PROGRAMME PLUS – VOLUME 1, NUMBER 7, JULY 30th, 2016

Welcome, dear readers, to the seventh edition of ‘Programme Plus’, arriving one day behind

schedule due to work commitments. My day job revolves entirely around deadlines which simply

must be met; thankfully, there’s a little more flexibility with this offering due to the voluntary nature

of it, although I still apologise for the slight delay.

First of all this month, there’s a couple of slight tweaks on the technical side of things. I usually send

the bulletin in a Microsoft Word document, but I have reverted to pdf format due to popular

demand.

Secondly, I’m sending the associated images in a separate e-mail. I have opted against using hi-res

scans because I discovered that some subscribers didn’t have the capacity in their accounts to

receive these. Therefore, what you see are simple, straightforward jpgs photographed by an iPhone.

Given that it’s a very visual hobby, my main aim is to ensure that everyone gets to read and see the

images in the most simple format for all. And by sending the jpgs separately in this way, I can

distribute more of them to the maximum amount of people.

Not surprisingly given the time of year, this has been a bumper month for programme production,

and as a result this is the biggest edition thus far. So, without further delay, let’s get cracking with

the real news.

PROGRAMME OF THE MONTH: My choice for this month’s accolade is the 64-pager for €5 issued

for the double-header of Leinster Senior football championship semi-finals in Croke Park on June 26th

(technically the ‘wrong’ month, I know, but I only received it in July!). The games between Dublin

and Meath, and Westmeath and Kildare, may have been forgettable affairs, but editor Cian Murphy

went to great lengths to mark the famous four-game saga of 1991 in what is labelled on the cover as

the ‘25th anniversary souvenir edition’. Above those words is a lovely graphic with the years on

either side of a circle featuring the numbers 2 and 5, the 2 in the blue of Dublin, and the 5 in the

green of Meath.

In terms of 1991 content, it starts on 26 and 27 with reports of the four games. Brendan Minnock

follows with an interview with David Beggy on 28 and 29, and he also contributes the next two pages

titled ‘4 Games That Changed Everything’, featuring a wonderful action shot of Mick Lyons tackling

Vinny Murphy.

The rest of the general content is first class too. Seán Creedon offers a timely two pages after the

trip to Kilkenny to play Laois, listing the results of the 54 consecutive Dublin championship games

played at headquarters from 2006 to 2015. Colm Keys highlights the key role played by Stephen

Cluxton in ’”80 not out” for the game’s biggest influencer’, while the modern-day player interviews

are with Ger Egan, Keith Cribbin, Paul Flynn and Mickey Burke.

There’s the usual mix of previous meetings, reports on past encounters, and, given that it’s a

double bill, we are treated to no fewer than eight pages of Leo McGough’s ‘From The Archive’

material. Interestingly, it’s explained on page 23 that Kildare didn’t pose for a team photograph

before the Wexford game because the weather was so poor, so captioned head and shoulders

images for the full panel of 2016 are included instead.

This is one of several fine programmes produced this year by Cian Murphy, a newcomer to the

Leinster editor’s chair. In that sense it could be viewed as a cumulative award, but I opted for this

rather than one of the provincial finals due to the effort made to look back on 1991. Here’s one

suggestion that might improve matters even further going forward: how about using some of the

programme covers from past games? Collectors all over the country would be more than happy to

oblige with scans!

FIRST AND LAST: ‘First and Last’ is a fairly common genre of programme collecting among the

soccer fraternity in particular. It’s not unusual to see specific requests in this area, and it may cover a

variety of situations. For example, many professional clubs have moved into new grounds in the

post-Hillsborough era, so some enthusiasts will collect the last programme produced at their old

home, and the first one at their new abode.

Another example would be when a club gains promotion to League 2 from the National League;

collectors will seek the last programme from the non-league days along with the first after arriving

among the coveted top 92. I have yet to come across a G.A.A. collector with this specific desire,

although many of us will sub-consciously collect programmes from the first finals for various

competitions.

All this is by way of commenting on the Celtic Challenge 2016 finals programme. All five deciders

were held in Nowlan Park, Kilkenny, on June 18th, so I actually meant to write this for last month’s

edition but it slipped my mind. To the uninitiated, the Celtic Challenge is an Under-17 hurling

competition which was the selected flagship project of the Hurling Development Committee.

It involved 38 teams from 31 counties, with over 1,000 boys playing a combined total of 115 games

from early May onwards, culminating in a finals day which saw five games on the trot played from 10

a.m. all the way through to 4.40 p.m. I was there for three of them, and for the record the overall

Division 1 winners were Offaly who pipped South Kilkenny in a thriller. The other finals saw South

Wexford beat Kerry in Division 2, North Wexford beat Dublin Plunkett in Division 3, Wicklow beat

Westmeath in Division 4, and Waterford City beat Laois in Division 5.

Given that it was the first-ever staging of the competition, I thought collectors might be interested

in acquiring a copy of the programme. The good news is that it’s a DBA production so is readily

available from their office. It ran to 24 pages for €3 and started with a contents page on 2 and the

Clár an Lae on 3. Next up were messages from Aogán O Fearghail and HDC Chairman Paudie O’Neill.

The competition rules were on 6 with a Cúl Camp message on 7.

Then we get into squad lists rather than the conventional 1 to 15 in line-out style with substitutes

underneath that we are so familiar with. Waterford City, Laois, Westmeath and Wicklow occupy

pages 8 to 11. The centrespread features a full-page photograph on 13 with one representative from

each competing team standing in a tunnel in Croke Park. It’s a colourful spectacle, and it should be

noted that O’Neills designed attractive jerseys complete with the Celtic Challenge wording and logo

across the chest.

Page 12 outlines the background to the competition in a piece headlined ‘The Celtic Challenge -

Origins And Structure’. The plan was to provide a seven-week programme of meaningful, pre-

scheduled games, with everyone qualifying for their own level after a series of regionalised group

games. It certainly succeeded in its aim and I was very impressed with every aspect of the

competition. Seeing two Wexford captains lifting cups probably helped a little in formulating that

opinion!

The line-outs continue from pages 14 through to 19, before two pages on the paths to the finals

and an explanation on the ‘best and fairest’ award. One player from each team was selected for this

honour by the match referee in consultation with his officials and, apart from skill levels, it was

devised in order to recognise respect shown to officials and general sportsmanship.

The programme ends with the Nowlan Park safety regulations on 22, a photograph of the trophies

with representatives from the sponsors, the Past Hurlers’ Association, on 23, and an O’Neills ad on

24. I wasn’t aware of the existence of this Association beforehand I must admit, but the key men

involved are Tipperary duo Noel O’Dwyer and John O’Donoghue, Waterford’s John McGrath,

Michael Carroll of Kilkenny, and retired Croke Park official Seán O Laoire from Clare. The quiz buffs

among you may be interested in the names of the cups, all in honour of some victims from Bloody

Sunday at Croke Park on November 21st, 1920: Michael Hogan (Division 1), John Scott (Division 2),

William Robinson (Division 3), Michael Feery (Division 4) and Jerome O’Leary (Division 5).

We talked about collector’s items before, so does this programme fit the bill given it’s for the first-

ever competition? I’ll let everyone decide that for themselves!

THE MONTH IN PROGRAMMES: There’s a vast array of programmes to review this month,

including top-quality Senior finals from all four provinces plus the usual host of qualifier offerings.

July 2nd - All-Ireland hurling qualifiers round one, Wexford v. Offaly, Limerick v. Westmeath, Clare

v. Laois and Cork v. Dublin: DBA produced another ‘four-in-one’ programme for €3, running to 32

pages and along familiar lines. The pairings and venues are outlined on a cover complete with the

eight county crests, and details of the times and officials are on page 3. Mártan O Ciardha has a two-

page spread, ‘Cleachtaithe Go Maith’, on 4 and 5 with an action shot from the meeting of Clare and

Laois in 2013. Next up is another spread from John Harrington of GAA.ie titled ‘Rebuilding

Confidence And Gathering Momentum’, a snapshot of what the qualifiers are all about - for some

counties at least.

There’s a page of Wexford v. Offaly facts along with a profile of referee Johnny Ryan on 9, followed

by the line-outs. This theme continues with the Limerick v. Westmeath facts and line-outs on 13, 14

and 15 respectively. The centrespread is a piece by Enda McEvoy of the ‘Irish Examiner’ headlined

‘First Step On The Road To Redemption’.

