Spirit of dual player not gone just yet
There was once a time when a dual player was common in GAA circles. That has disappeared in recent times, although there has been some evidence in the last week or so that would suggest that they aren’t necessarily a thing of the pass. This, of course, is in reference to the three Limerick players who recently declared that they had a desire to play both football and hurling this year.
Stephen Lucey, Stephen Walsh and Mark O’Riordan have excelled in both codes at different levels in the past and are a huge addition to both sides, especially Lucey who was full-back in the 2007 All-Ireland and centre-back in the 2004 Munster football final. When it was revealed that they wanted to play both, past experiences pointed to potential confrontation over the issue. However, Mickey Ned O’Sullivan and Justin McCarthy have been very understanding about the situation and are prepared to see how it will work in the initial stages of 2009.
This is a change from the events of recent years where the ‘dual player’ issue has caused considerable friction in the county. In the past, Lucey and others, like Brian Begley, have decided to choose one over the other. Normally, they chose hurling over football and not a lot was made about it. Yet, there was a time when they picked football over hurling and this stirred quite a bit of debate because hurling was perceived as being the stronger game in the county.
This though ignored the fact that the footballers were performing impressively at the time under Liam Kearns and their hurlers were going through a hard time. Lucey & Co. obviously felt that Kearns could work the oracle and wanted to play football at the time. Of course, when the hurlers’ fortunes improved under Richie Bennis they were back on board. They clearly felt that it would be too demanding to play both and decided to throw their lot in with the side that they saw to be the stronger outfit, which is perfectly understandable.
Now, if we fast forward to the present, they can see that there would be a benefit if they opted to play both. The draw is favourable to the footballers in the Munster Championship and could easily see them qualify for the Munster final. There is also great anticipation for the hurlers, who have the outstanding Justin McCarthy on board and face an intriguing opening Championship fixture against the Cork man’s former charges, Waterford.
Lucey, Walsh and O’Riordan obviously feel that there could enjoy worthwhile seasons with both teams this year and it is a credit to O’Sullivan and McCarthy that they are willing to accommodate them rather than taking a heavy-handed approach, which could lead to either manager having some very unhappy players under their watch.
It will be interesting to see how the three mentioned above will manage the demands that come with being a dual player. While the Stephen Luceys and Gary Whytes of this world obviously feel a dual player can survive in the current climate, there are others who don’t feel that it is viable.
For instance, when Tommy Lyons took over as Dublin manager in 2002, he made it clear that you couldn’t play both and was asking prominent dual players to make a decision over which they wanted to play. This saw the likes of Shane Ryan, David Henry, David O’Callaghan and Conal Keaney choosing to play with the footballers. Shane Ryan, in particular, had his hand forced as he was playing some excellent hurling at the time of Lyons’ appointment.
Keaney has been in the news recently as it was revealed that the new Dublin hurling Chief Anthony Daly approached him about a possible return to the small ball game. Keaney turned down this offer and has decided to stay playing solely for Pat Gilroy’s side.
Keaney’s return would have been a big boost as he was viewed as being the best hurler in the county at the time and at 27 is still young enough to make an impact at the highest level. However, it is a big call to make and while the Limerick trio should be applauded for giving it a go, you can’t blame others who feel like prioritizing.
The last man to win a Senior All-Ireland in football and hurling was Teddy McCarthy back in 1990 and it would seem that it is unlikely that this could be achieved again. Two men have come close to achieving this since, Cork’s Sean Og O’ hAilpin and Galway’s Alan Kerins. O’hAilpin won the 1999 Hurling crown but lost the football decider to Meath. Kerins, on the other hand, was a late substitute when the Tribesmen beat Meath in 2001 football final, but lost narrowly to the Tipperary hurlers two weeks earlier.
Kerins encountered a few problems of his own the following year when he was told by manager Noel Lane that he wouldn’t be playing hurling if was playing football. This was a foolish approach by Lane seeing as the Galway footballers were current All-Ireland champions. He eventually returned and continued to play both for a couple of seasons, before opting for his first love of hurling.
If it was possible that players could play both, then it was certainly be of huge benefit to counties like Dublin, Cork and Galway on both ends. In Cork, the likes of John Gardiner, Tom Kenny, O’hAilpin, Cathal Naughton (albeit mainly as a soccer player) and Diarmuid O’Sullivan all have experience of playing football. Ditto Galway, where the likes of Kerins, Niall Coleman, Barry Cullinane and Cathal Moore have played both in the past.
Of course, the predominant viewpoint is that the toll would weigh very heavily on a player’s shoulders if he played both, and it could lead to a drop in performance level of the player in either or both games.
From a personal viewpoint, I would love to envisage a world where it is possible for a player to play both at the very highest level, like Des and Larry Foley used to do for Dublin in decades gone by, or like Teddy McCarthy and Jimmy Barry-Murphy did for the Rebel County with great success.
For the time being though, we will have to make do with the likes of Stephen Lucey or Mayo’s Keith Higgins as they aim to keep the spirit of the dual player alive. Chances are that once is the most we will see of these players playing in Croke Park come September time, but at least they are willing to give it a go in the hope that they can achieve some form of satisfaction for the work they put in on the training field.