JOHN HAYES: Clash with Clare is season-defining. A Cork win would really set Rebels up

AFTER a week’s break in the Spanish sun, with some cloud and rain thrown in just in case I got homesick, it’s back to reality and matters more mundane such as work and pontificating about GAA, and Cork football in particular. 

I didn’t forget about the games at home totally while I was gone and did spend an afternoon in a fine Irish bar in Valencia with both Cork hurlers and Spurs on different screens in front of me. As is typical, I travelled 2,000km to spend my Sunday afternoon watching sport and having a few beers with a man from West Cork, Dunmanway to be precise. It was an enjoyable afternoon apart from the two results both going against me. 

The provincial football championship has rumbled on and we now find ourselves knowing almost exactly who Cork will face in the group stages of the Sam Maguire Cup. The winners of Donegal vArmagh (Donegal being strongly favoured on form), Clare and Tyrone await. 

Cork will travel to Ennis to face Clare first on Saturday evening, May 18th, before having home advantage in Páirc Uí Rinn for the Ulster champions and then finishing against Tyrone at a neutral venue. Given that three teams will emerge from the group (winners direct to quarter-finals, second and third place teams to face off in preliminary quarter-finals), it is no great stretch to suggest that the opener against Munster rivals Clare is potentially season-defining. Cork can compete with the Ulster teams and are capable of getting points from those games but will hope to do so with two points in the pocket from the opener in Ennis. 

The biggest downside of the week in Spain wasn’t the few hours of rain, but the 6am Sunday morning flight back to Cork. A 3.30am wake-up call, followed by a Ryanair flight which was dubious with respect to minimum leg room, was on the wrong side of pleasant. Nonetheless, the upside was being back in my bed in Ross before 9am, rising again around lunchtime just in time to take in the Munster football final. 

Firstly, it was a generally decent game of football. Although the result may never have been in much doubt, Kerry never ran away from their opponents either, and a new-look Clare team under new management never stopped going and put up some fine scores over the 70 minutes. Clare have changed quite a bit from when I was required to study them in some detail for a crucial game in Ennis during the Covid curtailed 2021 national league campaign. We nicked a win on Clare soil that day, although not by enough to avoid a relegation play-off against Westmeath that we subsequently won to retain our Division 2 status for the following season. Ultimately, it would be our most important achievement with that group. A slide into Division 3 at that point would have been very damaging for a developing squad.

The Clare team we pored over before that game bears little resemblance to the team that fronted up to Kerry. Remarkably, only three players from that day three short years ago retained their places for the 2024 Munster final, namely Stephen Ryan in goal, Cillan Brennan at full back and the giant Darragh Bohannon who played at wing forward that day and at midfield last weekend. A further two, Emmet McMahon and Aaron Griffin, came off the bench in 2021, and both impressed last weekend in the full-forward line, accounting for seven points between them. Four of McMahon’s efforts came from frees, including a beautiful off the ground free from the left corner. 

The players who are not currently available to Clare from that day include some very influential figures, notably Cian O’Dea, Sean Collins, Cathal O’Connor, Darren O’Neill, Pearse Lillis, Eoin Cleary, David Tubridy and Kealan Sexton. Add the names of other recently departed stalwarts such as Gary Brennan, Jamie Malone and Podge Collins to the list and you can see this is a new era for Clare footballers. 

After a quick look, and I stand to be corrected, only midfielder Brian McNamara started from the U20 team who came so close to toppling Kerry in Tralee last year also, so it’s not a team built around that crop just yet either. Kudos then to manager Mark Fitzgerald for eliciting such a competitive performance from the inexperienced group. Some of that aforementioned group have retired or are taking a break, while some may be in the injured list with a view to returning shortly. Given the huge turnover of players, a look at last year’s contest and even the McGrath Cup game in January will be of more relevance. The four meetings since the 2021 game have seen two Cork wins, a draw and a Clare win in last year’s Munster campaign, and we can look at what to expect in more detail next week.

Briefly looking at Kerry, Colm Cooper, during the live broadcast, described them as operating in third gear, and it is hard to disagree. Munster titles are becoming akin to participation medals for Kerry footballers these days, and they will be looking ahead to bigger days in the knockout stages. A group of Monaghan, Meath and I’m going to stick my neck out and say Louth, is not going to cause them a minute’s fret when even one win is likely to be enough. Did I mention that I believe the new system to be less than satisfactory? Any regular readers may be picking up on my subtle hints at this stage, although I know I am hardly alone. We need to cut the fat from the season at large, not merely push the finals later into the year to keep the media happy. 

Kerry’s continued dominance at all levels is disheartening for football fans in this corner of the country. While I was away, the Cork minors were beaten down in Tralee, albeit with the safety net of a backdoor, while the U20s were beaten in a Munster final and knocked out of the championship in the process. Although very seldom have Cork been the top dogs at senior level, our record at the grades just below has been until very recently more than respectable. It is a major cause for concern that we are no longer keeping strides with Kerry in the production of talent.

Having watched the hurlers pushed to the brink of championship exit while on my travels, and with the ladies’ footballers of the county also falling back to the pack, Cork GAA is not where we want it to be, or where it should be, and we need deep thinkers and committed doers in order to reingnite the comeback to the top. Apathy is the enemy; it cannot be allowed to seep in any further than it may already have. More involvement of players and coaches will breed success in the long term. There is good work being done by many people in many places, but we need to up our game. I don’t have all the answers – there are no easy answers – but hard work and commitment to a cause will go a long way in any walk of life. 

I heard a man say once that the path to success was tough but uncomplicated, more boys and girls playing our games will ultimately lead to better days. For those of us no longer capable of influencing much on the playing field, we need as many as possible willing to put the shoulder to the wheel at club level and beyond. We can’t just look after our own house; we need a collective approach to producing more players. Again, to reiterate, good work is being done and I am not criticising those who are involved, but urging those that aren’t but have something to offer to do the same. It’s easy to say yes when the going is good, less so when the need is greater as it is now. If you care, and you can, get stuck in somewhere at some level. The more, the merrier.