|
Post by Mickmack on Aug 6, 2020 12:58:08 GMT
RTE at 10.10 pm tonight....programme on Sean Boylan
|
|
|
Post by kerrybhoy06 on Aug 6, 2020 17:09:55 GMT
Auctioneers say that interest in rural properties is gone through the roof. A new paradigm will come out of this in my view... spending 75 mins to communte to work to sit at a computer is over. I’m still a bit skeptical about this to be honest as it has changed the opinion of very few culchies that I know in Dublin. People will always want to be near crowds, venues & excitement which is why Dublin will trump places still. I think there might be a small movement but it wouldn’t be unheard of for auctioneers to engage in a disingenuous game of trying to talk up their own product.
|
|
|
Post by Ballyfireside on Aug 7, 2020 1:46:35 GMT
RTE at 10.10 pm tonight....programme on Sean Boylan In between the dozing I thought it was as much about personality as coalface stuff of how he worked over so many years, though what was shown was unique - e.g. swimming v field training. The numbers suggest he was successful and one wonders why such a Gaelic Football stronghold is not delivering. You'd have thought their contempt for the Dubs alone would motivate them.
|
|
|
Post by dc84 on Aug 7, 2020 8:41:52 GMT
Auctioneers say that interest in rural properties is gone through the roof. A new paradigm will come out of this in my view... spending 75 mins to communte to work to sit at a computer is over. I’m still a bit skeptical about this to be honest as it has changed the opinion of very few culchies that I know in Dublin. People will always want to be near crowds, venues & excitement which is why Dublin will trump places still. I think there might be a small movement but it wouldn’t be unheard of for auctioneers to engage in a disingenuous game of trying to talk up their own product. Id say it will have an effect alright medium term and long term it will happen to an extent, people in their 20s will always be more likely to want to live in dublin the nightlive etc is/was very lively. As a culchie as you Put it in dublin i am seriously considering it but hard to know if this is a long term situation re working from home or not.
|
|
|
Post by kerrybhoy06 on Aug 7, 2020 8:52:54 GMT
I’m still a bit skeptical about this to be honest as it has changed the opinion of very few culchies that I know in Dublin. People will always want to be near crowds, venues & excitement which is why Dublin will trump places still. I think there might be a small movement but it wouldn’t be unheard of for auctioneers to engage in a disingenuous game of trying to talk up their own product. Id say it will have an effect alright medium term and long term it will happen to an extent, people in their 20s will always be more likely to want to live in dublin the nightlive etc is/was very lively. As a culchie as you Put it in dublin i am seriously considering it but hard to know if this is a long term situation re working from home or not. The narrative that rural auctioneers are pushing about a surge in demand flies in the face of all info on mortgage approvals, etc.
|
|
|
Post by jackiel on Aug 7, 2020 9:15:20 GMT
RTE at 10.10 pm tonight....programme on Sean Boylan In between the dozing I thought it was as much about personality as coalface stuff of how he worked over so many years, though what was shown was unique - e.g. swimming v field training. The numbers suggest he was successful and one wonders why such a Gaelic Football stronghold is not delivering. You'd have thought their contempt for the Dubs alone would motivate them. Have seen lots of comments raving about this but to be honest I didn't think it lived up to the hype. A lot of the content was stuff I've heard from Late Late Show or similar interviews in the past. Having said that it was a lovely surprise to see my late father in law in one of the stills welcoming Sean & the victorious team back to Dunboyne. I have always found Sean to be a humble, charismatic and generous man whenever I meet him.Long may he run.
|
|
|
Post by Mickmack on Aug 7, 2020 11:56:25 GMT
I’m still a bit skeptical about this to be honest as it has changed the opinion of very few culchies that I know in Dublin. People will always want to be near crowds, venues & excitement which is why Dublin will trump places still. I think there might be a small movement but it wouldn’t be unheard of for auctioneers to engage in a disingenuous game of trying to talk up their own product. Id say it will have an effect alright medium term and long term it will happen to an extent, people in their 20s will always be more likely to want to live in dublin the nightlive etc is/was very lively. As a culchie as you Put it in dublin i am seriously considering it but hard to know if this is a long term situation re working from home or not. Quite a number of left their rented accomodation in Dublin and are renting for a lot less in Limerick and other parts where broadband is good. The mortgages approval stats dont capture this and anyway the mortgage approval restrictions apply to all parts of the country. As an aside i thought the term culchie is no longer appropriate no more than the n word is or any other derogatory terms to label people
|
|
|
Post by Ballyfireside on Aug 7, 2020 12:26:14 GMT
I think 'culchie' was turned around on the insulter as they made it a badge of honour, a fella once slagged me off that I had a culchie gait - my reply was that only people who own the ground they walk on could have such an ailment, and that I did until the robbers came, took the ground from under me and the roof from over my head - and then revenge struck, Who wants to be a millionaire, and one shouldn't start a job they don't intend finishing!
