THE MAN BEHIND THE WIRE: Magical championship wins show power of GAA in rural communities on thought provoking weekend for Offaly football

IT was a strange sort of weekend for Offaly GAA with its big four football championship finals down for decision – Senior, Senior “B”, Intermediate and Junior.

It was a weekend that showed the GAA in all its glory as the rural communities of Bracknagh, Ballycommon and Ballinagar enjoyed magical, never to be forgotten celebrations. It showed why the GAA has managed to gained such a foothold in the majority of communities all across Ireland and it united those areas in a way that no other sporting event or occasion could – only a major tragedy could unify people to that extent and that is a very different thing than the scenes witnessed in Ballycommon, Ballinagar and Bracknagh.

The scenes would have been similar in Rhode on Sunday evening after they won their 31st Senior Football Championship title, beating favourites Tullamore in a decider that only sprung to life ibn the second half after a positively shocking first half.

However, the Rhode celebrations were considerably different where success is so normal. They will also nhave drank their fill this week, sang until their voices were hoarse and danced until their feet were sore but it was their 13th title since 1998. It is a bigger area than any of the other three, they have three pubs in their village and their numbers are larger.

It was an extraordinary win for Rhode, in its own way sweeter than most of their thirteen titles in the modern era. The 1998 triumph, which bridged a 23 year gap, was the pinnacle while the 2004 one was also a special occasion – it came after a few years of incredible heartbreak. Replayed final defeats by Edenderry, a final loss to Clara and a semi-final that they gifted to Tullamore led to serious questions about Rhode at that time but the 2004 win changed everything for them and really sparked their most successful run ever.

They have been the greatest force of nature that the Offaly club football scene has witnessed. Their ability to keep coming back, to keep winning titles is tremendous and they will have enjoyed this one – they have listened to people, including myself, talking or writing about their ageing legs and predicting a changing of the guard in Offaly football. Time will adjudicate on that one, not one win, but at the moment, Rhode are entitled to their moment of glory, another day in the sun and to drive the boot into those who have doubted them.

For most neutrals, the senior football final was the only game in town at the weekend. It was broadcast live on TG4 with the result that a lot more people watched the final than normal. It generated most public interest and it is the showpiece of football in the county.

It raised serious questions on a couple of fundamental levels. The first half in particular showed how bad football can be in the modern era, how unattractive it is for spectators – though a much more open second half rescued it to some extent.

Rhode's win raises serious questions for Offaly football and the clubs challenging them. They have a handful of players in the veteran stages of their career.

Alan McNamee is 40, Fr Time is ticking for Brian Darby, Niall McNamee, Ciaran Heavey and Paraic Sullivan. Anton Sullivan is in his early 30s and still contributing superbly. He will still fly for them for another couple of years and contribute powerfully after that but at some stage, his pace will go a bit, his engine will slow down and he will show the effects of a brilliant, long career.

Their win on Sunday was an absolute credit to them. They showed their vast experience and the influence that Alan McNamee and Niall McNamee had on the outcome was a pleasure to witness.

Apart from Aaron Kellaghan, they don't have many young players ready to make the step up to the Offaly senior football panel. Anton Sullivan and Ruari McNamee will continue to be pivotal players next year and Niall McNamee will make his own decision on whether to continue for one more season or call it a day.

In the ideal world, your county final should be a showpiece for the county senior football team and a watching manager should be able to observe a number of unestablished players who could make the jump into his panel.

That wasn't the case on Sunday. Liam Kearns will be interested in some of the younger Tullamore players but they didn't win and they didn't perform on the day.

All of that is no reflection on Rhode. They have been a brilliant, powerful force of nature for so long and their success rate is a credit to them.

This is about the other teams who should be raising the bar and winning championships – Tullamore, who have done so much to rejuvenate the Offaly club scene in recent years, Ferbane, Edenderry, Clara, Shamrocks and all other clubs with aspirations to win the Dowling Cup.

At least the second half provided something to remember on Sunday but the first half was a dreadful experience. A defensive battle with loads of mistakes, it was a turn off for the people at the game and those watching on television. You would imagine that a lot of people watching from outside the county turned away during that first half while I spoke to several Offaly people since who who switched off during that first half.

The likely defensive nature of the final coupled with the fact that it was the third consecutive final meeting for Tullamore and Rhode was a factor in many people staying away and a comparitively disappoingting attendance of just over 4,000.

