Most of us are not alone in lamenting the fact that 24 round-robin games in the All-Ireland SFC served to eliminate just four teams, but there was at least a pay-off last weekend.
With Clare the only county eliminated after two rounds of fixtures, it was almost all to play for in the final set of games and there was drama aplenty.
Kevin Feely claimed a mark and pointed the resultant kick to give Kildare the win over Roscommon, John Heslin was unlucky with a late free that would have sent Westmeath through at the expense of Tyrone, and Cork got the three-point win necessary against Mayo to give themselves a home preliminary quarter-final.
Having won their opening game away to Kerry, Mayo looked set to cruise straight into the quarter-finals, but instead it is the Kingdom who benefited from Cork’s win in that they have a weekend off to reset for the last eight.
In contrast, Mayo must face into as tough a task as they could have wished for, a short trip to Salthill to take on last year’s beaten All-Ireland finalists Galway.
This weekend signals the start of the proper knockout stuff. Galway v Mayo will be shown on RTÉ 1 on Sunday at 3pm, going up against the Tailteann Cup semi-finals in Croke Park.
There will, however, be misgivings that the rest of the games are on GAAGO rather than terrestrial television.
That the second-placed sides in the groups earned home advantage was a great call by the GAA – otherwise, for instance, Cork would have had no real motivation to battle back from six down against Mayo if second and third were receiving the same prize.
Framework
The system still isn’t perfect, but there is at least a strong framework in place that can be tweaked rather than there being calls to rip it up and start again. Ask almost any player and they will say they are in favour – ultimately, they are the key stakeholders.
After Tipperary eased past Offaly last week and Dublin proved too strong for Carlow in the preliminary hurling quarter-finals, there will again be debate about whether allowing the Joe McDonagh Cup finalists to compete in the Liam MacCarthy Cup is fair.
It’s an argument for the winter, but it does need to be looked at.
For now, we have to enjoy what remains of the hurling championship, with two of the five fixtures down for decision this weekend.
The meeting of Tipp and Galway looks to be an intriguing one, as both counties will have designs on going all the way, but each has shown flaws so far. Whoever does emerge will take a lot of confidence into the semi-finals.
In the other quarter-final, Clare will be favourites against Dublin, but the Dubs showed good staying power against Carlow, having drawn with Galway in their last group match – a game they could have won.
While Clare went all the way against Limerick in the Munster final for the second straight year, they will have to be wary of the physical and mental toll that took, and they cannot afford to take their opponents’ challenge lightly.
We all had a right laugh when, in one episode of Father Ted, Dougal took Jack out for a walk but lost him.
When challenged by Ted, Dougal’s breezy response was, “Well, like I said the last time, it won’t happen again.”
It’s a quote that comes to mind whenever there’s an issue involving players who line out at inter-county level in camogie and ladies’ football.
There is widespread sympathy for those caught in the middle, whose only crime is to be good enough to represent their counties in two codes, and there is a general agreement that any such fixture-clash has to be the last instance. And it is, until the next time.
Last Saturday afternoon, the Cork camogie team hosted Down in the All-Ireland championship, while the Cork ladies’ football team were away to Galway in an evening throw-in.
Tough calls
Both teams selected Libby Coppinger, Aoife Healy, Orla Cahalane and Hannah Looney in their squads and it looked like the players themselves might have to make tough calls before some sense emerged and the two management teams agreed that Coppinger and Healy would play camogie with Cahalane and Looney lining out for the footballers.
After Cork’s win over Down – achieved wearing the jerseys of the Imokilly divisional team, as the colour-clash with the Mourne Women seemingly wasn’t considered in time for a proper alternative set to be sourced – Coppinger and Healy travelled up the road to Galway. Coppinger was brought on as a sub in the defeat to the Tribeswomen.
It was the players’ own call to travel, but in 2023 it is jaw-dropping that they should be put in such a situation. It certainly does not bode well in terms of the much-vaunted plans for the integration of the GAA, LGFA and Camogie Association into a single body.
Both Cork teams now face must-win games in their next outings. The camogie side are away to Clare on Saturday, 1 July at 3pm, while the ladies’ football team host Tipperary at 2pm on the same day.
In professional golf, there is a school of thought that you’re better off not winning the tournament before a major – you’re using up your luck, goes the theory.
On the other, more realistic, hand, very few of us are able to turn form on and off like a tap and, in any case, if you’re playing well as a major comes into view, it’s surely a good thing rather than a bad thing.
That will be the hope for Leona Maguire after her fine win at the Meijer LPGA Classic in Michigan last weekend.
Unusually, ladies’ golf has back-to-back majors in its calendar, with the Women’s PGA Championship taking place at Baltusrol in New Jersey this weekend, while the US Women’s Open follows from July 6-9 at the famous Pebble Beach in California.
Playing so well, there is no reason why the Cavan woman can’t contend. Unfortunately for another Ulster golfer, Rory McIlroy, it was a case of close but no cigar at the men’s US Open last weekend; finishing a shot behind Wyndham Clark.
In the last seven majors, McIlroy has come second twice and third once – there’s no doubt it’s frustrating to play very well and lose to somebody who’s having an excellent weekend, but the belief has to be that it will all come together soon.
SHARING OPTIONS