56EE2013-04-24e0

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User:rorynoonanDate:24/04/2013Time:08:24:45Edition:24/04/2013Wedwedecho240413Page:56Color:

Evening Echo

SPORT

EE - V1 User:johnroycroftDate:23/04/2013Time:08:56:48Edition:24/04/2013Wedwedecho240413Page:50Color:

FOOTBALL: Will league form pay off this summer?: P52

CHAMPIONS LEAGUE: Barca get walloped by Bayern: P49

EE - V1

50

SPORT

Wednesday, April 24, 2013

EE - V1

SPORT

Wednesday, April 24, 2013

51

The Glen Rovers team on their arrival home to Kent Station, Cork after winning the 2002 All-Ireland U14 FĂŠile na nGael hurling final in Belfast.

Cork's Micheal Shields on the attack against Kerry during the 2006 Munster SFC final in Killarney.

Football blues as Kerry gain their revenge

SOME FAVOURITE PIECES As with most things we do over a long period on our lives some of my columns brought me more satisfaction than others. In 2006 I decided to write a diary piece about my day at the Munster Final between Cork and Kerry. It turned out to be trilogy because Cork and Kerry drew. Cork won the replay but subsequently lost to Kerry in the All-Ireland semi-final. I had some good fun with those pieces although everything ended in disaster. This is section from Part 1: +6<)'4#.& 6#&+7/ 70&#; #(6'40110 *' /+014 /#6%* +5 #9(7.

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I continued the diary for the replay. Cork won well. I watched the game in Påirc Uí Chaoímh but travelled to Ballyferriter that evening because the next day was my daughter Bríd’s birthday. The final entry in part two of the diary was, 10&#; 8'0+0)

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MY very first column in these pages was written three weeks after my club Glen Rovers had captured their fifth national FĂŠile na nGael U14 hurling title. That was 2002. As the previous four national titles won by the G len were at least 20 years earlier, (1975, ’76, ’79 and ’82). I felt it was a good time to access value of the FĂŠile na nGael competition both to Glen Rovers and in general. This is a section of that column. “So have The Glen benefited from winning the FĂŠile title? Certainly there was a direct line between the ’82 Feile team and the ’89 senior county title. However, while the three seventies titles produced individual talents such as TomĂĄs Mulcahy and Christy McGuckin the victories added little to the club’s quest for senior success. Another stark tale of FĂŠile “successâ€? is that of the Barrs victory over Ballinderry Shamrocks in the FĂŠile Peil national final of 1990. Eight of the Ballinderry team of that day played in the All-Ireland Club football final against Nemo in March this year (2002), while only three of the Barrs panel are still playing football. Since 1990 however, Ballinderry have won the FĂŠile Peil on a couple of occasions so we must conclude that winning the National FĂŠile has done them little or no harm. My personal opinion is that it is good to qualify to represent your county in the FĂŠile series. The excitement generated is good for the players and the

Is the FÊile doing more harm than good now? OPINION club. However, a club is probably better off if it fails to win the overall title. How do you tell a young lad who has won an All-Ireland medal at 14 years, that U15 and U16 leagues are important competitions? Only the future will tell if this year’s victory for Glen Rovers was a holy grail or a poisoned chalice.�

We are now 11 years on from that column. Where once the strong city clubs like Glen Rovers, Na Piarsaigh, Blackrock and St Finbarr’s regularly represented Cork in the national FĂŠile finals, the “honour,â€? if you can call it that, now more regularly falls to Douglas, Sarsfields, and St Michael’s. The FĂŠile na nGael has become even more competitive and costly in the last decade. Earlier this year the president of the GAA, Liam O’Neill expressed his concerns about the madness that the national FĂŠile weekend has become. The preparations have escalated to teams being taken away for warm-weather preparation,

teams refusing to be accommodated by a host club, preferring instead to set up camp in a hotel and clubs insisting on specific diet regimes for their players during the competition. The FĂŠile hurling competition was started in 1971 as an U15 competition. Presumably one of the reasons it was started at that time was because the GAA felt the need to create an underage competition that would help sell the glory of Gaelic Games in an environment which was rapidly changing due to the dropping of the “Banâ€? rule which allowed children the option to take part in a wide range of sports. It was a great idea at the time, and it worked well at least in

It has been a pleasure writing this terms of the public profile but, as we have seen, the long-term benefits to the players and club that have taken part are dubious. Sport and sport science have moved on since 1971. It is now believed that subjecting 14 years old children to intense competition causes more harm then good. There are strong grounds for believing that the concept of the FĂŠile na nGael and the FĂŠile Peil need to be re-thought. I finished my first column with this statement. “Only the future will tell if this year’s victory for Glen Rovers was a holy grail or a poisoned chalice.â€? The Glen defeated O’Loughlin Gaels of Kilkenny, in that 2002 final. The Kilkenny side won the

2010 Kilkenny and Leinster senior club titles. While the bones of the Glen side have had very successful underage careers, the real holy grail, the senior county championship, has eluded them so far. The major difference between 2002 and today is that the economic climate has changed drastically. Back then club treasurers grumbled about the cost of playing in the FĂŠile but currently qualifying for the FĂŠile is tantamount to a Government Levy. While the FĂŠile title of 2002 may still bear senior hurling fruit for Glen Rovers, I think it is time for the focus to shift off the clubs and give some serious thought to the value of the competition in its current format.

