Lamenting the all-too-brief existence of C’mon Camán!, surely the greatest show in RTÉ history

C'mon Camán! had it all...

So what does it take to make a TV show great? Is it:

• Good characters?
• Drama?
• Action?
• Character dilemmas?
• Famous faces?

Well, RTÉ's hurling show C'mon Camán! (the exclamation mark is very important) had it all back in 2009 when it aired on weekday mornings at 11am, although it was repeated in the afternoon in case you missed the action early in the morning. For many young hurlers across the country, it was their dream to make it on the show and showcase their talents to the wider audience of Ireland, but alas, the show only ran for one beautiful, magnificent season before it was truly ripped from our hands and tossed into the bin of shows which ended too soon. If the name sounds familiar, but you're having difficulty placing where, allow us to jog your memory... Six of Ireland’s leading hurlers mentored 24 young hurlers from all over the country. The players were split into into six teams of four and competed against one another to make it to the final and claim the crown of C'mon Camán! champions. Actually, the official description reads:

"Under the expert supervision of hurling and camogie stars Eoin Kelly, Mary O’Connor, Eoin Larkin, Brendan Cummins, Shane McGrath and Ollie Moran, our 24 young hurling stars are put through their paces at the C’mon Camán! bootcamp, attending skills-based sessions, completing challenges and showcasing their skills by playing matches against each other in the C’mon Camán! Championship."

Undoubtedly, one of the best parts of the show was presenter Paddy McKenna* who summed up everything about the late noughties with what can only be described as a questionable haircut. Just look at that glorious mullet... he did it before it was cool. Each show consisted of two teams completing a skills session with their expert coach before playing each other in a game at the end. The games took place in the "hurling dome", which we were informed was "the purpose built home of the C'mon Camán! finals". To top it all off, the games even had commentary from Ger Canning to give them the authentic big-game feel. The games had a cauldron atmosphere. You know those pitches where you see signs reminding people that the players are just kids, it's just a game, the coaches are volunteers and the referees are human, so don't be going mad on the sideline. I feel like this show should have had one of those disclaimers on the screen at the beginning and end of each episode, and hell, intermittently throughout the whole episode. If the GAA top brass knew some of the stuff that was shouted at TVs in homes across Ireland while watching the show, it's likely that many people would have received bans from GAA grounds around the country. We know for a fact that GAA terms like "two hands" and "for f**k's sake ref" were thrown about liberally, and viewers frequently questioned the skill and desire of some of those on show... from the safety of the couch at home. For the record, the referee in the game was James McGrath from Westmeath, you may remember him from his spectacular response to being snubbed for this year's All-Ireland Hurling Final. Unfortunately, history seems to have eliminated many videos of the show from the internet so we have had to make do with this grainy clip from the show's final, but if you haven't seen it, it will educate you on what the show was about and it may even encourage you to join the movement to bring C'mon Camán! back to our screens where it belongs. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=B2RKJNG3p_M There's also another higher quality clip which can be viewed here. The show obviously had an eye for spotting talent, as many of the players went on to play hurling at a very high level and continue to do so, including Kilkenny's Pat Lyng and Cork's Niamh McCarthy to name but two. While we're not sure it will ever make a return, the show was the pinnacle of daytime kids television in Ireland. Think Big Brother crossed with the All-Ireland Hurling Final crossed with Home and Away, and you'll get a fair idea of what it's all about. We'll vote for any Presidential candidate in October who vows to bring back C'mon Camán!. *Paddy McKenna now works for JOE but is very proud of his origins in C'mon Camán!, and one day dreams of bringing the show back to its former glory days. Hail, hail Paddy!