Kilmacud’s gain could be Dubs’ loss, says Gilroy

PAT GILROY fears that continued club success for Kilmacud Crokes could come at the cost of Allianz football league progress for the county.

Fri, 21 Jan, 2011 - 00:00

Paul Keane

The Dublin boss was at Allianz headquarters yesterday to launch their ‘Spring Series’ of games at Croke Park which include mouthwatering Division 1 tussles with Cork and Kerry.

Dublin’s first game at Croke Park is against the All-Ireland champions on Saturday, February 19 and promises to be a memorable evening for various reasons.

The football game will proceed a hurling league encounter between Anthony Daly’s Dublin and Liam McCarthy Cup champions Tipperary.

Between those two games, teen twins ‘Jedward’ will keep the crowd entertained with a live performance while singer Damien Dempsey has been lined up for the following weekend when Dublin teams take on Kerry and Kilkenny.

Ideally, the ties involving the Dublin footballers will be top of the table affairs that ensure an even healthier uptake of the €45 ticket offer for the entire ‘Spring Series’.

However, an unfortunate mixture of injuries, defections and club commitments may all combine to blunt Dublin’s challenge for a first league title since 1993.

Most notably, Crokes face Rhode in Sunday’s Leinster final and, potentially, county players like Kevin Nolan, Cian O’Sullivan and Paul Griffin could all remain club tied until late March if they fare well.

“Unfortunately for us, there may be events that conspire to make it very difficult for us to really achieve well in the league,” said Gilroy.

“Some of them are positive and some are more difficult. Obviously, the injuries are the difficult ones. If Kilmacud go well, there are quite a number of guys who are important to us in defence. That might make it very difficult for us to really perform to our max in the league.

“I don’t want Kilmacud to perform badly, I genuinely want them to do well but it could have an effect on us in the league.”

Gilroy, whose Dublin side were only narrowly beaten by eventual champions Cork in last year’s All-Ireland semi-final, conceded that he had planned on launching a strong challenge for the league this season.

“I think the league is relevant,” he continued. “I think the leagues have shown, and I have noticed it in my own time playing and now managing, that there tends to be a higher correlation between the teams that are successful in the league and the teams that are successful in the All-Ireland.

“Whether it’s that year or the following year, there would be a good correlation there.”

Gilroy admitted that as a result of the personnel problems there will be a ‘lot of experimentation’ in the early rounds of the league with no decision on the captaincy yet.

Paul Griffin and David Henry captained Dublin last year but both are absent for several months more, paving the way for Stephen Cluxton and Paul Casey to lead the team out in their recent O’Byrne Cup and Shield games.

Dublin’s hurlers have their own injury problems approaching the ‘Spring Series’ and 2009 All-Star midfielder Alan McCrabbe may yet sit out the entire campaign in what would be a crushing blow.

Manager Daly said McCrabbe’s hip problem has turned out to be worse than first feared and could keep the free-taker out until the Leinster championship.

“He could try and play on but the advice is (not to), he’s not yet 25,” said Daly. “The only thing is it might, in a perverse sort of way, be a little bit of a blessing in disguise.

One new player they’ll definitely have is Conal Keaney who, after quitting the footballers following five years of exclusive service, is bedding in well on his return to county hurling.

“He got a goal and two or three points (in a challenge v Limerick) last night,” added Daly. “If there’s more to come I’d be delighted. He’s going well. He’s a fairly natural stickman. He has adapted quickly I have to say.”

The Dublin Spring Series

Saturday, February 19

Dublin v Tipperary (Hurling) Throw in: 5.15pm

Jedward 6.50pm

Dublin v Cork (Football) Throw in: 7.30pm

Saturday, February 26

Dublin v Kilkenny (Camogie) Throw in: 5.15pm

Damien Dempsey 6.50pm

Dublin v Kerry (Football) Throw in: 7.30pm

Sunday, March 20

Curtain Raiser tbc

Dublin v Mayo (Football) Throw in: 2.30pm