It reminds me of the adage about the Velvet Underground’s maiden album, which reportedly sold just 10,000 copies, yet every buyer of that album established their own band. On Saturday night, the atmosphere at Páirc Uí Chaoimh was palpable – nearly 42,000 spectators were present – and a significant number of those subsequently penned their own articles outlining their experiences. But the sheer magnificence of the event can’t be overstated: it was unequivocally the greatest hurling match I’ve ever witnessed, and it ranks among the top five most thrilling GAA moments I’ve had the privilege to experience in person. The energy in the stadium was a captivating cocktail of determination and mayhem.
My location on that day in 2018? Wexford Park, watching Wexford versus Galway, while Cork and Limerick faced off in the inaugural Munster round-robin showdown at Páirc Uí Chaoimh that Saturday evening. Although far away, I’d made sure to record the match (courtesy of Sky) and watched it, in its entirety, the next day. I’ve talked previously about the profound realisation that came over me as I watched what could potentially be the future landscape of GAA over the coming two or three decades.
The 2018 spectacle, played out in a freshly constructed stadium brimming with eager spectators, created an undeniably charged atmosphere. It ended in a tie, offering a thrilling glimpse into the new system it represented – a system that, once sampled, we’d never turn our backs on. From that point on, should fate allow, I vowed never to miss another Cork/Limerick contest at Páirc Uí Chaoimh on a Saturday evening.
Flash forward to 2022, the game shifted to a Sunday afternoon and it resulted in a commanding 11-point triumph for Limerick (covered live on RTÉ). Pulling into the city early that Saturday afternoon and taking a leisurely stroll through its stunning streets, relishing a river-side pint for those not driving and heading off in your own sweet time towards the majestic new stadium – it was pure magic.
There are far too many who are yet to experience the thrill of a significant Cork match, or enjoy the luxury of a truly comfortable stadium. It’s essential for GAA to take a more proactive stance in regards to scheduling matches in such locations – one possible solution could be to lock in an All-Ireland football and hurling quarter-final. However, the other side of this coin is undeniably financial in nature.
The often vacuous discourse of the past week mainly revolves around the ongoing critique of GAAGo, stirred up mainly by political figures. This was solidly dismantled, or so I thought, by Jarlath Burns during Monday’s Claire Byrne show on RTÉ Radio 1.
I was reminded of a sequence from the television drama, the West Wing, where the presidential assistant, Charlie Young, confesses that he revealed the president’s distaste for green beans to a reporter, an unfortunate disclosure which threatens to lose them the endorsement of the country’s green bean farmers. The response he gets is, “Everyone behaves foolishly in an election year,” upon which he retorts, “No, everyone is treated as if they are foolish in an election year”.
GAAGo, the streaming platform for Gaelic games, is not without its flaws. Staging consecutive Cork hurling and football matches, the latter against Kerry, potentially strong-arms a key fanbase. My chief grouse with GAAGo, however, lies in its limited roster of games.
Why couldn’t I tune into the Galway/Sligo Connacht senior football semi-final a few weeks ago? I had no issues watching Galway’s minor and under-20s compete in their provincial championships. If given the opportunity, I would have gladly paid a premium on GAAGo for the Galway/Sligo match.
Die-hard GAA fans, despite their GAAGo subscriptions, will also cough up for subscriptions to clubber.com, as well as their respective county boards’ club streaming options, along with streams from their provincial councils, such as Connacht GAA.
I would appreciate an all-inclusive option on GAAGo for these services, with varying packages available. The existing offerings for the 2024 intercounty season on GAAGo could be retained at a similar rate for those who aren’t as captivated by minor, under-20 and club games. As I envisage it, this is the path we’re heading down, and the sooner, the better.
Nonetheless, we’ll be hashing it all out again this time next year I’m sure. As a Kerry footballer may have phrased it back in a pre All-Ireland football final press conference of the 80s, “mark my words as an echo of what I said last year”.
The GAA championship games have seen a marked increase and now matter more than ever. GAAGo stands as a technological platform built by the GAA, enabling more people to witness these games. Its perfection may be questionable, and it may not achieve it ever, still it is expected to be an integral part of broadcast sports in the upcoming times.
The spectacle on Páirc on Saturday evening was exhilarating, as was the Ulster football final on Sunday, in the beautifully derelict old Clones. This year, the Munster hurling championship, which used to conclude in four games, consists of 11 crucial events, seven of which will be broadcasted on RTÉ, making it a remarkable year for spectators. Despite that, it’s baffling how we have to persistently remind ourselves of the unprecedented good times we are witnessing.