Hogan Cup final - St. Colman's supporters

Was stewarding at the Hogan Cup final today in Croke Park and was absoloutly disgusted by the behaviour of some of the St.Colman's fans in attendance.I have written this article for my sports blog and I am plannin on sending it to some newspapers. Let me know what you think: (myblog is at [You must be registered and logged in to see this link.] for anyone who wants to check it out)

Saturday April 10^th 2010 will go down in the history books of St. Colman’s college in Newry as the day they won back the Hogan Cup after a 12 year absence. But that is not all the day will be remembered for in Newry.


The behaviour of a minority of the St.Colman’s supporters left a very bad taste in the mouth of not only this reporter, but also undoubtedly in the mouths of their opponents, St.Brendans of Killarney.


Arriving at the end of the Vocational Schools final between Clonakilty and Newry’s near neighbours St. Malachy’s the group of 200 or 300 students and past pupils made their presence known at the back of the lower section of the Hogan Stand.


Abuse was hurled down on their fellow footballers and supporters from Co. Down once the final whistle blew and two flares were lit in the middle of the stand, emitting a plume of blue smoke. The same colour as their school’s flag.


The worst abuse, however, was held for Kerry footballer and St. Brendan’s coach Paul Galvin. Chants about Galvin’s previous on field actions aswell as off-field controversies were rained down on him for the entire 60 minutes and even some time before the teams emerged from the tunnel.


To his credit Galvin never rose to the bait and completely ignored the St.Colman’s supporters who were merely yards away from him for the entire match.


Scenes like this are completely alien to Croke Park, even when the rugby and, especially, soccer were being held in Croke Park there was never any trouble on this scale.


Five of the St. Colman’s supporters were taken away by the gardai following the final whistle as they attempted to make their way onto the playing surface.


Drink, no doubt, was a major factor in the behaviour of the supporters as the smell of alcohol emanating from their section of the ground was strong and a number of bags filled with bottles of beer were confiscated by the match stewards.


It is a shame that the Newry school was let down by their supporters on such an important day for the players and the school but unfortunately that is the way sport seems to be heading in this country.


Gerry Thornley claims it is happening, albeit not to the same extreme, in rugby and hopefully this is just a one off for the GAA.


Credit must go to the Croke Park stewards as they managed to successfully keep the supporters from gaining access to the pitch and also to the other St.Colman’s supporters who were cordial in their success and cheered their team on with respect from the opening minute.


It is a shame that these same supporters, who were there to see their sons, brothers and friends win an All-Ireland final in Croke Park, should be mentioned in
the same breath as the thugs who were also following the Hogan Cup champions.


I congratulate St. Colman’s on their success and wish them further success in the future as they are clearly a good football team as their destruction of St. Gerald’s in the semi and St. Brendan’s in the final show.


But I sincerely hope that something is done, both by the St.Colman’s school and by the GAA, to make sure that scenes like the ones in Croke Park on Saturday are never seen again.

Good post Swinford. Well written and level-headed. It's a pity how some people can do damage to the reputation of an entire school.

Are sure they were'nt Dubs Swinford..

haha,no im sure even the Dubs on the Hill wouldnt be as bad as these guys today

Tch, Typical Anti- Ulster bias from a bitter Swinny!

They were actually throwing roses and superlatives at Galvin, and drinking certified H2o




Ah no,Good post! That's a pretty shameful development, hopefully that sort of carry on is a once off.

Hopefully the guards will seek extradition warrants to bring these culprits back to face justice here....How could Gaa fans come to Dublin and carry on like this.......

I suppose there no better than the Meath fans..

Very disappointing - and embarrassing - for the school. Surely they should be able to vet and control the support a little better. Good article Swinny - but I'd be surprised to see it in the Nationals. This is exactly the kind of stuff they ignore and pretend that it doesn't happen.

I think I also heard chants of "Easy Easy".. Not nice to rub it in like that when you're hammering a team..

