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Two bronzes in Euro indoors last weekend, and many other great performances - Ireland can compete to some degree at this level - but Worlds & Olympics seem beyond us now. Of course Mary Cullen should have had at least silver, beaten by an Ethiopian running for Turkey. Deja vu here, having already lost out on bronze in the Euro Cross Country, that time by a Kenyan running in Dutch colours. Most other sports have strict guidelines on international representation - Mafi played a sevens game for NZ - once! - and can never play for Ireland now. It's a shambles, no better than Sonia cheated out of the medals in the World Champs all those years ago....
Speaking of shambles, Gerald McCarthy finally steps down - his statement is well worth a read. It is mostly dignified & honest, with a few swipes too and parting shots - fair play. The Cork hurlers are a disgrace - really, who do they think they are? They wanted to be involved in choosing the manager, which they were. But what they really wanted was to pick the manager themselves, with no involvement from any other parties. I'm sure we'd all like to pick our boss. So then they strike, and refuse to talk to any mediator or enter any negotiations until McCarthy is ousted. I can only hope they have set Cork hurling back many years. Kilkenny will be laughing all the way to their 4th All-Ireland.
Kidney makes 4 changes - certainly some were expected, but no-one would have called these (even Harty?). Great to see him mix it up - this team is just as strong, and those coming in will be hungry and motivated to keep their places for the potential Grand Slam game in Wales. Scotland will be tough- remember the single point win 2 years ago? Out of jail that day. But they should prevail.
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4 comments:
I can see the Ger McCarthy situation dividing opinions in the same way as another Corkman's departure from the World Cup. Must say that I feel sorry for Ger – he is totally dedicated to Cork hurling and he has found himself in the middle of a problem not of his making and is the one that has suffered most. Personally, I was a bit disappointed that he took a few cheap shots in his statement, but at this stage I suppose it didn't make much difference as the whole saga has been played out in distasteful media frenzy.
It's a struggle that is common in many GAA clubs and counties - where you have a group of motivated, dedicated players who understand what is required to win at the highest level. They are often are seen as a threat to the executive who in turn want to be seen to be the ones 'in charge' in the most traditional, hierarchical sense. It’s unrealistic to expect the level of professionalism required to compete at the top club and county levels being reflected in the administration of what is an amateur organisation.
Don't think that it's as simple as the players are power hungry, money grabbers who want to pick the manager, the panel, and the training drills in the same way that the county board are not dictators, completely aloof and detached from the clubs and using Ger McCarthy's dedication to Cork hurling to further their own goals. There are two sections of people who are completed dedicated to Cork hurling but have completely different ideas about the roles and responsibilities associated with the groups involved.
There is no winner (except maybe Kilkenny!) - Cork hurling is the loser. Just like Keane/McCarthy - opinions will be divided and people who are passionate will not see the bigger picture and the damage that they are doing in the name of the very object of their devotion.
Which county, if ever, has won 4 consecutive hurling All-Irelands? Answer in http://tinyurl.com/boblye
Had the answer since last year's all-ireland, where the common misconception seemed to be that no one had won even 3 in a row.
Some folk have contributed some awesome sports stats pages on wikipedia. Henry Shefflin has only 25 points to go to pass Eddie Keher as the #1 and if he does in within 6 games, he'll do it faster too. Probably he will be the first man to break 500 points.
Blaker makes some interesting points. However when a player I respect as much as Seán Óg Ó hAilpín says:
"I might be remembered for this, but the way I will remember it myself, and that's more important to me, is that I can go to my grave easy having made that stand. I firmly believe in what I'm standing for and what I'm fighting for. I could be the cute Cork boy now and sit back with my three All-Ireland medals, say nothing and go away."
I cannot call them a disgrace. It's not a black and white issue.
Just glad nobody has died!
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