KILLINAN END - Early season observations
Probably just as well it’s February. Yet again we learned the folly of forcing the inclusion of January in the plans for an annual fixture schedule. Some fixtures succumbed entirely to the elements; others were dominated by the conditions. Maybe the people of the west are the most sensible with the remarkable facility in Bekan, Co. Mayo, just a few miles from Knock.
This was opened in 2017 and cost just over €3 million which in the current environment is cheap at the price. It almost goes without saying when you consider the last statement that it was built by a company from Slovenia who imported workers from that country to complete the task. It not only hosted the successfully completed the Connacht Hurling & Football Leagues but also hosted club matches from different counties. It is estimated that it facilitates about 200 matches each year that otherwise would not have been played when they were due because of weather.
When you consider the vast sums ploughed into Páirc Uí Chaoimh, a venue which will be filled only occasionally, you wonder about value for money in the context of the utility of grounds. Whatever the charms of the southern capital it is an outlying location and will always struggle to attract the games such a project might merit. It is far from comparing like with like, of course, but a well-located indoor venue would have no such problems in Munster.
People would queue up to tell you how insignificant the Munster Hurling League might be in the grand scheme of things but it’s an embarrassment to start a competition and be unable to finish it. That’s a scenario which should have been left back in the 1920s when there were real problems trying to get people together. Playing any competition outdoor in Ireland in January is not a great idea and as a function of the condensed calendar is farcical.
And for all the support the split-season has and the wonders it apparently does for clubs what about the conditions for the completion of the All-Ireland club championships? Glen v Kilmacud Crokes was played in what would be regarded in any circumstances as unplayable conditions and even St Thomas’ great win - which properly reflects their efforts in recent years – was carved out in poor weather conditions. The best club teams in the country deserve better surely.
The Walsh Cup in Leinster had its blip too with the plug having to be pulled on the Galway-Offaly game after just 55 minutes because of the weather. In the end it finished on a high with Wexford winning the final against Galway. As always, a Model County win manages to lift the general tone of any event. The sight of Lee Chin surrounded by autograph hunters even in January shows the excitement this county brings when going well and beating Galway and Kilkenny along the way will have done their confidence no harm at all. Having regard for all their limitations good performances in these competitions does betray good vibes in a camp. Form and momentum can remain long after the winning of the competition has been forgotten.
Our own form has not been bad in that respect. A decent performance against Waterford in the Munster League, a good run-out against Limerick, with a challenge against Clare in between was not bad preparation. Not much to go on as a form-line but enough to face into Dublin with a sense of confidence. Last year, when it was good was very good, and we can harbour some hope that there is potential.
Football’s first weekend brought plenty of interest with the two All-Ireland semi-finals of last year repeated as Derry and Monaghan turned the tables this time, both by the slimmest margin. Mayo’s strong win in Salthill brought another of the sport’s great rivalries into play on the opening day. Any such excitement on hurling’s opening weekend is confined to the other group.
Cork going to Ennis is always a game to savour – the rebels have lost both their trips to Cusack Park since the round-robin started in Munster. Kilkenny-Wexford hardly needs much promotion these days. When new manager Keith Rossiter played for Wexford, the county was very much on the backfoot in this relationship. In the years since Kilkenny’s last All-Ireland win they’ve met seven times in the championship and Wexford have lost just twice – once by a point, and once after extra-time. Changed times and certainly a rivalry that Leinster needs.
Dublin has generally been a happy hunting ground for Tipperary teams in search of league points but there is plenty of potential in the capital and we will approach this with caution. In the broader context of progression to the latter stages of the league, we find ourselves in the more desirable group – let that be said at the outset whatever happens. But a slip-up at the weekend and suddenly none of that matters.