KEVIN CASSIDY: A new enthusiasm

THE turkey is well gone and people are out walking like tomorrow is never coming however there is one common topic on everyone’s lips.

Over the Christmas period I have bumped into people of all ages and the one thing they all want to speak about is how the new rules will look when January hits – and now January has hit. It always happens at this time of year when we all overindulge in food and drink and all we want to do is to get back to normality. Normality for us is going to watch our beloved Gaelic games. This year seems extra special though given the fact that we are facing in to what could quite possibly be a totally different game and people’s enthusiasm is at an all-time high.

This year above all, it’s a crying shame that we do not have the pre-season competitions to look forward to because I’d imagine if Donegal we’re heading to play somewhere there would be about 10,000 people there to watch.

County teams up and down the land are getting used to these new rules behind closed doors and we will have to wait another few weeks before we see them in the flesh for ourselves. I still remember what it feels like at this time of year, trying to turn your mind back into full training mode, so I can only imagine how that must feel for these players nowadays as they try to get their heads around all of these changes.

Over the Christmas period, I have spoken to a few players from different counties who have been training with these rules for some time now. I have to say that the general feedback seems to be very positive. The overall feeling is that the game is much faster and much more open so if that transpires then Jim Gavin and his team have done a fantastic job.

The one area of concern that I do have, and I mentioned this before Christmas, was the lack of information trickling down to the club scene and that is something that I would like to see happen very quickly in the New Year.

Likewise, for the underage teams what rules are in? At what age groups do these rules come in? These sort of questions need to be answered before underage teams get back on the pitch to put their plants in place for the year ahead.

Last Friday night, the Gaoth Dobhair minor team from 1999 gathered for our 25-year reunion and I have to say it was a very enjoyable occasion. We won the title back in ‘99 and I suppose that was the start of a lot of our footballing careers. It’s hard to believe that 25 years have passed so it was great to see so many old faces get together and share a few beers and laughs.

We also remembered our right half-back that day Paul Sweeney who is sadly no longer with us. Those sort of nights are a great idea and I would encourage teams out there to make the effort to celebrate those sort of occasions if you can.

Time passes so quickly and it’s important to mark those events.

Before I sign off, I’d like to wish everyone a very happy new year. I hope all your hopes and wishes for 2025 come true. Athbhlian faoi mhaith daoibh.

This week’s Gaelic Lives looks ahead to the All-Ireland semi-finals this weekend and we have Ulster minor winning reaction.