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Post by taggert on Dec 12, 2018 18:42:56 GMT
The quote used in the headline almost makes the decision look a farce- Dublin are doing quite well at the moment, from what I can remember Unclear if it was a vote or a discussion or merely Dr Crokes setting the agenda. Rather silly quote to be honest - very much speaking for himself.
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Post by kerrygold on Dec 12, 2018 18:43:55 GMT
Just catching up on here. My father always spoke highly of Jerome O'Shea, having seen him play many times. One of Jerome's son is Prof Donal O'Shea, an endocrinologist and leading authority/advocate on obesity in Ireland. On Spillane v Fitzmaurice, I'm agree with Attacking Full-Back. Pat Spillane makes some valid points. And the Examiner interview does strike me as a prelude to Fitzmaurice's possible return to contributing to that paper in summer 2019. Spot on! A complete back-scratching job between Tony and Éamonn and a transparent one. EF & PS are becoming yawn material now. Beginning to sound like a school yard scrap behind the smokers shed.
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Post by sullyschoice on Dec 12, 2018 19:22:54 GMT
Spot on! A complete back-scratching job between Tony and Éamonn and a transparent one. EF & PS are becoming yawn material now. Beginning to sound like a school yard scrap behind the smokers shed. Ye must have had fierce fancy school down Iveragh direction with your smoking sheds. We had to rough it behind the bike shed.
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Post by wideball on Dec 14, 2018 11:59:45 GMT
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Post by givehimaball on Dec 14, 2018 17:10:56 GMT
I suppose we should probably give Frank some sort of recognition for his services to Kerry football. Did untold damage while he was in situ and now he's leaving, he's saddled them with a white elephant of a stadium, a useless turkey of a centre of excellence and millions in debt. No Kerryman could have done so much damage over so long a time period. We won't see his like again. The rest of the Cork GAA lads can thank us (and the rest of the GAA) for bailing them out of having to go into liquidation.
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keane
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Post by keane on Dec 14, 2018 22:33:59 GMT
I don't think that's been much of a benefit to us in the round.
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Post by glengael on Dec 16, 2018 15:55:23 GMT
It's incredible how a project could run so much over budget. Extraordinary times indeed. Was there anyone in charge, any project manager, QS maybe, someone who might have noticed things going wrong? Hard to see how Cork GAA will recover from this one, even with Croke Park managing the place.
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kerryexile
Fanatical Member
Whether you believe that you can, or that you can't, you are right anyway.
Posts: 1,117
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Post by kerryexile on Dec 16, 2018 22:48:26 GMT
Cork GAA will recover alright. With Croke Park involved there is the very shrewd business man Peter McKenna making the decisions. There are a lot of cards he can play. Based on what was done in similar situations in the past, holding concerts during the summer is one.
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Post by jackiel on Dec 16, 2018 23:29:26 GMT
on another note did many of you see the Tabu documentary Ar an taobh líne - scary stuff regarding player burnout and overplaying. Young lad on his second hip surgery ,considering giving up playing at 18. Another one I watched last week was the RTE investigates on steroid use -food for thought.
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Post by glengael on Dec 17, 2018 9:28:41 GMT
Cork GAA will recover alright. With Croke Park involved there is the very shrewd business man Peter McKenna making the decisions. There are a lot of cards he can play. Based on what was done in similar situations in the past, holding concerts during the summer is one. Not doubting Mr.McKenna but you'd want a lot of concerts to make E25m profit though? The music fans of Ireland pay for GAA folly and mismanagement- Not a good business model I would have thought. The pitch having to be replaced is also crazy. Given the amount of expertise available about the right way to lay GAA pitches, how did they got such a basic thing wrong.
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Post by taibhse on Dec 17, 2018 9:54:45 GMT
Maybe we should be asking ourselves about our own headquarters. Fitzgerald Stadium is in a bad state and seriously in need of updating. No money there to do anything.
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Post by Attacking Wing Back on Dec 17, 2018 10:33:21 GMT
Maybe we should be asking ourselves about our own headquarters. Fitzgerald Stadium is in a bad state and seriously in need of updating. No money there to do anything. Happy to see money go into the centre of excellence instead for the last few years. Its nice to have a great pitch etc but lets face it. Its only going to be more than 3/4 full twice a year at a push if we get cork at home in a Munster Final and a home super 8 games.
