Are we all taking our beloved Gaelic Games too seriously? I ask because I read an interview with Mark Vaughan in the tribune the other day where he mentioned that he doesn't take his gaelic football too seriously anymore since he's not getting paid nor does his life depend on it. He plays to enjoy it and have fun, when he stops having fun he'll stop playing.

Now I know exactly what a lot of you are already thinking, its this attitude that is letting Dublin down or because Vaughan doesn't take football seriously he will never be a serious player or I don't like Vaughan because his hair is funny. I think any footballer worth his salt should be focused and take his football with some degree of seriousness. But if we are to take gaelic football on its merits and believe in its amateur status (which we all know it is since there is no such thing as payment in the GAA) then players should only be playing for the love of the game.

Gaelic footballers and hurlers have never had to deal with such a strong presence from the national media in the past. Every incident and story is put under the national micro scope and scrutinised like there is no other story available. The most obvious recent story that has fallen into this trap is the Cork hurling problem. This is by all means an internal problem that should be dealt with internally with a major restriction on information being leaked out to the national media. However, it has been the complete opposite. Both warring parties have used the national media to seek out a way of getting their message across to gain sympathy or support or whatever.

Unfortunately for inter county gaa players, they're status as a player has now fallen into the national mindset as that of a premier league footballer or professional rugby player. People are expecting professional standards from amateur players. Its is now taken for granted that an inter county footballer or hurler should be on a strict diet, their appearances in local night clubs or late bars should be minimal for fear that they have their name plastered on the back pages as being a tearaway out on the beer. God forbid that you're a aesthmatic, drug tested and prove positive for a chemical which is in your inhaler - you're name is then thrown in the mud as you get the drug cheat tag.

So maybe we all should take a leaf out of messer Vaughans book and just chill out and enjoy our games a bit more.

holymoly (Dublin) - Posts: 757 - 01/12/2008 10:42:38    153647

Great posts i must say Holymoly but i just hope you didnt really mean

_______________________________________________________
holymoly
County: Dublin
Posts: 543

137330 Gonna be a bit lazy and give you all a little treat. My esteemed colleague Liam Hayes wrote another delicious article I know you all can't wait to get your teeth into:

www.tribune.ie/sport/article/2008/nov/09/the-second-coming-of-jack-oconnor-could-see-him-pr/
_________________________________________________________

HokeyPokey (Tyrone) - Posts: 1744 - 04/12/2008 00:44:32    156505

Interesting post, Holymoly. Fortunately we haven't had to endure too much celebritization (is that a word) of the GAA lads yet.

Firstly, unless I've missed it (or my wonderfully thoughtful mind has somehow managed to blank it out and delete the memory), we have yet to be subjected to the horrors of GAA WAGs. Except for a programme on Today FM and that was a relatively harmless insight into the experience of the partners of inter-county players, not a single item on what Coleen/Coilin Ireland is wearing today.

Secondly, we haven't elevated GAA players to the level where there is an obscene interest in the minutiae of their lives - can you envisage some horrific MTv Cribs? Episode 1 - some hovel of a flat in Rathmines, lots of unopened UCD freebies lying around; Episode 2 - a rented house in the Holylands, Battle of the Bogside poster in the living room, constant Wolfe Tones backing track; Episode 3 - some huge Southfork-style monstrosity built, with the need for a mortgage, beside the 'mammy'...

Thirdly, we haven't had the scandals, or to be honest, neither the media or the newspaper-buying public, haven't cared less about them except where it was a genuine news story (dog-fighting springs to mind). Occasionally something begins to leak into the media but it seems to disappear as quick as it arrives - I remember a DJ Carey story a couple of years ago which most media outlets treated like it sounded - none of our damned business (I don't remember if there was even a story there). If the inter-county players represent a cross-section of Irish society, you could probably fill a newspaper with their antics in nightclubs every weekend - albeit that as they are in training they might not be drinking, but they would be fitter and maybe more motivated, actually that makes it worse, fitter-looking and much more confident about themselves.

I think the nearest we have to come to this, so far, is Celebrity Bainisteoir - and that was about D-list celebrities mis-managing GAA teams with a real bainisteoir hovering disapprovingly in the background. Ironically, the underdogs programmes didn't focus on inter-county players but rather those that aspired to that status.

