Club drama never fails to disappoint

Hard to believe after a couple of hectic months with games the length and breadth of the county that next weekend, barring replays, will see the conclusion of the 2023 domestic club scene  in Leitrim and what a few months it's been!

Heroes and villains have emerged, heartbreak probably the more common emotion as a select few clubs have gone on to claim championship glory but the rest, missed opportunities and regrets probably dominate the chat when players and supporters look back over the 2023 - I suppose that is the nature of sport, for every winner, there are far more losers and often the margin is razor thin.

Last weekend's trio of major finals encapsulate that very theory - it wouldn't have taken much for St Joseph's Ladies, Glenfarne Kiltyclogher in the Junior and Melvin Gaels in the Intermediate to be on the other side of that fine line separating success and failure and, in all honesty, you can't say there was much between the teams.

Mohill finally end up on the right side of the fine line

THE LAST POINT

Certainly the three losing teams were equally as committed, equally as ferocious in the tackle and every bit as driven as Glencar Manorhamilton, St Mary's Kiltoghert and Annaduff. That level of commitment and the tactical battle meant that both the Ladies and Intermediate contests were more of a struggle than we would expect with the clash of St Mary's and Glenfarne Kiltyclogher easily the most entertaining of the three finals.

That's not to say the Junior game in Drumkeerin wasn't intense, it certainly was, as both teams went at each other at 100 miles an hour but both were certainly intent on delivering at one end of the field rather than stopping the opponents at the other end.

Maybe it is the time of year with pitches getting heavier or maybe the stakes are just higher but however absorbing they were, we got cagey, tactical battles rather than free flowing contests - nothing wrong with that, the risk versus reward argument in gaelic football has definitely been skewed in recent years in favour of a cautious approach.

I understand it - would you work away for months on your fitness, improve your skills and understanding of tactics only to throw it all away with a naive approach to nullifying the strengths of the opposition? No, you'd be slaughtered if you did and until the powers that be come up with a way of incentivising open, attacking play, risk-averse football will hold sway.

Annaduff learned that lesson the hard way in the group stages against Melvin Gaels and they applied those lessons fruitfully last Sunday. They were undoubtedly the better team and thoroughly deserved their triumph but it was a hard watch at times - and I don't mean that as an insult, what we saw last Sunday was no different to St Mary's and Ballinamore in the senior semi final or what we routinely see on the inter county stage.

The Ladies game is held up as an example of what the men's game used to be but Saturday's contest in Shane McGettigan Park only reflects the way the Ladies game is going, mirroring the tactical approach so prevalent in the men's game and as the Ladies game continues to develop, the differences with the men's game will continue to fade away.

For all that, I was absorbed by all three games - it wasn't free flowing football but you couldn't take your eyes off it for a second and you certainly couldn't complain about the absolute commitment and intensity - no more than Ireland's heroes emptying the tank against New Zealand on Saturday night, nobody left an ounce of spare energy behind them over the weekend and I'm sure there were a lot of sore bodies afterwards.

Years don't dull County Final day drama

I could delve into the nuts and bolts of each game but I'd run out of room. Suffice to pick out a few highlights, be it Fergal Clancy's brilliance for Glenfarne Kiltyclogher on Saturday to the sheer wonder that Muireann Devaney in full flight remains. And what about the ageless Ray Cox winning an Intermediate title 22 years on from his first! Or the joy of watching Darren Cox, a young man whose performance was described to me by Melvin Gaels' own Colin Regan as “ like a northern star on a damp, dull, and dreary winter’s evening” - I couldn't say it any better!

Of course, now that the club season is coming to a close, that doesn't mean we won't have games to follow over the coming weeks - Provincial action will dominate the coming weeks, Glencar Manorhamilton Ladies the first team in action this Sunday in Boggaun when they host newly crowned Roscommon champions Boyle, while I believe trials are taking place to select the new Leitrim Post Primary Schools panel that will take historic first steps in the Connacht PPS Senior A Championship - so plenty to savour in the coming months.

New beginnings and familiar tales

THE LAST POINT

Congratulations to Carrick-on-Shannon’s Mark Kelly who has recently won a prestigious prize for his photographic work on JRN (Junior Rowing News), one of the largest rowing media platforms in the world. Mark, a former rower himself, won the Professional Portfolio section with his photos from the Home International Rowing event at the Lough Rinn Regatta course seeing him scoop the prestigious prize. The above photo, entitled “Balancing Act” was one of a superb series submitted by Mark whose work has regularly appeared in the pages of the Observer - congrats again Mark!

Next Saturday, the hurlers of Carrick-on-Shannon and Cluainin renew their battle for the Leitrim title and if some turn their nose up at the small ball game and seek to deride it, the dedication of the players, mentors and clubs is just as great, maybe even more, considering the challenges they face in promoting hurling, than what our club footballers routinely produce.

Hurling's future is often under attack in football counties, shoved unceremoniously off to the side but the clashes between these Manor lads and their Carrick counterparts have oftentimes been the most intense and enjoyable games I've seen at club level over the past ten years. Just because many don't witness it, just like Ladies football, it doesn't make the Leitrim Hurling Final any less significant. And we should all remember and celebrate that!