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Post by taibhse on Dec 17, 2018 10:53:37 GMT
Maybe we should be asking ourselves about our own headquarters. Fitzgerald Stadium is in a bad state and seriously in need of updating. No money there to do anything. Happy to see money go into the centre of excellence instead for the last few years. Its nice to have a great pitch etc but lets face it. Its only going to be more than 3/4 full twice a year at a push if we get cork at home in a Munster Final and a home super 8 games. That's fine, but at what point do you say stop? Do we wait until Health and Safety step in and close the place down for big games, as they surely will? The boundary wall is falling down, the toilets, the scoreboard, stand seats. These are all things that urgently need attention and there is no money being made available. Breaking point will come sooner or later.
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Post by Attacking Wing Back on Dec 17, 2018 13:12:12 GMT
Sorry didn't mean to sound dismissive. Apart from the essential maintenance i wouldn't do much more with Fitzgerald stadium to be honest. Not unless it can pay for itself with a concert or something as the Centre of Excellence isn't really going to generate any money and will need upkeep.
Fitzgearld Stadium will more or less be lying idle for the month of August could some event not be hosted there?
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Post by onlykerry on Dec 17, 2018 13:18:29 GMT
Happy to see money go into the centre of excellence instead for the last few years. Its nice to have a great pitch etc but lets face it. Its only going to be more than 3/4 full twice a year at a push if we get cork at home in a Munster Final and a home super 8 games. That's fine, but at what point do you say stop? Do we wait until Health and Safety step in and close the place down for big games, as they surely will? The boundary wall is falling down, the toilets, the scoreboard, stand seats. These are all things that urgently need attention and there is no money being made available. Breaking point will come sooner or later. The pillars in the stand in Fitzgerald Stadium are evidence enough of the age of the design - probably needs to be re-built. Terraces are in decent shape and are the better option for viewing a game (weather permitting). Floodlights would also add to the grounds. Does the problem lie in the overall ownership structure? Did I read somewhere that more upgrading works are scheduled for ASP - a roof on the Mitchels terrace end and concrete to replace the grass terrace behind the other goal. Playing surface in both Fitzgerald Stadium and ASP are very good I believe.
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mandad
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Post by mandad on Dec 17, 2018 14:01:47 GMT
That's fine, but at what point do you say stop? Do we wait until Health and Safety step in and close the place down for big games, as they surely will? The boundary wall is falling down, the toilets, the scoreboard, stand seats. These are all things that urgently need attention and there is no money being made available. Breaking point will come sooner or later. The pillars in the stand in Fitzgerald Stadium are evidence enough of the age of the design - probably needs to be re-built. Terraces are in decent shape and are the better option for viewing a game (weather permitting). Floodlights would also add to the grounds. Does the problem lie in the overall ownership structure? Did I read somewhere that more upgrading works are scheduled for ASP - a roof on the Mitchels terrace end and concrete to replace the grass terrace behind the other goal. Playing surface in both Fitzgerald Stadium and ASP are very good I believe. The best you could say about Fitzgerald Stadium is that it has “old world charm” and you are correct in saying that it urgently needs a serious facelift. I think too much store was put in the Rugby World Cup and when that fell through there was no plan B. Kerry GAA is blessed with a pitch that sits over a magnificent patch of a special place set against a beautiful backdrop. Unfortunately, the facilities there do not match. There are not enough functional toilets and using a lot of them is not a healthy experience. For people with adventuresome attitudes, it’s no big deal. For others, it’s a very big deal and women are forced to put nature on hold for several hours on big match days. They are not able or prepared to use a squat toilet and are forced to stand around with their legs crossed until the final whistle. No to mention the scoreboard! It appears that any money that the Co. Board has is going into Currans and Tralee. I can imagine what the response would be from Croke Park for a €20/30m bailout; “we have already issued one Armoured Car to a Munster county, which has unfortunately fallen into bad hands.”
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Post by glengael on Dec 17, 2018 14:35:18 GMT
Planning was granted earlier this year for some improvements at Fitzgerald Stadium, see below from Radio Kerry News,
'In April, Kerry GAA County Committee lodged a new application with Kerry County Council for a ten-year permission to re-construct the terrace and scoreboard at the western end of the stadium, with shops and toilets underneath. The application also seeks to re-construct part of the wall on the western boundary, and to build new entrance stiles and exit gates. Planners have given the application the green light.'
To the best of my knowledge, this hasn't been acted on as yet but it's a 10 year permission.
Kerry's Eye reported on improvements planned for Austin Stack Park a few weeks ago.