So, Holymoly, I think we are safe yet. We know our gods have feet of clay and we don't care.

pearsesabu (Antrim) - Posts: 663 - 04/12/2008 08:59:25    156540

Pearseabu, I wasn't thinking that far ahead in that we'll have GAA cribs or Gaelic Footballers wives etc.
But I'd disagree with you on the point of the sensationalism in the media. You referred to the infamous DJ Carey story, regardless if it lasted long of not isn't really the point, its the fact that some gutter journalist thought that he could make money with the story. I wouldn't be surprised if that particular paper had people snapping it up for that story anyway - people love a bit of gossip.
Take the old chestnut of the Cork strike earlier this year and the current story. We've had articles on the back pages of numerous news papers over the last year where the article is simple personal swipes by one party at another. Stories like "Sean Og wants Frank Murphy out" or "What Gerald McCarthy really thinks of Sean Og" - thats not gaelic football news. That is simply players or other parties using the media to launch their own attack. This is definitely a tactic commonly used in premier league football circles where agents try to wage war for their clients by letting stories out or taking personal swipes to get public opinion behind them.
Take a look at the Donegal situation. Granted Charlie Mulgrew and Declan Bonner felt aggrieved but did Charlie really have to go on the radio and say that he didn't consider John Joe Doherty a team mate anymore. From there, any gutter journalist could give the story legs and it just gets worse for all parties involved.
I know that this is hardly widespread throughout the GAA community right now and you could argue that the whole Cork situation is a world apart from situations that other County's face, but there is no doubt that players will take note. Should they find themselves in a tricky situation and they get desperate to get out of it, a bit of mud starts getting thrown and next thing you know we all know what a certain manager or player did in a nightclub or how he has a alcohol dependency etc. We've already seen the start of the tell all auto biography's and dressing room secrets exposed, you can bet that we'll see more of them.
So yeah, we're not in Sky Sports sensationalism just yet, but we're certainly in a far more media exposed GAA community then we were before

holymoly (Dublin) - Posts: 757 - 04/12/2008 10:30:21    156617

whats your gripe with holylands

dhorse (Laois) - Posts: 11374 - 04/12/2008 12:11:02    156724

I take your point Holymoly - at least, though, they are GAA stories. But there is a fine line.

dhorse - I've no problem with the Holylands, I just picked it as a setting for one of my sarcastic fictional episodes of MTV GAA Cribs as I'm guessing the pick of Queens and Poly footballers happen to rent houses there.

For those who don't know the place - it is a part of Belfast near Queen's where a lot of students live.

pearsesabu (Antrim) - Posts: 663 - 04/12/2008 13:14:55    156806

County: Antrim
Posts: 61

156806 I take your point Holymoly - at least, though, they are GAA stories. But there is a fine line.

dhorse - I've no problem with the Holylands, I just picked it as a setting for one of my sarcastic fictional episodes of MTV GAA Cribs as I'm guessing the pick of Queens and Poly footballers happen to rent houses there.

For those who don't know the place - it is a part of Belfast near Queen's where a lot of students live.

no worries boss, thought you were referring to a different holylands, keep Her lit

dhorse (Laois) - Posts: 11374 - 04/12/2008 15:14:14    156902

Where is today's Holy????

JayoCluxton (Dublin) - Posts: 2688 - 08/12/2008 17:30:07    159518

Apologies to my loyal fans for the lack of monday supplements over the last couple of weeks, been suffering with the usual winter flu and haven't been able to get those interviews with our GAA superstars or have a chat with my journalist colleagues (missed the christmas party, heard Humphries was climbing the walls, while Sean Moran had it off with Martina Devlin and Kevin Meyers was jamming to the Bob Marley tunes!!)

So what does the future hold for the Hoganstand message board for 2009.
Well it looks like the long time posters are still holding their own - Liam proving last week that he's still the champion of the wind up post. Even though it looked like the Ball-Boy Liam war was coming to a truce this year, but peace just couldn't be maintained. Since BB appears to have left the board, it looks like its Liam that gets to sing "I'm still standing" (he does love his Elton John ya know!!)
JC is mister popular right now but just like any politician he'll be passing brown envelopes over emails to keep the popularity and the band wagon going. "That money was just resting in my account" will be a regular line in his posts next year!!

I'll be looking forward to bennybunnys post next year entitled - How I resolved the Cork hurling dispute (I'll be expecting a similar one from RMDrive in regards the Donegal dispute). While banner boy, Hag and cheese and Ice Honesty will have their own thread - Ding Dong The Witch Is Dead, which old witch, the stupid Cork hurling Witch!!

Loyal will still be keeping it real, like a homeboy in south central L.A, he'll be hanging around message board corners with a bottle of wind ups and busting a cap in any fool for talking ill about the Royal county.

TheMaster and WB (or Tadgh and Bull McCabe as I like to think of them) will still be waiting in the long grass and still telling people how Croke Park (the field as they call it) is owned by Mayo. That'll all end the same way the movie did - TheMaster shacking up with some pikey while WB goes through his life without ever seeing his dream come to fruition!!

