McCaffrey still seeing funny side
JACK McCAFFREY got plenty of attention the night Dublin landed a third AllIreland title in a row. It just wasn’t for the reasons he would have dreamed about as a kid.
Rather than cause a stir with his trademark darting runs from wing-back, a cruciate injury cruelly ended McCaffrey’s game after just eight minutes. So, as manager Jim Gavin and captain Stephen Cluxton were interviewed on the Sunday Game during the post-match reception later that evening, the 24-year-old made headlines thanks to his playful background antics.
‘Ah look, it was a celebration but I may have got a bit carried away with myself,’ he said at yesterday’s launch of the 2017 GOAL Miles.
‘I’d been sitting at that table, as opposed to being outside milling around with fans, because I couldn’t really stand for a bit longer than anyone else, and availing of what was available there!
‘It was lighthearted enough. It was funny [the reaction]. I wasn’t on the phone much that night but the next day it was probably the most messages... whatever about winning the game, something like that is probably what gets you noticed, shall we say.’
It was a side we rarely see from any of Gavin’s all-conquering side, and McCaffrey — who has yet to set a date for his return from that cruciate problem — admitted that criticism of his behaviour was all the more confusing given the ‘boring’ tag that is often labelled on some of his teammates.
‘It’s funny, I’ve got my fair share of criticism for doing what I did,’ he continued.
‘I think there are a lot of people out there who, you know, it’s quite an Irish thing to give out about people I’ve found.
‘There are some lads on our team that are fabulous footballers and just don’t like doing media stuff. For people to kind of nearly be offended that they won’t change their personality and want to engage [is wrong]. Like, we have lads, like myself probably and Bernard Brogan and Philly Mac who are in the media a fair amount, people who enjoy it, and it benefits them or whatever, and they do it.
‘But then I don’t think it’s fair that someone, just because they’re good at football, [has to] go out into a relatively intimidating environment to do something that they don’t enjoy doing.
‘I think the Dublin team has been looked at as a whole whereas it’s just really a series of individual personalities.’
It’s not the first time he has jumped to the defence of his teammates recently, with McCaffrey taking issue on Twitter with Dick Clerkin’s belief that the Dublin panel had snubbed this year’s International Rules.
‘I just tried to make a point that there was nearly a perception out there we had all been told not to go and play the International Rules, which couldn’t have been further from the truth.
‘I would have loved to, obviously couldn’t. I know [Paul] Mannion tried to give it a lash for a while, but Crokes went on for a bit, and he’s gone travelling around South or Central America now. So, it was eight, or whatever number were asked, individual reasons for not doing it, as opposed to this blanket “ah, the Dubs don’t care”.
‘I’ve taken massive pride in the two times I represented Ireland, and didn’t like the insinuation that we don’t appreciate it, or don’t take pride in representing your country. There were lads who for whatever reason weren’t asked and would have taken your hand off to play.
‘I’m not saying the whole Dublin panel should have been asked in, that would have been ludicrous. But it’s equally ludicrous to say the whole Dublin panel said “no”.
‘I think you have to be fair with that both ways.’