In 2022 there will be 33 counties competing in our Provincial Senior Football Championships. All players and supporters will approach the competitions in a positive manner.
Some teams will believe they will win and others will play more in hope. The reality is that there is a gap in expectation and ability between different counties.
The reality has always been that our Championship system rewards the most successful counties. They will train together for months longer than the counties that are knocked out of the championship early. That has increased the gap between counties.
More games for counties in the Christy Ring, Nicky Rackard and Lory Meagher Cups has been a positive for hurling. Surely the Tailteann Cup can be successful for football.
When the imaginatively named All Ireland B started in 1990 some counties used the competition to build momentum and spend more time on developing their teams. Remember this was a time that there was no back door, when you lose you were out. It was a long wait before you came together as a team the following year.
There was clearly some counties that benefited from this competition.
Leitrim won the All Ireland B in 1990 and then won Connacht in 1994. Clare won the B All Ireland in 1991 and then won a Munster title in 1992.
If their players or respective managers, John O'Mahony and John Maughan, were asked if the All Ireland B run helped to build belief and confidence in their squad the answer could only be 'Yes’.
The Tommy Murphy Cup was introduced in 2004. Tommy Murphy was a Graiguecullen and Laois star, who was selected on the Team of the Millennium. This competition was introduced with a number of perks to encourage players and counties to embrace it. The final was to be played in Croke Park, however they were often at awkward times that didn’t encourage big attendances.
The winners would have a nice trip to play in the Owen Treacy Cup against a North American selection (this only happened in 2006 with a trip to Boston for Louth).
Clare, Tipperary, Louth and Wicklow were winners of the Tommy Murphy competition. The last winner was Antrim in 2008. They then went onto make a rare Ulster Final appearance in 2009. Their manager Jody Gormley has said that the success from the run in 2008 helped his squad for 2009.
And then it was gone. No All Ireland B and no Tommy Murphy Cup.
The Tommy Murphy Cup went down like a lead balloon in many counties.
Teams played in their provincial championships, lost their match, then played in qualifiers and lost. Confidence would have been low. This led to players wanting to go back to their clubs and start a fresh.
Club managers and coaches would also have been saying 'Sure the Championship is over for you come on back to club training'. This led to the Tommy Murphy being a nuisance for players and clubs at the end of the season. County Boards would have done plenty of grumbling as well about having to pay extra expenses for gear, travel and meals for another competition.
The Tommy Murphy Cup was doomed from early on because players, clubs, counties, the media and most importantly the general public said it was.
Fermanagh, New York and London trained this week in preparation for the Tailteann Cup. They will be joined over the next few weeks by other counties. To make this first year a success efforts must be made to create a positive hype around the competition.
The Tailteann Cup is there to:
- Improve the 2nd and 3rd tier teams by having a longer season
- Give counties a taste of playing in Croke Park
- Give teams a chance to win a championship in Croke Park
County managers, club managers, county boards, supporters need to give this competition a chance.
The semi-finals and final of the Tailteann Cup will be shown live on television. The final is due to be played on the 9th July as part of a double header with an All-Ireland senior football final. These are all positive but more is needed.
Our national media; TV, radio, print and social media will have a big say about what public perception will be. On a local, level radio and newspaper comments on the Tailteann Cup will sway many people. Hype within counties and healthy attendance at games will have a hugely positive effect.
The GAA need to invest in marketing this competition in the most positive light possible.
I will leave Kevin O’Brien have the last word. He won an All Star, represented Ireland with distinction in Compromise Rules, won an All-Ireland Club senior football title and represented Wicklow at senior level for over 16 years. Even more significantly, he won an All-Ireland B as Captain and was Selector when Micko Dwyer managed Wicklow to a Tommy Murphy Cup success.
In an Irish Times interview back in October 2021 he said "I honestly think in weaker counties all anyone is trying to do is build momentum and it can be impossible at times but if you can get it, you almost think you’re invincible. To win two or three matches, imagine what that does for teams in Division Three or Four. Imagine what that does for supporters!"