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Post by buck02 on Dec 17, 2018 15:24:11 GMT
That's fine, but at what point do you say stop? Do we wait until Health and Safety step in and close the place down for big games, as they surely will? The boundary wall is falling down, the toilets, the scoreboard, stand seats. These are all things that urgently need attention and there is no money being made available. Breaking point will come sooner or later. The pillars in the stand in Fitzgerald Stadium are evidence enough of the age of the design - probably needs to be re-built. Terraces are in decent shape and are the better option for viewing a game (weather permitting). Floodlights would also add to the grounds. Does the problem lie in the overall ownership structure? Did I read somewhere that more upgrading works are scheduled for ASP - a roof on the Mitchels terrace end and concrete to replace the grass terrace behind the other goal.Playing surface in both Fitzgerald Stadium and ASP are very good I believe. The terrace at the Mitchels end is due to be in place before the Mayo game on Saturday March 16 according to recent reports. This means that work would have to take place after the Dublin game on Feb 9th and be completed in 5 weeks. The grass bank at the Horans end also needs to be replaced with a concrete terrace but there is no time-frame for this yet.
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Post by taibhse on Dec 17, 2018 15:31:33 GMT
Planning was granted earlier this year for some improvements at Fitzgerald Stadium, see below from Radio Kerry News, ' In April, Kerry GAA County Committee lodged a new application with Kerry County Council for a ten-year permission to re-construct the terrace and scoreboard at the western end of the stadium, with shops and toilets underneath. The application also seeks to re-construct part of the wall on the western boundary, and to build new entrance stiles and exit gates. Planners have given the application the green light.'
To the best of my knowledge, this hasn't been acted on as yet but it's a 10 year permission. Kerry's Eye reported on improvements planned for Austin Stack Park a few weeks ago.K 'Kicking the can...' - 'The long finger'. Take your pick. I believe that there were some funds in the coffers of the Stadium but it was diverted elsewhere. I'm not expecting major investment, but normal ongoing maintenance would make some sense.
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Post by glengael on Dec 18, 2018 10:58:30 GMT
Cork are not the only county with financial woes
Treasurer slams ‘serious abuse’ of Galway GAA credit card
Tuesday, December 18, 2018 - 12:00 AM
By Eoghan Cormican Sports Reporter
Follow @cormicaneoghan
The “serious abuse” of the Galway GAA credit card for the payment of personal expenses, officer expenses totalling €45k in 2016 and running up a ticket debt of almost half a million were among the explosive revelations by Galway county board treasurer Mike Burke at last night’s heated convention.
Breaking his silence on the financial mismanagement within Galway GAA during the period 2015-17, which led to an independent audit commissioned by Croke Park, Burke said there had been a frightening lack of transparency and oversight.
Having established a committee earlier this year to conduct an internal review of Galway GAA finances, Burke said legal threats following the completion of this committee’s work led to the intervention of Croke Park.
It was also revealed at last night’s convention that there are four legal cases pending involving Galway GAA.
“The serious issues uncovered included the use of a Galway GAA credit card for the payment of personal expenses, bonuses and expenses paid without proper authorisation and documentary support, and lack of control and transparency over tickets drawn down from Croke Park and payment of them. There is money missing,” Burke told infuriated delegates.
The treasurer criticised fellow top-table officials for giving interviews during the year and painting an inaccurate picture of previous mismanagement and what was contained within both the internal report and the Mazars report presented to delegates last week. “It was said there was poor practice. That is not how I see it. The use of the Galway GAA credit card for the payment of personal expenses was more than that. The misuse of the Galway GAA credit card was a serious abuse of Galway GAA monies.
“A review of officers expenses in previous accounts show them climbing as high as €45,000 in 2016. Santa and his elves might have been generous back then, but he has tightened his belt now. I can tell you the expenses for this year will be well short of that amount, less than €10k.”
Burke continued: “In relation to the lack of control over tickets, I was absolutely shocked to learn that tickets drawn down by Galway GAA [from Croke Park] to the value of €440k in 2016 were not paid for until well over a year later. One would have to ask where was the money around that period of time. I can say with certainty that it was not sitting in an escrow account waiting to be handed over.”
The county board treasurer remarked that Croke Park did Galway a favour by not demanding the near half a million sum back then as “we didn’t have the money to pay”.
“There was total and utter confusion given ticket monies were lodged in the same account as other monies. This was a recipe for disaster and we moved to resolve this problem very swiftly this year. I am pleased to confirm that all ticket monies drawn down by Galway have been paid in full to Croke Park.
Additional matters that were of concern to me were the management of match-day gate receipts. We immediately implemented change in relation to our gate receipts and I am delighted to tell you tonight that through the great work of our gate-men, our club gate receipts have increased by €90k.
Coming to the end of his first year as county board treasurer, Burke revealed there was no information forthcoming from the Galway GAA office for the first nine months of this year with regard to previous financial operations.
“I want to make quite clear that many of the people in management were totally unaware of the problems and were kept in the dark.
“When I set about my job last year, it didn’t take me long to realise that all was not well with the management of our financial affairs. Some people at the time wanted to forget about the past and simply look to the future, but I resisted that because in order to resolve any problem, you need to get to the root of the problem first.
