DAMIAN CULLENcharts the path to Croke Park in September

STAT ATTACK: How Far Can A Team Go From The Very First Round Of The Qualifiers? 

HALF OF the island’s Gaelic football teams placed their faith in the luck of the draw yesterday and the teams that secured a home fixture (Wexford, Cavan, Kildare, Offaly, Mayo, Armagh, Cavan and Tipperary) will be particularly happy. It is an important advantage – of last year’s eight first round ties, six of the home teams emerged victorious.

But how far can those that progess from this season’s first round expect to go?

Well, Tyrone have already proved you can go all the way from the very first qualifier round to the Sam Maguire. And Meath have proven adept at making strong runs from the first qualifier tie.

With eight of the 16 falling at the first hurdle, only half of what is left (who meet the semi-final losers) are likely to clear the second hurdle. But there’s always one . . .

A GAA World Cup - would Ireland beat Brazil?

WHILE ENGLAND were collecting the World Cup title in 1966, Paddy Downey was among the 20,000 spectators watching the only big Gaelic football match the GAA dared to put up against soccer’s big weekend.

The former Irish TimesGAA correspondent began his report with the words: This was a travesty of football; a weird hour of trips, scuffs, and rugby tackles that might be laughed at as a parody of a fine game were the safety of the victims not so seriously in jeopardy so often – for the record, it was the Ulster Football final played at Casement Park, Belfast, and Down beat Donegal by two points, thus retaining their title.

There has been much sweating and debate about the impact on attendances that will result from having the World Cup and the GAA championship on at the same time.

Would the crowds turn up for Serbia versus Ghana knowing the pubs in Pretoria would be showing the replay from Páirc Uí Chaoimh?

We’re going to resist the temptation to eulogise on how superior hurling and football is in comparison to soccer.

In truth, many GAA supporters will this month have one eye on GAA fare and the other on South Africa.

And why not?

The biggest impact the World Cup has had on the GAA was it usually signalled DJ Carey’s imminent retirement again (he first retired from hurling with Kilkenny before the 1998 World Cup finals, then left the scene again, albeit hampered by injury before the 2002 finals, before finally bowing out just before the 2006 finals).

A few years ago, the Financial Times (is there is no length we wont go to for our readers!) published an interesting piece about the GAA’s place in “New” Ireland. This was before we reverted lately to “Old” Ireland.

The newspaper noted: “Had Ireland rather than Britain established an empire, the world would now probably be playing their game instead of soccer.”

A wonderful thought.

This weekend, the GAA World Cup should be taking place in South Africa.

Would Brazil and Spain be still among the favourites? Surely England would have a better chance than they do at soccer.

And, more importantly, would Ireland have qualified for the finals? In any case, Thierry Henry’s handball in the play-off would not have been anything as controversial.

Quote of the weekend

“Every year people knock us. We are gone. We have no hunger. . . ” – Kerry’s Bryan Sheehan

( . . . with an honourable mention for Michael Duignan, who during last Monday’s Waterford v Clare match, said on air his sources had it that Ken McGrath had a serious knee injury that looked like ending his career. Minutes later, McGrath took off his tracksuit and made his entrance on to the field, before firing over a crucial point for the Deise)

Kerry won in Da Pairc 34 years ago too

Back in 1976, the Munster football clash of Kerry and Cork also went to a replay. It was also at Páirc Uí Chaoimh. And it went to extra-time, which Kerry won. The Kingdom had already played Cork the same year at the city venue to mark the official opening of the then new venue.

An estimated 50,000 – double yesterday’s attendance – squeezed into the ground for the replay, with many not getting into the stadium as the gates were locked long before throw-in.

There were others who were even more unlucky. Several punters paid at the stiles in the minutes before the gates were locked and then found it impossible to force their way on to the terraces.

Did you know:If Wexford had beaten Dublin yesterday it would have been their first Leinster championship win over the city side since 1956, when they shocked Dublin 2-7 to 0-7. It was Dublin's first game since returning from America where they had beaten reigning All-Ireland champions Kerry.