“‘Tis good to see what it means to the fans.”
In years gone by, hurling fans have flooded onto the Croke Park pitch for the presentation of the Liam MacCarthy trophy and the captain’s speech. On Sunday, after Limerick’s win over Galway, most who lingered had to watch from the stands.
A good handful evaded stewards to join their heroes on the pitch but there was a sparse collection as streamers exploded from atop the Hogan Stand and Declan Hannon led his Limerick teammates up the steps.
On The GAA Hour, Colm Parkinson found agreement with former stars JJ Delaney and Colm Hayes on allowing more fans onto the pitch and cutting down speech times, but Aaron Gillane (from 29:00 below) went against the old-schoolers.
Parkinson and Delaney both admitted they got emotional after the final whistle when Limerick’s players, backroom staff and fans erupted as one and The Cranberries’ ‘Zombie’ blared out over the public address system. Even Hayes, a proud Galwayman, said he would never begrudge Limerick their moment of triumph.
Parkinson, though, feels Limerick fans should have been allowed on to help their team celebrate. He said:
“About 20 minutes before the end, the stewards were in place. They were called into position. I hadn’t seen it before but they have a blue net. They all lift this blue net.
“A few Limerick fans, about 30, broke through in one little pocket but the stewards were very heavy-handed in trying to stop these people getting on the pitch.
“I’m kind of on the fence on this. It’s a huge GAA tradition – to look down, as you lift the trophy, over a sea of people from your own county, and to celebrate with players. And now that’s all taken away from them.”
Hayes went a step further by saying:
“If you ask me what I’d prefer, as a neutral and a player, I’d love to see the supporters coming onto the pitch. It’s one of the old GAA traditions… and could you imagine the Limerick fans running onto the pitch after they had won the All-Ireland? It would have been unbelievable.”
GAA headquarters may lean on Health and Safety concerns as a reason to keep the Croke Park pitch cleared of fans but, Hayes notes, supporters of Galway and Clare amiably mingled with players, and each other, after the semi-final replay in Thurles.
Limerick forward Aaron Gillane was a fan before he was a player and can see both sides of the coin but he offered his honest take on the new Croke Park trophy presentation procedures. Gillane told Parkinson:
“‘Tis good, and nice, to see what it means to the fans when they come on to the field but, sure, you’d be surrounded by people coming on.
“I liked it now [on Sunday]. There were only a few but I got to celebrate with all the boys. I prefer it that way.”
The players and staff definitely had time and space to soak up the magnitude of their achievement and it was lovely to see family and friends getting out for some pictures that will be forever cherished.
As for the victorious captain’s speeches, Parkinson believes there are now so many sponsors, assistants, volunteers and back-room staff members to thank that the magic of short and emotional speeches has been lost.
“They’re not good anymore,” he said. “I’d nearly think we should do away with them now… the character and the inspirational nature of the speeches is now gone.”
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