time to step aside.
DOES ANYONE ELSE find this new practice of a designated singer at just about every match annoying?
I WOULD BE just about anything but nationalistic, but one thing I hold dear is respect for the national anthem. On Saturday, we saw Clare holding a huddle or team talk when the anthem was playing while the Galway players ran out to the centre of the field after it had started. It would be better all round if it was not played, except at the All Ireland finals.
This idea of a soloist – male or female - leading the singing of the anthem is just not working and
should be relegated to same Croke Park dungeon that houses the half-time set dancers. I don’t agree that we should give in to disrespect shown to the anthem by confining it to the All Irelands. I’d slap a hefty €50,000 fine on the next team that prances round instead of standing to attention.
THERE WAS CHAOS at Cusack Park on Saturday evening. It was a local derby, so a big crowd were sure to turn up. What happens? Loads of people were sent to a section where turnstiles weren't open. I was waiting in the queue for ages beforehand getting soaked. I counted six turnstiles outside the terraces of which only two or three were opened. I asked the Garda inside why they didn’t just open the gates and I got a lecture about Hillsborough. Moments later, the stewards opened them and let five hundred people in for free.
Co-ordination between the Gardai and the match
authorities needs to improve on big championship days.
WHERE ARE THE GPA going? After ten years, they’ve made little progress. Croke Park should look after player welfare. After that, I see no role or future for the GPA. ‘Pay for play’ would destroy our games.
The problem is that neither the GPA, the GAA nor Martin Cullen seems to be clear how to resolve the situation. From the start, we’ve had a mish mash of different proposals about tax breaks, Government grants and now a fixed percentage of GAA funding. From Day One, Dessie Farrell and the GPA lads should’ve aimed for Aosdána-type cultural grants for players, which would have the backing of law, and none of them would be in the muddle they face now.
I WANT TO reject the ‘60 Second Report’ on the All-Ireland Hurling Qualifier game between Laois and
Antrim in Port Laoise. It said ‘Referee Pat O' Connor awarded each side a penalty in the second half but the Laois one was contentious as Tommy Fitzgerald already had the ball in the net when O'Connor blew his whistle. Had Laois lost they could have been aggrieved as Ryan McGarry saved Willie Hyland's effort.’ This statement is incorrect. I was the umpire at that goal when the penalty was given to Laois. The whistle was blown well before the ball entered the net, and secondly, the Laois player hand-passed the ball to the net after the whistle sounded, so the goal would have been disallowed if the penalty had not been awarded.
One of the most informative articles in ‘The Irish Examiner’ recently was Referees’ Chief, Michael Curley, giving his view on the penalty decision in the Cork v Limerick match and explaining the appropriate rules and reasons why the penalty was awarded. His detailed explanation on the
technicalities of the decision was a very welcome clarification. While one will always be somewhat biased in favour of his or her own team in relation to frees awarded and indeed penalty decisions, this may not reflect a proper interpretation or understanding of the rules. Furthermore, if expert analysts do not always make a correct observation on decisions, what chance has the ordinary punter? Public comment by somebody like Michael Curley, may and should, help us to understand and accept those ‘unfavourable’ decisions.
At last. The umpire strikes back! Thanks for that clarification, Seamus. Kudos as well to Refereeing Chief Supremo, Mick Curley, for his contribution to enlightening bewildered fans. We only wish more match officials would set the record straight from time to time when there are contentious issues. Umpires and refs have enough flack to put up with these days without being judged in the wrong.
CONOR COUNIHAN and his selectors need to be more ruthless as Cork footballers face into the knock out stages. The Munster final against Limerick was a real ‘wake up’ call. Only two of the starting forwards scored from play. The forwards that were replaced should have been called ashore earlier. Limerick were very workmanlike, skilful and deserved to win the game. In contrast, Cork were slow to deliver the ball and were obsessed in trying to retain possession which resulted in turnover of the ball.
For someone who signs himself as a ‘confident’ fan you seem unjustifiably windy about Cork’s prospects to me.
IF REFEREES have their way, hurling will soon be played with a tennis racquet. Why does a hurler who plays the dropping ball with his hand
receive a free when his opponent uses his hurley? Let’s bring back hurling skills. Good on you, Brian Cody!
: Praise for Brian Cody from a ‘Waterford’ exile. What part of the Gentle County do you hail from? Ferrybank, maybe? Still, I take your point. Catching the high ball is a distinctive skill of hurling and one that should not be inhibited by some recent namby-pamby refereeing decisions.
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