Calendar no issue for Corofin boss Stephen Rochford

The possibility of playing in the last St Patrick’s Day All-Ireland senior club football final will have no bearing on Corofin next Tuesday, insists manager Stephen Rochford.

Should the calendar year proposals come into force next season, the decider will be shifted to this December, but such ponderables fly over the heads of the Galway and Connacht champions.

As an All-Ireland winner with Crossmolina when he lined out at corner-back in 2001, Rochford has played the final on Easter Monday, so when he says the date doesn’t matter, he is speaking from experience.

“We haven’t got really caught up or even focused on that. Having played in 2001 on Easter Monday, the year of Foot and Mouth, it didn’t necessarily affect us to be honest, and it definitely didn’t downgrade my Celtic Cross, I can certainly tell you.

“If it moves from Paddy’s Day, it moves from Paddy’s Day. I’m sure the GAA and AIB or whoever remains the sponsors will make it part of the calendar on the last Sunday or Saturday of December or something like that, pre-Christmas or whatever they would do.

“It’s part of the calendar all right, and it’s brilliant to say when you talk about it, you’re saying ‘Paddy’s Day’ or whatever, but I don’t think it holds major significance as regards the medals. It’s a day in the calendar. The 13 months that you put in beforehand is more etched in your memory. The 60 minutes that you play in the game, does somebody remember whether it’s on a Tuesday or a Thursday? I don’t think they do.”

Now living across the border from Corofin in Ballinrobe, Rochford won’t be relying on his own memories too much to assist his panel. “We’re 14 years from 2001 and 12 years on from 2003, and the game has changed — even at club level. Experience-wise I’ll help the lads, but it has moved on.”

Favourites before the 2013 Connacht championship, Corofin lost to Castlebar in the provincial semi-final. As well as coping better with the fancied tag, Rochford says they now handle heavy conditions better.

“I don’t know if ye can remember that day against Castlebar, it was quite wet and a very tight game, but we had gone through Galway on the finest of summer’s days. You know what, maybe on that part, we hadn’t said, ‘God, maybe it’s going to be pouring rain or how are we going to be able to manage ourselves on that?’

“That’s something we spoke about, having ourselves ready for any conditions that may come about in October, November, December, so that possibly is one of the major differences.”