Soccer and rugby getting a free run in the national media as GAA have taken their eye off the ball
Which is half-right. But, seriously, the one topic that will generate non-stop anger is whenever I compile a list of the greatest footballers, or the top 10 forwards, or the top 30 defenders of all time.
Of course, I can understand why; they are very much subjective calls, based on personal opinion.
Well, today that brings me to one of those very subjective topics we have each year – the selection of the All-Star team. And I know, even at this early stage, no matter what team I choose, nobody will agree with it.
The list of nominations for the All-Star football team and indeed the names of the selectors were published last week.
Maybe I am getting more cynical and cranky in my old age, but some of the football selectors, to be honest, I’d never heard of, and to be perfectly frank, the list of football nominees was underwhelming.
But maybe I shouldn’t be surprised because it simply reflected what was happening on the field of play – which was also underwhelming. There was a dire lack of consistent five-star performances by our inter-county footballers during the year.
I read a list by my colleague Colm Keys where he published his top-50 footballers of the season.
As I went through the list and closer to number 50, I began to feel sorry for him because after such a mediocre year it must have been a struggle to come up with the 50 players, especially when you went closer to the bottom of the list.
I rank the All-Star awards I won as second only to my All-Ireland medals.
The All-Star award ceremonies were glitzy and glamorous, the GAA equivalent of Oscars night. No expense spared, an annual All-Star trip abroad, all with five-star treatment. We always received lovely All-Star playing gear.
And I remember those colour posters, the likes of which Carrolls used to produce, that were typical of that time – they are still on the walls of many pubs and hotels in this country.
It gave youngsters recognisable role models who they could aspire to from the world of Gaelic games. Nowadays, they would struggle to identify two or three players at best.
Sadly, the All-Star awards and big presentation nights are no longer as glamorous as they were and no longer the number two priority in most players’ inter-county careers. The awards night is dull and boring. The TV presentation show is probably one of the worst shows on air with no imagination or entertainment value.
We have no more All-Star tours, no more posters of the teams, no more playing gear. Indeed, people would be hard-pressed to come up with the name of the sponsor – it is PwC, the big accountancy firm, by the way.
I am sure they put big money into the presentation night. But to be perfectly honest, I don’t think they are getting bang for their buck. There is no brand recognition and no high-profile publicity associated with the event.
It is an awards ceremony that needs a major overhaul. It deserves better.
Maybe I shouldn’t be too hard, this dull, boring ceremony is merely a mirror of what is happening on the playing fields; rushed competitions, no real publicity or profile for our star players, lost opportunities for generating revenue and promoting the games.
But, sure, who cares – the GAA-stroke-Croke Park have a quick fix. It’s very simple: open up the venue and generate more revenue through concerts, rugby games and American football.
Christ, surely someone in headquarters will get their act together and come up with some innovative thinking to improve the profile of our games and our star players.
And yes, yes, I know the club championship games are on, but as regards getting national profile for these games, it is very, very limited and making little impact.
Instead, the GAA have closed shop and taken our two main products out of the shop windows and given our two rival sports, soccer and rugby, a free run in the national media.
Is it any wonder that interest in GAA is starting to decline – and yet no one cares or seems to want to do anything about it, a case of Nero fiddling while Rome burns.
And I was just thinking how little interest there is in club championships in so many counties.
Take two of the big ones, Kerry and Dublin. Kerry’s county championship has reached the preliminary quarter-final stage today, where the attendances at the games this year have been paltry.
Even Clifford-mania has faded, while the overall standard, in my opinion, is probably the lowest I’ve seen in my life. I pity Jack and his new management team trying to find some fresh talent.
And that brings us to Dublin. Yes, their club championship is probably the highest in quality of any club championship. But you look at their two quarter-finals in Parnell Park last Saturday night.
Na Fianna and Clontarf in one tie, two of the biggest northside clubs, and Ballyboden against Kilmacud in the other quarter-final, the two biggest powerhouses on the southside.
The population of their four catchment areas would probably be greater than the population of two thirds of the counties of Ireland.
