These look gruelling.
Mick O’Dwyer spoke of the torturous measures he put his Kildare team through back in the day in the hills of the Curragh Army Camp.
He didn’t do it for their fitness.
Micko knew that making his players run up a savage hill in the Curragh Army Camp wasn’t going to be the making of them physically.
It told him a lot about their mentality, though, and that was all he wanted to know.
We often wonder why, as GAA players, we’re being subjected to brutal, gruelling long runs and sessions, when we encounter nothing of the sort in a game.
This clip never made the documentary but it sums up the great man's training methods https://t.co/8PTsVR3cKM
— SportsJOE (@SportsJOEdotie) January 8, 2018
Character. And building it. That’s why.
We put out a photo on our Facebook page of the hills in the Curragh Camp. Many of you countered us with other locations around the country that can make for just as tough a session.
They’re a far cry from the most scenic GAA pitches in Ireland.
So here they are. 12 of the toughest.
Have we left any places out?
Murlough Beach sand dunes, Down.
Even reading the words made one of our readers, Ruairi O’Neill sick.
Slade Valley, Dublin.
“Remember Slade Valley and the young lad who ran off shouting, ‘stick your 40 CEO points up your arse'” recalled Eoin Stanley.
We’re not sure about that, but it does look tough.
Tramore sand dunes, Waterford.
Many a GAA team have endured tough trips down to Waterford.
The Hill Of Tara, Meath.
“Sean Boylan used to run the Meath team ragged around the Hill of Tara, not much flat ground up there,” commented John Grifferty.
Tullan Strand, Bundoran, Donegal.
Skellig Michael, the Iveragh peninsula, Kerry.
Windgates hill, Greystones, Wicklow.
The Curragh Army Camp, Kildare.
Donnelly Hollow in the Kildare broke many hearts.
Nairn Strand, Donegal.
Mourne Mountains, Down.
Portumna Forest Park, Galway.
Keeper Hill, Silvermines, Tipperary.
Have we left anywhere out?
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