Jayo Cluxton wrote:Good article Swinny - but I'd be surprised to see it in the Nationals. This is exactly the kind of stuff they ignore and pretend that it doesn't happen.

Don't I know it Jayo. Only sent it to the Irish Times in terms of nationals cause I have a mate there. sent it to a few regional papers aswell and thinking of sending it to Gaelic Life up north but this could be the type of article that they ignore too.

Jarlath Burns son was in the front row of all the trouble and when I asked Jarlath about it he said it was just part of the game. sad sign to see someone like him saying that

Typical anti ulster crap again! If you really were a steward, let me be among the first to inform you of how crap a job you did! A child with half a brain would have opened up the stand after a minute when 200 college supporters entered at once and it took you lot twenty mins to catch on! Also, had the common sense approach been used three arrests would have been avoided! The blue army were a credit to their school. You'd be forgiven for thinking only one set of supporters showed up, and you'd also be forgiven for thinking only one team showed up, but with the typical anti ulster stance we can only win and let you lot moan! Tell all the papers you know, do your worst! The headlines will still read 'Colmans win Hogan' and thats what goes down in history, not your bitchy reports on our support! Blue Army abu!!

hogan2010, there was no need for us to open up the extra section of the stand because there was plenty of seats available in the already opened areas. and as for an 'ani-ulster' bias..... I have better things to do with my time than worry about ulster football, if it had been the St.Brendan's supporters abusing everything in sight yesterday then I would have written about them but they didnt,it was the Colman's fans and you cannot deny that it was despicable.if you really believe they were a credit to their school then you should talk to the teachers and majority of parents who were at the match and were absloloutly disgusted and outraged by what happened. and what is the common sense approach that you are talking about?id say at least half of those students were under the influence,thus making it a little difficult to just ask them not to jump over 5 rows, and jumping on stewards and gardai,that were cordoned off to stop them getting on the pitch.jog on back to your 'poor ulster,everyone's against us' thoughts and leave the rational arguements and thoughts to those who dont feel there is a vendetta against us

My point was that the young lads wanted to sit together. There were some seats here and there, but none together and as about 300 of them were standing together tring to get into ten seats, opening that new section was always going to happen. It just seemed you were the last to realise this. As for the incidents at the end, yes they took the shine off things. I thought for a time someone was going to get hurt and it is for that reason I still think the gate should have been opened. You say I should talk to teachers and parents? I did following the game and yes, as I have said, the end was far from pleasing. But they, nor you, could argue that the support offered to St Colmans yesterday and throughout the competition was outstanding and you'll find that the management and team were very thankful of the support following the victory. You may not agree with what they sang, and occasionally the lyrics werent great, but Im sure Galvin has heard worse while in Croke Park. The way you are talking, you would think a new Green Street movie was going to be made about the Colmans support yesterday! It was an All Ireland final. Go down in September, which Im sure you will, and find me a stand that doesn't have a couple of drunk people singing! Grow up and stop trying to take away these young lads deserved All Ireland winning headlines!

Congratulations to St. Colman's on what turned out to be a stroll in the park for them against my old school, the Sem. Obviously I wasn't at the game as I'm still here in Laos (with two Newry boys as it turns out!). I won't comment on the supporter's behaviour as I didn't experience it first-hand but I've heard enough from friends at home and read match reports online to suggest that this soccer hooligan mentality is not welcome in the GAA.

Hogan2010, there is no way whatsoever of justifying the hooliganism that went on at yesterday's match from a section of your supporters. It's quite humorous how you introduce the phrase 'Anti-Ulster Bias' into your posts. Once you include accusations that have nothing got to do with the point in question i.e. your fans actions, you know you've lost the argument. The stuff that went on yesterday was an absolute disgrace. I'm not a big fan of Galvin, but I wouldn't have that idiocy and foolishness to shout abuse at the man for the whole game. It's a sign of pure immaturity of the fans who would do something as thick and ignorant as that.