ONE other piece I enjoyed greatly was a piece I wrote in 2008 not long after I took up cycling. Although I have completed much longer and tougher journeys since, my first trip around Slea Head left a lasting impression on me because it was windy and I was not really ready for it. “The trip from Slea Head to Dunquin is mostly downhill. I was feeling good until the rain came again. It was raining fairly heavily when I turned on to the Mam Clasach. This was when the wind hit me right in the face. The Mam Clasach is a gap between two mountains; Mount Eagle is on the western side and Cruach

MhĂĄrthain is on the Dingle side. When the wind blows it is a natural wind tunnel. My first aim was not to get off the bike; no matter how slow or how low the gear. I pedalled on in the low middle gears for a while. Then a car came against me. There was barely room for us to pass. In order to stay on the bike I had to make a quick change to the lowest or “grannyâ€? gears. The speedometer showed I was doing 7km per hour. As my speed continued to fall, my pulse continued to rise; the wind continued to blow. Every August, the roadside of the Mam Clasach is dotted with the orange flowers of the Monbretia. As I struggled on

MY FIRST column was published on Wednesday July 10, 2002. Neither I nor, anyone else expected it would still be running 559 columns later. While there were weeks and when I struggled to find the muse or even the energy to go and look for the muse, I generally looked forward to writing this column. The main reason I enjoyed the column was the feedback I received from Evening Echo readers. I have been lucky that I have been exposed to wide range of sports and sporting theologies over the years. The column gave me an opportunity to express my ideas and opinions to a wide audience. One of my favourites ploys

was to take a topical incident and throw out my opinion on the cause and effect of that topic. I sometimes did this to challenge what I perceived to be the conventional opinion. Other times, I felt there was lack of a broader knowledge and I would draw in examples from other sports such as cricket or baseball to give a different perspective on an incident. There were times also when I challenged the convention just for sheer devilment. I any event, whatever I wrote always seemed to create feedback and that was my benchmark. I have been asked to “stop writing that rubbish about baseball� as often as I was

told, “I really enjoy when you write about American sport.� One of my reasons for referring back to baseball or cricket is I believe these sports play as big a role in the social fabric of the countries in which they are the national sport as Gaelic Games do here. Sport is universal. It is not the possession of any country or professional body. More importantly, the value of sport is universal and a sporting body in one part of the world can learn from the experiences of any other sporting organisation. Writing this column for the Echo has been one of many highlights of my 35 years with this newspaper group. I would not right to sign off

my last column without acknowledging the help I received through all 559 columns from my wife, Anne (who was often told “read thisâ€? when she would have preferred to be asleep), John McHale, sports editor and sports staff, Liam Horan, who was sports editor in 2002 and whose idea it was for me to write the column, and Evening Echo editor, Maurice Gubbins who often stood in as proofreader when Anne was away, or just wouldn’t wake up. It is my hope to make the occasional guest appearance on these pages from now on. Until then, slĂĄn go foil, agus mĂ­le buĂ­ochas le gach duinne as bhur comhluadar. Diarmuid O’Donovan.

Slea Head slog in granny gears was one not to forget — I was now down to 5kph — I noticed the backside of a large bee tunnelling into a Monbretia flower. He trying to find some nectar that the rain had not washed away. He gave up as I passed and to my consternation he buzzed off up the hill at about twice the speed I was travelling. The road levelled off for a little while and I got some respite. My pulse dropped but the wind did not. The rain had stopped but you would not know it by looking at me as beads of sweat dripped off my nose. At last the top was in sight, but it seemed to be taking forever to get there because I didn’t have the energy to get out of the “granny� gears.�

DON’T MISS PAUDIE PALMER’S VIEW ON ALL THINGS GAA TOMORROW

OPINION: Diarmuid O’Donovan looks back on his column: P50-51

Penney is irked by Joe snipe Cruel blow for Paudie O’Sullivan, left, as he falls to the ground. Above: Being removed to hospital. Picture: Eddie O’Hare

Disaster for Paudie CORK hurling star Paudie O’Sullivan faces a long road to recovery after suffering a horrific leg break last night, but is being backed to come back stronger.

The Rebel forward broke his leg when landing awkwardly in last night’s senior hurling clash between his division Imokilly and CIT at Carrigtwohill. The match was abandoned after a delay before he was taken to hospital.

Cork ace to miss championship campaign HURLING

By ÉAMONN MURPHY Paudie will now be out for the year, missing key games for his club Cloyne, Imokilly and Cork. The 24-year-old previously suffered a cruciate knee injury in 2007. His brother Eoin (@eoinpom) tweeted late last night that:

“Paudie has a broken Fibula and Tibia,in cast now,due to be operated on in the morn,Currently out for the count. Beidh sĂŠ ar ais nĂ­os lĂĄidirâ€? Donal Ă“g Cusack also lent his support on twitter: “you in my head all night & first thing this morning man...so disappointed for you...sport is cruel & tough journey ahead...face it, live it, trust your inner strength & you'll be

back a stronger man...look forward to that & we'll be waiting for you� Paudie’s older brother Diarmuid ‘The Rock’ O’Sullivan paid tribute to the attention he received. “Thank you to @ Carrig2hillGAA and @CIT_ie especially the doc for the fantastic care they provided paudie with on the field last night.� � See P50-53 for more GAA.

RUGBY SOME of the rhetoric that followed the decision not to cite Munster star Paul O’Connell is hard to take for Munster coach Rob Penney, ZULWHV 6(¤1 0F &$57+< “Paulie has done more for the game in Ireland than anybody and for the young kids that are now enjoying the game, it’s on the back of a lot of what he’s done, so I was a wee bit taken aback by just that one reference (by Joe Schmidt) that it would put people off the game. “For a guy of Paulie’s ilk, and what he does around the community for people in the wider community, people in hospitals and so forth and young people with illnesses, it’s just unheralded. Otherwise I can understand what Joe is saying about wanting to protect his players. “Hopefully, they (Leinster) feel under a bit of heat now because Munster’s on the rise and he’s trying to put some ammunition back this way and trying to put some pressure back on us in alternative areas outside the game itself.â€? â—? â—? See P37 for more

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