The Clare v. Laois facts and line-outs are on 19, 20 and 21. As an aside, regular readers may

remember my piece in a previous edition advising caution with regard to the list of scorers published

in national newspapers, as the provincials are a lot more accurate in my view. This game provided an

example as the ‘Irish Examiner’ reporter credited Aaron Shanagher with 4-1 rather than 3-1, giving

him Shane O’Donnell’s goal for some reason I couldn’t fathom after watching the highlights. It may

be deduced that Ger Canning of RTE uses his local daily in Cork for research as he repeated the error

in his commentary of Clare v. Limerick, although he compounded it by saying Shanagher’s goals

came against Westmeath rather than Laois. It will be interesting to see whether Shanagher or

O’Donnell is credited with the goal in future programmes this summer.

Getting back to this review, the Cork v. Dublin facts and line-outs are on 23, 24 and 25, including a

tribute to the late Jim Forbes who was a very efficient P.R.O. for a spell among his many postings

within the G.A.A. Ar dheis Dé go raibh a anam dílis.

The qualifier records fill a half-page on 27, with county crests utilised, and the last piece of interest

is a crossword and list of ten questions for the younger readers on 28. Ten and a half pages are filled

with advertisements or promotional material.

July 3rd, Croke Park - Leinster Senior hurling championship final, Kilkenny v. Galway: The latest

instalment in this rivalry saw Cian Murphy and his crew produce a 68-page programme for €5. Match

information is on page 3 and, with regard to a comment from Patrick Donegan in the last issue, it

was good to note that the compilers did clearly stress that extra-time wouldn’t be played in the

event of a draw in either the Minor or Senior games.

The Leinster Council has a nicely-illustrated infographic outlining where their money is spent, and

this appears on 4 beside the words of welcome from the Chairman, John Horan. The three sponsors

have messages on 6 and 7, and there’s also an illustration of the Senior medals specially

commissioned to mark the centenary of the 1916 Rising.

There’s photographs of the referees and team managers plus details of the selectors on 8, and the

Senior roll of honour is on 11 with photographs of the captains, David Burke and Lester Ryan. The

‘Story of the Season’ by Gordon Manning of ‘The Irish Sun’ occupies a colourful three pages from 13

to 15, but the incorrect venue is listed for two Offaly games: Tralee instead of Tullamore for the

clash with Kerry, and Portlaoise rather than Tullamore for the quarter-final against Laois.

Paddy Flanagan of Mullingar is the doyen of programme producers and did wonderful work in that

field from the late 1970s onwards. He was one of the forerunners in compiling readable, well-

presented material at a time when this was a rarity, so it’s good to see he’s still keeping his hand in

as it were by supplying the round by round results for the Senior and Minor championships. The

information is drawn from the daily papers though, a conclusion I drew from seeing the Minor

details on page 40 as a Wexford lad who didn’t even play against Westmeath is credited with a goal,

something I highlighted in a previous edition.

Enda McEvoy of ‘The Irish Examiner’ fills pages 18 and 19 with a feature headlined ‘The Golden

Gate and Golden Opportunities’, while Leinster Council P.R.O. Pat Teehan looks back on the 2012

trilogy between Kilkenny and Galway across 20 and 21. The previous meetings of the counties are on

23, and Cian O’Connell of GAA.ie interviews Cyril Donnellan on 24 and 25. Cian Murphy has a chat

with Jackie Tyrrell on 26 and 27, while the Galway and Kilkenny team photographs are on 29 and 31

respectively.

The Minor line-outs are on 32 and 33, with the Senior equivalent across the centrespread. Leo

McGough’s points and goals quiz is on 36, with games to come on 37 along with a photograph of the

All-Ireland winning Féile na nGael hurling team from Faythe Harriers. Photographs of the Minor

captains along with the roll of honour are on 39, plus the list of additional Dublin panel members.

The round-by-round Minor results and a message from the sponsor are on 40 and 41, with

photographs of the Dublin and Wexford teams on 42 and 43. Pat Teehan looks at the previous Minor

final appearances of both counties on 44, and there’s a report on the 1983 final on 45 complete with

a photograph of future soccer international Niall Quinn who scored 3-5 in that game.

There’s an interesting feature on ‘The GAA and the 1916 Rising in Leinster’ by Dr. Richard McElligott

on 46 and 47, re-produced from ‘The GAA and Revolution in Ireland: 1913-1923’ edited by Gearóid O

Tuathaigh. This is followed by a two-page list on 48 and 49 of members of the GAA in Dublin who

fought in the Rising. Jackie Napier from Bray pens a two-page tribute to his old friend Jack Boothman

on 50 and 51, and it’s appropriately followed by a similar piece on the late Joe McDonagh by Mártan

O Ciardha.

Leo McGough’s ‘From The Archive’ feature is always eagerly awaited by programme collectors, and

the focus this time is on an interview with Kilkenny’s Paddy Moran from ‘Gaelic Sport’ in September,

1969, and an extract from Sylvie Linnane’s autobiography, ‘True Grit’. Cian O’Connell writes about

the record six goals scored by Kilkenny’s Mick Kennedy in the 1916 final on 58, and there’s a

crossword as Gaeilge and a plug for this bulletin on 62. The Cumann na mBunscol line-outs are on

63, with two pages of handball on 64 and 65. The overall count of pages devoted to advertisements

or promotions is 15, rendering this a most informative and well-presented souvenir on the whole.

July 3rd and July 10th, Munster Senior hurling championship finals, Kerry v. Tipperary in Killarney

(football), Tipperary v. Waterford in Limerick (hurling): I’m looking at these programmes together

with the intention of performing a ‘compare and contrast’ exercise. All of the necessary ingredients

are contained in both (80 pages hurling, 72 pages football, both €5) to be included in the ‘very good

to excellent’ category.

However, there’s one aspect of the football programme that makes it better than the hurling in my

view, and that’s the layout, general design, and more attractive fonts used. I don’t detect a printing

credit in the football offering but it has a familiar ‘Kerry’ look to it, whereas Cube looked after the

hurling as usual but persisted with a spindly, unattractive font in my opinion. The content in both is

first class, but I feel the design in the football version does it justice a good deal better than the

hurling.

Features in the football programme include Juvenile club focuses on Dr. Crokes and Clonmel

Commercials respectively, a piece by Jason O’Connor on Kerrymen helping to spread the football

gospel in the Premier county, interviews with Killian Young and Evan Comerford, a tribute to the late

Jim Forbes, and profiles of Minor players David Clifford (Kerry) and Jack Ryan (Cork). The Senior

player profiles are well laid out, head and shoulders photographs with club, date of birth and

championship debut alongside.

They are equally good to be fair in the hurling programme where the items of interest include

Seamus O’Doherty’s player of the past profile on Waterford’s Austin Flynn, and his contribution on

Waterford’s previous league and championship outings in Limerick. Phil Fanning pens a tribute to

the recently-deceased Seamus Power, while the Juvenile club profiles are on Fourmilewater and

Thurles Gaels, and Jackie Cahill has a chat with Noel McGrath and Noel Connors respectively.

I also note with interest that our friend James Lundon has a half-page ad in both programmes

looking for old G.A.A. memorabilia, and featuring four illustrations of some interesting items in his

collection. They say you’ve got to speculate to accumulate, and I’m sure James’ ad caught the eye of

many people browsing through these publications - a smart move.

July 6th, Tullamore - Bord Gáis Energy Leinster Under-21 hurling championship final, Dublin v.

Offaly: A total of 20 fact-filled pages for €3, with Patrick Donegan going to great lengths to complete

the full list of previous winning captains. I was happy to lend some assistance and I also called on Leo

McGough for help, while I believe PM O’Sullivan was on the case in Kilkenny. Between us we

managed to come up with the definitive list, but Patrick deserves all of the credit for doing so much

leg work.

He also contributed pieces on their finals of 1967 and 1972, the previous winning teams from both

counties, as well as the names of all those who played in this year’s championship. There’s a

deserved page on Offaly’s win in the inaugural Celtic Challenge, plus two promotional pages on ‘The

Faithful Fields’, a call to arms for support for the new Offaly Training Centre. There’s also the full list

of previous meetings, the final appearances thus far of both counties, this year’s top scorers, the roll

of honour, and a ‘plug’ for this bulletin…sure, what more could you want or need in 20 pages?!

July 6th, Limerick - Munster Intermediate hurling championship final, Limerick v. Clare: Twelve

pages for €2 here, with action shots of a player from each team on the cover. Page 2 has

photographs of the mentors plus lists of additional panel members and backroom teams. Gerry

O’Sullivan’s Chairman’s address and Ed Donnelly’s thanks are on 3, with a Q&A with referee Joe

Larkin of Cork on 5 in a sandwich between ads for the Limerick race day and Bus Eireann.

