Club vs. college.
Let’s not beat around the bush, club will usually take precedence over college. Corofin will have Liam Silke and Kieran Molloy playing for them in their All-Ireland senior football semi-final against Moorefield on Saturday.
But it shouldn’t come down to a decision. It shouldn’t come down to this.
Should NUIG, for whom Molloy plays at wing back, defeat DIT in their Sigerson Cup semi-final on Wednesday, and should UCD, for whom Silke plays as a defender, overcome UUJ, that will mean the two Corofin defenders will have to make that decision.
For God’s sake, some of us struggle deciding between a Sunday League soccer game and a challenge match for our GAA clubs. These two lads have All-Irelands at stake, two of the most prestigious GAA competitions in the country and they’re going to have to miss out on one of them.
They’re going to have to tell their teammates, with whom they’ve shared this victorious journey, for whom they’ve been key men along the way, that they won’t be able to play for them.
And it’s not like NUIG are a beaten docket. These lads defeated a fancied UCC side last week. They’re hungry for this one, starving for it. Imagine the kick in the teeth it’s presumably going to be for their manager.
Talk about demeaning the players, talk about undermining the competition. It’s true, so often the GAA talk about these horror story situations and player welfare, but what exactly are they doing to help the players and to prevent events like these from occurring?
Corofin take on Moorefield at 2.00 in O’Connor Park, Tullamore this Saturday. One hour and a half later, the ball will be thrown in to decide who are the kingpins of colleges’ GAA in North Dublin.
What lies over the horizon for the Galway lads beggars belief https://t.co/nQRGOVAh6t
— GAA JOE (@GAA__JOE) February 12, 2018
The lads’ Corofin teammate Micheál Lundy was speaking to us at an AIB event on Monday when he cast his verdict on the situation. A situation he feels could have been avoided.
“It’s an unfortunate situation,” he said.
“They shouldn’t have to. Especially the week before a big game like this, an All-Ireland club semi-final. If the two colleges do happen to win, there’s a clash of fixtures.
“It’s an All-Ireland semi-final and an All-Ireland final – how do you juggle the two of them? You don’t want to miss out on one of them, it’s just unfortunate.
“Hopefully, we’ll have the two lads fresh on Saturday. We’d be a bit greedy now, hoping to hold onto them but whatever it is, hopefully, we win with the two boys playing.”
“It shouldn’t happen. There’s plenty of other weeks in it. It’s trying to find that balance, it could clash with something else if they move it to another week. It’s a tricky situation, it’s a hard one to figure out for the GAA, it’s just unfortunate.”
Corofin’s Michael Lundy is pictured ahead of the AIB GAA All-Ireland Senior Football Club Championship Semi-Final taking place at O’Connor Park on Saturday, 17th of February where the Galway club will face Kildare’s Moorefield. For exclusive content and behind the scenes action throughout the AIB GAA & Camogie Club Championships follow AIB GAA on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram and Snapchat and www.aib.ie/gaa.
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