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22 OPINION
August 3, 2007 | Gaelic Life
TrueGael
Inane musings from
the GAA backwoods
PubTalk» GAA BITS AND BOBS
Farney fans sitting on the fence
‘‘
Some ould handlin
this week
over the head of
getting thon
tickets for the Derry
match!
As soon as we
were out of the car
back from Breffni Park last Saturday
I was straight on tae the phone to
chase up a couple of tickets for the
match.
I talked to a boy who lives over the
mountain. He knows the county secretary
quare and well and he said to
come up and he'd see if he could sort
me out.
But when I got up there he was
out roundin' up sheep. So I traipsed
up the hill to where his wife said he
was.
Big Dan Joe's his name and he's as
tall as house with hands like shovels,
but you can never get anything out
of him without having to do him a
favour.
When I got there him and the
young boys were having trouble getting
the sheep into the top field.
He says to me, “Seamus, one of
these ewe's is not well and the doctor
(I think he meant vet) said that
she has to be separated from the rest
of them.”
I said that was grand but
how is that gonna get
me tickets to see Derry
play Dublin.
He tould me, “We
need to put thon
ewe into a long
stand and then
bring her back down
the hill.”
“Right,” I says, “of
course. Shure I could
have tould you that meself.
Where do we get a long stand”
Big Dan tould me to head back
down the mountain and into town to
Joe's pub and ask in there.
I said right and headed off.
I'm not well liked in Joe's since
they said I was taking trade off them
ever since I got the Sky TV in, but
shure no bother, I'll do anything to
get these tickets.
Anyway, I head into the bar and
ask Joe what the crack was with the
long stand.
He tells me, “no bother, wait
there”.
So I do.
For about an hour.
A couple of the ould boys asked
me what I was waiting for and I tould
them.
One turns to the other and says,
“Joe's probably away to get the glass
hammer to fix it first,”
Right I says, not knowing what
they're talking about.
Anyway, I see Joe coming
back into the bar and
shout. “Hey what about
this long stand”
Joe says, “Have you not
been standing there long
enough!”
Sweet Jeezus!
‘‘
Just like the good old days
Fans of the Farney (or should
that be Oriel) county could
be forgiven for believing that
they’re in footballing heaven
this week. Only an All-Ireland
Final appearance would surpass
the excitement of these
boom times for the Monaghan
men. But we’re worried
about the two supporters
who were precariously
perched high on the fence at
Healy Park on Sunday night.
Each time Monaghan scored
they jumped up in delight
and managed to remember
not to sit down too quickly
again. Fortunately, the game
was over as a contest well
before the finish, and we didn’t
have the spectacle of
them enduring a rather
painful fall if Tommy Freeman
had grabbed a last gasp
winning goal.
Derry have got
balls to match
the best
We’re astute followers
of the very latest fads
in gaelic games here. Our
latest is the example being
set by Derry who have
ditched the age-old practice
of daubing the
favourite O’Neills football
with ‘Doire’ in indelible ink
for all to see. It used to be
ironic watching the high
quality presentation of the
major multi-million pound
matches only to see some
official’s scrawl on the
match ball. But now the
Derry men have changed all
this for the better with
their name professionally
printed in Oak Leaf red on
every football. So, yet another
proud GAA tradition
has been forgotten in the
march of modernism.
A little strange
to say the least
Calling matches off to accommodate
the needs of
county teams is nothing new
in the world of gaelic games.
But a story from Tyrone at the
weekend really takes some
beating for being a bit crazy.
The background is that the
county’s ladies team was
playing Donegal in the All-Ireland
Championship at
Omagh on Saturday evening.
Obviously one of the priorities
was to maximise the
numbers available to be at
Healy Park to support the
team. However, it was more
than a bit strange and definitely
silly to postpone
matches in the U-12 League
on the morning of the game.
We just can’t figure it out.
Youngest
against the
oldest
This weekend sees a novel
Tommy Murphy Cup Final
between Antrim and a
Wicklow team still going for
their first ever win at Croke
Park. But it’s the sideline
tussle that we’re more interested
in. It’s between
Mick O’Dwyer, the famed
Kerry maestro and probably
the most successful intercounty
manager ever and
the rookie, Jody Gormley,
whose taste of the big time
came as a player long, long
after his more illustrious
managerial opponent had
first revelled in Croke Park
glory. Maybe our Jody can
show the wily old king of
managers a thing or two
about tactical preparation
as he bids to maintain a 100
per cent record as a manager
in national finals.
Tyrone against
those bad boys
from Meath
Older readers will remember
the controversy back in 1996
when those bad Meath boys
rode rough shod over Tyrone
in the All-Ireland semi-final.
The fall-out left some of the
Tyrone players looking like
victims of war-zone, it lasted
for months and robbed Peter
Canavan of some of his best
years. Anyway, the proud
people of the O’Neill county
have been waiting their
chance for revenge ever
since and it finally comes on
Saturday when the counties
renew acquaintances in the
championship. This time, of
course, the roles are reversed
somewhat. The criticism of
Tyrone’s style hasn’t been accepted
within the county and
Meath who are the popular
heroes. Considering the reaction
of the O’Neill county in
1996, pots, kettles and black
are three words which spring
to mind.
And finally just
a thought
So, Donegal finally exited
the championship in rather
tame fashion on Saturday
night. It was a very disappointing
end to a season
which had promised so
much following their National
League triumph and
subsequent win over Armagh.
But we’ve just a
thought for them to ponder
on until their next outing
under a new manager early
in 2008. Each time a Donegal
player was taken off on
Saturday evening, he appeared
to vent his anger at
the decision by Brian McIver
to replace him. Hardly
appropriate behaviour, a
symptom of the apparent
indiscipline within the
squad and something which
they’ll be aiming to address
sooner rather than later.
NEW FANGLED... Derry have
gone to a high-tech way of
marking their balls
...IT’S HOTTING UP!
KEEP UP WITH OUR COLUMNISTS
...telling it as it is
JOE BROLLY JARLATH BURNS RONAN McSHERRY SLEDGER