|
|
|
Post by Annascaultilidie on Aug 7, 2020 13:19:45 GMT
Culchie is a Dublin word and I don't think it sounds right out of the mouth of a Kerry person.
I wouldn't compare it to far heavier words myself.
While the phrase 'long may he run' reminds:
|
|
|
Post by Mickmack on Aug 7, 2020 15:05:49 GMT
Culchie is a Dublin word and I don't think it sounds right out of the mouth of a Kerry person. I wouldn't compare it to far heavier words myself. While the phrase 'long may he run' reminds: does culchie sound right out of the mouth of a Dublin person?
|
|
|
Post by kerrybhoy06 on Aug 7, 2020 15:20:39 GMT
Lads you are living very sheltered lives if getting called a culchie is getting your back up
|
|
|
Post by Mickmack on Aug 7, 2020 16:29:05 GMT
Lads you are living very sheltered lives if getting called a culchie is getting your back up strange line of argument. Should only those who are offended by the "n word" object to its use. Or should we perhaps rise above insulting labels in this day and age.
|
|
|
Post by kerrybhoy06 on Aug 7, 2020 16:53:16 GMT
Lads you are living very sheltered lives if getting called a culchie is getting your back up strange line of argument. Should only those who are offended by the "n word" object to its use. Or should we perhaps rise above insulting labels in this day and age. The fact that you are equating the 2 is worrying mick, very worrying to be honest
|
|
|
Post by Mickmack on Aug 7, 2020 17:11:28 GMT
strange line of argument. Should only those who are offended by the "n word" object to its use. Or should we perhaps rise above insulting labels in this day and age. The fact that you are equating the 2 is worrying mick, very worrying to be honest i am for stopping all insulting labelling of people. Its not hard
|
|
|
Post by Annascaultilidie on Aug 7, 2020 17:34:19 GMT
Culchie is a Dublin word and I don't think it sounds right out of the mouth of a Kerry person. I wouldn't compare it to far heavier words myself. While the phrase 'long may he run' reminds: does culchie sound right out of the mouth of a Dublin person? Yeah a lot more natural than out of a Kerry person.
|
|
|
Post by kerrybhoy06 on Aug 7, 2020 18:19:04 GMT
The fact that you are equating the 2 is worrying mick, very worrying to be honest i am for stopping all insulting labelling of people. Its not hard You’re a tireless crusader for the feelings of others Mick. I tip my cap to you, the Kerry Gandhi
|
|
|
Post by rollingstone on Aug 7, 2020 22:35:59 GMT
No deaths since 25 July then five new deaths reported yesterday. When the article is actually read however, it turns out that four of those occurred in April and June this year www.thejournal.ie/ireland-covid-19-2-5169437-Aug2020/. All the other papers going with the same five deaths headline without context, as usual. even the kids in creches know at this stage that covid deaths are not always recent... strange you missed that till now. I don’t understand your point Mick. I’m pointing out that the five deaths are being portrayed as happening yesterday they clearly didn’t. Why is the fact that ZERO deaths occurred for 11 consecutive days in the country not reported with such enthusiasm? At best that five death statement in the press is a grossly inaccurate representation of what actually happened. In view of tonight’s midlands lockdown ask yourself why that might have been.
|
|
|
Post by Mickmack on Aug 7, 2020 23:10:36 GMT
Irish Times Logo User Menu NEWS
CULTURE Inclusive new East Belfast GAA club unbowed by bomb alerts PSNI questioning man (54) over incidents, as clubs says ‘Our door remains open to all’
Gerry Moriarty about 6 hours ago A number of bomb alerts did not deter the newly formed East Belfast GAA club from pressing on with its first hurling game this week.
The message from the club, which has a strong cross-community ethos, was: “Our door remains open, to all.”
