They Said It ....

June 2004

We are approaching peak season for GAA publicity. Star players are sounded out about everything, from their bank account and its going to come - sexual activities. And theres the manager, patrolling the sideline, forever within range of the camera on big match day. He is the present day daddy of GAA glare and especially when championship defeat is his lot.
Ask Clare boss Anthony Daly. The heading in the local Clare Champion reads “Its hard to talk about it now. Its like a death in the family. The boys are all devastated. In case you were in a coma these past few weeks Daly’s Banner boys were on the wrong end of an almighty hammering from Justin McCarthy’s Waterford.
Anthony Daly didn’t hide his disappointment. The man who has achieved so much with Clare over the past decade described this as “the worst since the Munster final of ‘93’” when Clare were hammered by Tipperary at the Gaelic Grounds in Limerick.
“I don’t know what happened and I don’t have the answers at this time,” said Daly, speaking shortly after his first championship game as Clare manager.
“We were terrible and they were very good. I don't know what it is down to. I thought we were absolutely perfect on the way into the game but they were on fire all over the place.”
He was speaking in a dressingroom from which most of the players had now departed, but some of those involved just sat there trying to figure out what had gone wrong. It would have been easy for Daly to walk away but he wasn’t going to hide. Team managers have to take the good with the bad and he now had to face the media and try to explain where it all went wrong for the Banner men.
Clare now have five weeks to regroup. The opening round in this year’s qualifiers is set for Saturday, June 19 and amongst those that Clare could face are Limerick or Cork, Tipperary (if they lose to Waterford) or Galway who put them out last year. The draw is expected to be made on June 6.
During last week in the lead up to the game, Daly had expressed concern that there would be a backlash from Waterford after their disappointing performance in the league final against Galway.
“The national league final didn’t do us any good”, he lamented. “I suppose I was worried leaving Limerick last week as I knew they would get some stick at home and our fellas were listening to that all the week, listening to people saying, ‘ye will win it as they were very poor’.”
The Clarecastle man went on, “On Sunday night we got them in training and we had a good training session. We said they were more dangerous now than ever and we repeated this on Wednesday night and Friday night.
“Any paper I saw during the week, it was an interview with me or one of the Clare lads. It was right up their alley. I’ve seen it a few times with ourselves.We lost league semi-finals and then came out with all guns blazing. Today, Waterford looked like a team that couldn’t be beaten.”
Daly went onto describe the result as “devastating and everyone in here is devastated. We have five weeks now to try and rectify things. We can either run away and hide or get out and train this week.
“I know a lot of people probably won’t want to know about us from now but the season is not over for us. We’ve got to come out and try and pick up the pieces. One can either run away or come out and try and fight, and hopefully that’s the reaction we will have.”
Daly agreed that they had made a lot of changes but “nothing seemed to work, nothing at all. It’s incredible how many of our players didn’t play well. It’s the first time since that Munster final (‘93)
“Even in the following year’s final a few lads did well. Gilly didn’t see much ball while Brian did okay at full back and Davy couldn’t do anything about their goals, but to be beaten in so many places is hard to explain,” he continued.
As to Jamesie O’Connor’s injury, the manager said, “We probably shouldn’t have brought him on but you’d try anything at that stage. He had got an okay that he’s last 15 or 20 minutes, but after five minutes he came out to us and said it was gone.
In summing up, Daly said, “It’s hard to talk about it now. It’s like a death in the family. The boys are all devastated but I’d be hopeful that we will come out of this. The one good thing is that there is a backdoor and we have five weeks.
“We have have a bit of time but I don’t know what will happen. We will return to training during the week and give it everything. We will try and rally them and bring them out again if we have anything left in us. “ he concluded.