“Some people, not many I should add, within Galway GAA put every barrier and obstacle they could find to prevent me and the honest people in Galway GAA [from doing our work]. Good riddance to those who have done a disservice to Galway GAA and whose only interest was self-interest.”
Burke said there is absolutely no need to fill the vacant CEO position, vacated by John Hynes. Instead, he called for the appointment of a full-time finance manager.
Pearses delegate Paul Bellew described the culture within the county board as “absolutely rotten”.
Income from the Ed Sheeran concert this summer was amended to €119k, having previously been reported as being around €80k. While no concert was confirmed for Pearse Stadium in 2019, there will be at least one at the Salthill venue in 2020.
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Post by kerrygold on Dec 19, 2018 9:20:53 GMT
Niall Moyna sounds the ‘death knell’ for Gaelic football Respected coach believes clubs being increasingly put into an impossible position about 3 hours ago Ian O'Riordan
Niall Moyna: “The GAA in a way has lost the run of itself. It became totally consumed with generating revenue to the detriment of club football.” Something must be wrong when after 18 years uninterrupted coaching at Sigerson Cup level Niall Moyna has had enough of Gaelic football. Not because he’s tired of it, but because of what he sees and where he thinks it’s going.
“The death knell is on its way, this is my first year out of Sigerson, I couldn’t take it anymore,” says Moyna, Head of the School of Health and Human Performance at Dublin City University (DCU).
He won four Sigerson Cups over those 18 years, as well as being part of the Dublin backroom team that helped claim the breakthrough 2011 All-Ireland under manager Pat Gilroy.
“I fell out of love with Gaelic football. You couldn’t pay me to go and watch a game of football. I went to four games this year, the All-Ireland final and three Scotstown games [his club in Monaghan]. I couldn’t watch it, and the Sigerson became like that. It became 14 men behind the ball, whereas Sigerson was that one competition where it was man-against-man.
“Towards the end I felt for the poor players. They wanted to play for me, they wanted to play for their county. In my opinion, it is a box-ticking exercise. Sigerson has to be played, let’s get it played. In fact, if they get their way, they’ll play it over two weekends.”
This pulling of players between county, club and college will, suggests Moyna, eventually fix itself because the county players will become county players only.
“That includes college teams. You just can’t get access to players. They are now being indentured to county teams, and [not] the clubs, who I believe should be deciding when they are released. We have it the wrong way around.
“Again it goes back to over the last decade, the GAA in a way has lost the run of itself. It became totally consumed with generating revenue to the detriment of club football and that can only be sustained for so long.
“Where are the future generations of club players going to come from if clubs say ‘well, if we are going to develop a young player and this is the key cog in our team and he or she is gone for six to eight months of the year’? I think we need to take a really hard look.”
Club window Speaking in Croke Park at the GAA’s new online learning portal ‘Leaving Cert PE’ to assist with PE becoming an exam subject, Moyna also believes the so-called April club window is having no impact. Recent county convention reports, such as Galway’s intercounty bill for 2018 coming in at €1.84 million, presents further evidence of the shift away from the clubs.
“April hasn’t been a success at all. I know they are trying but I think that horse has bolted. My concern is that the GAA is heading down the road of semi-professionalism, that horse bolted eight years ago, and it is going to be very hard to turn it around.
“I also find, particularly in the last five or six years, that there is a sense of entitlement... ‘I’ve got the bag, I’ve got the tracksuit, I’m a different article altogether’... That’s not what the GAA is founded on. It was founded on that local team, pride in the local team.
“My concern is that money is being pulled and pulled away from the clubs, and the clubs are crying out for help. I mean, they are having to have draws just to keep the insurance in the club, just to keep everything running. We need to totally re evaluate that, because I believe are we giving that money to the same small five percent, are they getting the vast majority of the income from the GAA.”
One suggestion to reinvigorate the intercounty game is for the so-called weaker counties to merge.
“Everyone was worried about the day that Dublin got it right. Dublin have got it right. So make it a 12- or 14-team championship, where any team could win it. A bit like the Superbowl in America, and there would be no dynasties anymore.”
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Post by Mickmack on Dec 19, 2018 11:00:47 GMT
If they dont split Dublin then they may eventually end up with 5 teams in a round robin in football ....Dublin, Rest of Leinster, Munster, Ulster and Connacht. Like the Heineken cup.
And a good day for the clubs it would be too. Less of their players would be pulled away.
The current format is no longer appropriate as the years go by.
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Post by kerrygold on Dec 19, 2018 13:25:32 GMT
Outside of the two competing clubs club football/hurling has zero spectator appeal......................Difficult to see how they will rein in semi-professionalism going forward.
