CROKE PARK MUST NOT BE ALLOWED TO PULL THE WINGS OFF OUR MAYFLIES
IT won’t be long now until ‘the fly is up’, that annual call to arms for lough fishers everywhere. Mayfly season attracts trout anglers from far and wide to the beautiful limestone lakes of Leitrim, hoping this year’s hatch will result in a bounty. The mayfly has always served as an appropriate metaphor for the proud footballers of this small county, appearing for their one day in the sun before being swallowed up by a much larger predator. And in the archaic provincial system, it seems minnows like Leitrim only function as an essential part of the food chain, allowing Mayo or Galway players limber up before bigger obstacles further down the road. There will be no shock in Salthill tomorrow. Leitrim welcome back star-forward Keith Beirne, suspended for their successful trip to Ruislip, and Donal Wrynn may ask a few questions of the imperious Paul Conroy in midfield but even so, Andy Moran’s side will lose to Galway. But their summer will not hinge on what happens in Pearse Stadium. The qualifier system was never a friend to Leitrim. Although they had a couple of close calls — taking Roscommon to extratime in 2003 and doing the same to Donegal in 2007 on the day Michael Murphy made his championship debut — it took more than a decade before they won a game by the back-door, the 2012 win over
Wicklow. That was what the qualifiers usually meant for teams at Leitrim’s level. There were summers when a side might get three or four games, when Longford might shock Derry. There may even be the odd trip to Croker, as Fermanagh got in 2015 on an unforgettable occasion against Jim Gavin’s Dublin. But the progress couldn’t be sustained. And, for all the memories, there was never any silverware. This summer, Leitrim do have a realistic chance of a trophy. As do all
other Division Three and Four teams. The Tailteann Cup isn’t the first time the GAA tried to create a secondary championship title. In the 2000s, the Tommy Murphy Cup had a protracted death over a couple of seasons as county boards gradually pulled away from it, citing training costs, as well as a lack of public interest. Competing teams were often shorn of their star players, who had decamped to the US. It all got very messy. But there was never complete buy-in from public, media or the Association itself. It felt like an after-thought. And was treated as one. The All-Ireland B Championship, which was run in the 1990s, was more successful. Leitrim actually won it in 1991, a few years before John O’Mahony led them to their second — and last — provincial title. Clare won it too before winning the Munster title in 1992. It had its benefits, but interest again dwindled. Even though Down’s Barry O’Hagan declared that the Tailteann Cup ‘a waste of time’ after their defeat by Monaghan, there seems to be a groundswell of support among counties to make this thing work. Sligo’s Tony McEntee and Fermanagh’s Kieran Donnelly, two of the more progressive managers in the lower tiers, have both said their sides will take it seriously. As we imagine Moran and Leitrim will be doing. It needs more than a commitment from managers and players, though. It needs exposure. On Sky Sports recently, Jim McGuinness even suggested playing Tailteann Cup games as curtain-raisers to provincial finals or All-Ireland quarter-finals. It’s a good idea. If the early rounds are stand-alone fixtures in front of small crowds, the competition could wither and die very quickly. And it needs due love and care from the Association itself in marketing it. With the current broadcast-rights deal up for renewal, the Tailteann Cup should be a central plank of discussions. Why not give a broadcaster like TG4 exclusive rights to the competition, considering the job they have done for Ladies Football and the club game? At least, they will know it will be afforded respect. There’s a real opportunity here to ensure that the summer for proud footballing counties like Leitrim lasts a bit longer than the existence of the mayfly. But everyone needs to get behind it. If attitudes like Barry O’Hagan’s become the norm, the Tailteann Cup will fail before it is given a chance to gain identity. Croke Park cannot allow that to happen.