Let the players talk or let their legends be lost
Any readers under 89 years of age will probably not have heard of Sonny.
He was on the Derry side that won the National League title in ‘The Year of the Big Snow’, otherwise known as ‘The Year of the Short Corn’ — and sometimes referred to as plain old 1947.
At this juncture, I must state a personal interest and confess the term “legendary’’ is possibly being used a little loosely. Sonny, who was christened Matthew, was my great-uncle. And, given the scarcity of county footballers that have emerged from the Heaney/McCann diaspora, Sonny was, and remains, a legend in our family, and sure that’s all that matters.
He could convert 50s at a time when this was considered a major accomplishment. Younger readers should note that in those days the heavy balls were made from a pig’s bladder and a crude lace was stitched into them. When they got wet, and I quote from family experts, “it was like kicking a bag of sand”.
But Sonny had the timing and the brawn. Rain, hail or shine, he could launch it.
One of his most famed strikes took place at ‘The County Grounds’ in Magherafelt. According to those who were there, when he converted yet another successful 50, the ball was still rising as it sailed between the posts. Indeed he struck it with such exquisite precision that the pigskin cleared the tall trees behind the goals, flew over the main road, and knocked over a headstone in the nearby graveyard.
His epiphany took place at the pitch in Castledawson. Sonny and his friends were taking penalties. Getting bored at the ease with which he could score, Sonny declared that he would aim for and hit the crossbar (yes, that’s right, he also invented the Crossbar Challenge). True to form, Sonny’s shot ricocheted off the woodwork.
Due to the limited amount of media coverage given to the GAA in the 40s, I treasured those yarns about Sonny because they were all I had. Even if I trawled through newspaper archives, I would never find feature interviews or glowing appraisals of my great-uncle’s displays. Newspapers didn’t have pages devoted to player ratings and man-of-the-match awards.
Thankfully we now live in different times, but not all of us appreciate the changes that have taken place in how Gaelic Games are covered by the media.
Marty Clarke is one such example. Reports indicate that Marty is going to return to the AFL. I remember Marty before he became a professional footballer.
The first time I spoke to him was the morning after an Ulster GAA Writers’ Banquet in Bundoran. Marty, at just 17 years of age, had collected an award the previous night. When I went over to his table where he was eating breakfast, Marty was extremely approachable and very polite. After a chat, I asked him for his mobile number and he supplied it.
Before he went to Australia and during his time in Melbourne, I spoke to Marty a couple of times. He was always a pleasure to interview. Intelligent, thoughtful, and articulate, he never hid behind clichés.
Like many others, I was delighted when Marty Clarke returned to Down. Unfortunately for journalists like myself, while Marty might have left the AFL, he returned to Ireland with a professional footballer’s attitude to the media. It became increasingly difficult to speak to Marty. When he declined my request for a short interview following a league game in Newry, I didn’t approach him again until Down beat Kerry in Croke Park.
I wasn’t being singled out. Last year, Marty deliberately avoided all journalists. Anytime I heard or read Marty Clarke, he was invariably being paid as a newspaper columnist, a TV commentator, or being quoted at an event that was staged by one of his sponsors.
My suspicion that Marty viewed journalists as an extra burden were confirmed when he revealed in an interview that he had advised his Down team-mates that they shouldn’t always comply with requests for interviews.
Marty is entitled to his opinion. But he needs to remember that not all footballers have shared his experiences. Despite only one year of inter-county football, the game has been good to Marty. He has a column, corporate sponsors, and a coaching job. For most players, a bit of media coverage is one of the few perks they get. And while some players aren’t fussed, they know their parents and families like seeing them in the newspapers. I disagree with anyone who discourages players talking to the press. That includes managers who enforce media bans. It baffles me when newspapers employ columnists who refused to talk to their journalists when they were managers or players.
For all the many faults of journalists, at least we allow players to leave something of themselves in the archives. Young men like Marty Clarke mightn’t necessarily appreciate that now but his descendants will. As a proud relation of the legendary Sonny McCann, I speak from experience.
* Contact: p.heaney@examiner.ie