Anthonys Clare football counterpart John Kennedy just happens to be a Kerryman from across the Shannon mouth. No luck here either as the Banner exited every bit as quick but with a couple of lucky Kerry scores there was some honour. JP McCarthy pens his piece under the title ‘Insider is new looking in’
The insider is outside looking in. For five years (from 1998 to 2002), as a kerry minor selector, first with Charlie Nelligan then with Pat O’Shea, John Kennedy did his bit for the future of Kerry football.
That ‘future’ could catch up with him on Sunday and he knows it.
Sunday will be the first time that Asdee native Kennedy, who was part of the Kerry three-in-a-row team of the mid-80s, starting the Centenary Final at right wing-forward, will face his native county. It’s something he knew could happen.
“I suppose when you go outside your county to manage there’s always the chance that you will come up against your native county.
“I’m a Kerryman through and through but I came to Clare to do a job and along with my selectors, Frankie Griffin and Dave Loughman, I intend to do that.”
Griffin is well known to Kerry supporters for being the full-back on ‘that’ 1992 Clare team that upset Kerry in the Munster final. No doubt a few words about that day might be whispered in the Banner dressingroom on Sunday. Kennedy though knows his team are rank outsiders and of course, there’s nothing wrong with talking up the opposition.
“We’ve made improvements and we’ve strengthened the squad. Our complete focus now is on the Kerry game.
“The game has really caught the imagination of the county. Nothing compares to a game against Kerry and there’s a great buzz around the place. There’s an attraction about Kerry and with them as National League champions and playing great football at the moment that just adds to the whole occasion.”
However, this is Clare’s litmus test and Kennedy knows that.
“Sunday will be a good indicator of how far we’ve come. We want to be playing the likes of Kerry consistently and there’s nothing like playing the best to see if you can raise your game.
“I want us to perform to the best of our abilities. If we don’t, then we’ve no chance against a team of the calibre of Kerry. Our start will be crucial. If we let Kerry get ahead and build up a lead, then we’ll be playing catch up and making things very hard for ourselves. It’s important that we start well and that when we create our chances we finish them..”
So then he gets the chance to case rose petals at the feet of the Kingdom - what does he make of them?
“I suppose new management brings new ideas and a freshness. But I mean the Kerry players didn’t become bad ones overnight just because they lost a few games in Croke Park. It takes a small thing to rejuvenate guys.”
He added: “They looked great in the National League final when they put in a very impressive performance. It was a classic game in which Galway also played their part. They have incredible strength in depth as well, to bring in a guy like Johnny Crowley shows that. He came in and played a vital role.”
Enough about Kerry, what of Clare?
“Things have actually gone well since the end of the league. I’ve been pleased at the turnaround since the Donegal game.” Here Kennedy is alluding to what he refers to as Clare’s best performance of the league. In their second last game they travelled up to Bundoran and pushed a talented Donegal side all the way before succumbing to a 2-4 to 0-12 defeat.
Kennedy continues: “We’ve played some challenges recently and won them all. I know they are only challenges and they are nothing like winning. It’s good for confidence and we’re approaching Sunday with our focus on Kerry.”
Focus, focus not quite hocus pocus but it’ the magic word right now. But have Clare the personnel to have Kerry in a trance at Cusack park?
“We’ve got some talented players. The two Russells (captain David and Denis) are playing well while Odhran O’Dwyer is back from injury. Odhran got injured on the Australian tour and didn’t play in the league. We’ve also brought in some young players who have added to the overall strength of the side. There’s a nice blend there.”

Further up the Shannon Tommy Carr has enjoyed his honeymoon period with Ros. The year 2004 offers an entirely different proposition. The Western People as ever aware of the situation reckon its a ‘make or break season’ for the Dub. The interview was conducted before the first Sligo game.
When Tonny Carr parted company with his native Dublin three years ago, there was a feeling in certain quarters that his managerial career was effectively over. HIs attempts at making Dublin the kingpins of Gaelic games had failed and his abilities as a coach underwent serious scrutiny. Many a man would have curled up and run for cover but Carr is made of stronger stuff than that and has set out to put the record straight in relation to his calibre.
Next Sunday his pedigree will undergo a serious test. Defeat may well lead to calls for a new manager, whearas victory will erase the disappointment experienced in Roscommon at their failure to gain promotion to Division 1. It’s a thin line. Carr knows that he may well be walking a ‘tight rope’ but suggests that his team aren’t too far off the mark and are capable of better things this season.
“Naturally there was disappointment at not making the play-offs in Division 2 and that’s to be expected. I suppose the turning point in the league was our defeat against Donegal. We could easily have scored four or five goals in the first half alone but we eventually lost by a point. It was a devastating blow to our confidence and frankly we found it hard to recover from that game.”
It wasn’t all doom and gloom for Roscommon in the league. They won five of their seven outings, which in another year might well have been enough to secure a semi final spot. With players like Shane Curran, Francie Grehan, Stephen Lohan and Frankie Dolan, the Roscommon faithful know that there is more than a fair share of experience in the existing squad that gives them a fighting chance of success on Sunday, although Carr believes that Sligo’s impressive performance in Division 1 will give them a head start.
“The fact that Sligo played the top teams in the league should greatly help their performance in this year’s championship. When you’re playing in Division 2’s it’s hard to get an accurate handle on things because the level of opposition is somewhat weaker. At least Sligo have the advantage of knowing that they can stick the pace with the best there is so in that respect they certainly won’t be suffering from a lack of confidence.”
Despite not reaching their target in the league, Carr is quite happy with the attitude of his players and the preparations that have taken place in the run up to Sunday’s encounter at Hyde Park and suggests that Roscommon aren’t lining out simply to fulfil the fixture.
“Sometimes disappointment leads to renewed commitment and I can’t fault the players in the way they have knuckled down to preparing for the championship. We want to prove that we are capable of being - at the very least - contenders for the Connacht title and a huge effort has been made to give it our best shot on Sunday.”
The Mullingar-based businessman believes that Sligo’s progress under James Kearins has surprised him in that he didn’t believe that the performances they put in in the National League could have come so quickly in view of the changes that took place after last year’s championship exit.
“It’s not easy for a new manager to make things happen straight away but James certainly seems to have done that. I imagine most people throught Sligo would struggle in the immediate aftermath of Peter Ford’s departure but they seem to have put that behind them in double quick time and recovered exceptionally well.”
Carr makes no secret of the fact that he is worried about Sligo and having seen them beat Mayo in the FBD league final knows that Roscommon will have to be ‘on-the-ball’ if their hopes of championship glory are to be realised.
“Sligo did really well in the FBD league final and they certainly showed lots of hunger. They have some very skilful players and they pass the ball efficiently and quickly. Their midfield looks particularly strong and their forwards looked very dangerous. I think winning that competition has instilled a new self-belief that has been missing in Sligo football for many years. Now that they’ve tasted success they’ll be keen to build on it in the championship.”
It’s quite clear that whilst neither manager wants the favourites’ tag, Carr is of the view that Sligo will start as the bookies favourites to advance to the next round. He believes that the visitors to Roscommon on Sunday have a 60/40 chance of success.
“I think the days of home advantage is gone. Teams know that when you’re playing games in the championship it’s all down to how players perform on the day. It’s certainly not going to be a stroll for either team on Sunday and even though Sligo will be favourites to win I think it will be extremely close.”