Teams should have a duty to entertain though for the competing clubs, it is all about winning. The entertainment they provide does not come into a manager's consideration when deciding on his game plan. And that is understandable – Rhode would not be thanking Declan Gorman now if they had played a conventional game, left space at the back and Tullamore won by half a dozen points. Their first half tactics were a major factor in their win and in the second half, they had the experience and class to get the scores they needed.

Rhode people were not worried about the quality of entertainment in the first half as they celebrated on Sunday evening, Monday and Tuesday. Every block, every man back blocking a Tullamore run was cheered and that is all that mattered for them.

Defensive tactics are par for the course now – and sometimes, it can be attractive, captivating to watch two teams attempt to break each other down. It happens across the country and football has witnessed huge changes in the past decade. It has also become difficult to watch at times and that is a huge problem for the GAA. It is a turn off for spectators, especially the more casual ones and that is not good for the GAA or its most popular game.

Meanwhile, there were big wins at the weekend for Bracknagh in the Senior “B” Football Championship, Ballycommon in the Intermediate Football Championship and Ballinagar in the Junior Football Championship at the weekend.

Football in the lower grades is often more attractive to watch. The players are obviously not as good as the top flight but there is a limit to the defensive tactics that a manager can apply. Some do set up very defensively but it often back fires – whereas the Rhode team was good enough to play such a game on Sunday, as you go down the grades, the skill-set of players dwindles and playing too defensive can be a disaster for teams.

Bracknagh, Ballycommon and Ballinagar all won playing exciting attacking football, albeit at different standards. They ran at teams, took players on, kicked long ball into space and occasionally into 50-50 territory. That football may not have won that senior final on Sunday, though we don't really know – Tullamore never really took the shackles off while Rhode did play with some flair and imagination in the second half.

It was a huge win for the clubs involved. Success has been rare for them. Bracknagh have won the most -it was their second senior “B” football title while they have won four intermediates since 1978 and they won one junior football.

It was Ballycommon's second intermediate football title to win. They are also down in the records for winning two junior football titles, 1977 and 2017 – though this needs to be examined at some stage as it seems they won one in the early 1910s and they were beaten by Ferbane in the 1914 senior football final.

That is a story for another day and even with that included on their roll of honour, success has been very sparse for them. They struggled for years in the 1990s, went back to junior “B” at one stage, defeating Tullamore in a final before the wheel turned for them as an exciting young generation emerged and their numbers improved.

Success has been even more sparse for Ballinagar. They won just one adult title before Sunday, the 1988 Junior Football Championship while they won a minor football one way back in 1932 but that was an objection against Belmont, who won easily but fielded overage players.

The success in all three clubs unleashed a great outletting of joy. Bracknagh's win was particularly sweet for them as it came against parish neighbours Clonbullogue and the rivalry between these clubs has been fairly intense at times.

Ballycommon's win came after a brilliant, surpreme performance against Raheen while Ballinagar were excellent against favourites Kilcormac-Killoughey and their win was particularly noteworthy as two of their best players, Ryan Strong and county U-20 star Morgan Tynan were injured while Adam Strong only came back for the game from a college placement in Texas after being out there for six weeks – he went on to play an important part when brought on early in the second half.

They are all small clubs with comparatively small catchment areas. Population has been an issue for them over the years, though this has changed in the past couple of decades. The wins meant so much to people of all generations in the three clubs – there were tears of joy in the eyes of older people, quiet smiles of satisfaction all over the place.

The celebrations in Bracknagh and Ballinagar were fairly raucous affairs – sadly, the pub in Ballycommon has been closed in recent years and their celebrations took place in Tullamore on Sunday evening and Rahugh on Monday. There is a lot more to life than drink but the loss of a pub to a local area is enormous and creates a void that is very hard to fill elsewhere.

I visited Ballinagar on a couple of occasions over the weekend and it was heart warming to witness the joy on people's faces. There is more to life than sport but the success made locals so happy. On Monday, there was another day to remember with two bands bringing the place to its feet as they played fantastic music – the sight of bar manager Ger Kidney belting out tunes from a microphone behind the counter, in between pulling pints, as he joined his fellow Best Foot Forward members, Ray Murphy, Pat Fulton and Michael Lynam will remain entrenched on the minds of all present.

It all showed how important the GAA is to communities throughout the country, the joy it can bring and it is great for people to experience that – and it is also important to remember that entertainment must be provided on the field of play as well!