Tyrone Whacked by Brolly

Taken from Tyrone Times (via @Global_GAA Twitter feed)

Whatever you say about Joe Brolly, right, he’s never afraid to stick his neck out and he doesn’t take prisoners when it comes to expressing his firmly-held beliefs. If it offends somebody, what the heck - and that goes for big names in the sport to which he’s making reference. And you’d be foigiven for assuming that the bigger the name, the more he enjoys it!


Take his column in the weekend’s Irish Mail on Sunday, for example. I’d imagine he would be more than a little friendly with every single one of the star players who have won three all-Ireland titles for the O’Neill county. But they’ll definitely not thank him for the mentions he gives them this week.

The Derryman is a well-heeled barrister and I’m certain that he is confident he has kept within the law, but I would not be surprised if there will be a few people reading his column who will maybe be left wondering!

The article is entitled ‘There was a time when football was played by real men’ and he opens it with a mention of an incident in the 1972 All-Ireland Hurling Final when Kilkenny were in dire straits as they trailed Cork by eight points and Eddie Keher took ‘a ferocious belt of a hurl to his unguarded face’.

He went on: ‘Undaunted, he soloed through and fired home a remarkable goal. He turned and went back to his position, his face a mask of blood from the deep gash over his eye. The stitches could wait. By the final whistle, he had 2-9 to his name and Kilkenny were champions by seven points’.

Brolly then goes on to mention other similar instances before opining: ‘Hurlers are men of honour. They zealously guard their dignity. Neither I nor anyone else in RTE’s sports department can recall an instance of a hurler feigning injury to get an opponent carded. It doesn’t happen.

‘The same cannot be said of gaelic football, however. A joke in Ulster a few years ago was: Q. Why do hurlers not feign injury. A. Because Tyrone don’t play hurling.

‘At the 2002 soccer World Cup, Brazil’s Rivaldo was waiting for the ball to take a corner against Turkey. Hans Unsal, a Turkish player, kicked it towards him as Rivaldo looked the other way. The ball struck the Brazilian below the kneww. He dropped to the turf clutching his face and then writhed in agony until the referee gave a red card to the hapless Unsal.

‘We laughed and smugly shook our heads, certain such dishonourable behaviour would never deface our game. We’re not laughing now. The following year, Tyrone’s bandwagon rolled into town and the virus of feigning injury infected the game.

‘In the Ulster Championship first round replay against Derry, Sean Cavanagh and Derry’s Padraig O’Kane ran across each other near the sideline. Cavanagh went down clutching his face. O’Kane was sent off, A slow motion replay revealed no contact.

‘In the Ulster Final a month later, Down’s Gregory McCartan had a free awarded against him and petulantly tossed the ball towards Brian McGuigan, who went down hard, hands glued to his face. Another red card.

‘In that year’s All-Ireland semi-final versus Kerry, Peter Canavan got Mike McCarthy booked in the eight minute in a shocking incident since immportalised on YouTube (See Peter Canavan hits the deck, viewed 2858 times).

‘In a break in play, McCarthy was standing, arms outstretched, with his back to Canavan who ran from behind into his arm and went to ground clutching his face. McCarthy was yellow-carded. Cnavan dived so much that year, a cartoon appeared of him in the internet in his Tyrone kit, wearing a snorkel and flippers.

‘The lowest point came in the final when Philip Jordan ran into Armagh’s Diarmuid Marsden off the ball and went down in anguish, cradling his jaw. The referee was conned and Marsden was dismissed.

‘When Central Council reviewed video footage, they revoked the red card and cleared the Armagh man. In his autobiography, Joe Kernan’s outrage waa still palpable. He wrote of “being disgusted by the actions of at least one Tyrone player who mockingly clapped Diarmuid off”. The video is on YouTube.

‘Afterwards, Marsden - a man of integrity - was distraught that his daughter, when she grew up, would find out that her father had been sent off in an All-Ireland Final. As Kernan remarked after the red card was revoked: “Thankfully, at least a good man’s name was cleared”.

That, though, didn’t stop the feigning of injury. Tyrone’s Colm Cavanagh did for Derry’s James Conway in this year’s McKenna Cup Final. There was no contact between them but Cavanagh, all 6’3” and 15 stone of him, went down in agony. Conway was red-carded. The CHC rescinded it when they watched the video and realised the referee had been had. It’s commonplace.’

Brolly went on to cite a few other instances before reminding that he had said seven days earlier on TV that it is a disgrace disfiguring the game, remarking that his mention of Fonal Vaughan taking on the role of ham actor provoking a massive wave of protest from Mayo folk ‘which tells you all you need to know about how the ethos of gaelic football has changed’.

