Keeping old flames flickering at Junior C

To understand the changing heart of the GAA, it’s worth a trip to the Cork City Junior C Football League final.

Days after rural depopulation was discussed at the launch of the Cork GAA Strategic Plan, two urban clubs, equally struggling for numbers, meet in uncelebrated surrounds. Players comfortably outnumber spectators, even though hosts Rochestown bring only three subs, and Redmonds the one.

Whatever about their rivalry, the clubs have a mutual understanding of their shared plight. After close scares with folding, they rage against the dying of the light — a constant struggle to keep 15 togged out, which neither could manage in hurling. For Redmonds, once All-Ireland champions, that’s a bitter pill to swallow.