There is some delicious irony in store for opponents of opening Croke Park on a willy-nilly basis, while in Cork yesterday Alan O’Connor brought a new meaning to the term ‘game face’.
The debate about whether or not Croke Park should be used on days when there are bound to be 50,000-odd seats left bum-less has raged on for some time now, with opponents citing the lack of atmosphere and the flagrant misuse of association funds as reasons for alternative venues to be sought.
If ever there was evidence that National League Finals and the early rounds of the Leinster Championship should possibly be staged elsewhere, however, it will be provided this weekend when the Eucharistic Congress comes to headquarters.
Whatever your feelings about the merits of the GAA’s association with the Catholic Church, there is certainly no doubting the popularity of the event.
Reports suggest that there are only a handful of gold-dust like tickets available for an event that will be attended by Enda Kenny and Michael D, fresh from his sojourn to the Euros, of course. Mick Wallace’s intentions are as yet unknown.
That means headquarters will be packed to the rafters this weekend, but worryingly for the GAA, it is conceivable that, barring the All-Ireland Finals in both codes and possibly when teenage girls and boyfriends who pretend they don’t want to be there but secretly do descend on Drumcondra for the Westlife Farewell Tour later this month, it will be the only time all summer that the stadium will be full.
Whatever about Westlife, but when the demand for tickets for a religious event easily outstrips the desire for tickets for GAA matches, it’s time for the association to look to stage less important games elsewhere, before they really end up making a holy show of themselves.
Alan O’Connor brings a new meaning to the phrase ‘game face’
Cork’s victory over Kerry yesterday wasn’t particularly surprising – the Rebels have regularly got the upper hand over the Kingdom in recent years, particularly in Munster – but the manner of Kerry’s defeat came as something of a surprise.
Apart from a bit of verbals and some pushing and shoving here and there, there seemed to be a distinct lack of fight in Jack O’Connor’s side, highlighted by the fact that two of his most fearless and most trusted warriors, Paul Galvin and Kieran Donaghy, were withdrawn from battle unbloodied before the end.
Cork played their part, however, and were absolutely ravenous at various stages in Páirc Uí Chaoimh. Nowhere was that better illustrated than in the facial features of midfielder Alan O’Connor as he chased Kerry sub James O’Donoghue in the second half (see below).
Alan O’Connor really wants that ball
Alan O’Connor isn’t a scary looking man by any means, but probably through sheer will and desire, he managed to summon the scariest of GAA visages we’ve seen in many a year, one that only a mother could love.
No disrespect to Alan, but when you’ve a face like that chasing after you, it’s no wonder Kerry seemed to be coming off second best in challenges.
In fact, we’d dare say that if O’Connor had caught sight of himself in the mirror, even he would have been running scared.
