IF YOU TAKE a look around you at the world of intercounty management, you’d have to acknowledge that there’s quite the cast of characters operating right now.
Only a few weeks into the league and there’s been outbursts, hop-balling, bristling and unvarnished truths. From Jim McGuinness sitting down and bleeding out the hurt of the All-Ireland final loss, to Kieran McGeeney loading an F-Bomb into the chamber and letting it fly over a three-man breach.
From Ben O’Connor praising the Mycro hurling helmet manufacturers for saving lives and urging us not to be so squeamish at the sight of a little claret, to Ger Brennan threatening to cut down men in their prime with the mercilessness of Doc Holliday.
“I would suggest it is probably some of our fellas who’ve been around the block, that there will be a few tough decisions to be made,” said Brennan after the defeat away to Mayo.
A defeat, let it be said, where Dublin were just six points off Mayo after playing practically all the second half with 14 men, a critical outnumbering now with the increased space.
He added, “You make those decisions through looking at the data; looking at the contributions fellas are making on the pitch and off the pitch, and then your eyes don’t lie. You can see what I can see. So, if a guy has done what he’s done over the last couple of years, it’s probably decision time for a couple of guys in terms of what they want to do.”
Dublin manager Ger Brennan before their clash with Mayo. Laszlo Geczo / INPHO
Laszlo Geczo / INPHO / INPHO
If there is a parallel, then we have to go back to Pat Gilroy and how he changed everything with the Dublin football culture.
At the time he took over, and for some time while he was in charge, the players would celebrate Leinster championship wins on a Sunday, before meeting at the Sunnybank on a Monday to start the day’s drinking, with maybe a round of golf to take the bad look off it.
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The defeat to Kerry on the 2009 August bank holiday weekend showed him that he, and his players, were only kidding themselves.
Pat Gilroy (centre) as manager along with Ger Brennan (right). Donall Farmer / INPHO
Donall Farmer / INPHO / INPHO
Among those players was Brennan. Just two weeks ago, Brennan took the midfield pairing of Brian Howard and Ethan Dunne, along with wing-forward Killian McGinnis, off before the half-hour mark.
Now that’s a power move.
Last year, at the press launch for the Leinster final, Brennan was asked if, given the lack of players in Louth, he might have to put up and loosen the reins on players or even turn a blind eye the odd time for fear of alienation.
He agreed that it was the case. And when he won his Leinster title with Louth and later took over Dublin, he made a point of saying that if anyone wanted to play for Dublin, it would be under his and the management’s terms and conditions.
If there is a Startled Earwigs moment for Brennan and this group, then he’s determined to get it out of the way early.
In the pages of The Hill, Bernard Brogan’s autobiography, he brings us through how Gilroy stripped everything back.
“Pat Gilroy had no more time for any bullshit. It applied to anything and everything; how we played, how we prepared, how we behaved. He started to stress a value that’s all the rage now but was barely heard of in dressing rooms back then: Humility.
“Before we ever swept a shed, he first had to sleep on the streets, outside Arnotts, on a twenty-four hour fast to raise money for the Simon Community; instead of swanning around Coppers, a few of us had to go round there, shaking a bucket.”
Training would be a test of character as much as VO2 Max. Brogan took to sleeping in his compression training gear ahead of the 5am alarm and 6am sessions at DCU, where the pitches were frosted over and the footballs were rock hard.
From that culture came Gilroy’s team that won the 2011 All-Ireland.
Jim Gavin layered on top of that to create and mould the greatest team the sport has seen.
And that was passed on to Dessie Farrell, who squeezed two more All-Irelands out in 2020 and 2023.
Brennan has not inherited such a bounty. Even players who are within the age profile to be their leaders, such as Brian Fenton, are long sated by a phenomenal run of success and content to pass on the geansaí.
Without a stream of successful underage teams, Brennan went hunting for new players, a process that Gilroy also used, according to James McCarthy.
James McCarthy at this week's Electric Ireland Sigerson Cup launch. Dan Sheridan / INPHO
Dan Sheridan / INPHO / INPHO
“The net was thrown out wide there in the off-season,” McCarthy told The 42.
“There were lots of players tried. Lots of matches ran off. Very similar to what Pat had done previously, so the net was thrown out to find as much players and give them opportunities.
“In my mind, there’s always enough players in Dublin.
“It’s probably with the underage teams not having been as successful in the last few years, you are not bringing in guys who have won. So maybe there is a mental challenge there.
“They are not coming in as winners. They are not bringing in a medal with them, so you have to go another way, be that through challenge matches or early games in the league.”
He continues, “There are rough diamonds out there that you need to find that probably didn’t play underage. You need to get them in, and I am sure there are plenty of them. I played the majority of games in Ballymun last year and most clubs have a few players that need to brought in and had a look at.
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“At the end of the day, there is still a huge, strong core there of players who have won All-Irelands as well.
“There’s Con O’Callaghan, Sean Bugler, Paddy Small, Brian Howard, Ciarán Kilkenny. When they get their team out, they will still be a very formidable team.”
