Attention turns to Mayo after easy Munster final

| By Eamonn Fitzgerald

The sad news of the passing of Ellen Clifford on Saturday last was felt far beyond the parish of Fossa. Ellen, mother of Shelly, Paudie and David and wife of Dermot, had fought a courageous battle with ill health for the past five years and was there in Croke Park to see her sons winning All-Ireland titles with Kerry and Fossa. Beannacht Dé len a h-anam.

It was a difficult decision for David and Paudie on the eve of their Munster final in Limerick. The family decided that Ellen would have been so happy to know her boys lined out with Kerry. They did her proud, as David captained Kerry to a runaway victory over Clare. Both excelled with David scoring 2-6 and Paudie also scoring an excellent goal to complement his work ethic throughout as a score-provider.

The great news is that the plum tie of the next round in the current round robin format will be played here in the Fitzgerald Stadium tomorrow week

(May 20) at 3pm. It will be the clash of champions: Kerry the All-Ireland winners meeting Mayo the winners of the National League.

It will be a Central Council fixture, but Der Bros and his helpers will be busy preparing a welcome for the Westerners. Kerry were in clinical championship mode against Clare but their opponents were way off the mark and that was not surprising after a very poor league campaign ending in relegation. The Mayo game will be a better indicator on how well Kerry are shaping up. It will be a bonanza to the coffers of the hospitality sector in Killarney, too, even if some of the Mayo supporters will not travel. Why? It is too expensive. It was €35 admission for the stroll in the park in Limerick. You can imagine the cost for a family weekend in Killarney including accommodation (if they can get it) and admission to the Park. What is more, the game will not be available on RTÉ, but streamed on GAAGO. Many older supporters in particular do not have broadband or decent Wi-Fi, especially in remote rural areas.

The GAA has persisted with the cashless admission procedure making no allowance for some spporters who arrive at Lewis Road without a prepaid ticket. In the past I devoted two articles to this unsatisfactory arrangement and offered solutions. The dictat from Croke Park stood. No cash; use your phone. Go online.

I recalled some games including colleges fixtures where prominent local GAA OAPs were denied access and their cash refused. Who trained all the local club teams of all ages, lined the fields, acted as umpires when the referee had no helpers and collected the lotto each week to fund the ever-increasing cost of running any GAA club. Volunteerism is the central plank of clubs, all clubs, all sports. The GAA needs to learn that wonderful story and the truism: ‘don’t bite the hand that feeds you’.

I hope Dónal Óg will succeed in his mission. Puck it out there Dónal.