With a league title under his belt Galway hurling boss Conor Hayes has no problems. Don’t bet a cent on it, just wait until the championship gets into swing. Connacht Tribune sports editor John McIntyre has doubled up as a manager on numerous occasions. He knows what he is talking about.
Last October 12 months, Conor Hayes was elected Galway hurling team manager with an overwhelming mandate, but many rank and file supporters were sceptical of the appointment.
Those doubts were understandable despite Hayes polling more votes than the outgoing team boss, Noel Lane and fellow candidates Brendan Lynskey and Gerry Fahy put together.
The former double All-Ireland winning captain has largely drifted into hurling anonymity since his own playing days ended, leading to fears that the Kiltormer clubman was out of touch with the Galway scene.
There were also suspicious that Hayes had no idea what he was letting himself in for; that the workload and time involved in being an intercounty team manager would shock him.
Hayes’ first year of office possibly justified those concerns and, if anything, Galway took a step backwards in 2003 - out of contention fairly quickly in the league and failing to reach Croke Park in the summer.
But along with selectors Pearse Piggott and Gerry Dempsey the Galway manager was only getting to know the ropes - not many of his peers strike gold in their first season in charge - and he has heeded those lessons well.
Establishing a relatively settled team became the priority this spring and the Galway management have achieved that, but not at the expense of results.
True, the losses to Clare and Tipperary were disappointing, but it’s hard to win everything in the months of March and April while the odd reality check is often a blessing in disguise.
Galway are now a superior, more confident force than 12 months ago, but that is no guarantee of a protracted run in the championship. In recent seasons, the county’s hurlers have tended to regress as the season evolved.
At least, Galway have momentum now and Hayes has already wisely decided that the squad will regroup towards the end of next week. Any longer of a break would be courting unnecessary difficulty in re-establishing a sense of purpose.
The Galway team boss has grown hugely into the role and is far more tactically aware than some observers might give him credit for. He has also encouraged players to ‘figure things out’ for themselves on the field of play.
Taking responsibility on their own accord is what Diarmuid Cloonan and Damien Joyce did last Sunday when Waterford’s pre-match juggling of their forces continued during the game. Joyce spent some time on the edge of the square, with Cloonan in the corner and there was no obvious disruption.
Hayes knows Galway haven’t suddenly become world beaters, but he was heartened that the team reacted well to the pressures of league final day. He doesn’t want a situation where the management have to tell a panel everything - more a case of the Galway players doing it for themselves.
He was quietly confident without being bullish about Galway’s prospects in the build up to the league final. He sensed a big display was coming on the training ground even though half afraid that Waterford might hit them ‘for six’.
“I thought we defended very well late on and there was no sense of panic even when the referee gave a few decisions against us. We had worked hard for this and Sunday’s win didn’t happen by accident.”
Hayes admitted this week that the changes which were made during the match against Waterford were heading Galway towards their championship team.
“We have a strong bench in Limerick with the likes of Rory Gantley, Fergal Moore, Ollie Fahy, Mark Kerins and David Tierney around. It’s important to have decent cover and Galway has it now.”
Sunday’s league triumph was an important milestone for Hayes and his mentors. He was a winner as a player and the signs are promising that he might leave a similar legacy as manager.