Dolan has ‘suspicions’ over Spillane’s motives
DESSIE DOLAN is standing by his contention that Pat Spillane had rehearsed his analysis of the Diarmuid Connolly incident from the Dublin v Carlow game. The Westmeath legend was pulled into the Connolly saga on The Sunday Game last weekend when he suggested that Spillane’s comments about the forward’s incident with linesman Ciaran Branagan — which so upset Dublin manager Jim Gavin — were connected to his own Kerry leanings.
But he stood by what he said yesterday, insisting his suspicions over Spillane’s motives were aroused when the Kerryman came armed with the particular rule that Connolly broke during the quarter-final win over Carlow.
‘I thought it was fairly wellrehearsed what Pat had to say and when he started quoting rules that is what raised my suspicions,’ says Dolan.
‘But it was unusual circumstances. There are a lot of factors. Number one, it’s Dublin. Number two, it’s Jim Gavin. Number three, it’s Connolly. It’s all divisive. My opinion is what I gave. Pat has his opinion and throughout the country, there are a lot of different people with different
opinions on it. My father disagrees with me. Personally, my issue is that Connolly getting three months was too severe for what happened.’ As Dolan pointed out, Louth’s star Ryan Burns received a similar threemonth suspension earlier this week for accidentally hitting the umpire with a football and there hasn’t been a word about it. ‘I genuinely felt terrible for him. It looked like he kicked the ball in total frustration towards the goal and he hit the umpire. It was a one in a 100 shot and he gets a three-month ban. That was awfully unlucky but there was nothing about it because it’s not Dublin, it’s not Diarmuid Connolly, it’s not box office.’ Despite Gavin’s efforts to protect Connolly, Dolan believes that he is instilling a siege mentality that he clearly feels is necessary to capture a third title in a row. ‘Will Jim regret doing it? I think he believes that it just might unify his troops by building this seige mentality. ‘And looking at the game the last day, Dublin were particularly mean to Westmeath, they were ruthless in every aspect of the game.’ And the 2004 Leinster medalist feels Gavin gave his players some slack earlier in the year but has now pulled the reins in. ‘He was quite lenient earlier in the year with the players. ‘But all of a sudden now, he is keeping a very tight handle on things, going to be very controlled and measured, even more than we are used to. ‘I think Jim Gavin needed to find an extra five or 10 percent from his players, based on what I had seen during this year, in order to retain the All-Ireland. And if he gets anything out of this saga at all, I think he will be happy.’ As Dolan works as an RTÉ analyst, he has a vested interest in the current row between Dublin and the national broadcaster being resolved, but the former Westmeath captain says that it is only the general public who are losing out at present. ‘Dublin are the number one team in the country and if Jim isn’t giving interviews, it will set a bad precedent.’ Meanwhile, Dolan is concerned that his native county may find it difficult to lift themselves for their qualifier against Armagh on Saturday week, after falling to a record 31point defeat to Dublin. ‘With the players Westmeath have, they should be doing an awful lot better than losing by 31 points. With Kieran McGeeney’s intensity and attitude, it is going to be very difficult.’
Dessie Dolan was speaking as Ericsson were appointed as GAA’s Official Technology partner and the new sponsor of the Croke Park Skyline