That is reflected in its logo, which is a black hand of Ulster and the yellow Samson and Goliath cranes of Harland & Wolff in east Belfast, as well as in its motto, “Together”, written in English, Irish and Ulster-Scots.
The club, possibly wisely, is keeping a low profile and refraining from comment at the moment but its president, Linda Ervine, in a social media post, acknowledged that Thursday, the day of the match, “didn’t get off to a good start” as a result of the incidents.
But, she added, it “ended on a high” after its senior hurling game in the Betsy Gray Shield competition against Warrenpoint went ahead as planned in east Belfast.
Warrenpoint won 2-17 to 1-14, which as far as Ms Ervine, an Irish-language enthusiast from a loyalist background, was concerned was a very creditable result, particularly for a first outing, particularly for east Belfast – which, as Micheál Ó Muircheartaigh might say, is not a “hurling stronghold”.
“Tús maith a chairde (a great start, friends),” enthused Ms Ervine, who is sister-in-law of the late Progressive Unionist Party leader David Ervine.
On Friday the PSNI was continuing to question a 54-year-old man about security alerts over Wednesday and Thursday that were suspected of being aimed at the new club.
Following a search of a house in the Braniel area of east Belfast on Thursday night, he was arrested on suspicion of a number of offences, including possessing and making explosives in suspicious circumstances, and of intimidation,
The man was taken into custody in connection with a security alert at the Henry Jones playing fields, where East Belfast GAA team members were training on Wednesday, and in connection with two further alerts in east and west Belfast on Thursday.
As the club does not yet have a club house or premises it frequently uses public fields in east Belfast to train. Its game against Warrenpoint was played on the pitch of Our Lady and St Patrick’s College at Knock in east Belfast.
Forensic analysis Three cars, two in east Belfast and one in west Belfast, together with three items that were placed on them, were recovered for further forensic analysis, police said.
“We believe these incidents, which are being treated as sectarian hate crimes, are linked,” said Chief Superintendent Jonathan Roberts.
“I am urging anyone who was training with East Belfast GAA club, or anyone else who had a parked vehicle at the playing fields or surrounding area to check on and around their vehicle and report anything suspicious immediately to police,” he added.
Naturally, all this has caused disquiet at the club. But it hasn’t weakened their resolve. It posted a few tweets about the incident but later far, far more postings about how the game against Warrenpoint was progressing, focusing on the sport and accentuating the positive.
The club emphasised how its door remained “open to all” and pledged to continue to develop as a fledgling GAA club, the first in east Belfast since very early in the Troubles.
It thanked the PSNI and its “playing members, who behaved impeccably during the situation”.
“The creation and maintenance of a safe environment for sport to be played by all and the safety of our members whilst playing remains a priority for us all,” it added.
“The club intends to continue to work with the police, the community in east Belfast, and the public at large, whose support we have enjoyed on a daily basis, to ensure the continued safety and enjoyment of our members and patrons.”
|
|
|
Post by Mickmack on Aug 8, 2020 8:32:15 GMT
Irish Examiner Logo
NEWS SPORT LIFESTYLE OPINION John Fogarty: How can the GAA's club players give this up? Club players have rarely had it better and that's why the CPA struck with that strongly-worded statement last week John Fogarty: How can the GAA's club players give this up?
FINAL PREPARATIONS: Erin’s Own players warm-up ahead of their Cork SHC clash with Blackrock at Páirc Uí Rinn on Saturday. Club players have rarely had it better and what seems most important to them is the absolute certainty provided by the revised fixtures lists. Picture: Brendan Moran/Sportsfile
TUESDAY, AUGUST 04, 2020 - 07:00 AM john-fogarty John Fogarty Club players of Ireland, these are your halcyon days. The stage is yours, the summer is yours and in most cases you can set your watch by your fixtures list.
You have it so good that Wexford selector and Bruff clubman Seoirse Bulfin had a point last week when he asked where was the positivity from the Club Players Association (CPA).
There are snags, of course. Teams knocked out of a championship in the space of six days as was the case in Waterford and Wexford is not healthy but in this abbreviated season of seasons there are going to be fall guys and the experiences thus far have largely been positive.
