Fogarty Forum: Railway Cup should be a regular feature

Since the minor championship games, and by that mean we mean U18, were removed in 2018, the All-Ireland final match-day experience has lost some of its appeal. It was always going to be difficult to follow David Clifford’s 4-4 against Derry seven years ago.

Although, All-Ireland final day has also been hampered by just how squeezed the build-up has become. Save for 2021 when they were exceptional circumstances, the biggest dates in the calendar have been seven days apart since 2020. Neither occasion gets its due recognition.

An All-Ireland final day Railway Cup, competed for by “the best of the rest”, would have been akin to a competitive All-Stars game. The chances of it being mutually beneficial to supporters and players were decent. Not only would have it drawn in curious crowds well before throw-in (a welcome relief for event organisers), the participants were likelier to respond positively in front of such a sizeable audience.

It would also have provided the great players from the lesser counties with the opportunity to compete in Croke Park a day they might otherwise have only dreamed of. Not something to be sneezed at a time when the Tailteann Cup is being won by teams either in Division 2 or recently promoted to it.

Three years away from the 100th anniversary of the first Railway Cup finals, perhaps an exception can be made for them in 2027. In the meantime, Jim Gavin’s Football Review Committee (FRC) have found a practical use for the interprovincial concept with next week’s trial games.

Gavin maintains it’s not within his body’s remit to resurrect the competition last played in 2016 but the byproduct of using it to trial and showcase rule changes could be a permanent place in the calendar for the Railway Cup.

From January to December, from pride of place on St Patrick’s Day before being replaced by the clubs final to the weekend before Christmas when no other date could be found for it, the interprovincials have been moved from pillar to post, loved and loathed in equal measure by the GAA.

It may be the case that not all of the FRC proposals due to be voted on at Special Congress next month are passed – there’s a possibility some may not even get the green light by Central Council to be discussed at the November 30 summit. Some could argue that a rule change or two may be better suited further down the line in which case an annual, autumnal Railway Cup could be just the laboratory to examine them.

In FRC meetings, former Donegal captain Michael Murphy has stressed the importance of there being a regular opportunity to review Gaelic football. The standing playing rules committee and limit on clubs being allowed to put forward playing rule changes in years that are multiple of five were established to avoid the random, piecemeal approach to rearranging the parameters of Gaelic games. However, up to now, at least not until next week, suggested rule changes have not been put into top level, competitive practice.

For an undertaking such as the FRC’s that could amount to over 20 rule changes applicable to all levels of Gaelic football, it’s essential that they are seen in operation, performed by the best. As former leading referee Pat McEnaney said last week, there will always be people averse to change but so long as there is the opportunity to “try before you go buy” there should be no problem.

Hurling too could benefit from a Railway Cup return to test any potential rule changes. Ex-Tipperary defender Conor O’Donovan’s motion to alter the nature of the hand-pass to cast thrown transfers out of the game could have been given worthwhile exposure in interprovincial matches this month.

The Nenagh Éire Óg man’s plan to allow hand-passes only when the ball is struck with a definite striking action from the other hand (tapping the ball on the hurley and striking the ball with either hand is also permissible) has been trialled at colleges level but the real litmus test is when senior inter-county players are doing it. The proposal will be debated at Congress in February.

Besides being the ultimate “sandbox” games as Gavin might call them, to have a few high-profile GAA games in a Croke Park that hasn’t hosted games since the summer and a week after Leinster and Munster rugby teams clash there is no bad thing.

The Railway Cup should be here to stay.

john.fogarty@examiner.ie 

Time of essence for three counties without managers

Clare have an excuse – Mark Fitzgerald only stepped away as senior football manager in the middle of last month. For Derry and Westmeath, there aren’t nearly enough mitigating factors for the delay in appointing their supremos for 2025.

Sure, there were the will he, won’t he questions surrounding Rory Gallagher in Derry and Slaughtneil’s manager Mark Doran looks set to be appointed but it’s over three months since Mickey Harte stepped down. For a county that might still consider themselves All-Ireland contenders, that’s a gaping period without somebody at the helm.

It's two months since Dessie Dolan left the Westmeath role although the county board executive defended their length of the selection process. “We are still talking to people and it would be totally unfair to comment on speculation,” county chairman Frank Mescall told the Westmeath Examiner.

“The committee is working extremely hard on this, and it is not an easy task. We have spoken to a number of people, but we have not yet managed to get someone suitable in place. I thought a few weeks ago that we might be in a position to make a proposal, but that was not the case.

“The people we are targeting have a lot of commitments and it is proving to be a considerable challenge, but we are asking people to be just a bit more patient. I accept it’s not ideal and we would have liked to have someone in place for the knockout stages of the football championship, but we do want to get the best possible candidate for the position.” 

It may be another couple of months before counties are permitted back to collective training but new managers always feel that extra urge to start sooner. That sense of expediency will be accelerated by the new football rules being introduced.

The three counties have to put the right people in place but there comes a time when there is no time left.

The Village another club not too big to go down

To the list of the supposed ‘too big to go down’, James Stephens reluctantly added their names on Saturday when they were downed by a Eoin Murphy-less Glenmore.

Glen Rovers are busy trying to go straight back up after losing their 97-year elite status last season but James Stephens need a period of contemplation and right now it is too early and the despondency is too raw for The Village to be contemplating promotion.

Of course, as the days go on, thoughts will turn to how they can get back to senior level but there will be pain in losing 69 years in that echelon. As learned observers of the Kilkenny club scene tell us, there will be a major post-mortem and there is no guarantee they will go straight back up.

After reaching the 2022 final and the semi-finals last season, the reasons for James Stephens’ demise largely lie in player unavailability. Even the immense presence of Brian Cody couldn’t arrest the slide and he didn’t need to be told just how consequential Saturday’s game was. 

Speaking last month, he said: “Our game is an absolutely massive game. Everybody knows the consequences of not winning, for the two great clubs involved in it this year.” 

To get back where they belong, James Stephens will need more than their most famous son. Any other prominent members contemplating helping out other clubs in 2025 should put their plans on hold to assist their own.