The legal eagle then concludes with this: ‘My cousin John (McGuckin), plays fullback for Dungannon RFC. He tells me that anyone feigning injury in rugby to get an opponent carded would be ostracised by team-mates and club members. It used to be like this in our game, but not any longer. Not only is it acceptable, it’s now unacceptable to criticise the practice. Sadly, men no longer win football All-Irelands.’

So, there you have it! Is it fair comment or very harsh and tarnishing the names of great Gaels, or perhaps somewhere in between the two. I’ll leave you to make up your own minds. But I’ll bet there are a lot of people who are not happy with Mr.Brolly.
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Well? This type of thing needs pointing out and shaming, however i think that Joe could have went about it in a better way as Tyrone are not the only side to have players that do this type of thing!

Whilst Brolly has to be commended for continuing to speak out against the diving that is getting worse and worse, his hypocrisy in continually ignoring most other cynical aspects which have crept into the game really lets him down.

After the league final, he decided to focus on the single incident of diving from a Mayo player, and ignored a number of cynical attempts to injure by Cork players.
He nearly always will try to justify incidents of striking as "just a bit of handbags", or else will just pretend nothing happened.
Off the ball checking of players to prevent them making a supporting run is probably the worst embodiment of the cynical aspect that has crept into our games in the last decade. To Joe, that's "smart play." Both are illegal acts trying to gain an advantage, Joe approves of one but condemns the other. Hypocrite of the highest order

bald eagle wrote: The legal eagle then concludes with this: ‘My cousin John (McGuckin), plays fullback for Dungannon RFC. He tells me that anyone feigning injury in rugby to get an opponent carded would be ostracised by team-mates and club members.

Except, of course, when it comes to feigning a blood injury to allow a place kicker onto the team to win a Heineken Cup match.



If Joe thinks that rugby is more honourable, let him watch it. The biggest irony is that he was never the 'manliest' of players himself.

(Also, he must've been hard up for something to write when he has to drag up incidents from 9 years ago.)

Spot on TC.

Thomas Clarke wrote:Except, of course, when it comes to feigning a blood injury to allow a place kicker onto the team to win a Heineken Cup match. If Joe thinks that rugby is more honourable, let him watch it.

In all fairness the follow up action to that scandal was very thorough with heavy fines and lengthy bans handed out - and not reduced on appeal either.

In all fairness lads there is a world of difference in respect for referees, attitude to disclipine and general gamesmanship in rugby than there is in gaelic football or, naturally enough, soccer.

I know RKF is no rugger fan but if the same ethos existed towards officials in GAA it would be a better game for everyone. Rather than pick out what are largely isolated incidents in rugby, it might be better to study the attitudes of players towards officials in that game, see why it is so, and try to adapt it into our games. We have taken a number of things from foreign games so why not take the rugby approach to discipline and respect for officials?

Well see Joe recently has mentioned on numerous occasions a relative/in law who is involved in rugby or hockey and how great they art. I think since Joe has beome a barrister he circulates in dodgy company and no longer is capable of rational judgements. Sorry Par there seems to be a lot of diving in Rugby also but you get rewarded for it.

Greg Louganis was the worst proponent of this I ever saw RKF and yet they made him a hero and gave him numberous Olympic medals .....

i agree with a lot he has to say but why did he just pick out just tyrone ? and why now has he got the balls to say this

banjo wrote:i agree with a lot he has to say but why did he just pick out just tyrone ? and why now has he got the balls to say this

It could be argued that at the time Tyrone used it as a tactic, whereas players (not the team) tried their luck.

There should be severe punishments put into place if teams are found to deceive officials. I would personally like to see replays even if it is just a single incident or punishments handed out on review of video evidence.

GAA-Fan wrote:

banjo wrote:i agree with a lot he has to say but why did he just pick out just tyrone ? and why now has he got the balls to say this

It could be argued that at the time Tyrone used it as a tactic, whereas players (not the team) tried their luck.

There should be severe punishments put into place if teams are found to deceive officials. I would personally like to see replays even if it is just a single incident or punishments handed out on review of video evidence.

It should also be said that there were no bans, no fines, no punishments for any of those incidents, as no Tyrone player was ever cited for any of them. Brolly's memory of some of those occurrences is very different from my own.

