Category: Sport (Page 2 of 2)

On Monday evening the 10th July having had 24 hours to digest one of the great Roscommon Connacht final performances there was immense satisfaction among Roscommon GAA fans at what they had seen in Pearse Stadium. I happened to be in the company of a lot of the Roscommon players who were on their way to the races and I got a fair bit of good humoured slagging about predicting a Galway win in the previous weeks’ Roscommon People!
I met many great Roscommon GAA people on Monday who were so proud of what Kevin McStay and his players had achieved. We are all in agreement that this was one of the greatest Connacht final wins we had seen. In the past such a mighty win would have been the cue for an over the top celebration like we had in 2001 but what really struck me was that while this group of players were absolutely thrilled to have won, there was no big chat, no boasting, no roaring and shouting. They just chatted among themselves, happy with what they had achieved. They are a marvellous bunch of young lads who are very grounded and we are very lucky to have them.
So how much can this young team achieve? Much more would be my view but we must ensure that the current team management is left in place. It was be absolute madness to do anything else now and we are masters at making huge cock ups in Roscommon in that regard. I know that the players on the Roscommon panel are very happy with their lot and with everything that has gone on behind the scenes this year. That was very evident with the level of performance we saw on Sunday last. These lads are so modest and easy going. Speaking to them after the match and on Monday they are a credit to their families, their clubs and their county.
Kevin McStay set two goals this year. To get to the Connacht final was one and to reach the last eight was the second and he and his players achieved both on Sunday. The goals will now have to be reset. Let’s see who we get in the quarter-finals (I actually hope that it is Mayo) and take it from there. Last Sunday’s display will give the team enormous confidence and belief in themselves.
Promotion from Division Two is a realistic aim and to retain the Connacht title must be another for 2018. But that’s in the future. For the moment let us celebrate a brilliant win and a great day for Roscommon GAA. As long as Roscommon keep winning it doesn’t really matter whether the local GAA hacks are right or wrong in fact it’s totally irrelevant. I would be happy to be wrong every week if we keep on winning.
Two things more, firstly Donegal legend Martin McHugh sat beside me on Sunday in the press box. He remarked that Cian Connolly’s goal was one of the best he had ever seen in a major championship game and secondly Enda Smith’s performance on Sunday reminded me of Dermot Earley at his very best and I can think of no higher praise than that on both fronts. It was a day that Roscommon GAA fans shall never forget. (Roscommon People Article)

We are in the middle of the championship season and the big matches are now starting to come thick and fast on a weekly basis, but the GAA have made a huge mistake by awarding the exclusive TV rights to Sky TV to cover some of these games. The viewing figures back up just how wrong the GAA have been to deny hundreds of thousands of people the chance to see some of their best players and teams in action.

Last Sunday there were substantially less than 10,000 people watching the Limerick v Clare match in the Munster SFC which was exclusively on Sky. Earlier in the day RTE showed the Down v Armagh Ulster SFC game and there were over 300,000 viewers. This weekend one of the most eagerly anticipated games of the summer, the clash of Wexford and Kilkenny in the Leinster SHC will take place on Saturday night. It is a crying shame that only a few thousand people will get to see the drama unfold.

It’s easy for the GAA top brass to say that people can go to a neighbour or to the nearest pub but there are people who may have no interest in going to the pub or maybe they are elderly or infirm and not able to go to a neighbour or friend. The GAA say that they wanted to spread Gaelic Games to as wide an audience as possible. It’s a very laudable ambition but this is not the way to do it. The figures are showing that there is little or no interest in the UK in hurling and even less interest in football.

RTE do a good job covering GAA but they need realistic competition. Surely the GAA could have gone to TV3 and reached an agreement with them for alternative TV coverage so everyone could share in the games. I watched Sky last Saturday evening trying to fill an hours’ coverage in the run up to the Dublin v Carlow game and it was painful stuff to watch. I have great time for Peter Canavan, James Horan and Jimmy McGuinness who are the football analysts and their hurling experts are also top class. But the facts of the matter are that this an elitist braodcast and available to a very small number of people and the GAA should never have agreed to this contract in the first place.

I am also of the opinion that the facility to broadcast games on national radio should not have been handed to RTE on an exclusive basis. Yes, they do a good job but Newstalk were doing well over the past few years and were a breath of fresh air and a welcome alternative to the national broadcaster.

As someone who loves Gaelic Games it is so wrong that many hundreds of thousands of people are denied a chance to see some of our biggest games of the summer in football and hurling and The GAA have made a serious mistake by awarding the TV rights to these matches to Sky TV. Newstalk also deserve another rattle at the radio coverage. I have met so many GAA people who are very angry about this situation in recent weeks and months and it is time they copped on and included people instead of excluding them.