JOE BROLLY: A tale of contrasts

SOMEBODY forgot to tell Glenullin it was an All-Ireland final. They waited, and waited, and waited, and waited, and waited, until the game was over and they had lost. If they had planned it, they couldn’t have been any worse. As King Lear said, “Nothing will come of nothing.”

The previous day, the hurlers showed them how to live a life, reminding us that the game is about glory. It began with Easkey from Sligo, who with a 23-man panel had made it to the junior hurling final against the Cork champions. Spartan mothers used to tell their sons when they were heading off to battle, “Come back with your shields or on them.”

From the throw in, Easkey out-hurled the Cork champions, playing a thrilling, manly brand of hurling. As the game wore on, it became an epic, the Sligo boys hurling heroically. Their number 14 was the championship top scorer (15-77), their best player and free-taker. With Easkey two points up, a long ball was sent into him, he won it over two Cork men and barrelled through on goal. As they dragged him down, he kicked it to the net to put Easkey five up and on the home straight. It was then the referee made the first of two outrageous interventions. He disallowed the goal and brought it back for a 21-yard free in.

Easkey were three up instead of five, a brilliant goal chalked off and the defenders rewarded for their cynicism. Worse was to follow. Early in the second half, both sets of players were battling for the loose ball near the sideline, when there was an obviously accidental clash of heads involving the Sligo 14, Andrew Kilcullen. The TG4 cameras clearly showed that neither the referee nor linesman had seen it. The referee consulted the linesman, then, mystifyingly sent the Sligo man off.

With their free taker and best player gone, the Corkmen were suddenly in the game. The substitute free taker missed two straightforward ones. We couldn’t watch as the game entered the final minute of injury time with the sides level and us praying for a draw to get them back to 15 men for extra time. Alas, a sucker never gets an even break. Kilbrittain were awarded an easy free and stuck it over to win by a point.

It was a thoroughly undeserved win and the referee was a disgrace. Why sub standard referees are sent in to referee All-Ireland Junior finals I do not know. For all the talk of the GAA giving respect, getting respect, there is very little of it shown to the smaller clubs.

Easkey suffered a genuine injustice which will likely be life long and I wasn’t the better for it all weekend.

The second game was only marginally less exhilarating, Toureen from Mayo hurling the Tipp champions as equals. With 30 seconds to go in injury time, an electrifying Toureen were a point up and went all Mayo on it, conceding an easy free to bring extra time. You know the rest.

I will remember those two hurling finals for the rest of my life. The football? I’ve forgotten it already.