The line-outs on 6 and 7 are followed by ads on 8 and 10, with profiles of Eoin Quirke (Clare) and

Kevin O’Brien (Limerick) on 9 and 11 respectively. The back page has the roll of honour, a line on the

cup (Sweet Afton) with its photograph at the bottom, and the paths to the final - a nice, compact

programme fitting the occasion and containing all the relevant information one would expect.

July 9th, Thurles - All-Ireland qualifiers round two, Cork v. Limerick (football), Wexford v. Cork and

Clare v. Limerick (hurling): DBA produced a 48-pager for €4 for this triple-header, including eleven

pages of ads. and a further four of promotional material. Details of the officials are on 3, with an

Arthur Sullivan piece titled ‘Summer Of The Underdog?’ on 5 and 7 with a nice photograph of

Darragh Foley and Daniel St. Ledger showing what Carlow’s football win over Wicklow meant to

them.

The qualifier top scorers are on 8 with a photograph of Kildare’s Johnny Doyle who still leads the

way on 8-118. The football scoreboard for the year thus far is on 9 with an action shot from Donegal

v. Monaghan, and then Brian Murphy has a piece on 10 and 11 titled ‘Inter-County Needs To Remain

Pinnacle Of The Game’. Cork’s football qualifier record is on 12, and I can only assume the Rebels are

not fond of posing for pre-game team photographs because the one used on 13 is a side-shot taken

as far back as the first Allianz League game against Mayo!

The football line-outs are on 14 and 15, with the Limerick football team photograph on 16 and their

qualifier record on 17. There’s similar treatment of the Cork hurlers on 18 and 19 before the Cork

and Wexford line-outs on 20 and 21. Wexford’s team photograph and qualifier record fill 22 and 23,

while the centrespread is an article by Dermot Crowe of ‘The Sunday Independent’ titled ‘Walking

The Qualifier Tightrope’. It’s laid out with a backdrop of a lush green playing field which is empty

save for the presence of three Clare hurlers and Limerick rival Paudie O’Brien in the bottom right

from their 2015 meeting.

Clare’s qualifier record and photograph is on 26 and 27, followed by the Clare and Limerick teams

on 28 and 29, and the Limerick photograph and qualifier record on 30 and 31. There’s a graphic of

each county’s qualifier record, using crests, on 33 along with the top 10 hurling qualifier marksmen.

By my reckoning, Patrick Horgan’s seven-point haul pushes him up from fourth to second spot on 5-

86 (101), one behind Niall Gilligan on 10-72 and one ahead of Brian Carroll on 2-94.

The hurling scoreboard thus far is on 35 with a Kilkenny v. Galway photograph, while Martán O

Ciardha writes under the headline ‘Ag Freastal Ar An Dá Thrá’ on 37 with a photograph of one of the

dual players mentioned, Podge Collins. Profiles of the three referees complete with photographs are

on 39, and there’s five paragraphs of a taster from the GAA.ie column of retired Tipperary midfielder

Shane McGrath on 43.

All in all there’s a decent amount of reading and, it could be construed as a collector’s item by

certain collectors given that the programme marks Wexford’s first Senior hurling championship win

over Cork in 60 years (I had to mention that somewhere! I’ll be guarding my copies with tender

loving care anyway!).

July 9th, All-Ireland Senior football championship round 2B qualifiers (Cork v. Limerick in Thurles;

Fermanagh v. Mayo in Elverys McHale Park; Kildare v. Offaly in Newbridge; Longford v. Monaghan

in Clones): There’s one slight quirk to this 32-page programme for €3 in that the Cork v. Limerick

details are included, even though the programme wasn’t sold at this game. As alluded to above, it

was part of the 48-pager for the Thurles triple-header where the game took place, along with two

hurling qualifiers. However, there is some different information in that this programme lists the last

ten qualifier results for all eight participants, rather than the full qualifier record as per Thurles.

The articles by Brian Murphy and Arthur Sullivan are repeated along with the list of football

qualifier top scorers. New material amounts to a Colm Keys centrespread titled ‘Population Matters

But Small Counties Can Still Dream’, the line-outs for the Castlebar curtain-raiser (Charlestown

Sarsfields v. Mountbellew/Moylough in the Connacht Senior club football Leo Kenny Memorial Cup

final), and a piece by Martán O Ciardha (‘Peil Ar Na hOileáin).

July 10th, Salthill - Connacht Senior football championship final, Galway v. Roscommon: DBA have

been looking after the Connacht programmes for many years now, and this 56-page offering cost €5.

One thing I really like about this one is the player profiles featuring a head and shoulders cut-out

plus name, date of birth, club, height, weight and championship debut. So many programmes these

days tend to neglect the most obvious and sought-after information of all, namely some details on

the players apart from their name and club on the line-out pages. And the use of dates of birth is a

lot more accurate than listing ages in years, a point I will reference again below in relation to the

Ulster championship programmes.

There’s a lot of good, solid reading material throughout, with Mártan O Ciardha recalling some

‘Cluichí Ceannais Eile’ on 8 and 9 before Seán McGoldrick of the ‘Sunday World’ writes about

‘Galway’s Habit Of Wrecking Rossies’ Dreams’. There was another addition to that list of course,

albeit one week later. The previous meetings listed on 15 only start at 1950 for some reason, while

Dónal Keenan writes that ‘New Heroes Can Join The Immortals’ on 16 and 17. Page 19 has a piece

and black and white photograph of the jubilee team, namely the Roscommon Under-21 side of 1966.

The Senior scoreboard is on 21, while Arthur Sullivan asks ‘Have Galway Lit The Flame Again?’ on 22

and 23. Yes Arthur, they most certainly have. Those Galway player profiles I praised are very

attractively laid-out from 24 to 27, with the Senior line-outs across the centrespread before

Roscommon get a similar four-page treatment. There’s more from Arthur Sullivan on 34 and 35, and

once again whoever wrote the headline must have had a crystal ball on the desk: ‘Roscommon

Questions Remain After Bumpy Road’.

The Senior roll of honour and referee’s profile is on 37, and we get into the Minor final coverage

from 39 to 43. The Cumann na mBunscol teams have a crossword for children as Gaeilge below on

45, and there’s a page on the visiting Shanghai Under-12 football team on 46. The facing page has a

tribute to the late Aiden McGowan of Leitrim, a stalwart of his county and province. This was a good

programme on the whole; and let’s see more of those player profiles, and not just in Connacht!

July 13th, Innovate Wexford Park - Leinster Intermediate hurling championship final, Kilkenny v.

Wexford: The most senior programme seller at the venue told me he was on the receiving end of

several disgruntled comments when patrons realised this offering would cost them €1. It comprised

four pages of a photocopied folded A4 sheet with the line-outs on 2 and 3 and a list of Wexford

G.A.A. sponsors on the back. Some, but not all, had been photocopied in a manner that left the

teams upside down. This was a prime example of a programme that ought to have been given out

free of charge.

July 16th, All-Ireland Senior football championship round three qualifiers (Cavan v. Derry in

Kingspan Breffni Park; Clare v. Sligo in Markievicz Park; Kildare v. Mayo in Elverys McHale Park;

Longford v. Cork in Glennon Brothers Pearse Park): 32 pages for €3, with eight line-out pages of

course along with a page apiece listing the full qualifier records of the respective opponents along

with a profile of their referee underneath. The reading material comes from Martán O Ciardha

(‘Aisling Trí Na Néalta’), John Harrington of GAA.ie (‘Embrace The Qualifiers And Reap The Rewards),

and a centrespread from Declan Bogue (‘Days To Be Treasured’), with a photograph of Longford’s

Robbie Smyth (spelled Smith) celebrating his goal the previous week versus Monaghan. There’s a

brief taster of Declan O’Sullivan’s column on GAA.ie and a page with a crossword and quiz for the

children. There’s eleven and one-third pages of ads/promotional material.

July 17th, Castlebar - Connacht Senior football championship final replay, Galway v. Roscommon: I

recall from bitter experience as a former Co. P.R.O. that sinking feeling when a big game ends in a

draw and you learn that the replay is on the following weekend. Thoughts turn straight away to

compiling another readable programme with as much new information and fresh angles as possible.

Maybe it wasn’t so difficult for DBA in this instance given that it’s their ‘day job’ so to speak, unlike

the hordes of amateur progamme producers around the county.