Posters like Thomas Clarke and Aidan will still be trying to stay sane and sensible but eventually they'll lose the run of themselves and post a Jim like thread and tell us what they really think of the rest of us!! My money is on Aidan, I reckon a few more anti-Galway posts will push him over the edge.

Samin10 is just like the journey song - Don't stop believing. Nobody's gonna bend or break him - even a francie tackle couldn't change his mind!! 3inarow08 will still be pretending that he's an objective poster but we all know what a cynical git he really is. I'm just waiting for the day that one negative Kerry post will cause him to activate the gamma radiation in his body to turn him into a green and gold hulk like poster. (imagine the hulk with a Kerry accent - that will be 3inarow08 next year)

I'll be hoping that RKF leaves the message board to live his dream of a comedian - his one liners this year have been classics.

Bad.monkey, lino, and dubupnorth will still be keeping the Dublin flag flying on this board regardless of whether the post is a wind up or not. While mossbags and daytona will still be giving it right back and telling them how they're wrong.

Patrique appears to have taken over Breffni's role as the northern version of Snuf (I know that line is gonna stick in Breff's craw!!) - you never know their could be competition for Snuf's role as the GAA history buff on the message board.

As for all the newbies, when you start off here you'll just be like a blind man at an orgy - you're gonna have to feel your way around.

To finish up, your uncle holymoly wishes you all have a good christmas and a happy new year.

holymoly (Dublin) - Posts: 757 - 22/12/2008 11:02:13    169239

The season begins
Don't miss the monday supplement
Returns Monday 2nd of February

holymoly (Dublin) - Posts: 757 - 30/01/2009 09:34:47    193905

I can't wait..............................

Loyal2TheRoyal (Meath) - Posts: 4522 - 30/01/2009 10:21:42    193955

I'm bringing it back just for you Loyal ;-)

holymoly (Dublin) - Posts: 757 - 30/01/2009 10:29:55    193957

Holymoly i'm relatively new to this, i'm expecting big things. dont let me down lol

paddyogall (Mayo) - Posts: 5110 - 30/01/2009 10:38:58    193968

Paddy you only have to look at the previous posts within this threads to see some of the classic monday supplements.
JayoC has kept a scrap book of them while Loyal has even demanded for Tom Humphries to get the boot and yours truly installed as the new back page master of the Times!!

holymoly (Dublin) - Posts: 757 - 30/01/2009 10:57:26    193992

Wow, did I get my predictions wrong about that match. There I was thinking we were gonna have a miserable, laboured and boring game considering the time of year, the start of season rustiness and the fact that Dublin are never great starters in the league. But instead we were treated to some exhibition football, a thrilling climax and topped off with a firework extravaganza that was a sight to behold. There was a surreal atmosphere in Corke Park at times. Both sets of fans applaud either teams scores at times and it was a fitting gesture that all fans applauded both teams off the field.
If Stephen O'Neill is as good at picking up birds as he is at taking superb scores then he would make Brad Pitt look like Peter Beardsley. You just couldn't help but stand back and admire the scores he was knocking over in that game. From a Dublin perspective you could argue that newcomer Alan Hubbard should have been moved off him quicker but you can't take anything away from O'Neill. That one score late in the first half where he shimmied one way and kicked it over from a tight angle on the cusack stand side left everyone in the stadium gasping for breath as if they were put into shock by such an amazing score.
But Dublin had their performers too. Bernard Brogan has really come into his own, a tally of 1-5 against the Tyrone full back line is no short order. Conal Keaney put in a very good nights work and Ciaran Whelan really took hold of midfield once his partner in crime Shane Ryan was introduced.
As bad as it looked at times for Dublin it was encouraging to note some of the subtle tactical changes and improvisation by Gilroy. Playing Sherlock on Justin McMahon proved the right gamble. McMahon didn't enjoy being dragged out of his comfort zone and had Sherlock just had some extra welly on a couple of his shots that dropped short into the keepers hands he may have got a better scoring reward than just the 2 points he picked up.
Denis Bastic held his own at full back but I'll wait until he plays some more games against different opposition to make my mind up about him as our new no.3 just yet. It was also good to see that Gilroy wasn't afraid to make changes quickly when things were starting to look grim, McConnell wasn't influencing the game much at midfield and was changed after only 20 odd minutes. Although Alan Hubbard looked like he was going to have a terrible debut he was switched off Stephen O'Neill marking duties and was given a far more open role in the second half, making 3 or 4 great runs and put in some decent tackles.
As good as all that is to see now, Dublin are still allowing a free flowing team like Tyrone way too much space. At times they invited Tyrone to shoot or take them on in one on ones. Tyrone moved the ball effortlessly at times and when any scoring opportunity arose, they took it in the first half. Mulligan seemed to drift in and out of the game but when he was in it he found himself with space and time to take scores. Colm McCullagh and Tommy McGuigan seemed to be able to run into space from the half back to half forward lines with little or no opposition. Defensively Dublin still have work to do, while for Tyrone offensively, they just need to sharpen up as some of their passing up front went very badly in the second half.
But look, we shouldn't be too critical of a match that was a thriller and enjoying for all to watch or for that matter over analyze as this was only the first game of the season for both teams. There are other games to come where this reporter will be far more scrutinizing.

