Where else but the parallel universe of Cork GAA, where the minutiae of meeting minutes are given biblical importance, would you find hundreds of club officials hailing the striking hurlers after their own county board delegates effectively gave them the two fingers? (Can you imagine the puss on Frank Murphy when he heard about the two standing ovations the Ógs et al received last Sunday night?)
Given what’s happening in the real world, it’s impossible not to concur with Antrim legend ‘Sambo’ McNaughten, the Cushendal man who was so generous in his praise of De La Salle in the immediate aftermath of the Glensmen’s latest crushing disappointment.
“I think some of them have lost the principles of the GAA,” the Antrim joint-manager said of the Rebels’ self-righteousness. “In my experience and during my lifetime, I think we in Ulster have been more in touch with these principles than our southern counterparts.”
He’s also spot-on when he says “I cannot see a situation where Gerald McCarthy sits and looks at Donal Óg Cusack and Sean Óg in the eye… I don’t think the two sets of people involved could ever go into the same changing room again. I think it’s gone beyond that – one has to go. Too much has happened now to think that everyone is going to live happily ever after.”
Some might suggest that the county secretary won’t be budged until someone pulls the rulebook from his cold dead hands. One wonders why the GAA, who belatedly proposed a peace deal to no avail last week, don’t tell the former referee it’s time he – unlike a cabinet minister or three – considered his position.
With the players unwilling to climb down after being hoist on their own petard, it’s becoming inevitable that McCarthy – as per the motion of no confidence the clubs have been asked by the stayaway stars to “discuss” – will soon be sacrificed. If those demanding his head allow that to happen, and Murphy stays, tis a sorry state of affairs.