Anyway, they stuck with the €5 cover charge and this time gave patrons 48 pages. So, what was

new? Mártan O Ciardha looked at ‘Athimirtí Eile’, while Arthur Sullivan’s piece carried a headline

that must rank as understatement of the year given the dross served up in the drawn game: ‘More

Required Of Galway And Roscommon In Replay’. This time it’s pleasing to note that all of the Galway

v Roscommon previous meetings are included over two pages, from 1901 all the way up to the

drawn encounter one week earlier. I could see no reason why the stats didn’t start until 1950 in the

first programme, and no explanation was given.

Pages 18 and 19 are excellent, with superb use of graphics. On the top left of 18 there’s a

photograph of Kevin Walsh with one of his quotes in a circle. Next to that is a map outlining the

venues of previous meetings along with a breakdown in numbers, all done in colour-coded format.

There’s a Galway by numbers piece stretching across the middle of 18 and 19 and containing six

snippets in all. Odds and ends are on the bottom of 18, and ‘Did You Know?’ on the facing page

carries photographs of the three sets of twins on the Galway squad: the Sweeneys, the Kynes and

the Varleys.

The top of page 19 sees a theme introduced in the Ring, Rackard and Meagher Cup finals

continued, namely the use of crests to outline the clubs with players on the squad, 16 in all. This is a

superb addition to the DBA programmes I must say. Below that, to complete two fact-filled pages, is

a snippet on the last drawn game between the counties at this stage in 1998. The pages are dotted

with numerous photographs also, making for a most attractive spread.

The Galway player profiles are repeated from 20 to 23, albeit in a slightly different lay-out, but

there’s the addition of their drawn game stats, namely wides, frees awarded, scoring chances,

yellow cards, red cards, black cards and ’45s.

Roscommon gets the same treatment after the centrespread, with the 14 crests of their clubs with

squad members carried on page 31. The top of 30 features a map of Ireland beside the headline

‘Magical Mystery Tour’. It lists the ten different venues for Roscommon’s twelve competitive games

of the year thus far, all highlighted on the map, making for a total distance travelled of 6,080 km.

Galway man Ciarán Murphy of ‘Second Captains’ contributes a two and a half page piece titled ‘A

Week To Gain A Decisive Edge’. There’s a list of all previous drawn finals and replays on 37, before

Dónal Keenan has three pages of a potted history of some of these meetings. The teams for the

curtain-raiser, a Ted Webb Cup Under-16 game between Roscommon and Galway City/West are on

42 and 43.

July 17th, Croke Park - Leinster Senior football championship final, Dublin v. Westmeath: A similar

template as per the hurling final programme is in use for this 76-pager for €5. All of the same

features are included again, while Martin Breheny contributes the guest piece and argues that

‘Provincial Championships Continue To Do Their Duty’. Pat Teehan recalls Westmeath’s sensational

one-point win over the Dubs in 1967, and the more familiar comfortable win for the boys in blue in

1993, complete with an action photograph of a boyish-looking Jim Gavin.

The previous meetings are on 23 before Brendan Minnock talks to John Heslin of Westmeath over a

two-page spread. Cian Murphy then has a chat with Cian O’Sullivan before the team photographs

are followed by two pages on Trevor Giles of Meath, recipient of the Hall of the Fame award on the

day. Minor coverage starts on 41 and includes the previous final appearances of both Laois and

Kildare, coupled with a report on their last final clash in 2004.

Six pages are repeated from the Leinster hurling programme, four on the 1916 Rising and two on

the late Jack Boothman. Given the big difference between supporters attending Kilkenny v. Galway

in hurling, and Dublin v. Westmeath in football, this is certainly no harm and was a wise decision,

particularly with the strong emphasis on the capital city in the 1916 features.

Our friend Leo McGough’s ‘From The Archives’ features Des Ferguson of Dublin and a look back at

the counties’ clash in 1967 when Donie Smith of Westmeath made history by playing football in a

helmet to protect himself after a head injury. There’s a page on the visiting Warwickshire Under-12

development squad alongside one on the forthcoming World Games to be hosted in Dublin from

August 7-14th. The last twelve pages of another informative programme are mainly filled with

promotional material and ads.

July 23rd, Tullamore - All-Ireland Junior football championship semi-final, Mayo v. Wexford: This

competition is the unloved child of the G.A.A. family so to speak, with scarcely one hundred people

in attendance and most of them parents, siblings or partners I would guess. In the circumstances one

couldn’t blame DBA for producing a basic full-colour four-pager for €1 with a silhouette of football

action on the front as a backdrop to the county names and crests. The line-outs are on 2 and 3 of

course, with the back featuring a GPA promotional photograph supporting the Childhood Cancer

Foundation.

Incidentally, one of the national newspapers had a two-line preview of this game, and the second

line made me despair. The writer (not noted for his accuracy on loftier G.A.A. matters either),

declared that Wexford had beaten Meath and Dublin to win Leinster. For the record, the Dubs

haven’t entered this competition at all in recent years, and we didn’t cross paths with the Royals

either. Longford and Louth were our previous opponents - just another example of the inaccuracy

that annoys the many collectors among us with a passion for facts, figures and proper research.

July 24th, Thurles - All-Ireland Senior hurling championship quarter-finals, Waterford v. Wexford

and Galway v. Clare: You know the ‘serious stuff’ is starting when the DBA programme increases in

size from A5 to B5. It was €5 for 48 pages and, just to underline my point, Enda McEvoy’s piece on

page 11 is also titled ‘The Serious Stuff Starts Today’! The three previous Wexford v. Waterford

meetings are marked by the team line-outs and an action photograph from each, and there’s two

pages of thumbnail photographs of participants from all four counties, just with name and club (the

addition of dates of birth would be a big bonus).

Christy O’Connor writes about ‘The Cost Of Evolution’ on the centrespread, and ends with the

ominous line: ‘For now, that increasing disconnect between many supporters and many of the

modern coaches - and ultimately the game itself - may be about to get bigger.’ The line-outs from

the last two Galway v. Clare meetings are on 32 and 33 beside the list of their twelve previous

championship clashes. Dermot Crowe has a piece titled ‘Opportunity For Healing And Redemption’,

with the Minor coverage (Limerick v. Wexford) from 39 to 41. There’s a nice two pages for the

younger readers on 42 and 43, featuring the work of illustrator yellowbelly.ie as well as a very good

photographic look at the sideline-taking styles of Austin Gleeson and Joe Canning, two masters of

the art. More of this please in programmes, as we need the children of today to develop our love of

collecting; this type of focus on their needs will definitely help in that regard!

July 27th, Loughgiel - Bord Gais Energy Ulster Under-21 hurling championship final, Antrim v.

Derry: Spectators entering Fr. Healy Park and paying the £5 stg. admission fee were given a free

sheet printed one side only, although of a higher quality than would be the norm in such a case. It

was printed on heavier, card-like paper and the line-outs were in colour and in keeping with the

normal template used for Ulster Senior championship games.

Ulster championship programmes x 12: My complete set of Ulster championship programmes

arrived from Stephen Donnelly just in time for review purposes. There’s twelve in all, ten in football

including replays, and two in hurling. I bought them for €53 (€37 plus €16 postage), and I would

encourage all those interested in obtaining the set to e-mail stephen.donnelly.ulster@gaa.ie before

placing an order. Just bear in mind that he is on holidays now until August 15th.

I don’t propose to go into the content of each programme game by game, but I will make some

general observations. The size is slightly larger than B5 for all bar the football final which jumps to

magazine/brochure dimensions. The pre-dominant cover colours for football were an attractive red

and gold, save for the final itself which boasts a mainly white background. The covers of the hurling

programmes are darker, but with nice use of graphics.

Mentioning graphics, Lairdesign have partnered with the Ulster Council for many years now to

produce programmes which are very easy on the eye, colourful and particularly adept at getting the

message across in terms of the numerous initiatives undertaken by the provincial body. One hobby

horse of mine was also finally rectified during the campaign: for some time now, the apostrophe had

been omitted from the President’s foreword, and it drove the sub-editor in me to distraction when I

saw ‘Presidents foreword’ in print. It was the same for the first three games this year but, lo and

behold, somebody finally spotted it as the beautiful apostrophe appeared for the Monaghan v.

Down quarter-final in Clones on June 5th and has become a permanent fixture.

The player profiles feature name, age, height and weight, with the age given in years rather than

dates of birth. I prefer the DOB, although it’s good to note the years do seem to be changed to mark

birthdays. For example, Tyrone’s Niall Morgan is 24 in the Derry programme on May 22nd, and 25 in

the final programme versus Donegal on July 17th. That dispels one fear I have when ages are listed -

that they are handed in before the campaign and not altered as the months progress. Dates of birth

are another nice way of engaging the younger folk though, as they can scan the details to see if they

share a birthday with any of the players. In an era where there’s an increasing disconnect between

players and supporters, this is one antidote when used.