holymoly (Dublin) - Posts: 757 - 02/02/2009 09:17:38    195652

Terrible effort i'm really disppointed, i was expecting a lot more

paddyogall (Mayo) - Posts: 5110 - 02/02/2009 10:52:44    195721

Terrible effort i'm really disppointed, i was expecting a lot more

If one person doesn't like it then I've failed. I hang my head in shame!!!

holymoly (Dublin) - Posts: 757 - 02/02/2009 11:50:52    195783

Personal reflections on a fantastic night in Dublin.

Saturday afternoon. The plane from Birmingham was a quarter full and Arrivals a congestion free zone.

Skipped the pre match entertainment. How was the unicyclist? Not many stragglers, though, as the crowd took their places early in anticipation of a great show.

Sitting in the Canal End, the choreography of the Tyrone forwards was dazzling in the first half. Red Hands became Red Arrows (I know, I know. So sue me!). Intricate manoeuvres at high speed with total faith in their team mates' instincts to be in the right place at the right time. Positions meaningless as Mulligan, McCullagh, McGuigan and O'Neill interchanged to bewilder the Dublin backs. Superb points from Mulligan and McGuigan, sublime from McCullagh. For breath taking, though, there was Stephen O'Neill. One outrageous effort from an impossible angle left me gasping in disbelief.

Cluxton aided the Tyrone effort with poor clearances and kick outs. In the distance, McGee and Justin McMahon seemed to having a torrid time as Dublin kicked enough points to stay in touching distance. Tyrone's build up play became over elaborate and even showy at times. Four points ahead at half time didn't reflect our superiority.

Tyrone changed into diving boots at half time. Dublin brought on Moses and the Red Hand defence became the Red Sea. Dublin poured through the middle and down the sides. Where was McMenamin? Jayo led Justin a merry dance and befuddled him into patting down a straightforward catch into the grateful hands of Brogan. A single flare on the Hill. Game on! O'Neill chased down a lost cause and drove the ball into Mulligan's arms. A shimmy, a shot and a stare at the Hill. Devine pulled off a point blank save that maybe swung the match. Cluxtonitis crept into his clearances, and Dublin knocked about 4 straight back over his head. The choreography broke down as Tyrone midfielders scattered left and right while the ball was kicked straight down the middle.

Hughes was sent in to try and stem the tide. Colm Cavanagh came and went. Dublin's nerve failed as the finish line approached and shots began to fall short, but they took the lead with 70 minutes looming. A Dublin victory was on the cards until Sean Cavanagh woke from his slumbers. One with the left, another with the right, and an 8th from O'Neill to see us home. Exhilarating, flee flowing football and a score every 2 minutes, on a night when all the stars were attackers. O'Neill and Mulligan back at peace with themselves in Tyrone shirts.

No-one left the stadium. The stewards didn't need Plan B. Patterns in the night sky and the stands reminiscent of Tyrone forwards in the first half. I don't think I've ever seen Croke Park look or sound so magnificient. Congratulations GAA, you are aging well. Handshakes with the Dubs around us, everyone more optimistic about the year ahead.

A final bonus. Mulligan, Hughes and Jordan were making their way through the crowd as we came out. Handshakes, autographs and an air of satisfaction from the players. It's early days.

Sunday afternoon. The new terminal building is taking shape. Planned and started in happier economic times, I hope it doesn't become a holding pen for a new wave of mass emigration. Sure enough, though, Departures was rammed and the plane was full.

joemo (Tyrone) - Posts: 37 - 02/02/2009 12:00:04    195790

What i meant to say it was very bias towrds dublin, if i wanted to read bias to Dublin then i'd just read one of our national newspapers

paddyogall (Mayo) - Posts: 5110 - 02/02/2009 12:34:49    195837

Tyrone are nowhere near there 2005 best, but there are a few weeks behind a lot of teams in the Nfl there not long back from a sunshine holiday (6) players out from the all ireland starting lineup, sean cavanagh having to ship all those award winning dinners so can forgive him for being off the pace at the moment , Its just nice to have Tyrone off to a winning start a lot of good football ahead weather permitting , Tyrone ABU!

williewentwell (Tyrone) - Posts: 1712 - 02/02/2009 13:34:42    195887