Well, isn’t it a good thing that the resurgences of two of Gaelic football’s superpowers were live and free on RTÉ, with none of that GAA+ lark. That meant everyone could witness the rebirth of Meath or, as Marty Morrissey put it, “The Royals are back in football. BIG. TIME.”. And then came Kerry’s miracle-like second half as they ended Armagh’s reign as custodians of the Sam Maguire.
The intercounty GAA season has been changed utterly these past few years, squeezing matches thick and fast into the calendar, but there’s little doubt that the new football rules in play have transformed the big-ball game into one high on energy and where the skills of forwards, especially, have been given new life.
Whereas Saturday’s two football quarter-finals were hidden behind a paywall – unless you watched it on the radio or paid the schillings – the Sunday Game Live fare brought the traditional screening into the livingrooms and bars, and you can be sure that many a Meath fan will be, as Royals manager Robbie Brennan observed after the win over Galway, “changing holiday plans”.
Before the match, the RTÉ punditry trio of Tomás Ó Sé, Conor Glass and Lee Keegan and presenter Joanne Cantwell had gone into the ins and outs and maybes of what lay ahead but with the sense that Galway, last year’s beaten finalists, would advance.
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In fairness, there were words of caution from the three wise men. “It’s an extremely dangerous game for Galway. If they disrespect or don’t show up in the first half, then Meath will more than likely take advantage,” suggested Ó Sé.
As the half-time whistle sounded with a kick of the ball between the team in a low scoring first-half, Morrissey referred to it being a “pulsating” game, which, let’s be honest, was using hyperbolic language that none of those steaming under the heat pitchside fell for. Keegan offered the opinion that Galway manager Pádraic Joyce would be giving the “hairdryer treatment” to his team in the dressingroom during the break.
It turned out Marty had a crystal ball with him in the commentary booth because the second-half was indeed a pulsating affair, with Meath’s young hardy bucks playing some brilliant football to move onwards into what used to be familiar territory back in the day, now having an All-Ireland semi-final to look forward to in a fortnight’s time.
“Where in the name of God have these Meath players come from?” wondered Ó Sé, marvelling at how boys had turned into men in the short time since Brennan assumed the managerial role.
Ciarán Caulfield, at 21, one of those young men and vice-captain to boot, coolly and calmly strolled over and joined the pundits at their perch in the corner and talked in measured terms about Meath’s return to the big time (which in its own way showed all that needed to be shown of the type of player that Brennan has taken under his wing).
The show was only half-over, though. Even if Meath’s breathtaking second-half display would surely be hard to match.
Indeed, at half-time in the Kerry-Armagh match, there was a sense among some of the RTÉ pundits that there was an inevitability about what was coming.
“My worry is how much energy they [Kerry] are using to try to stop Armagh,” said Keegan.
But Ó Sé had his doubts. “Everyone says Armagh are the top team in the country. Eh, I don’t know,” said the Kerryman.
“Absolutely [they are],” said Glass.
“They are still number one until they are beaten,” added Keegan in the sort of tone that suggested it wasn’t going to be any time soon.
Who knew?
In the commentary booth, both Morrissey and the co-commentator sought to understand what was happening in front of their eyes in a second-half where Armagh’s kickouts malfunctioned and Kerry ran riot.
“They’re still alive,” said Marty in a hopeful sort of way after Armagh ended what seemed like an age without a score.
Followed, soon after, by: “Is there any way back for the champions? They’re 10 behind.”
There was, as everyone could see on actual terrestrial telly, no way back for Armagh.
“They do vengeance really well,” remarked Enda McGinley of Kerry. He wasn’t wrong.
