Occasionally the curtain will briefly part and through the narrow slit you get to steal a glimpse backstage.
Intercounty teams endeavour to permit you to see only what they want you to see, forever obsessed with controlling the controllables until the actors on stage appear interchangeably robotic.
But at Dublin’s All-Ireland final media event Dessie Farrell momentarily opened the curtain. These sterile events rarely stray towards affairs of the heart, but Farrell became emotional when speaking about his captain James McCarthy.
“He’s probably the greatest we’ve ever had,” said Farrell. It came with no caveat, no qualification, no retreat to the safety line of Dublin having lots of other great players over the years as well, naturally. No, James McCarthy, he’s our man.
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Considering the reverence with how team-mates speak of him it is not hard to gather McCarthy is hugely admired within the dressingroom. Still, it is rare for a manager to be so unashamedly glowing about one of his players in such circumstances.
When asked what it was about McCarthy that convinced him to make the Ballymun man his captain, it took Farrell 12 seconds to get out roughly as many words in response. His eyes started to water, his voice quavered and he paused to clear his throat mid-answer. It was heartfelt and genuine, all of which is to Farrell’s credit.
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Question: Making James captain, was that something you asked the players about or was it a management decision?
Dessie Farrell: That was a management decision.
Q: What about James was the reason to make him captain?
DF: Ah, he’s ... he’s em, phew, hard to describe really. He’s a special player.
Q: Will the nine medals be something that will be mentioned?
DF: No, not at all.
Q: When you say a special player, is he one of the best to have pulled on the blue jersey?
DF: Yeah, he’s probably the greatest we’ve ever had.
Q: Really?
DF: Yeah.
Q: Why?
DF: Just, he’s all in. It’s all about the team, He’s the most low maintenance individual you’ll ever come across. Every day he’s like a lion out there.
Q: He seems like a guy who is literally in it for the good of the team?
DF: Yeah, I’m surprised he came here today actually, because he just wants to play football and be the best version he can be for football. I’ve the utmost admiration for him – as do all the lads. I know it’s cliched, the spiritual leader, the warrior and all that type of stuff, but it would be a tough day going out without James McCarthy, that’s for sure.
Q: Does he continue to surprise you?
DF: Yeah, he does, you don’t know where he gets the resources of energy from. I think he’s had as good a season in some of the bigger moments, in the last couple of games he’s been immense. He’s just able to find it from somewhere.
Q: As somebody who played until your own body probably didn’t allow you to, do you see some of yourself in him?
DF: No, I don’t, that’s one I definitely wouldn’t run by the kids either! He’s just all in, it’s hard to describe. I think he has some really admirable characteristics. First and foremost I think it’s his sense of selflessness. He’ll do whatever it takes. If you told him he couldn’t be part of the 26 he’d take it on the chin. If you told him from start to finish he had to do handstands up and down the pitch, whatever it takes, he’s just all in. He’s such a competitor. There’s no backward step with James.
Q: Where does that mindset come from
DF: I don’t know, his dad was definitely like-minded and that’s just an observation from watching him as a child growing up. Just full of bravery, full of courage. Fearless is a great word to describe him.
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Prior to Sunday’s final nobody in the Dublin dressingroom is going to say there is an extra incentive within the group to get McCarthy up the steps to lift the Sam Maguire, but Farrell’s words demonstrate the respect the eight-time All-Ireland winner holds within the set-up.
The feeling this is a last dance for some of this Dublin group hangs in the background. Irrespective of the result, will McCarthy or Stephen Cluxton or Michael Fitzsimons or Dean Rock or the management team be back in 2024? It is hard to imagine all will be. The more pertinent question is possibly if any of them will.
“There hasn’t been that conversation,” said Farrell when questioned on the sense this season has been one big last push to try to reclaim Sam.
“I’m not sure what that says, you might be trying to clutch at straws. We’re focused on delivering a performance every day we go out rather than trying to pull on the heart strings or have a crutch because some of that can be a false motivation.
“Whatever we do, it has to be intrinsic and it has to be for the right reasons. There’s definitely a really good sense in the group, with so many younger players coming in bringing the energy, rejuvenating the older lads, there’s a sort of a father-son thing going on or a student-mentor thing with that dynamic in place.
“It’s been very interesting to watch that and the conversations that have been had around tables or laptops. They’re brilliant to hear from a manager/coach perspective.
“The older lads definitely want to help set these young fellas on the right path. They’ve appreciated, or got a sense, that others before them have passed on their knowledge and supported them when they were in that situation. Now it’s their turn to pass on the baton.”
But James McCarthy will carry it out for Dublin at Croke Park on Sunday.
