Epic semi-final weekend displays gaelic football at its very best

I'm very conscious these days when I start waxing lyrically about the superb championship fare I witnessed last weekend that I'm in a very privileged position of being able to attend these games in person.

In this age of instant social media and mass communication, the ban on fans attending sporting events really struck home, leading me to wonder: Am I pissing off people here when I gush about the superb football I witnessed last weekend in the championship semi-finals?

Maybe I got my answer by the amount of times I've been stopped by people in the street, the chance encounter at the shops or, more bizarrely, when I was putting air in the car's tires on Monday evening - all the man waiting for the hose wanted to talk about was last weekend's championship results.

Everyone wanted to hear about the games first hand from someone who was actually there, bringing home just how much the ordinary GAA fan is suffering right now.

From what I'm hearing, the Leitrim GAA County Board are thrilled with the numbers subscribing to their online streaming service. True, there were problems with Saturday's broadcast when a camera broke down but, apart from that, I've heard nothing but the highest praise for the coverage, so take a deserved bow one and all.

Anyway, and I'm sure I won't get any sympathy here as I'm one of the lucky few actually able to attend games in person, last weekend was busy with three games on both Saturday and Sunday.

Starting off on Saturday, Allen Gaels were celebrating when their U17 side shocked St Mary's in the U17 Division 1 Final in Ballinamore. More than worthy winners, their hunger and desire carried them to a deserved and impressive victory but when I looked back on my notes, it was a bit closer than I felt on the day with Mary's spurning some good goal chances. It can be funny how the mind works.

A quick dash back to Carrick for the Intermediate and Senior double bill and I'd struggle to think of a more bizarre game than what I saw with Annaduff & Carrigallen, a thoroughly absorbing encounter when Annaduff looked as if they were going to run away with it only for Carrigallen to realise they were still in with a chance midway through the second half!

The game brought into stark relief the thin line keepers walk compared to everyone else! Enda Lyons got caught out of position for Annaduff's first goal and it was widely discussed. But few talked of how his superb penalty save, albeit with the benefit of a few extra yards, prompted Carrigallen's late surge for victory. That they fell short wasn't down to Enda Lyons.

It was the same for John McGoldrick and Dromahair in Sunday's Intermediate semi-final, a wonderful battle with two sets of players defying awful conditions to produce some fantastic football. McGoldrick made some vital saves but a dropped ball led to Gortletteragh's vital equaliser.

Again you wonder at how much luck plays a part. Gortletteragh's strength in depth played a big role but Dromahair lost key attacker Martin Feeney to injury while Cian Clinton and James Clancy can't have been at full-strength after crashing heads off each other in the warm-up, necessitating a turban for Clinton in the game!

As for Saturday's Senior Semi-Final, what can you say about Mohill that we've haven't already said but they are truly a superb team, both in terms of ability and how well organised they are.

Fenagh St Caillin's are going to be a huge force but they got a look close up of the standards they must attain if they are to lift the cup. And from the way, they've improved, it's a safe bet to say they must surely get to the promised land in the not too distant future.

Sunday also saw the refixed Ladies Senior Semi-Final and this was a day for tough women. Now, I'm usually very careful with how I describe any footballer, female players in particular for fear of causing offence but when I say they were tough, it is the way I would describe male players, both mentally and physically, under the same conditions!

Neither Ballinamore or Kiltubrid yielded an inch, they fought for every ball as if their lives depended on in a bruising, physical game dominated by a gale force wind and, to my mind, that is toughness, no matter who you are!

Ballinamore's exciting young guns will take a lot from this game but Glencar/Manorhamilton were waiting, watching and formulating a plan. Sunday's Final could be a blockbuster but I wouldn't be surprised if tactics mean we get a dogged and dour battle. Here's hoping for a thriller as both teams are capable of some of the best football you could hope to see.

Finally, St Mary's Kiltoghert stopped me from getting all my predictions right last week with some suggesting I put the hex on Glencar/Manorhamilton by giving them the nod! Conspiracy theories aside, Glencar/Manor were favourites for so many reasons and they were all on display last Sunday; it is just that St Mary's were that bit better on the day, taking Manor's game plan and imposing it on the champions!

St Mary's are a team with serious momentum and growing belief, they will be hard stopped. With a final preview to come, I'll chat more about them and Mohill next week and, in this era of irrepressible youth, the untold value of experience.

But, and I don't mean this as an epitaph, it is only fitting to pay tribute to Glencar/Manor in this column. I'd be foolish to write off any Manor team for the future but the north Leitrim giants look as if they are in for a period of rebuilding. Then again, I thought the same about St Mary's this year and look where they are now!

Some of this great Manor team may depart over the off-season and if they do, they leave as some of the best club footballers ever to grace the fields of Leitrim. Their record of five wins obscures the staggering statistics that they contested four more finals over a 12 year span in a remarkable display of excellence and consistency. They truly owe nobody anything.