The GAA thread - part deux

1

Both games in Croker pretty much went as I thought. Think Mayo could pose Dublin a few problems as that McGarrity lad has the ability to compete with Whelan in midfield. Don’t think their backs are good enough, however. The Hill will no doubt give a lot of grief to Mortimer and McDonald with their flash style. Dublin should take them by a few points though. Kerry look pretty slick now, it’s amazing how the whole Donaghy thing has transformed the rest of the side.

Shame for JJ Delaney to do his cruciate the other night too. He’s a big loss for them and makes Cork even stronger favourites to win it now.

2

I agree with you about Mayo and Dublin, it wont be that easy for the Union Jack waving team. McDonald was good yesterday, he poses opposition teams a lot of problems from his roving corner forward position. The dubs wont have come across a player like him so far in their travels.

Kerry were mediocre enough, but well deserved the win. Donaghy was a handful again and won some amount of ball and/or frees. Still though, a lot of good runs by Cooper and Mike Frank were ignored with the half forwards (in particular) just booting it in to Donaghy instead of hitting the angled low balls to Cooper or Mike Frank.

3

The only time there’s ever been a Union Jack on the Hill it was on fire.

4

Not sure of the effectiveness of McDonald, think his contribution to the Mayo effort is overrated. Watching him yesterday I noticed alot of times he came very deep looking for a pass when Mayo were on the break, almost every time he took the ball, tapped it on his foot, turned and then layed the ball off. Each time he did this the momentum of Mayo’s break stalled completely. Seems to me that he plays his own game most of the time rather than what’s best for the team. No doubt he’s a wonderful talent though.

5

Saw the Gaa Show & replay of Kerry V. Cork last night on Setanta (didnt get to see The Sunday Game on Sunday night as there was a pint glass blocking my view the whole time).

They showed (on the GAA show) a few clips of Nicholas Murphy blatantly jumping into Dara O’Se’s knee all match, disgraceful behaviour, I hope Dara’s knee will be ok for the final.

Its one rule for the Mattie Forde’s and Paddy Campbell’s of this world and another for the Anthony Lynch’s and Nicholas Murphy’s.

6

Not trying to wind you up here WOW as I know you?re as staunch in your support of Kerry as I am with Wexford but I was astonished to see Paul Galvin playing on Sunday after the QF. It hadn?t registered with me that he?d be playing even though I heard during the week that Kerry had announced an unchanged team from the Armagh game. I just assumed (you should never do this) that he would be banned for what he did during that match. Going off on one like a lunatic and firing stuff into the crowd after his intended targets Toal and Kernan had taken evasive action. It could have caused an absolute riot! He seems like a bit of a nutter? Good game from him on Sunday though.

7

Fair points, but it was 2 yellows he got (for being attacked by a ‘Maor Uisce’), I remember discussing in the pub after and we were all sure he wouldn’t be banned as it was his first sending off in the season (Donaghly was banned after the first Cork match, as he had been sent off in the league for two yellows). I think Toal stood on him or sprayed water on him when Galvin asked for some uisce, (the camera picture wasn’t great). It is a mystery how that incident and McKeever’s stamp on Declan O’ Sullivan and punch in the balls on Donaghy hasn’t been mentioned once since the match, complete silence from the DRA and CDC idiots.

He is a complete lunatic hothead alright and loses the cool too easily (bit like Tomas O’Se in his early days, I still laugh at the memory of him attacking a Cork player in the 2002 semi final when Corkery was sent off too).

Galvin’s saving grace is that he can kick points and is a good forager around the midfield.

You’ll be interested to know that he’s a better hurler than footballer.