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Post by kerrygold on Dec 19, 2018 13:41:03 GMT
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Post by Annascaultilidie on Dec 19, 2018 13:57:19 GMT
I think Gavin's role in Dublin's success is vastly underestimated.
When have Dublin last been tactically off the pace? 2014?
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Post by buck02 on Dec 19, 2018 15:24:16 GMT
Pity Ian O Riordan didnt have the knowledge and/or the balls to ask Niall Moyna about the change to Under 17 and Under 20 level at inter-county level (the brainchild of Moyna), while club football is still being played at Under 16, Under 18 and Under 21 level.
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Post by royalkerryfan on Dec 20, 2018 12:48:21 GMT
I think Gavin's role in Dublin's success is vastly underestimated. When have Dublin last been tactically off the pace? 2014? Thats true but the only team to really push them was Mayo and the tactics they resorted too was to drag Mayo lads to the ground to kill the game. Dublin are playing the game in an era when other counties are poor enough. Would love to see them against our or Tyrones 2000s teams.
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Post by Kingdomson on Dec 20, 2018 23:39:45 GMT
www.independent.ie/sport/gaelic-games/gaelic-football/mickey-whelan-feels-dublin-are-in-kerrys-heads-as-old-roles-reverse-37639907.htmlMickey Whelan feels Dublin are 'in Kerry's heads' as old roles reverse
Colm Keys Mickey Whelan can't see how any hype that may go with pursuing a fifth successive All-Ireland title will hamper Dublin's footballers in their bid to make history in 2019. Whelan had a ringside seat to witness the genesis of this team when they landed their first All-Ireland title in 2011, as coach to manager Pat Gilroy, but feels their winning mentality will guard them against whatever pitfalls there may be. "If you keep thinking about it, it'll be noise in their brain. But they don't. It's just another championship, simple as that. They're not worried about it now, it'll start when it starts and they'll be ready for it," he said. Whelan believes the team has far exceeded the expectation he had of them when he stepped down after the 2011 success, a year before Gilroy's departure. "When I stepped down I told you guys (media) they'd win four All-Irelands, but not in a row. That statement is on (record). And there's a lot of that team that have won six. It was a great group. Again, they all bought into it. But they worked hard. We flogged them, we flogged them to change their mentality. I just wanted to make sure they weren't soft," he added. Whelan believes dominance over Kerry in this decade - they've won their last four championship meetings (2011, 2013, 2015 and 2016) with the Kingdom - has given them added steel. "We were the second (Dublin) team to beat Kerry in an All-Ireland championship in 84 years. 84 years, do you understand that? Two wins in 84 years. And that was in everybody's heads, particularly in Kerry's heads. They're coming up saying, 'These guys never beat us'. But the roles have changed now. I think we're a bit in their heads," he said. Whelan has stepped away from his involvement with the Dublin hurlers after Gilroy was unable to continue due to work pressures. He believes his St Vincent's colleague will be back in a Dublin management role again in the future. "I've one foot in the grave here and I'm involved, why wouldn't he get involved again," he said. "He's a young man, a very young man. He'll be back involved. Chasing "He won't go chasing it (the hurling job). But there will be a time they'll be looking for somebody to do stuff and if he's available he'd probably take it, he likes a challenge. He's very good management skills. He's an engineer and a lot of engineers go on and become managers of all sorts of business." Whelan said it wasn't possible for Gilroy to continue. "He's creating a lot of employment for people. And there is a lot of other things now beyond hurling and football. So apart from business, it's the environment he's creating and the employment he's creating for people. "But I thought we put together a nice set-up and got it off the ground. And we changed it a little bit. We changed the mental profile. And that's important. You have to be prepared to hurt to get anywhere, to make the steps you need." Whelan admitted his involvement with the Dublin hurlers brought more pressure than his previous involvement with the footballers because of the lack of identity he had Gilroy had with hurling at that level. "It was more pressurised, because I'd say when it was announced everybody was saying, 'What are these guys doing with it?' "It was a positive year. I thought we made progress. We were seen as a kind of a football management team going in but Anthony (Cunningham) gave that a bit of credibility.