The familiar ‘Valuing The Volunteer’ feature is continued in this year’s programmes, a profile of a

hard-working clubperson from each of the competing counties. The Senior and Minor games are

always comprehensively previewed, while a special feature saw a page devoted to the activities of

the participating counties in 1916, well researched and superbly illustrated. There’s detailed analysis

of match stats, the usual one-minute Q&A with a player from each Senior team, while the player

profiles are expanded to include head and shoulders pics in the final programme.

Other special features from the Tyrone v. Donegal 76-pager for €5 include reflections on the Tyrone

team of 1956 and the Down side of 1991, an obituary for the late Seamus Mac Geidigh of Raidio na

Gaeltachta, and the full lists of championship rolls of honour and top scorers through the years. One

slight gripe: as is the normal custom, the team photographs are not captioned.

I think praise is also due for the 48-pager issued for the hurling final between Antrim and Armagh in

Owenbeg on July 10th, given that this championship is very much the forgotten child of the G.A.A.,

shoved into a corner away from the main action. In the circumstances it would have been easy to

produce a smaller programme, but the Ulster Council certainly did it justice. That programme was

€3, the same price as for all football games before the decider, while the hurling semi-final version

was €2 for 24 pages.

FROM FOREIGN FIELDS: How many collectors, if any, concentrate on trying to obtain programmes

from foreign fields? I acquired an interesting item recently for the Fexco Asian Gaelic Games, played

in Shanghai, China, on October 24th and 25th last year. The numbering is unusual as the first inside

right page is 2 rather than 3. It’s 32 pages in all including cover, with the schedule on the inside front

cover and a message from Taoiseach Enda Kenny T.D. on 3 (or 2 as I have explained).

The grand total of the next ten pages also feature messages from assorted sponsors, visitors from

Ireland, and finally Joe Trolan who is Chairman of the Asian County Board (I always find it odd that

they are referred to as ‘County’ Boards; would Regional Board not make more sense?). The

competing clubs then get a page each, with some proferring more information than others, and all

bar three including a photograph. For the record, the teams involved were Abu Dhabi Na Fianna,

Beijing, Laochra Busan, Dalian Wolfhounds, Dubai Celts, Hong Kong, Japan, Orang Eire (Malaysia),

Queen’s University Belfast international team, Seoul Gaels, Shanghai, Singapore Gaelic Lions,

Suzhou, Taiwan Celts, Thai GAA, UCD International and Viet Celts. The inside back cover features a

tribute to the late Lisa Orsi, formerly of Singapore Gaelic Lions, who died earlier in the year at the

young age of 22. I have a few of these Asian Games programmes in my collection, and they are

certainly different from the norm and nice to have as a result.

ODDS AND ENDS: Just a few loose ends to be tied up here from programme reviews over previous

months. Firstly, I received the Dublin v. Laois Leinster Senior football championship programme from

Nowlan Park, Kilkenny, on June 4th too late to be looked at last month. It was €3 for 44 pages, and a

couple of items in particular caught my eye.

The curtain-raiser was the meeting of Kilkenny and London in the British Junior football

championship, eventually won by Lancashire. The Cats were holders, and this prompted an

interesting ‘trick’ question on page 19: name the last team to win Sam Maguire and Liam MacCarthy

Cups at inter-county level in the one year? If you opted for Cork in 1990, you’d be wrong…it was

actually Kilkenny in 2015 as the Sam Maguire Cup is also the trophy for the British Junior football

championship!

Secondly, Leo McGough’s ‘From The Archives’ Dublin focus contained the full list of the 45 games

the Dubs had played ‘on the road’ since the breakthrough of Heffo’s Army in 1974. They were down

here in Wexford twice, in 1985 and 1993 respectively, and left their mark in their own inimitable

way. The man operating the old, wooden scoreboard left his post in disgust back in 1985 when he

was joined by some Dubs, one of whom sat on the roof and, when the inevitable call of nature came,

had nowhere to go…suffice to say that the scoreboard man got to literally experience being pissed

upon from a height! Then eight years later, Wexford manager Liam Fardy was giving his pre-match

team talk in the old dressing-rooms at the Clonard road corner when there was an almighty noise

from above and another inebriated Dub fell through the roof! Thankfully he had a soft landing, and

his goal of trying to gain free entry to the ground was also attained as he raced out into the corridor

in a ‘did that really happen’ moment for the Wexford players and mentors!

Last month featured a review of the Ring, Rackard and Meagher Cup finals, and the Ring re-fixture

was held in Croke Park on June 25th. DBA produced 16 pages for €3. G.A.A. President Aogán O

Fearghail comments on the ‘unfortunate chain of events’ which is something of an understatement,

although it’s understandable that his position restricts him somewhat in his choice of words.

Mártan O Ciardha contributes a piece as usual while Christy O’Connor has two pages on ‘Meath

Looking For Different Kind Of Retribution’. There’s a Q&A with two of the participants in the

Intermediate camogie curtain-raiser, Niamh Mallon (Down) and Aoife Maguire (Meath). Their teams

complete the text in a programme with five pages of ads.

After extolling the many virtues of the full-colour compilation programme to mark the Galway

hurling championships some months ago, I should comment too on the football equivalent. It’s €5

for 40 pages and is designed to cover the first three rounds, the last of which on August 13th-14th

may well be altered if the county continues its winning run.

Like its hurling counterpart, it’s well presented and jam-packed with information, photographs, a

championship preview, reviews of the completed Under-21 championships, and various tit-bits of

useful news. Is there any other county putting this level of effort into a programme for the early

rounds of its championships? Let me know if you’ve come across any more.

Finally, my thanks to Ed Donnelly for sourcing me a copy of the Féile Peil na nOg programme from

Kerry, North Cork and West Limerick from June 24th to 26th. This is a most unusual offering as it quite

closely resembles an Argos catalogue in terms of size, colour coding and the type of paper used. It’s

standard A5 but it runs to a whopping 322 pages plus cover.

There’s a notable absence of the cost on the cover, and a set style of a page given to each

participating club. Gaps appear therein though, with some not submitting panels, while others

neglected to supply potted histories. In the case of the hurling equivalent, such omissions were

chased and rectified before publication, but here it seems to have been a case of ‘tough luck if

you’re not in, it’s your own fault’. On the plus side, the mini-histories that do appear contain a

treasure trove of information, and you certainly won’t read them all in one sitting! This is a

programme that will take more than one night to read from cover to cover, that’s for sure!

FROM THE ARCHIVES: Given the year that’s in it, some look back to the seismic events of 1916 is

probably long overdue. And on the basis that it’s better a little late than never, my choice this month

is the match programme for the official opening of MacDonagh Park in Nenagh, Co. Tipperary, on

Sunday, September 27th, 1942.

The fact that it’s ‘Mac’ as opposed to ‘Mc’ is an important point, just as the Liam MacCarthy Cup

deserves its proper title. I’ve seen McCarthy written more times than I care to remember.

Given that the programme is almost 74 years old at this stage, my copy is in remarkably good

condition, with no writing or paper tears. The photograph of Thomas MacDonagh on the cover - in

green type - is somewhat obscured alright given the passage of time, but that’s about the only

blemish and I’m certainly not complaining!

A couple of interesting things to note about the programme - firstly, the absence of the date on the

cover, and inside too for that matter. On page 26 it does state that the opening will take place on

Sunday, September 27th, at 2.15 p.m., but it doesn’t give the year. I worked it out via a reference in

one of the ads to June 1942, and also a poem titled 1916…1942, and then to be certain sure I

googled to check that September 27th, 1942, had indeed fallen on a Sunday. Of course, I could have

referenced one of the excellent Eire Og (Nenagh) history volumes I mentioned in a previous issue,

but I don’t have them to hand as I write.

I mentioned a couple of interesting things about the programme but just referred to one of them

thus far. The second aspect is its pocket size - 113mm wide by 180mm deep. The ‘Nenagh Guardian’

has a front page printing credit and the twopence price is noted on the bottom of the inside front

cover below a poem titled ‘Of A Poet Patriot’ by Thomas MacDonagh.

The cover is printed on a slightly stronger card than the newsprint of the inside pages, none of

which are numbered, but there are 40 in all to make a total of 44. The first article as Gaeilge is titled

‘An G.A.A. agus a dhualgairí’ and fills page 3. That is followed by a one-page profile of Thomas

MacDonagh, and then two pages on the address he gave to his accusers after his courtmartial.