8

Yeah heard he was a good hurler before alright. He won a lot of tough ball on Sunday and as you say he?s not just a forager he can kick points too so he?s very valuable. I knew it was two yellows but for throwing stuff into the crowd I thought he?d definitely get done. I think it must be the fact that the referee dealt with the incident at the time and clearly saw it has got him off. I remember Nickey Brennan being interviewed on Setanta a while back saying the DRA could only get involved in incidents the referee had not witnessed arising from Ryan McMenamin?s successful appeal last year. If you recall he dropped his knees down on Paul McGrane?s neck and was booked but subsequently banned by the CDC. The DRA got him off after Tyrone successfully argued that he shouldn?t be punished a second time for a foul that the referee had already punished him for.

I think Forde and Campbell were done because the referee didn?t see either incident and so the CDC/DRA could throw the book at them. This doesn?t explain why more higher profile players have got off though for other offences not picked up by the referee, e.g. Stevie McDonnell standing on Karl Lacey?s hand in the Ulster Final, Jerry O?Connor digging Richie Bennis, the Limerick Manager!, in the ribs with his hurley in the QF (still cannot fathom how he got off, he struck an old man and there wasn?t a whisper about it) and those incidents you mention. Very selective process indeed. One rule for the big teams and another for the rest.

9

It is a fooked up system, being taken avantage of by teams and their solicitors (or the cnut Frank Murphy), there is a massive overhaul of the disciplinary system needed again (how many is that now?), The citing system in rugby could be very benficial for example. There is definitely an injustice problem in the GAA, with the smaller/weaker counties getting the raw deal (i.e Tryone & Dublin brawling last year in the league)

Re Galvin, he threw the water bottle at Toal, I dont know if it went into the crowd, I seem to remember the bottle being thrown behind the refs back as he was booking Tom O’Sullivan, he then turned around and only saw the scuffle. If he had thrown it into the crowd and the ref saw it Galvin would have probably gotten a straight red, but would still have been available for the final (we would still have won without him - Declan O’Sullivan as replacement) as the ref would have dealt with the matter so the CDC/DRA wouldn’t have been able to impose a longer ban (4 weeks for a red yeah?)as per your arguement above re McMenamin.

10

Yeah that’s pretty much it alright though he fired 2 bottles! But 4 weeks max for that I’d say.

11

From the Indo, must have been a savage assault altogether, jaw broken in two places, mouth cut and has to go to two hospitals. It was only a fooking challenge match.

Glad to see the Gardai are getting involved, especially as it was an off-the-ball incident.

FORMER All-Ireland medalist with Kerry has had to be transferred from two hospitals after sustaining a serious facial injury in an off-the-ball incident during a club game.

Twenty-six-year-old Stephen O’Sullivan, from the Skellig Rangers club in Portmagee, South Kerry, had his jaw broken in two places during a challenge match against local rivals Valentia on Monday night, which was immediately abandoned following the incident.

The player was rushed to Kerry Regional Hospital, in Tralee, but was transferred yesterday to Cork University Hospital.

However, because of the seriousness of his injury, the hospital authorities there arranged for him to be moved on to St James’s Hospital in Dublin, where he is expected to undergo surgery later today.

O’Sullivan, a member of the Kerry squad for the 2000 All-Ireland final replay win over Galway, also lined out for the Kingdom U21 side for three years, and for the county minor team for two years. He has won two county championship medals with South Kerry.

Stephen’s father Tom told the Irish Independent that he reported the incident to the gardai, and garda sources confirmed that a statement had been obtained.

Kerry Board secretary Sean Walsh, who remarked that it was a challenge match, revealed his board would be seeking a copy of the referee’s report as soon as possible.

“I’ve just heard about the incident from my wife who heard the news on Radio Kerry,” he said. “I’ll know more about the situation in 24 hours’ time.”

Mr O’Sullivan added that he was incensed by the assault. "His face is in a terrible mess, and he will have to drink out of a straw for a couple of months. As well as his jaw being broken in two places, the inside of his mouth is all cut. A broken jaw is normally a routine operation, but there are obviously complications with Stephen’s condition because they wouldn’t operate on him in either Tralee or Cork.

