GAA Features

If fate had decreed otherwise, it could have been Paul Griffin and not Bryan Cullen lifting Sam back in September. JOE caught up with the Dublin defender for a quick chat about dealing with injury, watching from the sidelines and whether the Dubs can do it all over again next year.

By Conor Heneghan

In the midst of all the jubilant players, officials and one opportunistic fan celebrating Dublin’s long-awaited All-Ireland success on the hallowed Croke Park turf in September, you might have spotted a familiar face.

Bryan Cullen became the first Dub to lift the Sam Maguire since John O’Leary in 1995, but if fate had decreed otherwise, it could have been another man toasting a memorable victory over Kerry and promising to visit Coppers later on in the night.

Everyone asks how hard has it been or has it been difficult (to watch from the sidelines) but it hasn’t. It’s been a fabulous year for Dublin football and I was just glad to be a part of it in any way.

Paul Griffin was named as Dublin captain at the start of 2010 before injury struck in a run of the mill league game against Monaghan. As he recalled to JOE recently: “I got my foot caught in the ground as I was going to jump for a ball and I jarred my knee. As soon as I met the consultant it was clear that it was going to be nine months before I could go back playing football again.”

Still, Griffin had never had any serious injuries before so although it was a terrible blow, he accepted it and got on with it. This season, he had been feeling his way back after injury but it never felt right. Another check up revealed the need for more surgery and another season on the sidelines.

“When it happened the first time, I hadn’t really been injured before and it was a new experience,” Griffin said.

“These things happen and you kind of take it on the chin. The second time, having already gone through it and to have to go through it again was very frustrating, but it was just one of those things, nothing could have been done about it. Hopefully, having had the second procedure done, it will give me the chance of getting back again.”

Anyone in Griffin’s situation could have been forgiven for even a slight trace of bitterness, but that’s not Griffin’s style. He got involved with Pat Gilroy’s set-up as part of the stats team and kept a close eye on proceedings from the stands throughout the summer.

On the day that Dublin eventually landed the Holy Grail, Griffin wasn’t put out by the fact that he wasn’t on the field, on the contrary, he was just happy for teammates that he had soldiered with for many years beforehand.

But was there any mixed emotions at all?

“No, not really,” he says.

“Obviously you’d like to be out there on the pitch, training and playing with the lads but I was glad to help out in any way I could.

“It was just a fantastic year for Dublin football and to be a part of that, to see the lads you played and trained with getting over that final hurdle was incredible. Everyone asks how hard has it been or has it been difficult but it hasn’t. It’s been a fabulous year for Dublin football and I was just glad to be a part of it in any way.

Griffin laps up the Dubs' All-Ireland success

“I suppose it was great to see how much it meant to so many different people. When you’re within the playing group, you tend to focus on yourselves and I think that it was only afterwards that we saw how much it really does mean to people in the clubs, volunteers running underage teams and stuff and to see how much they got out of it as well.”

Whether they can repeat the success is the question on everyone’s minds in the capital. Since 1990, only Kerry have managed back-to-back All-Ireland titles and the chasing pack will have that little extra pep in their step facing up to the champions next season.

The Metropolitans were given a massive boost when the architect of their success, Pat Gilroy, committed to at least another year in charge and Griffin was in no doubt as to just how important that decision could prove down the line.

“Yeah I think it’s great that Pat is staying on, particularly given that it’s a very young team and there are a lot of guys coming through and we have to try and build on that,” he says.

“I suppose again, you look at Pat’s situation, he has a very young family and he’s busy at work. People appreciate the commitment he’s given to Dublin football, he’s given an awful lot over three years and it’s difficult to sustain that.

“Pat is fully committed to Dublin and it was never going to be that he was sick or tired of it; it was external factors that were coming into play. He’s got the support of his family; they’re very proud of him and it’s great that he has the opportunity to go on and continue what he has done, because he’s done a fabulous job with the group.”

Griffin himself will hope to be back with that group next year for the Dubs’ defence of their title. Rehab is going well; he’s in the gym and will be back on the pitch in the New Year. Getting fit again is the easy part, however.

Pat (Gilroy) is fully committed to Dublin and it was never going to be that he was sick or tired of it; it was external factors that were coming into play.

Trying to force your way onto a team that’s just won the All-Ireland is no easy task, while from a team perspective, there are plenty of teams waiting to take Dublin down a peg after last season. Dublin were always something of a prize scalp at the best of times, but as reigning champions it will be a completely different kettle of fish.

So can they do it again?

“Of course that’s the burning question, says Griffin.

“It’s taken us 16 years to get over the line and again it shows how difficult a competition it is to win. It’s such a long year, we’re in November but teams are already trying to get their panels up and running and it’s starting all over again.

“The key part of last year’s win was not getting ahead of ourselves and taking each game as it comes. We showed composure in the latter part of games and were doing what we had planned to do and hopefully we can do it again next year because teams are going to be gunning for you even more. But that’s the great challenge of being the champions.”

Paul Griffin is an ambassador for Lean on Me, an organisation fighting against depression in Ireland. For more information, visit their website here.