However, the CPA know what we’re experiencing right now is not reality. There is nothing to suggest from Croke Park that 2021 won’t revert to what was supposed to happen this year. September’s Special Congress, which was to focus on fixtures, has likely been parked for 2020. GAA director general Tom Ryan more or less confirmed the third year of the Super 8 along with the Tailteann Cup will take place next summer.
But they also know there is an opportunity here. Club players have rarely had it better and they have been articulating that. Going by the conversations we have had with them these last few weeks both on and off the record, they could get used to this, championship football and hurling when the evenings are still long and the ball is hopping off the ground.
What seems most important to them is the absolute certainty provided by the revised fixtures lists. From Austin Stacks’ Kieran Donaghy bemoaning the GAA’s inability to put forward a definitive list until now to Jamie Burns in St Finbarr’s, who as a dual player appreciates that he can plan ahead properly to Loughmore-Castleiney chairman Eugene Stapleton, who likes that the scheduling of their games aren’t dictated by Tipperary’s fortunes, club people are enjoying themselves.
The iron is most definitely hot hence why the CPA struck with that strongly-worded statement last week.
“The GAA is currently in the middle of a very dangerous atmosphere which needs to be addressed immediately and certainly in advance of 2021,” they warned. “If a satisfactory set of fixtures cannot be agreed then this totally unnecessary and poisonous atmosphere will further escalate and damage our Association even further.”
Learn more To go back to the way it was would be a massive letdown for club players. That’s not to say what is happening now can be replicated or that it is even preferable.
Club players enjoy downtime in summer. Giving up some of it so they are able to holiday in the best weather as much as compete in it is not something they would mind. The shorter season, already supported by inter-county players, also seems to find favour in the club scene where older players have been attracted by the truncated pre-season and steady flow of games.
In his late 30s, Donaghy admits the condensed nature of the 2020 club season was part of what convinced him to line out once more for Stacks’ seniors.
At the age of 43, Dan Shanahan has begun his 28th season for Lismore. Now 39, John Mullane came out of club retirement eight years ago to tog out for De La Salle’s junior B team.
Shanahan doesn’t intend stopping any time soon but the snappy schedule of the Waterford championship period would have appealed to him as it would have Mullane to dust off his hurley and helmet.
If the inter-county season is too long, which it is, then the club season leaves players waiting around too long. If the pandemic has offered up a positive, it has hopefully made GAA authorities appreciate that keeping club players occupied and delivering them certainty is essential.
Speaking to this newspaper last month, GAA sage and Kerry’s long-time Central Council delegate Gerald McKenna nailed the issue with the Super 8s. “We increased the number of games and yet at the same time we squeezed the amount of time in which they were to be played. Now, you could either do one or the other but you couldn’t do both at the same time because in doing that you were affecting the amount of time that was available for the club scene.”
To optimise the experience for clubs, the Super 8s must be jettisoned and there has to be more synchronicity in the inter-county season, that is more counties exiting the championship at the same time while the gap between the bulk of counties going out and the finalists is reduced.
That there is almost full three months between the first teams being knocked out and the All-Ireland final feels sinful.
The summer must be shared. It is most ironic that playing Gaelic games has become more attractive because of a highly contagious virus. Anyone believing otherwise is out of touch.
Inter-county players already at loose end
Weekend three of the GAA’s Project Restart and already there are casualties, three of the 16 out of the Waterford senior hurling championship — Ballysaggart, Clonea and Tallow — and three of the 12 teams exiting the Wexford SHC — Cloughbawn, Fethard and Rathnure.
At least there is no relegation in either but after Ballysaggart’s heavy defeat to Abbeyside on Saturday it will be 45 days before Stephen and Kieran Bennett can train again with Waterford. Stephen was carrying an injury in that game and another county panelist, Thomas Ryan, was forced off as Tallow bowed out so it could provide some welcome respite.
In Wexford, the break will give Rapparees’ Liam Ryan time to recover from his broken foot but his clubmate Kevin Foley is left waiting until September 14, the official start date for inter-county collective training, as is Fethard’s Michael Dwyer.
With the senior quarter-finals taking place in Wexford next weekend, several more inter-county players will be without hurling although many will soon be diverting their attention to the football club championship. The split season put forward by Wexford and Waterford affords dual players the chance to concentrate on both codes whereas because of the alternate system some in Cork have felt compelled to focus on one code.
