Away from the glare, summer comes alive

New York and Gaelic Park were trending

LIFE on the margins. The opening weekend of the All-Ireland hurling and football championships showed it’s not about big crowds and live television for most.

Instead, it’s all about dreaming big — from New York to London to Navan. And the small moments that happen along the way.

At 3pm on Saturday, referee Cathal McAllister threw in the sliotar at Meath’s Páirc Tailteann for the first round of the inaugural Joe McDonagh Cup, the new second-tier hurling competition that feeds into the Liam MacCarthy race and that is named in honour of the popular late president who famously belted out ‘The West’s Awake’ from the steps of the Hogan Stand after Galway’s triumph in 1980.

In that very first moment, Antrim midfielder Nigel Elliott won possession and took off, aiming a shot at the posts only to see his point attempt drift wide. As the shouts went up from his team-mates and confusion reigned among the small band of hard-core supporters in the stand, the realisation dawned: he was playing the wrong way. Up went the umpire’s arm indicating a 65 and up stepped Meath’s Jack Regan to split the posts.

As if to prove his own point, Elliott (below) went on to play like a man possessed, finishing with 3-2 in a personal tour-de-force as Antrim recovered their composure to play some cracking hurling and deal with the body blow of two early Meath goals to run out comfortable winners.

Elliott’s early cameo wasn’t the only moment of light relief.

Meath were awarded a free in at one point in the second half only for a bit of argy bargy to break out. When Meath substitute Colm Ó Méalóid was booked, a vocal Antrim supporter in the main stand started roaring at the referee: ‘Hop ball! Hop ball!’

With Woody, Sambo, Sheedy on the line, it was like hurling’s version of The Expendables in terms of the All-Star cast of talent reassembled. Here were two iconic Antrim stars — otherwise known as Dominic McKinley and Terence McNaughton — still invested in the cause, not to mention every ball. And joined by none other than All-Ireland winning Tipperary manager Liam Sheedy who took on a loose coaching role for no deeper reason than a love of the game and a desire to give his friend Sambo a dig out. Add in Gary O’Kane, the third member of the management team who featured in the 1989 All-Ireland final against Sheedy’s own county.

On the line for Meath were Kilkenny pair Michael Kavanagh and Martin Comerford, with j14 All-Ireland medals between them. At another point, Sambo took a belt of a sliotar on the shin and as he hobbled about, the Antrim physio played it for laughs by issuing him with an ice pack.

Sometimes, the game itself is enough.

Over in New York, the ultimate Bronx Tale was unfolding. Between the synthetic Gaelic Park surface, the red, yellow and blue lines on the field, and the Manhattan backdrop with its boxcar train carriage, the whole scene carried a touch of the exotic. Native New Yorker Shane Hogan tucked the ball to the Leitrim net just

minutes in to set the locals dreaming of their own bit of history in the shape a first Connacht Championship win in 20 years of competition.

Seamus McDonagh — the same English literature major who grew up in Enfield and fought Evander Holyfield in a heavyweight fight at Atlantic City – was one of the interested faces in the crowd.

Willie Hegarty of Shannonside radio trended on Twitter as he described the point to put New York three up in extra time: ‘Kevin O’Grady found a gap like a sheep through the hedge running into the neighbour’s field.’

Marty Morrissey’s RTÉ co-commentator Pat Donohue used the phrase ‘world class’ after a Jamie Clarke wonder score.

Leitrim got four points in the final five minutes of extra time to steal the show with Noel Plunkett enjoying ‘hero for a day’ status by kicking the match-winner.

The only pity was that the live television cameras weren’t there to record it.

Earlier that afternoon, Ruislip provided another example of the thriving GAA community abroad. Ciarán Deely’s London team featured seven English-born players in the starting line-up, a remarkable statistic.

Like New York, the final result of the Connacht Championship tie went against them, but here was a sustainable vision for the game in another big city.

There is an onus on the association to promote the game outside the elite. So why not set aside a section of the television rights for promotional purposes? If the main rights holders don’t want the off-Broadway games, then why not give TG4 free rein to screen and promote what they want outside the usual suspects? Some games have a cultural and promotional value as opposed to merely a box-office value.

Broadcaster Dara Ó Cinnéide has already produced a fascinating documentary ‘GAA USA’ on the history of Gaelic games in the States. With New York, Leitrim and Gaelic Park all trending online during the match, the interest is clearly there.

The GAA, at home and abroad, means a million different things to a million different people.

There’s plenty of Championship romance to be found — if anyone wants to scratch beneath the surface.