The year is 2016. It is the Munster club hurling championship game between Ballyea of Clare and Thurles Sarsfields from Tipperary.
It's extra time, the ball is thrown up by the Ballyea defender, he strikes and follows through, no harm intended, the hurley is broken in the process straight across Paudie Maher’s head. How does he react? Not a flinch, nothing, just gets on with it. If he went down everyone would have said he was nearly dead but that’s not Paudie’s way; he was fine and so continued on as such.
This is what helps make Paudie such a household legend amongst the masses. As a primary school principal, when Halloween comes around, I have seen more people dressed as the blood and bandaged Paudie Maher than I have of Harry Potter.
Go back further to the legendary incidents involving Páidí Ó Sé and Dinny Allen, how Tommy Walsh would just bounce back up time and time again after big hits, how Brian Lohan played an All-Ireland final with a torn hamstring. Just examples of what our games are all about and what helps to make these players legends.
So how have we come to the point in our games now where the main topic of debate after a weekend of games seems to be diving? That is not what we are about. We always speak and give out about the antics of professional soccer players, the rolling around for days looking for a player to get sent off and we would remark: "Look at that, that's a disgrace, you’d swear he had been shot and nothing wrong with him", yet now some of this carry on has crept more and more into our games.
I am all for playing on the edge, pushing it to the max to try and get your team over the line but this has gone well passed that line by some distance. I mean it is embarrassing for the players and the teams involved.
There have been many cases of this in the football in recent times, most highlighted by how Seán Kelly of Galway fell to the ground as if shot by firing squad in Salthill last week. Tiernan McCann of Tyrone was involved in a similar incident some time back when his hair was ruffled by an opposing player and he too hit the ground with force.
But we cannot sit on our high horse on the hurling side and say: "Oh that would never happen in the hurling", when it has and possibly will again. One of the most highlighted cases last year was that involving Clare's Aaron Fitzgerald where he hits the ground resulting in Gearóid Hegarty getting a second yellow and a red. If you haven't seen this incident, it’s well worth a look.
Hegarty raises his hurley, no contact is made with the player but rather with his hurley, he hits the ground holding his stomach and the medical team come on and apply an ice bag to his neck. Baffling.
To be fair to all these players I think they will and have learned from these incidents, perhaps regretted them and I don't think they will be making the same mistake again because of the pride they have in themselves and their team.
How are we going to stop this?
Firstly the responsibility lies with the officials for dealing with this behaviour in live time. The rule 5.4 states: 'A yellow card can be awarded for any attempt to achieve an advantage by feigning a foul or injury'.
An inter-county referee someday soon in a high profile game is going to have to stand up, be brave and say enough is enough here, produce a yellow for this behaviour and award a free the opposite way. What would make it even more powerful is if that player was already on a yellow and got their marching orders for this behaviour. That would certainly put a spotlight on it and discourage this sort of play acting in future games.
Secondly I believe there are two types of 'dives', if you will, in the game: One where you feel a slight nudge in the back and you use this to get your team a free and nothing more, and one which has caused all the controversy in both codes is whereby players are feigning injury in the hope of getting an opposition player booked or sent off.
That is not what the GAA is about. That is not what we should be showing our future stars, who will feel this is OK to do it as their role models and heroes are doing it to gain an advantage. We hear praising of it at times in soccer, players going down to win a penalty, and now this is part of the culture in that sport.
It certainly would be detrimental to our games if it is allowed to continue.
Social media can often be poison after games, towards players and teams, but in this case I actually feel it could be used for the greater good to help rid us of this behaviour. Nobody likes to see it, it's not gaining anyone any popularity for it and frankly it’s just embarrassing for those involved.
Managers do not condone this either, no way. I'm sure the majority of them will have a quiet word in the ear of the players involved and say we want to win but not like that.
Imagine a manager subbing a player themselves for it, now that would be statement of intent too. Hopefully the highlighting of these incidents will help make players and officials more aware of this and how it is impacting games and fans and please god next week all we will be talking about is the brilliance, heart and skill of our inter-county players – the heroes to so many.
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