THE GAA’s failure to reflect on the shortcomings of the Tommy Murphy Cup may see history repeating itself, says the last manager to win the much-maligned ‘B’ Championship.
Former Antrim manager Jody Gormley believes the Association has made some schoolboy errors in hastily introducing a Tier Two Championship for 2020 and anticipates player and supporter apathy.
Under Gormley, Antrim lost the 2007 Tommy Murphy Cup final to Wicklow but gained revenge a year later in what transpired to be the last time the competition was played.
The ill-fated ‘B’ Championship lasted just five seasons – between 2004 and 2008 – which involved Division Four teams.
“Derry was just short-notice for me and I had to pull back” - Philly McMahon impressed by Oak Leaf management talks but the timing was wrong for Dublin legend
‘For a fella of Brian Fenton’s status to leave at 31, something’s gone wrong...’ Philly McMahon struggling to accept that Dublin legend has gone for good
At last week’s Special Congress in Cork, a new Tier Two Football Championship was passed with a surprising 75 per cent of delegate votes.
But Gormley doesn’t see the new format catching the imagination of players, supporters or even clubs.
“I don’t think very many people have reflected on the Tommy Murphy and have they actually talked to the people involved to find out what they think,” said the Tyrone man.
“Was it a good idea? Did it work or did it not? Talk to the players and managements of the time, and talk to the administration of the time and ask why they scrapped it.
“It is something that has failed once. What are they going to do differently that will make it succeed the next time?”
While Gormley felt at the time the Tommy Murphy was a “good idea” he was faced with player apathy within the Antrim camp after they’d exited the provincial series.
St Gall’s defender and captain Sean Kelly was one of several high-profile names that opted out of competing in the Tommy Murphy Cup.
“I think it was a good idea but, I suppose, the caveat is there were a number of boys who weren’t interested in playing in it and the level of training required for it was fairly minimal,” Gormley recalls.
“When Antrim went out of the Ulster Championship, the question was posed: who wants to play? And a number of players opted out. The focus was to get to play in Croke Park and for me as a coach to stand on the sideline of Croke was my motivation.
“But I know the players embraced the idea of playing there too. Up to that point, I’m not sure how many of the Antrim players had the opportunity to play at Croke Park.”
Gormley says he understood entirely why some Antrim players opted off the panel because not every Division Four team entered the Tommy Murphy Cup.
“There was total apathy from the supporters. For them, it wasn’t a big deal. For the players, they were happy to train once a week and on the day they put in a big effort.
“There was disappointment the year we lost the final; it wouldn’t have been a lasting disappointment like you’d lost an Ulster Championship, but they were still disappointed.
“The second year there was a genuine feeling that it was nice to win something at Croke Park, and there was a feel-good factor.”
Antrim’s Tommy Murphy Cup win in 2008 was perhaps a contributing factor in them reaching an Ulster final 12 months later.
“In some small way winning the Tommy Murphy Cup may have contributed,” Gormley acknowledged.
Similarly, when Antrim beat Fermanagh in the 1999 ‘B’ Championship decider, they managed to end their 18-year winless streak in the Ulster Championship the following season, beating Down in a memorable clash at Casement Park.
“What I would say is there was a camaraderie that developed among the players through winning it. It actually helped build team spirit. And even for the likes of Kevin Brady [Antrim captain] to get to climb the steps of Croke Park to lift the trophy I’m sure is something he’ll not forget.”
Unless the Division Three or Four teams reach a provincial final they will automatically be allocated a place in Tier Two next season.
“The theory behind it, I suppose, is good insofar as the GAA wants to give everybody the chance of winning something in the same way they have junior, intermediate and senior level at club level. But the All-Ireland is different. And can you really call it an All-Ireland if there are only 16 teams in it?”
Entering his second year with Loughinisland in Down, Gormley forecasts many players from Division Three and Four returning to their clubs after their county’s interest in the provincial series ends.
“If you’re playing with your club and you feel you have an opportunity of winning a county championship and you’re in a Tier Two Championship, I would argue maybe your commitment should be to your club,” he said.
“I know the arguments club managers will be using: ‘Do you really want to play in a Tier Two when we’ve a chance of winning a county title?’
“I detect from the players that I know that there is not a great feeling of: ‘We could be playing in a Tier Two competition.’
“It’s more a case of we’ll play in the Ulster Championship and then we’ll concentrate on our clubs. And that’s what I have heard anecdotally.
“I haven’t heard anybody say: ‘It would be great to use this as a stepping stone to the All-Ireland next year.’
“Inter-county careers are very short and there are always ties being thrown up: Fermanagh reaching an All-Ireland quarter-final and Tipperary reaching the last four.
“That boosts the sport within their county. They maybe have no chance of winning but they’re getting to play big games in front of big crowds, and the GAA is in danger of losing that.”
The media’s reaction to the GAA’s new Championship format has been arguably more negative than positive since last week’s Special Congress.
And Gormley feels for the new Tier Two to have any chance of flourishing, it needs more positive media coverage.
“Where the Tommy Murphy Cup fell down was it wasn’t marketed properly.
“Players want to play in big games and supporters want to go to big games and a lot of the time the media can feed into that and they can build the profile. If it gets a passing glance on The Sunday Game and doesn’t get media coverage there is no excitement building around it.”
“If you think of the impact the media can have. For instance, Conor McGregor got to fight Floyd Mayweather on the back of, you could say, media promotion.
“If the GAA are going to do it they need to do it right. And RTE or Sky or eir Sport can’t say: ‘Okay, we’ll see if we can give it a bit of coverage.’
“It has to be planned out at the start of the year that these games are going to be shown.”
President John Horan, a big supporter of a tiered Championship, told delegates at Special Congress that he’d received a text from RTE Head of Sport Declan McBennett who promised there would be coverage of Tier Two at the “business end” of the competition.
“If the players ultimately decide: ‘We’re not going to play in this…’ what then? They could justifiably say: ‘We’ll give the provincial championship a rattle, then we’re going to go back and play for our clubs.’
“I think something probably needs to be done. Does a Tier Two system help? I don’t know. Maybe it highlights more glaringly issues with the provincial system and being from one province can be more advantageous than being from another.”
Gormley added: “I think people mean well but just because you mean well doesn’t mean you’ll get the correct results. I don’t think anyone within the GAA wants to damage the Association. I think it is well meaning. However, I think it is ill-thought out.”
