The gale before the hurricane

It’s probable that, for a lot of people of a certain vintage, the reality of the two political parties born out of so-called Civil War politics going into power together is the greatest manifestation of the Munster Rugby motto - “To the brave and faithful, nothing is impossible”, but this column may be about to better it.

Do not adjust your binoculars, this is not a drill. I have had a (slight) change of heart in relation to the Sigerson Cup. Or perhaps a better way of putting it would be to say a point of clarity regarding the third level competition has been reached.

I still doubt the value of it in an overall sense, but, it’s not the actual matches which tend to grind the gears here, rather the timing of and importance which is placed on them.

As in, the obligation players are placed under to line out in matches even though they are catapulted into the stew pot of demands placed on players at what is the busiest time of year for those of college going age.

Between Sigerson, those who involved with county senior and/or under-20 teams and clubs hoping they might catch fleeting glimpses of their county stars as what we are told are the very fabric of what the GAA is built on also strive to get their seasons away to solid starts.

However, as unpalatable as it may be to purists - and I’m not a fan of the scenario myself - with things residing as they currently do, the clubs are only liable to get the shakings of the bag when it comes to player availability.

Indeed, it may only be January 19th as I’m typing this but already there’s a gale of wind driving demands on young players and, only days from now, the gale will whip into a hurricane as the universities competition reaches its business end and, by the time you’re reading this, Meath will be only four days away from the throw in of their National Football League campaign in Cork.

On Wednesday evening last, Meath manager Robbie Brennan and I (along with several thousand online) watched the ‘Dublin derby’ between UCD and DCU. Him from the sideline in Belfield and I perched behind the computer in my office, via the Higher Education GAA YouTube channel. But thanks to the wonders of modern technology, observations were able to travel omnidirectionally.

What’s more, thanks to the excellent Jerome Quinn as usual playing a blinder on commentary, other matches in which Royal County stars were involved were able to be kept abreast of and any relevant information relayed.

Yes, I know An Bainisteoir probably had scouts in situ, but, as any long term reader of this column will know, if I think I can be of any help at all - even if it’s so miniscule many might laugh - it does more for and means more to me than any calculator could handle.

As it happened, the minute the action concluded, whatever feelings there were regarding talent spotted had to be parked as hopes turned to there being a clean bill of health by the time the trip is made to the banks of the Lee.

“Hardly ideal prep for Cork” was (Old) Mr Brennan’s pensive summary of so many Meath players fielding again in midweek. Go on, admit it, you heard that in the voice of the Brennan’s Bread ads, didn’t you!

Across the couple of matches yours truly was keeping up to date with the other night, you had Diarmuid Moriarity and Aaron Lynch with UCD, Ciaran Caulfield captaining DCU, a plethora of players, including but not limited to Sean O’Hare, Conor Duke, Conor Gray, Eoghan Frayne, Sean Emannuel, Brian O’Halloran and Charlie O’Connor with Maynooth University and Cian McBride, Oisin McDermott and Jordan Morris with TU Dublin.

That list is only concerning the matches I was keeping the one seeing eye on, and there were as many again on the complete list featured on these pages two weeks ago.

Hopefully the physio room in Dunganny won’t be too busy this week.

SIDELINE CUTS:

While one would of course welcome the Master Fixture List published by Meath Co Board recently - and be highly impressed by same - earnest hope would be that a few tweaks might at least be considered.

For example, I’m not sure playing the Feis Cup at the beginning of the season gives the grand old competition the appeal or status it deserves. A bit like the Railway Cup at inter county level, there was a time when the Feis Cup was a very big deal indeed.

Those who lifted it on my own club’s behalf in 1958 are referred to with a reverence on a par with any of the three Dunboyne sides who have lifted the Keegan Cup, thus far.

Back then, and indeed until more recent times it would be ventured, the Feis Cup was run off in such a manner so as to give teams who have exited championship fare something to aim for once that part of their season has concluded.

Mind you, in another presumably unintended consequence of my old nemesis the split season, where once clubs were safe in the knowledge, from a Meath perspective at least, they would have access to their county players for the first two or three rounds of the All County Leagues before the National League action resumed after the Christmas break.

Now of course, club and county competitions run shotgun to each other which, in effect, means clubs have their county stars for championship fixtures only. That hardly chimes with an ethos which proclaims the club the centre of the universe.