What’s to stop those county hurlers at a loose end until September 14 meeting up for a few pucks? Nothing, you might think, but then it’s not that simple. Collective training is defined as “where one or more player(s) is/are required to be at a specific place at a specific time on a specific date.” A case of damned if they do and damned if they don’t?
Cork's new hurling system will reap fruit
Glen Rovers' Donal Cremin wins the sliotar from St Finbarr's Eoghan Finn at Páirc Uí Chaoimh. Picture: Eddie O'Hare Glen Rovers' Donal Cremin wins the sliotar from St Finbarr's Eoghan Finn at Páirc Uí Chaoimh. Picture:
Eddie O'Hare Cork’s blue riband hurling competition has been made leaner and meaner but nobody should be expecting fireworks just yet.
The gulf in class between Glen Rovers and St Finbarrs on Saturday evening was hardly an advertisement for the new premier senior championship but the format will need time to bed down.
Besides, in a hectic schedule the demands of being a dual club are that more acute for the Barrs. It should also be taken into account that in the five other PSHC clashes over the weekend, the average winning/losing margin was just 2.6 points.
It didn’t help that also on national TV the night before, Ballyhale Shamrocks and Tullaroan played out a captivating game. However, the similarly sized 12-club Kilkenny senior championship is long established.
In the next two or three seasons, the benefits of stratifying the Cork championships will be reaped. Consider how ready the senior A winners will be for premier senior in 2021 when it boast teams who have contested the last three All-Ireland intermediate finals, 2017-18 winners Kanturk, Charleville, and Fr O’Neills who were so unlucky not to beat Tullaroan in the All-Ireland intermediate club final in January.
With that amount of potential challenging to push up into premier senior, it stands to reason that the competitiveness will improve.
A little help from referees in easing up on the whistle wouldn’t go astray either but starting with Imokilly having their work cut out for them in doing the four in a row, the standard in Cork club hurling should soon be on the rise.
Email: john.fogarty@examiner.ie
|
|
|
Post by Mickmack on Aug 8, 2020 8:44:25 GMT
One wonders whether the GAAs project "make Dublin invincible" will suffer a bit if the money dries up?
Probably to late now ...that ship has sailed.
No harm in having a reset though and letting the clubs have their day in the sun.
Literally.
|
|
|
Post by Ballyfireside on Aug 8, 2020 10:48:40 GMT
Of course the number of deaths/cases reported on a particular day could refer to the number of deaths/cases which may occur next week! Seemingly you do not need an autopsy or a viral test to make a diagnosis . Circumstantial evidence is sufficient in some situations. We all know that the virulence of this virus is dependent on the type of protest/riot you are staging. American public health doctors have told us that. A unique virus surely. I presume we have the same variant here. Anything is possible in the world of wink and nod. The underlying issue here is that trust in information is low and because even at local level we are lied to. I had issues with a local fraternity who used what we will term 'public instruments' to achieve private gains - what amazed me was that respectable and sensible people believed and/or supported them. That it was all so blatant and where the evidence was (and still is) publicly visible makes it all the more incredible. And it that happens at local level then sure we have no chance as it gets increasingly worse at regional, national and global levels. Credibility has little value when Gombeens rule - and BTW a Gombeen is someone who uses, misuses, the system for their individual benefit and to the detriment of the community. That is as distinct from the talented who succeed and that one has to make that distinction is a reflection of where we are. It is dangerous when public confidence is low and Covid is an example, i.e. people don't believe what they are being told by reliable sources and so ignore advice leading to lockdowns and/or potential outbreaks and fatalities. Short term financial gain for some bears a big price and no, I am not a peeve, the world will never be perfect but there are lines that shouldn't be crossed yet some cross them routinely, and when it is highlighted the whistleblower is condemned while the rogue escapes, often applauded by his fellow Gombeens of 'wink and nod where anything is possible' as Vet so eloquently puts it. Ah 'tis a fine day and enjoy it, on a brighter note I'm told that while the winter could be a hard one, if we are sensible with distancing, etc then things mightn't be so bad - there may be a cure around the corner and wouldn't that be just great - the thought of us having a right crack at the Dubs is enough to lift any heart!
|
|
Deleted
Deleted Member
Posts: 0
|
Post by Deleted on Aug 8, 2020 11:06:40 GMT
Interesting proposals from the GPA about finishing the inter county season in July.
