Brendan McTaggart shares a few thoughts ahead of this weekend’s senior hurling championship.
The highs and lows of the county season have come and gone; the rollercoaster ride of the championship is on our doorstep. This. Is. Life.
Clubs are the lifeblood of the GAA and their championships are the jewel in the GAA crown. This weekend, one senior club will begin their journey, their odyssey. The weeks of planning and battle plans are readied. The draws have been made, more about that later, and courses through stormy weather has been identified.
Given the draw, some courses into the knockout phase may be a little easier or less choppy, than others. No fault of the clubs involved. An 11th hour change of heart from Creggan and seven teams ply their trade in the senior championship and the race for the Volunteer Cup.
Loughgiel, Naomh Eanna and Ballycastle will shadow box their way through one group while St John’s, Rossa, Dunloy and reigning champions Cushendall will compete with one fading into the championship abyss.
Before we look at the matches ahead, the overriding feeling after the draw was one of disappointment. The current format had been working well since its inception in 2021. With the numbers involved this year, it just doesn’t work as well. A little bit of brainstorming and a group of seven could have been brought in. Three home fixtures and three away. Top two straight into the semi-finals, places three to six into quarterfinals.
Someone put the motion forward and mark as ‘in case of emergencies’ from this day forward.
Back to the games this weekend.
Naomh Eanna host last years’ beaten finalists Loughgiel on Sunday afternoon with a 2pm throw in. The Glengormley side have been an emerging force in recent years and while the Shamrocks will start as favourites, Naomh Eanna will be looking to take a scalp. They pushed Loughgiel all the way last year, coming up short in the closing stages against 14 men. A game that reinforced Naomh Eanna’s credentials at senior level, if it were needed but a game that showed the battling qualities of a young Loughgiel side.
Cushendall begin the defence of the title they won in 2023 by travelling to Rossa. The Ruairi’s impressed by winning Ulster and pushed Kilkenny champions O’Loughlin Gaels to their limits in the All-Ireland semi’s. They will start the championship as favourites and while meeting Rossa in their backyard is far from an easy starter for 10, it’s hard to look beyond a Cushendall victory on Sunday.
The opening match in that group is on Saturday evening with St John’s making the journey to Dunloy for a 7pm throw in. The Corrigan Park men have looked like a different side this year and after a strong league campaign will relish the challenge of facing the Cuchullains. Dunloy will start this one as favourites with the bookies but if they don’t rise to meeting the challenge of a rejuvenated St John’s under the tutelage of Mickey Johnston, they could be in trouble.
One game on Saturday evening, two on Sunday. The chances of making all three are non-existent. Bringing a game forward an hour or the other later an hour would have been the ideal scenario for those among us who would be mad enough to take in all three games. Someone put it forward with the ‘in case of emergency’ motion pencilled above….
Before I go, I’ll leave you with this thought. I attended a funeral recently of Maura McCloy (RIP), a cousin of my mum’s, Maura was a Bellaghy woman who was camogie and GAA to the backbone. After the funeral, I was stood having a yarn with a referee who was also in attendance to pay his respect, I won’t name him. We had a yarn about the championship and schedules when he dropped a wee gem on me before we parted company. “The schedule for referee’s wouldn’t be any busier but it get’s tougher. All sense of reasoning and civility goes out the window when the championship begins from all concerned. The league is all hugs and kisses, everyone loves each other but as soon as the championship begins its insanely different.”
It got me thinking some more. I attend a lot of games on either side of the Bann, camera in hand and the notebook makes the journey the odd occasion. You have yarns with officials, craic and banter. You get to know a bit more about them. On a couple of occasions this year, the son of a referee has come up to me and asked, “why are all these people shouting at my daddy”. That’s a tough, awkward and heart-breaking question that I’ve skirted and joked my way around.
Give respect, get respect? Remember the man in the middle is human. The speed of the game is such that the chances are he will make a mistake, just like a player, a manager or even the odd journo will throughout this year. They are also a brother, a son, a father, an uncle who are proud of their role as a volunteer. It’s worth remembering when we go to attend any games in the coming days and weeks.
See you all pitch side folks….
Saturday 10th August
Group 2
Dunloy v St Johns
Throw in: 7pm
Referee: Tarlach Conway
Sunday 11th August
Group 1
Naomh Eanna v Loughgiel
Throw in: 2pm
Referee: Colum Cunning
Group 2
Rossa v Cushendall
Referee – Barry Winters