Thomas Clarke wrote:

GAA-Fan wrote:

banjo wrote:i agree with a lot he has to say but why did he just pick out just tyrone ? and why now has he got the balls to say this

It could be argued that at the time Tyrone used it as a tactic, whereas players (not the team) tried their luck.

There should be severe punishments put into place if teams are found to deceive officials. I would personally like to see replays even if it is just a single incident or punishments handed out on review of video evidence.

It should also be said that there were no bans, no fines, no punishments for any of those incidents, as no Tyrone player was ever cited for any of them. Brolly's memory of some of those occurrences is very different from my own.

You are correct TC. But then we have players unfairly punished and when appeals are made and red cards are resinded, we find players on the floor play acting over nothing and more importantly it questions the integrity of the player supposedly fouled. What does that say about our games?

The days of fair play in the GAA have gone.

GAA-Fan wrote:
The days of fair play in the GAA have gone.

I agree with you GF, but let's not kid ourselves that any other sport is any different. I can't think of one that is.

Thomas Clarke wrote:

GAA-Fan wrote:
The days of fair play in the GAA have gone.

I agree with you GF, but let's not kid ourselves that any other sport is any different. I can't think of one that is.

Exactly, but the GAA should not be like other sports. Going back to my original point, such antics should be dealt with severely. If a player is found to be innocent, then the other player should be found guilty for cheating and punished.

I agree with you GF, that it would be lovely if the GAA was different to other sports, but the reality is that people will always break rules to gain an advantage. That is life, and there is nothing the GAA can do to completely stop it.

I also don't think that it is as simple as one person being exonerated and another being found guilty by default. I looked at the Cavanagh/Conway incident on youtube last night, and the only thing clear from it is that it is unclear what happened! At the time of the tussle, Conway's body turns around 90 degrees away from the contact, indicating strongly that there was contact. Perhaps Colm went down easily, I don't know, but neither could any discpilinary committee tell from that angle. Hence, Conway got off, as there was no evidence he used an elbow, and there was also nothing to say that Cavanagh dived either.

It is a relatively new phenomenon in the GAA and I am not sure what sanctions there could be for 'diving' or feigning injury. The most blatant example in recent years was Aidan O'Mahony's dive. Donnacha O'Connor successfully appealed his punishment but there was no sanction for O'Mahony as I don't think one exists. So its hard to see where sanctions could be taken when none exist.

Is there a rule for unsportsmanlike conduct? It could be covered under that. It is creeping in. Damien Reilly for Cavan got Murphy sent off last year after he went down holding his face after minimal contact.

Brolly focusing on Tyrone in the article devalues his point somewhat.

Jonsmith wrote:Brolly focusing on Tyrone in the article devalues his point somewhat.

I reckon he reads here and he's only rtying to wind-up TC, Boc, mugsy, etc.

Thomas Clarke wrote:

GAA-Fan wrote:

banjo wrote:i agree with a lot he has to say but why did he just pick out just tyrone ? and why now has he got the balls to say this

It could be argued that at the time Tyrone used it as a tactic, whereas players (not the team) tried their luck.

There should be severe punishments put into place if teams are found to deceive officials. I would personally like to see replays even if it is just a single incident or punishments handed out on review of video evidence.

It should also be said that there were no bans, no fines, no punishments for any of those incidents, as no Tyrone player was ever cited for any of them. Brolly's memory of some of those occurrences is very different from my own.

As you say, there was no bans etc but the gaa shortly after the 03 final announced that they would be introducing rules to deal with the growing problem of diving. They didnt come out and say it but it was clear who they were getting at. I would say TC that there would be more people would remember these incidents as Brolly does than the way a blinkered Tyrone fan like yourself does.

samin12 wrote: I would say TC that there would be more people would remember these incidents as Brolly does than the way a blinkered Tyrone fan like yourself does.

To be honest, Samin, I think it is mainly Armagh people who remember them most vividly. And Brolly of course, who has a profile to maintain, and praising/attacking the biggest supported county in Ulster is the easiest way to do that.

I've never felt that jordan dived when hit by Marsden, and always thought that the photo in Jerome Quinn's book proved that Marden's closed fist made contact with Jordan's jaw. Was it enough to knock him down? Who knows.

There were a couple of other incidents in the final that I would admit looked suspicious, in particular one free that I remember Brian McGuigan falling over very innocuously to win. I don't dispute that, but I've always thought that Jordan received a bad reputation perhaps unjustly.

I think Brolly would be better served taking a look at the way that big Pa-hill Dermot Heaney went down clutching his head in the first half of the '93 All Ireland final resulting in Tony Davis being wrongly sent off in what was the greatest injustice in sporting history of all time and probably the main reason Derry scraped the one oul hungry all Ireland title in the first place.......