And the attendance at those games, a double-header, was a pitiful 1,500 people.
That’s a worry, even though I knew attendances at Dublin matches aren’t great. Couple that with the huge decline in crowds at Dublin inter-county matches.
And the Dubs should be careful that there won’t be a return to the dark days of the early ’70s, until Heffo and his team saved them. They mightn’t be as lucky this time.
That brings me to the All-Stars. Before I name what I think should be the team, here is an idea for the six months when we don’t have high-profile matches in the GAA – let’s take a lead from American sport.
In baseball, there is a huge All-Star weekend where the national league plays the American league.
The NBA All-Star weekend is one of the biggest weekends on the American sporting calendar where the eastern conference play the western conference.
They are weekends with loads of glitz and glamour, lots of exciting events and all offering huge profile for their respective sports.
Why not an All-Star weekend in Croke Park, where the All-Star hurling and football teams play the rest of Ireland? A packed-out crowd and an All-Star GAA weekend of celebration.
Think what that would do for the profile of the GAA at a time of year when nothing is happening and not to mind the potential to generate a few bob.
OK, it is time to get myself in trouble and name the team, and the senior player of the year and young player of the year.
Before I start, a few brief thoughts on the nominations. I think Derry, being National League champions, deserved at least a few nominations, but they didn’t get any – that’s not right.
Armagh super sub Stefan Campbell with coach Kieran Donaghy. Photo: Ray McManus/Sportsfile
In the modern game, the finisher is as important as the starter and certainly Soupy Campbell’s role as finisher was one of the key reasons why Armagh won the All-Ireland – he deserved at least a nomination.
And here is a certainty. There will be no All-Star award going to a Kerry or a Dublin player this year; now you would not have been saying that at the start of the year.
I thought Dylan McHugh deserved a player-of-the-year nomination, as he was in pole position prior to the final.
The full-forward line is probably going to be the weakest of any team ever selected, and that’s all down to packed defences rather than the quality or otherwise of the contenders.
One point from play from the respective full-forward lines in the All-Ireland final says it all.
Finally, you can argue about too many being selected from the All-Ireland champions and too few from the weaker counties, but that is just the reality – the winners always get to write their own version of history.
MY 2024 ALL-STAR TEAM
1. Blaine Hughes, Armagh (17 games, 14 clean sheets)
2. Aaron McKay, Armagh (Armagh’s best defender all year)
3. Barry McCambridge, Armagh (Brilliant man-marker – also scored 2-5; that goal v Kerry was icing on the cake)
4. Johnny McGrath, Galway (Most consistent man-marking defender in league and championship)
5. Peadar Mogan, Donegal (Attacking wing back who scored 0-13 in this year’s championship)
6. Aidan Forker, Armagh (A true inspirational leader)
7. Dylan McHugh, Galway (Mr Consistency, but a subdued final could cost him player of the year)
8. Paul Conroy, Galway (Inspirational for a man of 35, scored 2-16 from play)
9. Ben Crealey, Armagh (The assist to Campbell for McKay’s goal, and that vital late turnover on Cillian McDaid)
10. Sam Mulroy, Louth (My wild card, the second highest scorer in the championship with 3-43)
11. John Maher, Galway (Powerful, strong runner – great year)
12. OisÍn Conaty, Armagh (Man of the match in the final with 0-3, 0-13 in the championship – great pace)
13. OisÍn Gallen, Donegal (Third highest championship scorer with 2-33, 1-15 from play)
14. Rian O’Neill, Armagh (Came good at the business end and such a versatile player)
15. Conor Turbitt, Armagh (Up to the final was in player of the year form, scored 3-22)
The others in contention and closest for me were Rob Finnerty, Craig Lennon and Ryan McHugh.
For me, the main player-of-the-year award should go to Paul Conroy with Johnny McGrath as young player of the year for his consistency throughout 2024 – but with Armagh being All-Ireland champions, that won’t happen.
Conroy is going to be player of the year, no arguments there, and Conaty will get young player of the year.