Page 7 is practically filled by a portrait photograph of Michael Cusack, with three lines on ‘The

Founder of the G.A.A.’ below which are carried on to fill page 8. Next up is ‘The G.A.A. Charter’, the

full wording of Archbishop Croke’s letter to Cusack on December 18, 1884, described in a sub-

heading as his ‘Clarion Call’.

An eleven-line poem by ‘An Deiseach’ titled ‘1916…1942’ completes page 10, and 11 and 12 is a

general article simply labelled ‘Gaelic Games’. ‘Tipperary’s Part in the Gaelic Revival’ starts on 13

with a photograph of former Munster Council Chairman Frank McGrath. It carries on to 17 with an

image of Michael Gleeson also included, and I note some interesting observations in the context of

how Tipperary are faring today.

A sub-head ‘Football In North Tipperary’ starts and ends with the following lines: ‘Somehow football

never made a wide appeal in North Tipperary’…’The game is still played, but the standard is very low

indeed.’ How times change; a low standard? Not any more my friends! There’s just one line on

camogie, as follows: ‘Camogie flourished for a while, but enthusiasm quickly waned, and the game is

now almost non-existent.’ Happily, writers like Martin Bourke and the late Gerry Slevin had the

pleasure of recording the golden years of the game in the Premier county many years later.

Page 18 is filled by ‘Athletics In North Tipp.’, and then on 19 and 20 we have the words of ‘Ireland’s

Hurling Men’ by Brian O’Higgins and ‘A Song For the Gaelic Clubs’ by Ellen O’Leary. We get into the

real nitty-gritty so to speak on 21 with a piece on ‘The New Park’ and how it came into being. That is

followed overleaf by brief snippets listing a famous Toomevara team of the nineties, a list of old

Gaels from the closing years of the last century and later, and the line-out of the famed De Wets

team.

An article on ‘Tipperary’s Twelve All-Irelands’ starts on 23 and is broken up by a photograph of

Tomás Malone, Chairman of the North Tipperary Board. It fills 24 as well, recording the hurling wins

from 1887 to 1937. The four All-Ireland football championship wins of 1889, 1895, 1900 and 1920

feature on 25, with a small piece below in praise of Toomevara for marching to Croke Park in 1916

‘wearing Green, White and Gold armlets; a most audacious act surely, at a time when the wearing of

the national emblem meant at least the prison cell. “Characteristic of Tipperary” was the comment of

an applauding Ireland.’ The Toomevara stance came while winning the 1915 Wolfe Tone Medal

Competition which wasn’t played until August of the following year.

It’s only on 26 that we get the details of the actual programme of events for the big day and, as I

say, the year 1942 still isn’t mentioned. The blessing was imparted by Archdeacon Slattery, with

Frank McGrath of Nenagh, described as ‘the prince of North Tipperary Gaels’, formally opening the

park. Two hurling games were to be staged, with Kiladangan facing Kilruane MacDonaghs, and

Roscrea taking on Borrisoleigh. Tickets to the field were 1/-, and 6d. to the enclosure. Activities were

to conclude with a ‘Ceilidhe Mhor’ in the New Hall, Nenagh.

A tribute to Michael Hogan is on 27 above a photograph of Seamus Gardiner, Munster Council

Chairman. The ads start on 28, and it’s there that I note a reference to the year in the half-pager

from the ‘Munster & Leinster Bank Limited’ It reads as follows: ‘Resources (June,

1942)…..£33,249,605.’ The ads continue all the way through to 42 before the inside front cover

which carries the names of the MacDonagh Park committee, and the list of Tipperary hurling

champions since 1887. A back page ad completes this little gem of a programme….next month I’ll

stick with the 1916 theme, so watch this space!

THE SWOP - BY JAMES A. LUNDON (LIMERICK VIA GALWAY)

‘All collectors swop with each other to some degree or another. I know a number of collectors who

have never swopped with anyone, though I'm not sure how they could ever have built a collection

that way. Many times we just give each other items of interest.

‘Other times we buy and sell each other programmes or collectible material. And then on rare

occasions, we swop with each other. There is some basic science to "the swop", especially the higher

up the food chain you go, though it is very much an art at the very top end of the collecting world,

amongst serious collectors. I may talk about the “serious collector” in another column.

‘The swop (or swap - Google tells me that there are 266 million results for this spelling versus a

paltry 5.5m for the spelling I prefer) when it goes wrong can get very messy, with collectors

potentially falling out with each other over swops/deals which go wrong. Fragile egos can get very

battered and bruised during the haggling and dealing that inevitably goes on during particular

arduous swops. I have been on both ends of this painful situation over my near-20 years' collecting!

‘Swops should be even i.e. what you are giving away is equivalent in all practical ways to what you

are getting. This is easily achieved when the swop involves modern material, i.e. a 1987 MFF for an

1987 MHF is a straightforward swop and is easily achieved. The same is probably true of most

competitions from the same year in the modern era, i.e. 1987, 1977 or 1967. Is it true of 1957?

Probably not as straightforward!

‘It depends on a few things but ultimately upon the people who are making the swop: are both

parties happy to complete the swop with all known information? Obviously, the longer you are

collecting, the better you should know whether a particular programme is just scarce, rare, very rare

or possibly unique. Is the 1957 Munster football final much rarer than the equivalent 1957 Munster

hurling final? Aside: any differences in a swop deal can be made up with cash or other less important

programmes by agreement.

‘In my opinion the football equivalent is probably slightly rarer than its same-year hurling version by

dent of the fact that I've probably come across the hurling four or five times in my collecting career,

while I've only come across the football twice. Neither is unique, or even very rare: both are rare with

one slightly scarcer than the other.

‘I also have a very good idea whether other collectors are missing either hurling or football and

none of the 'big boys' are missing either, which leads me to believe that a one-for-one swop in this

case is not a bad deal for either side, though I would prefer to be getting than giving away the

football version.

‘This brings me nicely around to my next point: in an agreed swop there may still be a winner and a

loser. This is especially the case when both sides are working with pretty much full (the economic

term for this is: perfect) information. The “big boys” know whether they are winning or losing in a

swop situation, which sometimes prevents them from doing a swop at all, as it then becomes a

matter of pride rather than just going through with the deal and being done with it.

‘There are collectors out there who must always be seen as winning when it comes to swopping

with other collectors. This is not a very rational position as ultimately all other big collectors will

simply not deal with such collectors and these “winners” will only be losers in the long term.

‘It is many times better to lose some, to win others, to have people come to you with deals that

work for both sides, and not just deals that suit the “winner”. On two occasions this year, I've done

big deals with other collectors where I gave them two/three programmes they were looking for, to

get the one programme I was looking for.

‘In both cases, I initiated the deal and in both cases I was on the losing side of the deal - if you were

to take a purely dispassionate balancing of what was being swopped - but if I didn't offer what I did,

neither deal would have taken place as I was taking material out of the other's core collection.

Ultimately, I got what I wanted and the other two collectors filled two or three gaps in their

collection while opening up a single one, albeit fairly significant. Both are serious collectors and knew

what they were doing. Once a swop is completed, there is no looking back, no post mortems, no

regrets, at least not in/to the face of the other.

‘On three occasions in the past, I've swopped out of my core collection and on three occasions, I

eventually got back the item I swopped out via another avenue. Collectors may lose in individual

deals but must look at the overall when reviewing these deals over their collecting life. There is no

point having a huge number of good swops if you aren't willing to put them to good use when the

opportunity arises.

‘Some collectors are as protective of their swops as they are of their core collection, wrongly so.

Ultimately, we are all trying to build the perfect collection, not the biggest and best swops list. Some

collectors lose sight of that fact. I understand how this happens but it isn't right.

‘I have been party to at least one three-way swop and it is NOT to be recommended. It went sour in

the end and for reasons that are still not quite clear to me. A three-way swop is a swop that involves

three collectors. I swop something with my friend, who then gives something to another friend, who

then gives me something from their collection

‘ If one part of the swop fails, all three parts automatically unwind. This results in everyone being

unhappy. A variation on the theme is where I swop something with a friend that another friend

wants. I do the first swop and then the other friend decides to pull out. I am then left with a

programme that I have no interest in. The only way around this is to get all three people in the room

and the swop is a physical pass-the-parcel manoeuvre :-).

