Kilkenny captain Bill McDermott lifts the Hanrahan Cup following his side’s Leinster MHC final victory over Dublin at Laois Hire O’Moore Park in Portlaoise. Photo: Tom Beary/Sportsfile
The GAA has doubled down on its policy of not allowing acceptance speeches from inter-county minor captains.
And it has also reminded TG4, who broadcast the minor championships, that minor players can’t be interviewed post match. The winning captains did not make acceptance speeches after the Connacht MFC final, in which Mayo beat Roscommon, and Leinster MHC final, where Kilkenny beat Dublin. No microphones were given to the respective captains once the cups were handed out.
Croke Park issued a directive on the matter to the provincial councils late last week reminding them of a policy that relates to U-18 players. Minor is an U-17 grade.
The directive reminds counties that managers should be made available for interview on behalf of “best and fairest” winners, the term used now to officially describe the ‘man of the match’.
The policy has been in place for many years now but not always enforced and particularly so in some recent cases that drew attention. In 2010 the GAA’s National Awards and Presentation Committee, which was chaired at the time by the current GAA president Jarlath Burns, put forward a recommendation that the practice of minor winning captains, then U-18, should cease.
