THAT’S ENOUGH
Gavin ends ban and hopes ‘lessons have been learned’
JIM GAVIN has ended one war with RTÉ after confirming that he will end his boycott of oneon-one interviews with the broadcast media for Sunday’s Leinster final against Kildare.
However, he may have ignited another by sniping that he hopes RTÉ has learned its lesson after being frozen out following the recent TV analysis of Diarmuid Connolly’s brush with a linseman.
Gavin (right) insisted he stood over his scathing criticism of the Sunday Game panel for comments made about Connolly who, while currently serving a 12-week ban for his actions, is still training with the team.
‘All I can say is that I really hope that the lessons have been learned,’ Gavin said.
‘If I believe a player is being disrespected and Croke Park don’t step in and protect the player and his good name, I’ve no option but to react as I did the last day. But hopefully lessons have been learned and we can move on.’
Gavin accepts pundits should offer opinions on incidents in games even before the GAA’s disciplinary arm review them.
‘Absolutely, there has to be a debate. There’ll be debates and great discussion coming into this game and after this game by supporters. Everyone is entitled to their opinion and to express it freely, but it’s not absolute.
‘Unlike other sports, intercounty players have to go out on a Monday morning and seek out a living. If their name has been damaged, I just feel that’s above and beyond what Gaelic games is about.’
THERE was no mention of bile or malevolence in the Gibson Hotel yesterday morning. Jim Gavin was in a conciliatory mood when probed about his stand against RTÉ, and the power that Pat Spillane and Colm O’Rourke are able to exert over the GAA’s disciplinary process.
‘We facilitated everybody on the day,’ Gavin insisted when asked about his refusal to do one-on-one interviews with RTÉ after their record win over Westmeath. ‘We will move on and hopefully those lessons have been learned by them.’
The Dublin manager didn’t meet with the national broadcaster. He didn’t believe it was necessary. ‘I stated the facts as I saw them and hopefully, the lessons have been learned,’ he explained.
Gavin claimed that he only took his position against RTÉ because nobody was protecting his player, Diarmuid Connolly. The controversy, which has rumbled on over the course of this summer, finally seems to have died down. The forward is working away in the background of the Dublin squad, on an individual programme.
If Dublin retain the Leinster title on Sunday — setting yet another record by claiming a seventh title in a row — they will be on course to contest the second All-Ireland semi-final, which takes place hours after Connolly’s 12-week suspension expires.
‘There are no guarantees that he will play inter-county (again) this year because we don’t know where our path will take us and whether we will be involved in the competition,’ said Gavin. ‘He will certainly play club football but whether he plays county football will remain to be seen.’
Gavin confirmed that Connolly is still attending team meetings. ‘Diarmuid is preparing as best he can. We have given him an individual programme, he is doing skills work with one of the backroom staff. That’s where he is at. What I do know is that he is very determined, very focused and driven and if we are lucky enough to get to that stage [AllIreland semi-final] he will be there for us.’ While he must plan without Connolly, Gavin does have a fully fit squad to select from ahead of the test against the Lilywhites with both Philly McMahon and John Small back kicking ball and Michael Darragh Macauley recovered from a knee injury. Gavin (left), who was part of the Dublin team beaten by Kildare when they captured their last Leinster title in 2000, accepts that the Lilywhites might offer his side their sternest examination yet inside the province.
A win will mean that Dublin become the first team to win seven Leinster titles on the trot, moving ahead of Heffo’s heroes, who ruled the province between 1974 and 1979, and the great Wexford team that claimed six titles between 1913 to 1918, in the history books.
But that doesn’t seem to mean much to Gavin, who almost seemed unaware of the impending feat when asked about it.
‘Maybe when the players look back, with all the other bits and bobs along the way, it will be significant,’ the Dublin manager felt. ‘It is probably something for the supporters to focus on but it hasn’t been talked about by us. We don’t mention those things.
‘We have just looked at Kildare. They are an impressive side, so our focus is just trying to get that performance piece on Sunday. When the guys hang up their county boots, they might look back on what they achieved. But you can’t get caught up in that. To us, this is only a game of football. It is a Leinster final.’
Having beaten Westmeath by 31 points, a record win during Gavin’s reign, Dublin seem to be in a pretty good place.
‘We are right where we want to be,’ the manager said. ‘It was a good performance. We prepared well and that was reflected in how we played. Our opening game was against a team [Carlow] that played with the majority of their players behind the ball. We still had a quite comprehensive gap at the end of that game.
‘We see those defensive systems as a great a challenge for us now. We broke it down by 12 points in the end. So whatever way teams set themselves up we’ll just meet that challenge. We’re happy where we’re at, it’s according to the plan.’
Perhaps all these records aren’t in Gavin’s wider plan, just a consequence of his team’s dominance. But if they do set yet another record on Sunday, it will serve as further evidence that this side deserve to be right at the top among all the great teams that have played this game — whether the manager acknowledges that or not when he speaks to RTÉ.
‘We are right where we want to be’