LAST UPDATE | 6 Nov 2023
1. Shane ‘Wow’ Walsh
It’s the combination of balance, speed and power that makes Shane Walsh of Kilmacud Crokes and Galway what he is, but it also takes a particularly ballsy approach to decide with 50 metres and a couple of opponents ahead of you, that you are going to go for goal.
Let’s be frank; it’s been a grinding period for Gaelic football and most people who love the game are trying to make light of it all, excusing the proscripted carbon copies of games as somehow the fault of the weather and underfoot conditions.
What keeps us in it, are the moments from the likes of David Clifford and Shane Walsh.
In his goal against Eire Óg on Saturday, Walsh introduced a little header into his solo run. It’s an incredible sign of confidence, with perhaps the greatest example of it occurring one day with Graham Canty eating up some Croke Park yards by gently nodding the ball ahead of him, mid-solo.
2. Abuse of officials
If it’s winter football, then a few referees are in danger of getting the odd mouthful and worse.
The past weekend brought another few shameful episodes, the most prevalent being the Ballymaguigan player Johnny Cassidy, who allegedly pushed referee Mark Dorrian before striking a linesman in their Ulster junior championship loss to Arva.
This came on the same weekend when former Donegal manager Declan Bonner was in charge of his club Na Rossa, and they lost in the same competition to Lisnaskea Emmetts.
“In all my time involved, I’ve never seen officiating like it. It was an absolute disgrace,’ said Bonner afterwards.
“The game is over and all I will say from an officiating point of view it was an absolute disgrace. But we will not be making any complaints. We lost it on the pitch and best of luck to Lisnaskea, in the next round.”
A reminder; in August 2022, a report that consulted with 438 GAA match officials by University of Ulster found that 94% of match officials had received verbal abuse, with 23% experiencing physical abuse.
3. Creeping Crowleys
Is there a more storied variety of player on a football pitch than the big lump of a full-forward?
In a world where there is nothing new under the sun, many observers credited Jack O’Connor with reinventing the wheel by putting Kieran Donaghy at full-forward for a qualifying game against Longford in 2006 that rejuvenated Kerry’s campaign and they finished as All-Ireland champions.
In truth, O’Connor has always been fond of a Bear In the Square. In his first year in charge, 2004, he dropped Johnny Crowley from the starting line up after beating Cork in the Munster semi-final.
He only came on as sub against Dublin in the quarter-final and Derry in the semi-final. But for the final, having watched Mayo’s David Heaney struggling with Stephen Maguire across two semi-final games, he restored Crowley to the starting line-up. He didn’t score, but caught a world of ball above his head to create scores and bury Mayo.
And now, his young lad Luke is a Kerry championship winner, his goal keeping East Kerry ahead at a crucial juncture of the win over Mid Kerry, on a day when his father was honoured as the captain of the Jubilee team from 25 years previous.
4. Ballygunner’s road-testing
It was a comment that Trillick manager Jody Gormley said after their Tyrone final win over Errigal Ciaran the week before that caught our attention.
He said that he “didn’t feel Errigal had been road-tested,” on their way to the final.
They had won three games by margins of eight, eight, and 18 points. So he clearly had a point.
Even allowing for their clear brilliance, can we suspect the same of Ballygunner?
In their domestic championship group stages, they beat Abbeyside in their opener by eight and Passage by 24 points.
Up next in the quarter-final was Dungarvan (nine points), Fourmilewater in the semi-final (eight points) before the final against De La Salle and an eleven-point win.
And now, a 17-point win over Cork champions Sarsfields.
Is there a danger that playing so well can catch them on 19 November, when they are due to run into Na Piarsaigh in the Munster semi-final? One to keep an eye on.
5. Big dogs emerging
New clubs arrive one the scene, others fade away.
It’s been five years since Cuala have been in contention for the major honours in hurling, replaced by Na Fianna as the Dublin representatives, while O’Loughlin Gaels finally put the stake through the heart of Ballyhale Shamrocks.
But elsewhere we see the old faces re-emerging again. Ask yourself if you truly see anyone outside of Ballygunner, Na Piarsaigh or O’Loughlin Gaels winning the All-Ireland?
In football it is definitely more complex. We could be in for another tense instalment of Glen-Kilcoo, while there is enough about this Scotstown team with the addition of Jack McCarron to make for a corking contest this weekend against Karl Lacey’s men.
With holders Kilmacud Crokes burning through the opposition and determined to win another All-Ireland without spot or blemish, it makes for some huge meetings down the line.
