Overheard in the Snug: March 6th

Wanna snuggle?

A quiet week in inter-county Gaelic football as the National League has only one fixture. The Sigerson Cup, which is the university tournament, was decided this weekend. A big congratulations to the UCC team. They came together and beat teams from UUJ and UCD which consisted of much better known inter-county players. It was a great example of how cohesion and teamwork are more important than individual stars. Great work from the young group. My topics for the week...

GAA Choice of Speaker Endorses Fictional Version of History

Tim Pat Coogan: Not welcome in my GAA

As Over the Bar is a Gaelic Football Blog, this is the most serious the coverage will ever be: The GAA has announced author Tim Pat Coogan will speak at the Croke Park Museum on the 90th Anniversary of Bloody Sunday. For those few readers who are not aware, on 21 November 1920, 14 civilians, including Tipperary player Michael Hogan, were killed when Royal Irish Constabulary, the dreaded Black & Tans as well as Auxiliary forces fired indiscriminately into the crowd of spectators at Croke Park. Bullets took the lives of 12 civilians while two more were trampled to death by the terrified crowd.

The explanations for this tragedy vary widely. The most popular theory is that the attack in Croke Park was purposeful revenge for IRA murders carried out earlier in the day. An Inquiry Commission established at the time to examine events surrounding Bloody Sunday and subsequently released archival documents demonstrate that the official RIC orders were to detain and search the crowd as they filed out of the stadium after the match. According to these reports an accidental tragedy occurred when gunshots from the crowd led to a panicked response by the soldiers. No doubt a questionably neutral 'inquiry' but an account of the events nonetheless. Unfortunately, because of the chosen speaker at Sunday's Commemoration, only one version of the story will be told.

Club Championship Matches: When and Where?

I searched all over GAA.ie for the dates and times of this week's club matches. Despite the new website and the partnership with Google, the GAA still has much to learn about how to effectively operate on the web. I'm not looking to buy tickets. For now, I just want to know where to be and when so I can enjoy some Club Championship football.

I eventually found the appropriate section and had to laugh at the contents of the page. Look for yourself. I can't tell you how helpful it is to know that 'semi-final #1 winner' will play 'semi-final #2 winner' on St. Patrick's Day. That is the only thing I know for sure! I had to check Paddy Power to get the information I wanted. Headquarters has chosen not to bother updating their site with the minutia of the All-Ireland Club Championship. For shame. This time the GAA sure doesn't look like the grass-roots organisation it so often claims to be.