A home match against Monaghan is not on a par with the tests they have experienced to date.
Dublin are tipped to win the game. But what Brennan and the rest of us will be looking out for is the sheer effort. It’s eyeballs-out from here on.
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Ger Brennan determined to get his Startled Earwigs moment out of the way
IF YOU TAKE a look around you at the world of intercounty management, you’d have to acknowledge that there’s quite the cast of characters operating right now.
Only a few weeks into the league and there’s been outbursts, hop-balling, bristling and unvarnished truths. From Jim McGuinness sitting down and bleeding out the hurt of the All-Ireland final loss, to Kieran McGeeney loading an F-Bomb into the chamber and letting it fly over a three-man breach.
From Ben O’Connor praising the Mycro hurling helmet manufacturers for saving lives and urging us not to be so squeamish at the sight of a little claret, to Ger Brennan threatening to cut down men in their prime with the mercilessness of Doc Holliday.
“I would suggest it is probably some of our fellas who’ve been around the block, that there will be a few tough decisions to be made,” said Brennan after the defeat away to Mayo.
A defeat, let it be said, where Dublin were just six points off Mayo after playing practically all the second half with 14 men, a critical outnumbering now with the increased space.
He added, “You make those decisions through looking at the data; looking at the contributions fellas are making on the pitch and off the pitch, and then your eyes don’t lie. You can see what I can see. So, if a guy has done what he’s done over the last couple of years, it’s probably decision time for a couple of guys in terms of what they want to do.”
If there is a parallel, then we have to go back to Pat Gilroy and how he changed everything with the Dublin football culture.
At the time he took over, and for some time while he was in charge, the players would celebrate Leinster championship wins on a Sunday, before meeting at the Sunnybank on a Monday to start the day’s drinking, with maybe a round of golf to take the bad look off it.
The defeat to Kerry on the 2009 August bank holiday weekend showed him that he, and his players, were only kidding themselves.
Among those players was Brennan. Just two weeks ago, Brennan took the midfield pairing of Brian Howard and Ethan Dunne, along with wing-forward Killian McGinnis, off before the half-hour mark.
Now that’s a power move.
Last year, at the press launch for the Leinster final, Brennan was asked if, given the lack of players in Louth, he might have to put up and loosen the reins on players or even turn a blind eye the odd time for fear of alienation.
He agreed that it was the case. And when he won his Leinster title with Louth and later took over Dublin, he made a point of saying that if anyone wanted to play for Dublin, it would be under his and the management’s terms and conditions.
If there is a Startled Earwigs moment for Brennan and this group, then he’s determined to get it out of the way early.
In the pages of The Hill, Bernard Brogan’s autobiography, he brings us through how Gilroy stripped everything back.
“Pat Gilroy had no more time for any bullshit. It applied to anything and everything; how we played, how we prepared, how we behaved. He started to stress a value that’s all the rage now but was barely heard of in dressing rooms back then: Humility.
“Before we ever swept a shed, he first had to sleep on the streets, outside Arnotts, on a twenty-four hour fast to raise money for the Simon Community; instead of swanning around Coppers, a few of us had to go round there, shaking a bucket.”
Training would be a test of character as much as VO2 Max. Brogan took to sleeping in his compression training gear ahead of the 5am alarm and 6am sessions at DCU, where the pitches were frosted over and the footballs were rock hard.
From that culture came Gilroy’s team that won the 2011 All-Ireland.
Jim Gavin layered on top of that to create and mould the greatest team the sport has seen.
And that was passed on to Dessie Farrell, who squeezed two more All-Irelands out in 2020 and 2023.
Brennan has not inherited such a bounty. Even players who are within the age profile to be their leaders, such as Brian Fenton, are long sated by a phenomenal run of success and content to pass on the geansaí.
Without a stream of successful underage teams, Brennan went hunting for new players, a process that Gilroy also used, according to James McCarthy.
“The net was thrown out wide there in the off-season,” McCarthy told The 42.
“There were lots of players tried. Lots of matches ran off. Very similar to what Pat had done previously, so the net was thrown out to find as much players and give them opportunities.
“It’s probably with the underage teams not having been as successful in the last few years, you are not bringing in guys who have won. So maybe there is a mental challenge there.
“They are not coming in as winners. They are not bringing in a medal with them, so you have to go another way, be that through challenge matches or early games in the league.”
He continues, “There are rough diamonds out there that you need to find that probably didn’t play underage. You need to get them in, and I am sure there are plenty of them. I played the majority of games in Ballymun last year and most clubs have a few players that need to brought in and had a look at.
“At the end of the day, there is still a huge, strong core there of players who have won All-Irelands as well.
“There’s Con O’Callaghan, Sean Bugler, Paddy Small, Brian Howard, Ciarán Kilkenny. When they get their team out, they will still be a very formidable team.”
A home match against Monaghan is not on a par with the tests they have experienced to date.
Dublin are tipped to win the game. But what Brennan and the rest of us will be looking out for is the sheer effort. It’s eyeballs-out from here on.
*****
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