“I sincerely hope the GAA doesn’t sweep this incident under the carpet, as the culprit whom I know the identity of, deserves to be brought to justice,” added Mr O’Sullivan, who drove his son from Cork this morning to be in St James’s Hospital by 10am.

It was not possible for the Irish Independent to ascertain the injured player’s view on the incident. “His face is much too sore to talk, and you wouldn’t be able to understand what he might say,” said Mr O’Sullivan.

Stephen’s team-mate Sean Courtney was the first player on the scene after the incident, but revealed he didn’t see what happened. “I had my back to the incident which happened off the ball,” he said.

Another player, goalkeeper Mike Brennan, said: “I didn’t see what happened, but I heard the smack of the blow which sounded like a pint glass falling on the floor.”

Two high-ranking officers of the Skellig Rangers club declined to make any comment on the incident. Secretary Anthony Keating, who refereed the match, said: “I have nothing to say,” and chairman Kevin Martin revealed that he had been playing golf at the time of the match.

Skellig Rangers, who are a junior club, had arranged the match against intermediate outfit Valentia as part of their preparations for their county championship clash with west Kerry’s Lispole next Saturday.

12

These incidents occur every so often and I’m not sure if charges have ever been brought? Didn’t McCartan get away with it against Kenny Larkin(Wmeath) a few years back?

I think if the Gardai did investigate it would be interesting to see what the motivation behind the attack was. I bore witness to such an attack last year, when a scumbag threw a punch from behind at a guy about to take a free kick and broke his jaw. And this was after fouling him for the free kick. People were just stunned. Completely unprovoked yet no charges were ever brought and I think the thug only got 3 months suspension and missed one game.

Then there are the other cases when fellas more or less deserve to get a punch. And if that punch breaks their jaw or they lose some teeth then so be it. If you live by the sword then you die by the sword. I don’t understand how it doesn’t happen in football more often with all the pulling and dragging that goes on. I reckon if a guy is hauling you back consistently he’s deserving of smack and if the ref doesn’t see it(pulling and dragging) something has to be done.

13

The fourth annual King of Greystones competition proved to be more popular than ever this year as hundreds of spectators took to the streets of the seaside town to watch 170 competitiors battle it for the coveted crown last Saturday.
WELL “DUNNE” LIAM

This year’s triathalon is the most successful to date, with an estimated e70,000 being raised for the Alzheimer’s Society.

The event saw the participants swim 750 metres, cycle 20 kms and run 5kms. Luckily, both the weather and the current were on their side, with accomplished triathlete Liam Dunne claiming the ‘King of Greystones’ crown.

What a fooking legend…

14

Great game today. Mayo defense was very poor. God Dublin could have ran riot with 3/4 goals in the first half. Dublin have a very good team but they are far too wasteful and should’ve killed the game off. Very happy though as I predicted in the old forum prediction thread that Mayo would win the All-Ireland but was laughed at and told they didn’t have a chance by a certain member.Well they have a 1 in 2 chance now!! Cracking game though for the neutral, nerve racking for you Mayo and Dublin members i’d say. Ryan and Brogan played extremely well again for the Dubs.McDonald although he held up the ball well, scored the winning point and is a fantastic passer of the ball, he was no where to be seen when they went 7points down in the second half. I saw him a few times stand still and not bother tackling or chase after the loose ball.He only seemed to want the ball when they were either winning or a point or two down.

15

Cracking game for the neutral alright, as a Kerryman I just wanted a result and not a draw. The whole country will be supporting Mayo now as per fooking usual, ABK brigade will be out in force.

Whelan should have been sent off, Brogan was the only Dub forward to play for more than 15 minutes (strange how Mayo kept Higgins on him for the whole match as he was getting a roasting). Massive amounts of space left in the middle third of the pitch again, thought it would suit the Dubs and it did until they fell asleep. The analysts got it right last night when they said Cullen would find it hard when players started running directly at him.