‘As I always say, anyone can put cash on the table to buy a programme, it is an altogether different

kettle of fish putting a good programme (or two...three) on the table with which to play with, hence

the requirement of having a deep swops list to entice the big boys [all of them are boys!] out of the

woodwork to play when there is good stuff to be swopped.

‘This is one place where cash is never king, but good swops are. It is also the main reason why

certain stuff will always make good money on eBay, in Collectibles Corner or at Mealys, and not

necessarily All-Irelands either, as others have found out to their cost over the years. A story for yet

another column, perhaps!’

LABOURS OF LOVE: I’m indebted to Marty Birt, Kilkenny’s number one hurling supporter in

Maghera, for sourcing me a copy of the Loughgiel history signed by Aogán O Fearghail, ‘Na Seamróga

Loch gCaol 1915-2015 - Celebrating 100 years’. It’s a hardback of 160 pages and is essentially an

update of material used in a book to mark the opening of Father Healy Park in 1955, and then

another book produced for the opening of the new dressing-rooms in 1980.

This offering has drawn from those previous publications and outlined the successes of the

intervening 25 years, most notably two All-Ireland Club hurling victories in 1983 and 2012. In that

regard, it’s not as comprehensive as many club histories, although it’s an easy to navigate read with

large type and plenty of photographs. The main club colour of red is prominent on the front and

back covers, along with pics of the fine facilities in this north Antrim hotbed of hurling.

Those of you who feel I’m too harsh in my reviews ought to look away now. Last month I promised

a review of the book looking back on Mick O’Dwyer’s sojourn with Wicklow, and I must say I wasn’t

impressed as I felt it was amateurish in many respects. Here’s a copy of that self-same review which

appeared originally in the ‘Wexford People’ on July 12th:

‘Let’s face it, there’s not many people out there so popular that their 80th birthday can result in one

national newspaper producing an eight-page supplement to mark the occasion.

‘That happened recently though in the case of Mick O’Dwyer, and the Kerry maestro is generally

regarded as being the best Gaelic football manager of all time.

‘His record with his native county speaks for itself, both as player and boss, but he also brought his

Midas touch to bear on Kildare and Laois who had craved success for so long before his arrival.

‘His enthusiasm for a challenge was never more clearly underlined than when he took on the

onerous task of guiding our neighbours, and this has led to the publication of ‘A Year In Wicklow With

Micko - The Summer Mick O’Dwyer Made The Garden County Bloom’.

‘The author is Ciarán Byrne, a primary school teacher in the county and Dublin native who was given

special access to the dressing-room for the 2009 campaign. That season was the high point of

Micko’s time at the helm as Aughrim played host to three successive qualifier victories over

Fermanagh, Cavan and Down respectively.

‘The notes on the author at the start of the book include the revelation that he has never been a

member of a G.A.A. club. That is a key point, along with his later admission that he was essentially on

a voyage of self-discovery while carrying out this project.

‘Given that he’s not a journalist, the ability to vividly tell a story that would have improved this book

ten-fold is lacking.

‘In fairness, I wouldn’t know where to begin either if I was transported into Byrne’s classroom and

asked to teach, but the absence of polish in his writing makes this a disappointing read for the most

part.

‘Most of the content carries nothing of a revelatory nature to anyone who has ever been inside a

dressing-room, either as a player or mentor, in contrast to the author who was on his maiden

voyage.

‘Certainly the message Micko delivered seems to have been lost in translation as there doesn’t

appear to be anything special in what he says in his pre-match talks.

‘Time has played tricks on the author too, with this quote attributed to O’Dwyer on page 35: “If you

stand back and pull a jersey you’ll get a black or yellow card”.

‘In fairness to the man, he couldn’t possibly have said that in 2009 because black cards weren’t even

a figment of some administrator’s imagination at that stage.

‘That gaffe should have been spotted by an editor, but it’s hardly surprising given the string of typos

running through this book. Miracle is mis-spelled as “mircale” in the introduction, and it doesn’t get

any better. Given the seven-year gestation period before the book saw the light of day, this

sloppiness is unforgivable.

‘The part of the book that will undoubtedly appeal most to the readers is the account of those three

memorable weeks when three Ulster sides came a cropper before an appreciative Aughrim audience

who had waited so long for any semblance of success.

‘There is a very good index to the book but a statistical appendix on the games and players involved

would have helped.

‘Interviews with the selectors who worked with Micko are also misplaced in the middle of the book

as they talk about events yet to unfold in the general narrative and it becomes confusing.

‘O’Dwyer’s time in Wicklow deserved to be marked in print, but it could have been done in

considerably better fashion in my opinion.’

I know what you’re thinking: why didn’t I write what I really thought?! Seriously though, it’s not a

book I would recommend unless you’re a Micko, Wicklow or perhaps Kerry fanatic.

In other news, I’m still searching for that St. Patrick’s (Lisburn) history book mentioned last month.

Dónal McAnallen, who contributed some of the historical material, very kindly passed on two e-mail

addresses for people involved, but I am still awaiting a response. I’ll keep trying!

I got my hands on my own copy of ‘The Glory Years - Longford GAA 1965-68’, reviewed last month

by David Nolan. Collectors will like the fact that there’s full-page illustrations of the programme

covers for the National League semi-final of 1966 versus Donegal (although captioned erroneously as

the home final v. Galway), and the All-Ireland semi-final of 1968 versus Kerry.

YEARBOOK WATCH: At some point it would be a wonderful exercise for this bulletin to print a

definitive list of all the yearbooks produced down through the years. Any collectors in a position to

help out with their own county’s details, please get in touch.

IT’S NEVER EASY, I KNOW - BY JOE WOODS

An article with the above title, originally published in the Kildare Yearbook of 2003, was kindly sent

on to me by a collector with the e-mail address johnx098@outlook.com (apologies, as I don’t

actually know the man’s name, so perhaps he might see this and make direct contact so I can give

him the credit he deserves!). Thirteen years later this piece is still very topical and ties in with the

frustration often voiced here towards the disregard in many quarters for accurate G.A.A. stats and

records. I’ve re-produced it in full:

‘For over thirty years I have been a collector of G.A.A. memorabilia. My prized collection consists

mainly of publications produced in most parts of Ireland. I have come across and retained possession

of the great, the good and the indifferent.

‘The level of improvement in quality has generally been remarkable, over the years, especially in

match programmes.

‘In the late 1960s it was not uncommon for a county final production to consist of a mere A4 page,

folded in half, just listing the teams, referee and throw-in time. Contrast this with the modern day

colourful 64-page compilations.

‘Technological inventions and huge advances in the typesetting and printing areas have made it

considerably less difficult to produce top quality publications at short notice.

‘Content matter has become more informative, readable and entertaining even though the

contributors remain as they were, ordinary voluntary workers for the G.A.A. with one shared

denominator - a love of Gaelic games.

‘However, as a perfection seeker, especially in the area of authentic record compilation I believe the

pre-election slogan of a prominent political party, “A lot done, more to do”, can be borrowed to aptly

describe the current level of attainment.

‘The pursuit of perfection has led me to spending countless hours in both the National Library and

the Gilbert Library. It has proved to be an exercise of both frustration and enjoyment.

‘The reading of old match reports has supplied the latter. The absence of vital information such as

Christian names, captain’s name, list of substitutes etc. has generated the former.

‘Trying to establish the exact scorers in an important match, especially in the first half of the 20th

century, is a real, tearing out of hair, experience. Need an example? No two media organs, national

or local (provincial) could agree on which players obtained the scores for Kildare and Cavan in the

1928 All-Ireland football final, the first decider for which the Sam Maguire Cup was at stake.

‘Yet, even when all newspapers agree on something, it doesn’t necessarily mean that they are

factually correct either. Here’s an example. This one can easily be checked! Not one newspaper,

national or provincial, that I perused following the 2002 Co. Kildare senior football championship

final noted in their match reports that Moorefield introduced five substitutes, as was their right,

during the course of the game. To both James Lonergan and Seánie Whyte, the forgotten two, I say

well done on your achievement, i.e. participating in such an historic decider for your club!

‘Allow me to cite one more example. According to Pat Roche in The Irish Times of Monday 18th

November 2002, U.C.D. introduced three substitutes in the previous day’s Dublin football final

against St. Vincent’s. Frank Roche in the ‘Indo’ put the number at four. So take your pick! Heaven

help the researchers of the future!

‘In December 2001 prior to the staging of the Leinster Club football final I decided to compile, for

inclusion in the match programme, a list of the names of the cups awarded to the senior champions

in each of Leinster’s 12 counties. An easy one! Well, so I thought.

‘I knew most of the names already and a few phone calls would quickly complete the list.