No doubt some will still think this does not go far enough but for most counties, their season will end in June.
|
|
|
Post by Ballyfireside on Aug 8, 2020 14:20:26 GMT
We often chat about the factors potentially behind what makes good teams - I just came by an urban renewal type report and on Page 5 therein it exhibits population changes 1996-2016. Kerry, Sligo and Mayo at 17% growth were the lowest, lagging the national average of 31% while Meath led the way at 78% followed by other commuter counties. Though the growth will be mostly foreign nationals and as such have a lower incidence of participation in things GAA, you'd still be thinking there are far more GAA folk in Meath today than in 1996 yet it doesn't appear to have boosted their county team, nor indeed any of the other commuter counties. Just said I'd flag it - too sunny today to be on here!
|
|
|
Post by Ballyfireside on Aug 9, 2020 20:23:59 GMT
RTE at 10.10 pm tonight....programme on Sean Boylan In between the dozing I thought it was as much about personality as coalface stuff of how he worked over so many years, though what was shown was unique - e.g. swimming v field training. The numbers suggest he was successful and one wonders why such a Gaelic Football stronghold is not delivering. You'd have thought their contempt for the Dubs alone would motivate them. Someone with a Sindo sub might paste this rather interesting article on here - Enigma of Sean Boylan goes unexplained in documentary that rewrites history and whitewashes inconvenient factsI'm a fan of Boylan but of course mad to get the inside and that headline sounds of petrol on the fire started during the week?
|
|
|
Post by Mickmack on Aug 9, 2020 21:07:52 GMT
Footbal
Enigma of Sean Boylan goes unexplained in documentary that rewrites history and whitewashes inconvenient facts
Tommy Conlon
The re-writing of history, the whitewashing of inconvenient facts, is fresh salt in old wounds Meath manager Sean Boylan. Photo: Sportsfile 1 Meath manager Sean Boylan. Photo: Sportsfile August 09 2020 02:30 AM Everybody is unique but some individuals are so unique unto themselves, they cannot be compared to anyone else. Once the original is made, the mould is thrown away.
Seán Boylan belongs in this rarefied category. The former Meath manager is a true one-off, by all accounts a special human being.
And yet the abiding irony of his career in Gaelic football is that he left people all over the country wondering if there were in fact two Seán Boylans. It was the mystery that was never solved. It came down to one question that fans of the game repeatedly asked during his 23 years in charge of the Royals: how could such a nice man send out such brutish teams?
Unfortunately the new documentary about him, shown on RTÉ last Thursday night, failed miserably to get to the heart of this matter. The title alone was a portent of the sycophantic treatment that was to follow. Calling it simply Seán suggested that this was going to be a cosy, sentimental affair. He was a famous man in those years and most people who didn't know him referred to him as "Boylan". RTÉ should have told the maker of the film, Alan Bradley, to change the title, if only to confer some semblance of editorial professionalism on the production.
It succeeds in other areas. There are times when Boylan speaks personally and revealingly. "In many ways I was cut in two with shyness," he says of himself as a young man. In those years he felt a deep calling to holy orders. He dreamed of becoming a Cistercian monk. He was drawn to the rituals, the chanting and vespers, the writings of Thomas Merton in particular. He inherited the family business in herbal medicine and became steeped in its lore. Through this he became a helper and healer and comforter to suffering humanity. This aspect of his life is not dwelt on in the film but it is known generally that many people came to him in their hour of need and that he did not turn them away. The amount of good deeds he quietly performed is legion. As a herbalist he was connected to the natural world; it seemed to go hand in hand with an intuitive understanding of human nature too.
And yet this palpably decent man was responsible for teams which were frequently reviled for their lack of decency. Meath in those years never seemed to fully trust themselves as footballers; attrition and aggression were needed too.
Maybe the long lens of history will place them in the context of a sport which for most of its organised life had violence baked into its culture. It was tolerated, permitted, condoned. Assault and battery were commonplace. The game has been cleaned up considerably over the last 20 years, especially at county level. It is possible, then, that future historians will place Meath football from the late 1980s and early '90s as the last incarnation of that long and ignoble era before the rules changed and the GAA finally clamped down on it seriously. Irish society was also changing. Looking back on some of those games from the 1980s now, it was dinosaur stuff - primitive and backward.
