The brief history of the mongrel game we currently call International Rules has been pockmarked by many incidents of hyperbolic violence but seldom has a series of games finished on a more sour note, writes Tom Humphries at Croke Park.
Australia came to Croke Park yesterday and swatted away the Irish challenge like giant beasts swishing at bluebottles. Thus they won the present series. That was the football. These things happen in football.
Graham Geraghty, the Irish forward, spent five minutes unconscious on the ground before being bluelighted to the Mater hospital. Afterwards neither side could agree whether Geraghty had been assaulted or tackled. The Australians shrugged and said these things happen. The Irish were outraged.
The game opened with a throw in as a major melee was in progress and the violence continued up until a long break necessitated by treatment to Geraghty.
Afterwards Irish team manger Seán Boylan was incandescent with rage. "I've been involved in team management for 23 years, I played for 20 years. What I saw today is not acceptable in any code of sport, it's not acceptable on the street . . . we were told what was going to happen to Graham, the people got their way."
The extent of the violence in the opening minutes was such that the Irish were left with just three, instead of seven, interchange players to shuffle on and off.
On completion of the first 18-minute quarter Boylan took the Irish side from the pitch and was personally in favour of keeping them there but the players wanted to finish the game which they did finishing on the wrong end of a 31-69 scoreline which saw many of the 82,127 crowd leave early.
Australian manager Kevin Sheedy was unsympathetic. He thought the challenge that wiped out Geraghty was "a great tackle".
"Every time Australia win, this series is coming to an end," said Sheedy "Unbelievable. You're the greatest con men I've ever met . . . I think Ireland were the aggressors last week and this week."
The GAA and the AFL will meet early next year to discuss what future, if any, the experiment has.