Joe Molloy was joined by Sinead O’Carroll and Gary O’Toole on the Sunday Paper Review to discuss the current analytical patterns surrounding gaelic football.
Colm O’Rourke and Joe Brolly have been critical of the entertainment value that is on offer in the sport while Paul Galvin has favoured a more tactical approach in his post-match dissections.
But Sinead O’Carroll believes the likes of Brolly and O’Rourke have failed to capture what football can offer to local communities.
“Why would you take a dig at 30,000 people going to a sold out match with two neighbouring counties with all the people you can touch base with in your community?” O’Carroll said.
“I’m not sure where the point about ‘over commercialised crap’ completes. I think that’s where he lost me. I get annoyed every year with the commentary around football and the woeful misunderstanding of the people who commentate on it about what the game is capable of.
“The idea that you go into a game to play nice football is bonkers. That is not what will keep amateur players coming back year-on-year. And we see amateurs deciding they’re going to have shorter careers because too much is asked for them for too long a time.
“You don’t get players back year-on-year with the idea of playing nice football. You get them back with the idea they’ll have silverware at the end of it. And I don’t think managers should be blamed for wanting that for their amateur players.”
Gary O’Toole defended the dramatic analysis that Brolly and O’Rourke favour and shared his liking for his colleagues’ writings.
“When you open your Sunday sport papers you want to be entertained,” O’Toole said.
“And no matter how negative Joe Brolly or Colm O’Rourke – they do write very well. With Colm O’Rourke you get Greek references and Joe Brolly writing like the barrister he is.
“His column today is like a sociology lecture – it’s not a sport thing and I find that entertaining. But people who are mad into the GAA would far prefer Paul Galvin’s structured analysis of Mayo not playing the way other people would like to see them play.
“Paul Galvin is growing into his role as a columnist and he’s not afraid to pick out individuals and say: ‘this is where I thought it went wrong’. That’s entertaining for people looking for the minutiae.”
Written by James Hopper
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