The celebrated Kerry team of 1975-86 brought glory on the game as well as themselves. They elevated Gaelic football with their charisma and class. They were the arch-modernists, ahead of their time, a team that revolutionised the game with their pace and artistry. When Meath took over as champions in 1987 and '88, it was like going back to the dark ages.
So, when a new Galway team won the All-Ireland in 1998 with their sweeping style and flair, it signalled the end of all that. It was a flat-out rejection of the macho cynicism that had become normalised in Gaelic football. According to that grim worldview, the end justified the means; so long as you won, it didn't matter how you did it. It wasn't about skill and creativity on the ball, it was about dominating your opponents physically and psychologically.
Boylan was appointed out of left field in September 1982. By 1984 they were picking up momentum and in '86 they won the first of the eight Leinster titles they would claim during his epic career. In the final they beat Dublin, who lost their free taker Barney Rock after his collar bone was broken in a collision with Liam Harnan.
The late Paddy Downey, then the venerable Gaelic Games Correspondent of The Irish Times, described it as a great day for Meath. "But not so, alas, for Gaelic football," he added. "What must be criticised very strongly was the unnecessarily heavy tackling which both sides indulged in. Players lunged at each other in what seemed lunatic abandon and there were times in the first half when the referee could have lost control of the proceedings."
This would become a familiar scenario over the next decade and more. In the 1988 All-Ireland final replay against Cork, Gerry McEntee was sent off after seven minutes. for a punch on Niall Cahalane. From that point to the final whistle, Meath outworked and outhustled Cork. They also fouled their opponents repeatedly, sometimes with swinging arms to the head. It was unashamedly cynical.
In his report on the 1990 national league semi-final between the same teams, Downey mentioned "the ugly incidents, dangerous tackling, frequent niggling fouls and the pervasive mood of ill-temper." He recorded some of those incidents and added: "A question needs to be asked: why are so many of Meath's finest victories in recent times - especially those over Cork - clouded in controversy? Meath should ask themselves the same question. The game left another black mark on Gaelic football."
This too became a recurring theme of those years. Con Houlihan was another venerable sportswriter back then who has also gone to the great ale house in the sky. Con was at his usual post on the Canal End for the 1996 Leinster final. From there he watched as the Meath corner-back Mark O'Reilly spent the afternoon pulling and dragging out of Charlie Redmond. In his piece for the Sunday World a week later, Houlihan voiced his dismay at what he'd witnessed. He added: "Please can we have our game back?"
He wasn't the only one wondering about the state of the game back then. Obviously it didn't go unnoticed by the manager and his players. When asked to comment, they frequently blamed "the media" for these negative portrayals, as if they had nothing to do with it themselves. And as if the rest of the country couldn't see what was happening with their own eyes. Funnily enough, when you met the players in person, in general they couldn't be sounder. By and large they were affable, humble, likeable lads.
But the point being made by Downey and Houlihan and others was not made in isolation. It reflected what was being said by fans of Gaelic football across Ireland: Meath were demeaning the game, they were dragging it through the mud. And yet, there was an irony at work here too: Meath were also simultaneously providing some of the best entertainment in Irish sport. That same will to win at any cost also meant a refusal to accept defeat at any cost. As a result, they became famous for their comebacks from seemingly insurmountable deficits. It led to spectacular drama and tension and enjoyment in many of their matches. Their four-game saga with Dublin in 1991 was peak Meath in this regard. It put the senior football championship back at the centre of the Irish sporting landscape. They undoubtedly rendered the game a service in terms of promoting it, whilst also on occasion showcasing a level of ignorance that should have embarrassed them.
Through it all, Boylan remained an enigma. His players could have inflicted assault and battery on the field, but in the post-match interview, this lovely man would appear and say lovely things about everyone. He was apparently oblivious to the cognitive dissonance between what his players were doing and what he was saying.
He never let his guard down in television or press interviews. His shield was a wall of waffle and a stream of generous platitudes to opponents. And all along you'd be waiting for a glimpse of the darkness behind this sunny façade. All along, the same fundamental question was hovering overhead: how could this nice man sitting here before us produce teams which could stoop so low? There was never a glimpse behind the curtain. He was a deep man who kept these public conversations shallow.
It should go without saying that the teams which won All-Irelands in 1987 and '88, and in '96 and '99, produced some of the best players of their generation. A few of them would rank with the best of any generation. They were backed up by a mixum-gatherum of good soldiers, hard grafters and a few mullockers who could barely kick the ball out of their way.
