RTÉ is just not doing enough to showcase all of hurling’s heroes
THERE is a certain irony in a player who always seems little concerned with the trappings of inter-county fame becoming a cause célèbre for the trappings of the game.
Since Friday night, it has been hard to shift the image of Stephen Cluxton in the penthouse suite of the Gibson Hotel, his six All-Ireland medals on the bedside locker, along with his five All-Star awards, and the room service waiter knocking on the door like the famous George Best anecdote and exclaiming: ‘Jaysus Clucko, no 2018 AllStar? Where did it all go wrong…’
Someone with a sense of mischief decided on a modern interpretation of the iconic poster ‘Attack Of The 50 Foot Woman’ and that beaming a skyscraping image of the Dublin goalkeeper on to the side of the Convention Centre on awards night would set the scene nicely for what was to come and the most heated talking point of the football selection that saw Monaghan’s Rory Beggan honoured after his own superlative year.
As a timely postscript, Beggan continued to break the glass ceiling for goalkeeping on Sunday, daring to go short from a free, take the return, and pop a score nonchalantly over from play in Scotstown’s Ulster club quarter-final victory over Burren.
‘Delighted to get a win,’ he later tweeted, adding tongue in cheek: ‘Don’t take this one away from me lads !!!! ’
Except, the night wasn’t about one Dublin footballer not receiving an award — it was about 45 hurlers not seeing their names up in lights. Again.
The ‘Champion 15’ selections represent an important attempt by the GAA to recognise the talent and achievements of all those hurlers outside the top tier of the Liam MacCarthy Cup, honouring a best 15 selection from the inaugural Joe McDonagh Cup, the Christy Ring Cup and a combined selection from the Nicky Rackard and Lory Meagher Cups.
Inviting them to the All-Stars awards and making them part of RTÉ’s live broadcast on such a big night is about making them feel a valued part of a summer when the game went global, Nickie Quaid’s save from Séamus Harnedy in the All-Ireland semi-final picked out as ‘Highlight of the Weekend’ by none other than Sports Illustrated.
Yet the 45 hurlers from outside the traditional strongholds didn’t even merit their names being announced or even simply flashed up on screen to accompany the Champion 15 selections.
A simple graphic would have allowed those watching at home to put a name to faces that are being rewarded for their dedication and who don’t generally get national exposure. Especially as RTÉ interviewed the four named as Player of the Year in their respective cups, presenter Joanne Cantwell handing the spotlight over to Edward Byrne (Carlow), Paddy McKenna (Kildare), Declan Coulter (Donegal) and James Weir (Sligo).
As a whole, the programme hit almost all the right notes, from Kieran Donaghy’s tub-thumping opening on what an All-Star means to the beautifully-framed montage covering the epic sweep of Dublin’s four-in-a-row.
Simply listing the winners outside the major awards might seem like a small detail but it’s an important one at a time when one of the biggest debates centres around equality. There is a strong push against a two-tier association of haves and have-nots, one that is too elitist, or too detached from the grassroots. At a time when flesh is being put on the bones of a twotier All-Ireland football competition, the failure of the national broadcaster with the main television rights to adequately acknowledge the lower tier hurling competitions on The Sunday Game is a salutary warning.
No wonder counties are worried that if they sign up for a two-tier football competition, they will be out of sight and out of mind. These are cups intended to honour the memory of former president Joe McDonagh and hurling legends Christy Ring, Nickey Rackard and Lory Meagher. So treat them with the respect they deserve. And the players too.
Compare the failure to list the Champions 15 selections on television to the publicity that will attend the upcoming Super 11s competition in Fenway Park in Boston involving Limerick, Clare, Cork and Wexford or the Wild Geese Trophy game between Kilkenny and Galway in Sydney.
This summer, hurling tightened its borders, with the round-robin in Munster and Leinster confined to the top 10 teams. Only more reason why it’s more important than ever to promote the lower tier competitions. Playing the Joe McDonagh Cup final as the Leinster senior final curtain-raiser was a hugely positive step in that regard.
The conversation rightly continues about how the game needs to expand its horizons beyond traditional boundaries.
The national broadcaster has its own part to play.
A simple graphic would have let viewers put a name to the face of these hurlers