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Post by royalkerryfan on Dec 22, 2018 0:16:30 GMT
www.independent.ie/sport/gaelic-games/gaelic-football/mickey-whelan-feels-dublin-are-in-kerrys-heads-as-old-roles-reverse-37639907.htmlMickey Whelan feels Dublin are 'in Kerry's heads' as old roles reverse
Colm Keys Mickey Whelan can't see how any hype that may go with pursuing a fifth successive All-Ireland title will hamper Dublin's footballers in their bid to make history in 2019. Whelan had a ringside seat to witness the genesis of this team when they landed their first All-Ireland title in 2011, as coach to manager Pat Gilroy, but feels their winning mentality will guard them against whatever pitfalls there may be. "If you keep thinking about it, it'll be noise in their brain. But they don't. It's just another championship, simple as that. They're not worried about it now, it'll start when it starts and they'll be ready for it," he said. Whelan believes the team has far exceeded the expectation he had of them when he stepped down after the 2011 success, a year before Gilroy's departure. "When I stepped down I told you guys (media) they'd win four All-Irelands, but not in a row. That statement is on (record). And there's a lot of that team that have won six. It was a great group. Again, they all bought into it. But they worked hard. We flogged them, we flogged them to change their mentality. I just wanted to make sure they weren't soft," he added. Whelan believes dominance over Kerry in this decade - they've won their last four championship meetings (2011, 2013, 2015 and 2016) with the Kingdom - has given them added steel. "We were the second (Dublin) team to beat Kerry in an All-Ireland championship in 84 years. 84 years, do you understand that? Two wins in 84 years. And that was in everybody's heads, particularly in Kerry's heads. They're coming up saying, 'These guys never beat us'. But the roles have changed now. I think we're a bit in their heads," he said. Whelan has stepped away from his involvement with the Dublin hurlers after Gilroy was unable to continue due to work pressures. He believes his St Vincent's colleague will be back in a Dublin management role again in the future. "I've one foot in the grave here and I'm involved, why wouldn't he get involved again," he said. "He's a young man, a very young man. He'll be back involved. Chasing "He won't go chasing it (the hurling job). But there will be a time they'll be looking for somebody to do stuff and if he's available he'd probably take it, he likes a challenge. He's very good management skills. He's an engineer and a lot of engineers go on and become managers of all sorts of business." Whelan said it wasn't possible for Gilroy to continue. "He's creating a lot of employment for people. And there is a lot of other things now beyond hurling and football. So apart from business, it's the environment he's creating and the employment he's creating for people. "But I thought we put together a nice set-up and got it off the ground. And we changed it a little bit. We changed the mental profile. And that's important. You have to be prepared to hurt to get anywhere, to make the steps you need." Whelan admitted his involvement with the Dublin hurlers brought more pressure than his previous involvement with the footballers because of the lack of identity he had Gilroy had with hurling at that level. "It was more pressurised, because I'd say when it was announced everybody was saying, 'What are these guys doing with it?' "It was a positive year. I thought we made progress. We were seen as a kind of a football management team going in but Anthony (Cunningham) gave that a bit of credibility. Kevin Keegan said it best.. id love it if we beat them .. love it.
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Post by Mickmack on Dec 23, 2018 10:12:08 GMT
The John Fogarty Interview: Why is Kildare's Daniel Flynn so happy to step away from the county scene? FacebookTwitterMessengerLinkedInWhatsAppMore Saturday, December 22, 2018 - 12:00 AM
By John Fogarty GAA Correspondent
Daniel Flynn’s All-Star nomination and a Championship haul of 4-11 left Kildare fans licking their lips in anticipation of what he could achieve in 2019. So why then is he so happy to step away from the county scene next year? John Fogarty spoke to the forward.
‘Has Cian sent you?’
Daniel Flynn jokes at the idea you might have been commissioned by the Kildare manager O’Neill to help change his mind about taking a break from county football next year.
It’s only because you are trying to get your head around why he would do so after the stellar season he had.
Daniel Flynn You mention he found his home at full-forward. And he agrees. You mention the goals. Of course, you mention the goals that lit up an otherwise drab summer of football. The one where he deftly lifted the ball over Rory Beggan after a penetrating run. The one where he claimed a high ball from Fergal Conway before sidestepping his Fermanagh marker Che Cullen and sliding his shot low to the net.
The ones in Tullamore and Derry earlier in the campaign when Kildare had been at their lowest ebb. And there was the outrageous one against Dublin on the opening day of the league. And don’t forget the efforts against Donegal and Mayo in back to back NFL outings.
There were several points too - 11 in the Championship alone - but the goals alone should have been enough to convince him that he would go from strength to strength in 2019. He knows what he did. He doesn’t need the reminders from his friends who also tell him two of his scores were shortlisted for TG4’s goal of the year. But he is not a man for dwelling on past glories.
“It’s nice to look back on them and they’ll be there forever to show people years from now which is good but when you’re in the moment you don’t think about how good they are. It’s sort of what comes to you naturally. I get given out to for not taking points when I should do but I’ve an eye for goal and when you’re in there it is worth having a pop.”