It was an outstanding managerial achievement to mould these jumbled collections of the great, the good and the average into such formidable machines. Boylan got far more out of some players than they knew they had in themselves. He had that special magic about him that could turn the key in a player's mind and get him to perform. Their testimonials to him in the documentary help to explain it.
Tommy Dowd says Boylan inspired him, filled him with confidence and self-confidence. Colm O'Rourke: "He made people feel good about themselves." Gerry McEntee: "When he was talking to you, you kind of felt you were the only person that mattered." Darren Fay: "I owed Seán Boylan a lot more than the two All-Ireland medals." Colm Coyle: "You hated to let him down."
But young men can be inspired into doing things that have consequences for others. There were casualties along the way, players from other teams who were left physically hurt or emotionally damaged because they felt cheated and deprived of justice. Other teams at the time had set their heart's desire on Leinster and All-Ireland titles too. It is one thing to be beaten fair and square, another thing altogether to feel that you were blackguarded out of it. The re-writing of history in a documentary, the whitewashing of inconvenient facts, is fresh salt in old wounds. The detail gets forgotten; the truth gets forgotten; the winners get to write the story.
"Seán would never say a bad thing about his players," says Joe Cassells in the film, "he would defend them to the hilt regardless of what went on. Or if people thought that the team went over the top - no, he would never."
This is not quite the compliment that Cassells perhaps thinks it is. Maybe Boylan shouldn't have defended them to the hilt. Maybe he should have drawn the line somewhere. If he could amp them up, he could calm them down too. If he could send them out to fight for every ball, maybe he could have sent them out not to fight in other ways.
John McDermott's hit on Peter Canavan in the 1996 All-Ireland semi-final summed up what people nationwide felt about Meath in those years. The country had been looking at them for a decade at that stage. They knew what they were seeing. Here was Canavan, the brilliant forward and main danger man for Tyrone, getting nailed by a late, head high bang that left him injured for the rest of the match. It's there on YouTube still. Canavan was taken out that day.
Martin O'Connell had the misfortune to catch Ciarán McBride with a knee in the head the same afternoon, and the added misfortune to walk on Brian Dooher's head too. "I really feel for Tyrone," said Boylan afterwards. "It must be a great disappointment to them."
The years rolled by, the manager finished his second decade in the job and continued until he was finally nudged aside at the end of the 2005 season. The world had changed and his aura was fading. The year before, however, in the 2004 Leinster semi-final, there was one final reminder of the good old days when a Meath player saw Laois's Colm Parkinson on the ground and kicked him in the face.
Colm Coyle acknowledges in Seán that Meath being accused of "bordering on dirty or whatever" was "very hard to reconcile with the man."
It was, and it still is.
Sunday Indo Sport
|
|
|
Post by Mickmack on Aug 9, 2020 21:22:38 GMT
I hardly missed a match involving Meath and Dublin in the late 80s and during the 1990s.
Likewise i saw most of Meath v Cork games.
They were brutally hard and often filthy with bad blood between Meath and Dublin and Meath and Cork.
It would be totally unbalanced to cast Meath as the sole or main protagonists. Meath got retaliation in the 1988 replay for being roughed up in the drawn game. I can still recall Barry Coffeys hit on Colm oRourke.
Dublin had Carr, Barr and Heary in the half back line then.
Cork had Cahalane, Davis and Counihan.
It was of its time. Meath were not the only ones at it.
|
|
|
Post by Annascaultilidie on Aug 9, 2020 23:31:32 GMT
If one were unkind and not balanced one might draw parallels between Tyrone and Meath's zen management vs on pitch manifestations.
|
|
|
Post by southward on Aug 10, 2020 7:25:07 GMT
"this palpably decent man was responsible for teams which were frequently reviled for their lack of decency. Meath in those years never seemed to fully trust themselves as footballers; attrition and aggression were needed too."
Tommy Conlon must never have come across the 12 Apostles or Mickey Harte's Tyrone. Spiteful, bitter hatchet piece.
|
|
|
Post by Mickmack on Aug 10, 2020 15:36:47 GMT
I see all Kerry hurling championship games are being streamed at the weekend. Do chreidthe ar fad!
|
|
|
Post by southward on Aug 12, 2020 14:41:01 GMT
|
|