Did anyone see on the live coverage the Dub ‘fan’ roaring abuse at Quinn after he missed his third free in a row? some fooking scumbags on the hill, such anger in his face, RTE must have kept the camera on him for at least 15 seconds.

Can you imagine the uproar in England if Mourinho ran onto the pitch and shouldered into the back of Quieroz, for example, but nothing will be said of Caffrey running into Morrison, all because Mayo took the ‘Dubs’ end of the pitch, acting like children in playschool they were.

16

Omens:

A number 13 has never captained an All-Ireland winning team (per Tony Davis on Sunday Game), current Kerry captain, Colm Cooper, who wears 13 (unless Dec O’Sullivan returns).

The last time Mayo won an All-Ireland was in 1951, the last time Roscommon won a minor championship as well, Roscommon happen to be in the minor championship too.

No point Kerry turning up.

17

Paul ©odd is appearing on Park Live tonight. Should be interesting seeing how nuts he is. After a dodgy start it?s become a decent show, very good last week with Anthony Daly, Des Bishop, Derval O?Rourke and Bill O?Herlihy.

18

Anyone see the U-21 today? Missed it myself but it must have been a very good game. Just got in there to see the end of the stick fighting for bitches. Michael Lyster said the Sunday Game will have coverage from the Cork team hotel later. Ahoy!

19

This probably should be in the Good book thread, but since its GAA, i’ll throw it here.

I bought Tom Humphries Book on the Dublin V. Kerry Rivalry in the late 1970’s, the weekend before last (strangely enough its not supposed to be out til this week).

I dont really like Tom Humphries’s writing, sometimes in the IT he can be shoite especially his Lockerroom column. But this book is very well written.

As a Kerryman, obviously I have an interest in it, but I would recommend it to any GAA fan, its full of cracking anecdotes from both sides. It takes you through the building of each team, the trainings, the internal fighting, the stupid county boards (esp the Dublin board) and the great matches from 1975 to 1977.

That Dublin team was the building-block of all future Dublin teams and especially their supporters as it was the first all-Dublin team, and it marked the beginning of the Hill 16 factor, whereas for Kerry that team was the greatest that ever played the game and probably ever will, it is the yardstick for all other Kerry teams.

It also puts into words the greatest rivalry ever in GAA, a rivalry that will probably never happen again with the current qaulifier system. Only the Dublin-Meath saga in the 1990’s comes cloes (in my mind).

It has indept interviews with Heffo & Micko as well as numerous players such as Keavney, Bomber, O’ Doherty, O’Driscoll, Doyle, Spillane, O’Shea, O’Se, both Morans, Cullen, Egan, O’Keeffe etc etc

The Dublin team are very close still these days and that is put down to the leadership of Mullins and Keavney, whereas the Kerry team are not as close today (Ogie Moran doesnt speak to Spillane) and that is put down to the fact that the Kerry team had various different captains during that stage and no one player was the focal point of the team.

It has its mellow parts too, especially when some of the players look back on the drinking they did and how it has ruined one or two lives, and the final few pages deal with the death of Tim ‘The Horse’ Kenneally, the first of that genre to die.

All in all a cracking read, and highly recommended.

The IT had an extract in last Saturdays sports suplement, but its unfortunately too big to put on here.

20

T’was probably John Egan or Paidi. Most of the drinking stories were either Keaveney (hiding from Heffo in nightclubs) or the Kerry lads, The Kerry team were all bachelors at the timeand as they said at one stage, ‘you’d walk into a pub and six pints were bought for you, you’d sit down and six more, and then later six more’ (or something like that. They lived the life alright, but paid for it later.

Most of the falling out stroies did revolve around the Kerry team, as they had no leader (as i said above) and Humphries brings it up a few times.

One cracking story about a Dublin player (cant remember his name) going of the boil altogether, taking lsd, and being arrested for terrosism offences in ondon.