For a player previously known as a marauding runner, the switch to the edge of the square couldn’t have worked better.
“I don’t miss the running, that’s for sure,” he smiles. “I have the easy job. How I look at it is that all I have to do is kick the ball over (or under) the bar. I really enjoyed it. The year was great, I suppose, but I don’t really dwell on it. That attitude has let me down a few times because we might have a bad loss and sometimes I wouldn’t be upset. I believe that’s life and what’s the point in dwelling on it.”
He wasn’t always like that, he insists. Before moving to Australia five years ago, Gaelic football was “my everything. We (St Mary’s, Edenderry) won the Hogan Cup in 2012 and I don’t remember much about school; I just remember training for the school, training for the minors, trying to make the U21 team, trying to make the senior team. (Kieran) McGeeney was around at that time and football was my be-all and end-all. I went away then and I grew up.”
Much to the relief of his club Johnstownbridge - who also lost Paul Cribbin and Seán Hurley albeit temporarily to AFL - Flynn left Port Adelaide just over a year later with the only regret being he picked the wrong city for his Australian adventure.
I was in Adelaide and I found it hard to take to the Aussies as well. They’re a colder sort of people, I think. It was a huge learning curve. The professional side of the sport was good. What I found hard was coming home in the evening and I was idle. I didn’t know anyone and that was my main driver in coming home. Adelaide is a great place to raise a family, is how I would put it (but not for a younger man).
We were at the draft and Adelaide were the first club that came to me and I took it with both hands. I jumped at it, I didn’t put a whole lot of thought into it. It was seen as a natural progression, that if you get this (contract) you’re a great lad and away you go. I’d look now at the likes of Jack McCaffrey and Michael Murphy who turned them down and I’d admire them for doing that at such a young age, to step back and think about their futures. (David) Clifford as well. I wanted it (the AFL move) but I didn’t put a whole lot of thought into it.
“In hindsight, I probably would have moved to Melbourne. I had two uncles there at the time, and just to get that support and social connection would have made a huge difference because that’s the biggest pitfall I found in Adelaide. I was the only Irishman in the club and I linked up with families through the club and they were great but I just found I was becoming dependent on them and a burden on them the whole time.
“I have no regrets about it. It’s something I would recommend for any young fellas because you grow up. The same as any young person does when they travel and then I came back with a huge amount of knowledge about how to train, how to carry yourself, how to eat.”
What Flynn returned to, however, was a culture shock. There were the injuries - he pulled a hamstring five or six times and had a Gilmore’s groin issue - but the biggest hurdle, as he says, was “what do I do next? It was hard to go back to an amateur sport. In Australia, you were training to earn money and you’re coming home to train for the love of it. Before I went, I poured my heart into but when I came back I found it harder to get going and I felt there was more to life.”
A six-week electrician’s course didn’t work out and it wasn’t until he engaged with the GPA’s player development programme that he found some clarity. He returned to a business course he had started in Athlone IT before transferring to Maynooth University in 2016 where he is now completing a masters degree in accounting. Once that’s done, some globetrotting is on Flynn’s agenda. This last while, he’s been plagued with “wish you here” photos from his county team-mate Niall Kelly as he jaunts around Asia with Monaghan’s Ryan Wylie and other college pals.
He briefly considered playing for Kildare in the league as Brendan Murphy did with Carlow last year but quickly ruled it out. A clean break is best.
“I love playing and I enjoy training but as somebody said to me is the juice worth the squeeze? You’re putting all this effort in from December onwards, the slog over Christmas and you’re missing out on family things and times with your friends all for a couple of really good times in the summer. I just want to play football with the club and enjoy myself for awhile.
“I want to go travelling as well - that’s a big grá for me at the moment. I think that’s only normal but the way things have gone but it’s nearly a bolt out of the blue if someone doesn’t want to commit for a year. It’s not expected. I don’t know where it’s going to end but it just seems to be spiralling out of control. It’s gone five nights a week. Lads in college are training at six o’clock in the morning and then are travelling home to train five nights a week. I know the Westmeath lads are training twice a day two or three times a week. I don’t see it ending.
I think it’s gone way too much about winning. For me, if we win a game, great and if we lose it it’s just a game of football. That irritates some people but that’s me. I just enjoy it. I like being around the boys, having the craic and going out. You do feel super when you’re winning but for me that’s not what it’s about.
Being in the geographical and figurative shadow of Dublin has nothing to do with his mindset, he insists. John Heslin now looks set to play for Westmeath in 2019 but there have been stories in the county of new manager Jack Cooney finding it difficult to attract players because of Dublin’s might in Leinster. Flynn is wired differently: “Dublin are a great team. It’s something to target, something to aim for. What spurs me on is playing. That’s what I enjoy most. It probably lets me down at times because I don’t think about it enough. Dublin doing so well doesn’t put pressure on me but it can be disheartening sometimes. If we’re to win Leinster, we have to be the best team in the country to beat the best but there are a lot of other teams in the same boat.”
