Peter Canavan: 'I have no sympathy for Cork board'
Peter Canavan at the launch of the 2022 GAA schedule of fixtures on Sky Sports
TYRONE legend Peter Canavan has declared he has “no sympathy” for the Cork county board after they lost home advantage for the Munster football Championship game against Kerry on May 7.
The Cork football panel are holding out for the game to be switched to Páirc Uí Rinn, after the Munster Council awarded it to Fitzgerald Stadium in Killarney.
However, while Canavan believes the county board to be in the wrong, he can foresee the venue being changed and whatever sympathies he has lies with the Cork players.
“I have no sympathy for Cork,” said Canavan at the launch of SKY TV’s Championship coverage.
“Their county board are the people who gave the go-ahead for a concert to take priority over a Championship match against Kerry. Knowing that it could put the game in doubt.
“I fully understand if I was a player in Cork, absolutely, it’s Páirc Uí Rinn (where the game should be played). I understand why they want to play it there, it’s their home game, they are entitled to play it at home. I don’t think it is a big decision for the Munster Council.”
He argued, “How many would be there in Killarney? They know that Kerry would beat them in Killarney, beat them fairly well. How many would they get in Killarney? 20,000? I don’t think you would.
“So you are talking a packed house in Páirc Uí Rinn, you would get 11,000 in there, a better atmosphere and it’s a better game. It’s a wee bit like Newbridge, the time Mayo went there. What an atmosphere it was that day in the ground, everyone was on top of you there because it was a proper Championship match.
“There can only be one outcome there and the Cork players know that.”
Meanwhile, Canavan has lamented the loss of Tyrone attacker Paul Donaghy, who left the panel after last weekend’s win over Kerry. Donaghy becomes the seventh player to leave the All-Ireland champion’s panel since they won their fourth Sam Maguire last September.
Donaghy made his debut for Tyrone in the winter of 2020 by scoring ten points against Donegal in the league. While he struggled to nail down a regular starting slot, he did feature in many games last year and came on for the closing stages of the All-Ireland final.
“It’s very disappointing, as a Tyrone supporter, when you hear of players leaving the panel to begin with. Disappointing because he did make an impact. He was a player I felt was finding his feet,” said Canavan. Just purely from the point of view that it weakens Tyrone, I would be disappointed. Mattie Donnelly has picked up what looks like a serious injury.
“Our bench wasn’t the strongest, due to withdrawals as it was, and now you get to the weekend and a key player injured and another player who without doubt could have an impact on the Championship, steps away.”
Canavan dismissed the chances of a call-up to the panel of his younger son Ruairí, but noted that their hopes of successfully defending the All-Ireland title are harmed by so many players walking out the exit gates.
“If Tyrone are to do something that has never been done in the county before, they need everybody pulling with you. You need everything going your way,” he explained. “…To retain it you have to come back stronger. And when you look at the team that knows how to retain All-Irelands in recent years, is Dublin.
“You can go through so many of their All-Irelands that they won and you can pinpoint games where their bench was the deciding factor in winning big games.
“So from a Tyrone perspective, look at the impact our bench made in big games.
“Instead of having five or six players who are chomping on the bit to get on and you know will make a difference, it doesn’t appear to be there and players are going to have to stand up that we haven’t seen that much of.” He also appeared to suggest that there are other factors in the county that might have an influence over players’ decisions to leave a county panel.
“There’s a lot of questions has to be asked as to why players are stepping away. I totally understand when there are personal reasons involved. But from a wider point of view, Dublin didn’t seem to have this problem when they were retaining an All-Ireland. There’s a number of issues need to be addressed and looked at if we are to retain our best players. I see it myself at first hand the effort and commitment that is required.
“I don’t want to be critical of the boys for opting out. When I was on the panel myself, it frustrated and infuriated me that we had some players who didn’t apply themselves. That didn’t fully commit. And you felt they would have been better off not being there. So there’s a wee bit of that, if boys can’t fully commit and make the sacrifices required.”
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