There's no defending the goings-on of the Colman's supporters yesterday. To actually light up flares and endanger the health of others is totally wrong. Well done to the Colman's team, but to their supporters, the actions they carried out yesterday was an insult to the competition, to Croke Park and of course, to Michael Hogan himself.

Mayo'51, are you for real? I mean imagine singing in a football stadium at a final! The nerve of it! Some people are a bit too old fashioned and such new trends as singing and trying to get on the pitch are branded as 'hooliganism'. To try to say that Galvin was abused for the whole match is a lie. I heard one thing sang in his direction and I'm sure the man has taken much worse. I would like you to outline why you believe the college are 'hooligans'. I cant believe the mountain some people are making out of this mole hill. Its just a shame that some of you choose to focus attention on the stand instead of the sheer class and brilliance of some of the football played yesterday! You also claim I cannot defend the college support? Talk to the college team, as I have done since, and ask them were they grateful of such a vocal support from the sea of blue. We should dig a whole, put this thread in it, and move on! When this happens on All Ireland Final day in September not a word is said!

Right let's get one thing straight. Most importantly, St. Colman's are the Hogan Cup champions 2010 - congratulations to the whole team and management.
Second, the behaviour of the fans. My seat was only a short distance from those fans. Yes they were noisy, yes they did a lot of chanting and cheering, but that was all in support of their school which they felt so proud of on such a momentous occassion as the All Ireland Final. Is there anything wrong with showing your support for your school? (when it was obvious that St. Brendan's had very little support.)
It had been said that fans would not be allowed onto the pith for "safety reason." So basically the Croke Park authorities were saying that is was "safer" to keep hundreds of fans bunched together and climbing over seats and jumping and cheering in the stand when their team won, rather than letting them onto a large, open expanse (ie the filed) where there would be more room? We all know that the true reason, as is nearly always the case, is money. Croke Park did not want their field ruined as it would cost too much to fix it. They were prepared to let Soccer and Rugby be played on that sacred turf but not prepared to allow the irish themselves to celebrate the victory of their team in their national support - wrong attitude GAA!
Now, it is undeniable that there were a few incidents where the behaviour of certain fans got out of hand, and I'm sure these fans regret what they have done. Please do not say that they disgraced St. Colman's college as in fact the ones who jumped the fence do not even attend the school. 99% behaved exactly as would be expected. They chanted, they cheered, and above all, the shared in their school's fantastic success. Apart from the flares, their behaviour was generally acceptable. As hogan2010 has already stated, the team seemed so grateful for their support, and indeed there would have been somewhat of a dull atmosphere at GAA headquarters yesterday had it not been for the Blue Army!!!

hogan2010 wrote:Mayo'51, are you for real? I mean imagine singing in a football stadium at a final! The nerve of it! Some people are a bit too old fashioned and such new trends as singing and trying to get on the pitch are branded as 'hooliganism'. To try to say that Galvin was abused for the whole match is a lie. I heard one thing sang in his direction and I'm sure the man has taken much worse. I would like you to outline why you believe the college are 'hooligans'. I cant believe the mountain some people are making out of this mole hill. Its just a shame that some of you choose to focus attention on the stand instead of the sheer class and brilliance of some of the football played yesterday! You also claim I cannot defend the college support? Talk to the college team, as I have done since, and ask them were they grateful of such a vocal support from the sea of blue. We should dig a whole, put this thread in it, and move on! When this happens on All Ireland Final day in September not a word is said!

Could you point out anywhere in my post where I said that I'm against singing at football matches?!?!

As for the line in your post that I have underlined, are flares the norm for All-Ireland finals now?

The section of those supporters yesterday who caused havoc need to grow up.

Champions2010, funny how two fans from the same school and county join on the same day and both share the exact same opinions-coincidence?

Anyway, the reason Croke Park do not want people invading the pitch afterwards is only partly due to the fact of not wanting the pitch to be damaged. It is mainly due to insurance reasons-if someone is injured, Croke Park are sued. It's happened many times before. I have my own opinion on the matter but it doesn't matter in this case.