Terrible, bitter, one eyed post there mugsy, thought you would have produced something better than that.

Thomas Clarke wrote:

samin12 wrote: I would say TC that there would be more people would remember these incidents as Brolly does than the way a blinkered Tyrone fan like yourself does.

To be honest, Samin, I think it is mainly Armagh people who remember them most vividly. And Brolly of course, who has a profile to maintain, and praising/attacking the biggest supported county in Ulster is the easiest way to do that.

I've never felt that jordan dived when hit by Marsden, and always thought that the photo in Jerome Quinn's book proved that Marden's closed fist made contact with Jordan's jaw. Was it enough to knock him down? Who knows.

There were a couple of other incidents in the final that I would admit looked suspicious, in particular one free that I remember Brian McGuigan falling over very innocuously to win. I don't dispute that, but I've always thought that Jordan received a bad reputation perhaps unjustly.

I would say we probably do remember them most vividly because we were directly on the receiving end of the cheating. Commentators said at half time in 03 final that at least three Tyrone scores came directly from dives, also remember Jordan running down near sideline and when Paddy McKeever got within about two yards of him he threw himself to the ground. During a bit of a pushing match in the middle of the field in the second half Dooher threw himself to the ground claiming McGrane had hit him a punch. Luckily the ref seen what happened and told him to get up. Jordan ran twenty yards to get into Marsdens face, maybe Marsdens hands did connect with his face but it was not a striking action, it happened right in front of me, i seen Jordan running to confront him (purposely kept my eye on it to see what was going to happen), to me it looked like Marsden put his hands up to protect himself and jordan ran straight into him. If there is a picture or anything else of Marsden striking him then i have yet to see it, and i would doubt Marsden would have won his appeal if such proof existed.

I dont think it was just Jordan who got a bad reputation from that. The Tyrone team of 03 will be remembered for cheating (probably more so by Armagh fans than anyone else, but it was no coincidence that the gaa tried to combat the problem immediately after that final. I am not anti tyrone, believe it or not was in Aughnacloy for the homecoming in 08, because i thought they played football the way it should be played. Thought the same of the 05 team (wounds were still a bit raw though to go to any homecoming that year)

bald eagle wrote:Terrible, bitter, one eyed post there mugsy, thought you would have produced something better than that.

Settle the head BE, I'm sure you took that post as serious as I took Brollys article.

Brolly as usual is playing to the crowd like the court jester he is, Last year he raved about Jim McGuinness and Donegals style in the early part of last year, He stood up behind the Donegal substitutes in the Hogan stand applauding them off the field after their fine display against Kildare in the quarter final, raved about their dedication to the cause and system prior to the Dublin match in all of hios articles. Fast forward a week after their defeat to Dublin and there he was sticking the boot in to the Tir Connail men guilty of crimes against the GAA.

Prior to 2003 Brolly laughed out loud for far longer than others at Tyrone's failure to win Sam to the point were Mickey Harte actually used it as a motivating factor to rally the troops after Gavin Devlins' 3 month ban was imposed. Reverse that to the love in with Joe we experienced from '03 onwards up until the middle of 2009 when Cork beat us well, It must have been stomach churning for any real Derry man to listen to him pour such affection onto their fiercest rivals.

This year he remained very quiet on tyrone right up until Kildare beat us a fortnight ago, Brolly obviously knowing that Tyrone aren't the force they were and probably not going to be close to Sam this year saw the chance to put the boot in with some sweeping statements regarding Tyrones alleged misdemeanours. If anything was one eyed or blinkered it was there laid bare in his article and proof if any that paper simply wont refuse ink. If we do by some very outside chance happen to win the All Ireland this year the foam will be collecting around the edge of his lips again as he showers us praise and the RTE camera man, Lester, O'Rourke and Spillane with saliva...

My head's perfectly fine mugsy, you're a better poster than that humourless post showed, if it was meant as a joke i'm sure i would have taken it as one.

As for Brolly, i think the man is a bell end, end of!

Why point out only diving (and Tyrone for that matter) when there are many other acts that we accept. Pulling your opponents shirt - we've all done it and tried to get away with it. Calling for a line ball/45/65/free when you know it was never one in the first place - we've all done that too. Both examples are ways we have all actively tried to deceive the referee and in my book diving is just another addition to these.

We all sit on a moral high ground yet we are all guilty of cheating in one form or another, you just don't happen to agree with this form of it!