If he did have doubts about his plan of action they came when he donned a tuxedo at the start of November. “I really questioned myself at the All-Stars. A huge amount. Just looking around the room and looking back on all the good times during the year, the highlights, I really questioned it.
“But I’m doing something for myself. Football isn’t going anywhere and it’s not as if I’m stopping playing. It’s a hobby. Some boys would say it’s their life and that’s their choice and for a long time I was like that but I’m stepping away from that now. I’m indecisive at the best of times and a lot of boys around the country would have loved to be where I was but it’s a decision I’ve taken. I’ve spoken about it with Cian and he’s been great. He said: ‘If you want to be here then pour everything you have into it. If you don’t then I won’t fall out with you. It’s your life, your choice’.”
Flynn discussed his decision with some of the older players in the Kildare panel as well as his family but there was never any significant attempt to make him think twice. “My uncle Michael loves football. He spoke to me about it but was leaving me to make my decision. It’s great because at home I’m not a footballer, I’m just Daniel. And I like that. A lot of other people would see me as a footballer first and I don’t like that.”
It’s not as if Flynn is the first All-Star nominee to take a leave of absence. Jamie Clarke returned to New York this past season having picked up an acknowledgment in 2017. His appetite for football replenished, Clarke will be available to Armagh again in the new year but Flynn can’t say that’s what he’s hoping his time out will do for him.
“I don’t really know what I’m hoping for. A good few of the Dubs have done it - (Paul) Mannion has done it, (Jack) McCaffrey… the one that sticks out for me was Rory O’Carroll. I remember reading how he came onto the scene and he was his own man. He was brought in during the middle of the league (in 2009) and told the manager (Pat Gilroy) he wanted to go travelling and the manager said, ‘You can do that whenever’. Halfway through the Championship, he tells the manager, “You know I’m gone in two weeks’ time?’ I like that and you should be able to do your own thing.” Flynn bids adieu after a remarkable Championship for Kildare defined by the county’s Newbridge or Nowhere stance and the win over Mayo in St Conleth’s Park. Flashbacks of the week leading up to it, and the evening, won’t leave him too quick.
“Everyone was piling on top of us afterwards. Had that game been in Croke Park, it would have been lost (in terms of occasion). As a group of players, we were grand the week before because we were cocooned from it all going to training. Cian addressed it with us on the Tuesday. He had been on the television the night before and said to us the following evening, ‘That’s done. The game is going to be here so let’s just train’. There was a good buzz and it was put to bed. Then outside of training when we were going around the place people were asking us and I was having the bit of craic. I was going down the road and people were shouting ‘Newbridge or nowhere’. I didn’t take it too seriously. I wasn’t like, ‘Oh, I can’t talk about that’. What works for me is to be able to talk. Some boys would be different and just want to focus on the game.
“To stand up to the GAA got people’s attention. There was a great show of support from the Kildare people. That was great to see because that buzz had been gone for a long time. We were very low after the league. We went up to Derry in a previous qualifier and there were only a handful of Kildare people there, family, friends and the real diehards supporters.”
Eleven-point victors over Fermanagh the following weekend, no team, not even Dublin, brought as much momentum into the Super 8s as Kildare but their wastefulness in front of goal cost them dearly against Monaghan in their opening quarter-final phase fixture in Croke Park.
“A disaster,” he says of that game.
I think if it had been a normal, straight knock-out All-Ireland quarter-final it might have been different. It was a real dirty day and not to make excuses or to take anything away from them but had it been a dry day it would have been a different game. It was a sickener. It was a good game, tight and exciting, but we were sloppy and they were good. They stopped us playing. Vinny Corey, Niall Kearns and Karl O’Connell had great games and (Conor) McManus popped up a good few times with scores.
We made too many mistakes and then we could have beaten Galway in another really good game. Then in Kerry we were six points up and Neil (Flynn) got the line and Hylo (David Hyland) picked up a black card. Even in the league, we were very close against teams but things just went against us. Maybe we peaked in the Fermanagh game, I’m not too sure, but we just didn’t seem to click on the day against Monaghan. We weren’t allowed to. That and getting sent off against Galway were the biggest disappointments for me.
Having turned 25 a few months ago, there will plenty of time after 2019 for Flynn to get over those setbacks. The thing is, he already has and he doesn’t feel he must return to being an inter-county footballer: “If you want to go, then great,” he shrugs. “If you don’t, you don’t.”
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