As we have re-iterated before-the Colman's team deserved to win, so fair play to them. However, the actions of a section of their supporters was scandalous, not to mention dangerous.

Well Im sure many fans would have the same opinion, not just us two. You say the reason for CP not opening the pitch does not matter - so on a day when it caused so much trouble, the reasons do not matter? Somehow I think they matter more now that trouble has arisen as a result of it.

champions2010 wrote:Well Im sure many fans would have the same opinion, not just us two. You say the reason for CP not opening the pitch does not matter - so on a day when it caused so much trouble, the reasons do not matter? Somehow I think they matter more now that trouble has arisen as a result of it.

Please point out where in my post it says that I think it doesn't matter? Re-read my post, I said my opinion on whether Croke Park open up the pitch or not doesn't matter as we are talking about the disgraceful actions of some of the Colman's fans yesterday.

Well what needs to be investigated more is why not open the pitch...oh yes insurance = money!!!

You are right though, thats not the issue at hand. The point is that supporters showed up to support their school. Some, who do not even go to the school, actede a bit extremely. The rest where just so happy to see their school become All Ireland champions!!!

Too many boring people on this thread.

A bit of messing is grand for the occasion that was in it. More power to the flare starters I say, pity they didn't start a rucus with all these do-gooders.

champions2010 wrote:t. They were prepared to let Soccer and Rugby be played on that sacred turf but not prepared to allow the irish themselves to celebrate the victory of their team in their national support - wrong attitude GAA!

Wrong attitude GAA?? The GAA had thankfully moved on and distanced itself from this attitude and it's sad to see that some people still think this way. Any soccer or rugby match played in Croker did not involve the fans storming the pitch, it's a rule that Croke park enforce to the best of their ability at every game, if they were able to do it yesterday then great.

I was sitting very close to the "blue army"when they decended on the stand yesterday.They sang songs and chanted,so what they wernt doing any harm.not a word about how the blue army sang the national anthem in irish word for word..CP should have known that st colmans would have had a few hundred supporters coming down as They turned out in force for every game..The "blue army"paid their money the same as the rest and it wasnt cheap either.5,10 and 20 euro for schools football was a disgrace,grab all while u can....How"the men"stood and watched 300 boys squeeze into a small area was pathetic,and then act like the boys were in the wrong....Opening up the other section wasnt gonna be the hardest thing in the world but they made it into a big issue as only men in yellow jackets can do......The fans should have been allowed onto the field and none of this would have happened.Men cudnt organise a monkeys tea party...At the end of the day St Colmans are all ireland champions and it took a county down team to show the rest of the country how to play football.Leave the "blue army" alone.........

1) The Blue Army travelled in numbers all year like the true fans they are. Having to fork out 20 euro for admission to Croke Park was a joke.

2) The signage for parking was pathetic, and frustrating for Northern drivers as it isn't exactly a well kept secret that the clampers love nabbing the Northerners.

3)A large number of fans should have been expected wth the large attendances St. Colman's have had all season. It took the stewards far too long to cop on to the fact that those good old orange fence/barriers/tennis nets needed to be moved over a bit.

4) The chants about Galvin were not tasteful and totally uncalled for. This came from a small section of the crowd.

5) There was little to no atmosphere in an almost empty Croke Park until the College fans breathed a bit of life into the occasion. Ok flares and smoke bombs aren't allowed in but for God's sake they were hardly malicious and to be honest it added a bit of colour.

6) We're talking about a crowd of teenagers here, calm down son.

7) There was no need for arrests to be made and handcuffs used by the Gardai. Crowds always try to get onto the pitch. Again. it was not malicious. Saw a press photographer getting a sneaky snap of one of the lads being arrested. Very low.

The 2010 Hogan Final will be remembered for the exhibition of Gaelic football in its purest form. The St. Colman's team played with style, flair, and they did so fairly. The Final will also be remembered as the day the rest of Ireland was re-introduced to the Blue Army; the loyal band of supporters who create a wonderful atmosphere wherever they go.