Usually it helps the story if the brother stopped playing after u16 and goes for the occassional pint. “Oh he was twice as good as his brother, but he gave it up cause he’d more interest in drinking”.
Bandage had the right idea, give it up after a good underage performance and you’ll be forever remembered as being brilliant.
About 15 minutes after he scored all his teams points in an u12 division 3 county final.
It is also common for GAA supporters to turn on their best player when the team is losing.
‘Take off O’Donoghue. He’s shite’.
And he is the team’s only chance of turning it around.
We liking building players up but we sure as hell like cutting them back down to size.
Safe to say no one cut you down to size
I was waiting for the first person to come back with that lame response.
This one is sort of like the above.
“He’s an even better hurler than he is a footballer, you know.”
This is pretty much always an erroneous statement. Used about numerous Dublin inter-county footballers over the last decade, particularly Shane Ryan.
Shane Ryan eventually played hurling for Dublin and was useless.
In some counties, such as Cork, the reverse assertion may be made.
Actually some former Dublin hurlers erroneously believed the vice versa about themselves to their cost, throwing away their inter-county careers in the process. Hello Tomas Brady and Ross O’Carroll.
“He’s not that type of player…”
Even Lyster has had enough of that.
“It means so much”
“You should always have two hands on the hurley.”
No you shouldn’t.
Shane Ryan was a far better hurler than footballer
Shane Ryan couldn’t hurl beefburgers to swans.
*Shane Ryan should have never been taken off against Mayo.
*A cliche,but a correct one
With respect, I think I’d have a better knowledge of Shane Ryan’s hurling ability than your good self Sid
@thedancingbaby is correct on this one Sidney. Shane was well over the hill by the time he went back playing hurling with Dublin. However he was a stronger hurler in his early career and for all his attributes as a footballer he was very limited
Diarmuid Connolly fits your original cliche nicely though. He is a decent hurler but a way better footballer. Conor McHugh, Eric Lowndes and Con O Callaghan too.
You can only go on the evidence.
Ryan was a tremendously under-rated footballer. He established himself on the Dublin football team at 20 and looked comfortable from the start. He played in a huge variety of positions as he was always asked to plug a gap somewhere due to his versatility. He was Dublin’s most important player from 2005 to 2008 would have walked onto the Tyrone, Kerry and Armagh teams of the 2000s.
When he played hurling for Dublin his touch and speed of thought was miles behind the standard required, it wasn’t a case of him not being fit enough.
Keaney on the other hand was able to fit right back in and become a key player as he genuinely was always a better hurler than footballer.
O’Callaghan would be a devastating hurler if he continued with it but he won’t. The sort of player who just goes straight for goal. Waterford, Wexford and now Kilkenny are crying out for that sort of a player.
Ciaran Kilkenny is an excellent hurler but a better footballer.
I’m not sold on Lowndes as a footballer.
O’Conghaile would probably be better off playing hurling at this point as he isn’t going to get a look in with the footballers - I really thought he would make it but Fenton’s emergence has wiped his eye.
I agree with most of that. However, effective as Ryan was as a footballer the fact remains that he was not very good at kicking the ball which can be a bit of a set back! He was a tremendous hurler for Dublin at minor, u21 and senior before he jacked it in. Good striker on both sides, great in the air and an exceptional athlete. Comparisons with Keaney on their respective returns are a little unfair. During Keaneys break from inter county hurling he was still winning Senior Club championships with Ballyboden. Ryan was doing very little with Naomh Mearnog and subsequently struggled on his return to inter country hurling.
I agree that Con O Callaghan would make a devastating hurler for Dublin but I still believe he will be an even better footballer He is quite one sided as a hurler but is strong with both feet as a footballer
My evidence stretches back to 1983 and he has always been a better hurler.
he was dreadful at proper sports