‘Everything went according to plan until I came to the Dublin trophy.

‘”Hello, Dublin County Board,” said the lady at the other end of the line.

‘“Sorry to bother you, but could you please tell me the name of the cup that is awarded to the

winners of the Dublin county senior football championship final,” I asked.

‘”I haven’t a clue,” came the reply.

‘”Well, could I speak to your PRO so?” I enquired.

‘”He’s unavailable,” responded the lady.

‘”Is there anybody there that would know?” said I.

‘”No,” says she, “you should ring Croke Park, they must have a list of all the cups.”

‘”Hello, Cumann Lúthchleas Gael, can I help you?” uttered the lady at headquarters.

‘I explained my case to her. Croke Park didn’t have a list of county final cups. But she found it

“incredible” that the Dublin Co. Board office was unable to tell me the name of their county football

championship cup. She suggested that I should ring again and ask for John Costello.

‘I did what I was told to do, as always!

‘After putting me on hold for a few minutes the lady in the Dublin Co. Board’s office informed me

that John Costello didn’t know either.

‘”Maybe you might have a number for John Bailey, the chairman,” I ventured to suggest.

‘”I can’t give out his number, and I doubt if he’d know anyway,” was the reply I received.

‘”But surely he’d know. Doesn’t the county chairman usually present the cup to the winning captain.

After all it’s the most important cup in Dublin G.A.A. I think most supporters, players, mentors and

officials would be well acquainted with the county championship cup’s name in virtually every

county,” hinted this, by now, totally perplexed information seeker.

‘”Well, maybe you could call back tomorrow and we might know, or you could ring the Na Fianna

clubhouse,” suggested the spokeswoman.

‘On contacting Na Fianna, a lady informed me that the cup was in the bar which was closed until

evening time. However, she gave me a contact number for a senior club officer.

‘Success at last, I thought. Wrong! He didn’t know either although they had recently won it for the

third consecutive year. He did, however, supply me with the number of a fellow officer.

‘I established contact with this very knowledgeable Na Fianna man. Guess what was the only

knowledge he didn’t possess. You’re right, the name of the Dublin senior football championship

trophy!

‘”Try the clubhouse tonight, around 8 p.m., and we’ll have the answer,” promised the man from Na

Fianna.

‘Too long to wait!

‘I contacted a prominent Dublin-based G.A.A. magazine. Same story. “Sorry can’t help you.”

‘Some of our national newspapers write extensively about the Dublin G.A.A. scene. Perhaps one of

them might solve the cup mystery.

‘”We have a reporter due in shortly who might know,” a sportsroom staff member of one of

Ireland’s top newspapers informed me. “I’ll get him to ring you.” I’m still awaiting the call.

‘Na Fianna came up trumps that night. The cup was presented to Dublin G.A.A. by Clerys, the

“legend in shopping” company whose clock is certainly more famous than this cup. I have discovered

that numerous romantic voyages set sail from under the famed clock in more innocent times.

Anytime I go in search of information now, I can always mentally hear the words of Abba ringing in

my ears, “It’s never easy, I know”.

‘So the next time you attend a match, for heaven’s sake, buy a programme!’

I really enjoyed that tale from Joe Woods, and very little has changed in the intervening years. With

regard to substitutes, another situation that really gets on my nerves is the point-blank refusal of

some reporters to list the temporary blood replacements in their reports. Surely if a player steps on

to a field, particularly at inter-county level, he deserves to have his name recorded, even if he

mightn’t touch the ball. Is his contribution any less important or relevant than the starter who goes

off injured in the first five minutes, or the last actual substitute introduced in the dying seconds of

added time? Of course not. Personally I consider an appearance as a temporary blood replacement

to be every bit as relevant and record-worthy as that of a starter or a ‘regulation’ substitute.

PROGRAMME FAIR: Don’t forget everybody that the second South Tipperary programme fair of the

year is taking place this Bank Holiday Monday, August 1st, from 12 noon to 4 p.m. in the South

Tipperary G.A.A. Centre on the Western Road, Clonmel. Unfortunately, I won’t be there due to work

commitments but I do sincerely hope that there will be a better attendance than at the last event in

March, because as collectors we should support such events as much as possible. You mightn’t

necessarily get a missing item for your collection, but you won’t know unless you attend! And even

from a social point of view, it’s nice to walk into a spacious hall and chat with fellow fanatics.

Bar facilities, teas and coffees will be available, while admission is €3 with accompanied children

free. The venue adjoins Clonmel Sportsfield on the Western Road opposite South Tipperary General

Hospital. All proceeds will go to South Tipperary G.A.A. Centre.

GRAIGNAMANAGH TOWN OF BOOKS FESTIVAL: Here’s another event that may be worth a visit by

collectors. I’ll leave it to Jim Whelan to explain: ‘The Graignamanagh Town of Books Festival takes

place on the 26th-28th August. While not a G.A.A. event there are some great bargains to be had and I

have picked up some lovely G.A.A. related books at this fair over the last few years. The organisers

have told me they expect about 30 sellers this year.

‘If anybody wants other details they can give me a ring and I may be able to help. There is an offer

of a cup of tea or coffee at my stately mansion if anybody decides they want to visit Ireland’s

greatest hurling county.’

Follow this link for further details: http://www.graiguenamanaghtownofbooks.com/#!about/c4nz

THE COLLECTORS: How many of you tuned into the RTE programme of this name earlier in the

week? It’s a documentary shedding light on the lives of six people who identify as dedicated

collectors, and if you missed the original screening it’s available to view on the RTE Player until

Thursday, August 25th.

I must confess that I was surprised that from six candidates they didn’t see fit to include one

programme collector, either from G.A.A. or soccer. I guess the closest person we could identify with

was the comic book fan, although I only saw brief parts of the programme and missed him

completely.

One fellow collector who watched it in full offered the following review: ‘I thought it pretty sad

myself and the people they featured a bit sad and broken too, for the most part. I know I’m being a

bit hard but that is the general consensus from people I spoke to about it. The lad with the comics

was probably the most normal of the whole lot of people featured, and probably the closest to a

proper collector featured’.

DIRECTORY OF COLLECTORS: The seventh edition of the directory of collectors is attached in

another Microsoft Word document, and there is one addition from number six: Derry-based

Kilkenny hurling super fan Marty Birt. Thanks to all those who took the time out to forward their

details, and it’s not too late for others to follow suit. I intend to attach this directory every month, so

any additions or amendments will be accommodated. Hopefully it will help collectors in their quest

to establish new contacts or liaise with people with similar interests.

TALKING POINT: I’m holding this regular feature this month given the large volume of other

material, but I would ask you to read the paragraph below and let off some steam if you so desire for

a future issue! It’s amazing to think that there’s so many aspects of programme collecting to talk

about, and after seven months we’ve only scratched the surface.

Is there some aspect of programme collecting that irritates you, that you feel could be improved,

or that you would just like to get off your chest? If there is, this ‘talking point’ section is designed

for you. I’d like to hear from collectors with any genuine grievances, and perhaps by outlining the

situation and getting reaction from readers we can come up with solutions. Any topic to help us in

pursuing the hobby we love will be considered, so don’t be shy!

ADVERTISING THIS BULLETIN: If you know your local programme compiler, please cut and paste

the following and ask them if they would be kind enough to include it in their upcoming

programmes:

‘PROGRAMME PLUS’ INFORMATION BULLETIN

'Programme Plus' is a new monthly information bulletin for collectors of GAA match programmes,

histories, yearbooks, magazines, photographs, etc. It is distributed via e-mail on the last Friday of

every month and is free of charge, with its sole aim being to highlight all aspects of collecting for

enthusiasts. In order to be added to the mailing list, please forward your e-mail address to Alan

Aherne who is compiling the information bulletin (alanahernesars@gmail.com).

FUTURE EDITIONS: The publication schedule for the remainder of the year is outlined below. If

anyone wishes to contribute to the content, the deadline will be the Tuesday before the publication

date. I still have some contributions put on hold, but I will get to them in due course.

Volume 1, Number 8: Friday, August 26th (deadline: Tuesday, August 23rd)

Volume 1, Number 9: Friday, September 30th (deadline: Tuesday, September 27th)

Volume 1, Number 10: Friday, October 28th (deadline: Tuesday, October 25th)

Volume 1, Number 11: Friday, November 25th (deadline: Tuesday, November 22nd)

Volume 1, Number 12: Friday, December 30th (deadline: Tuesday, December 27th)

CONCLUSION: Thanks for reading everyone, and here’s looking forward to plenty of happy

collecting between now and the next bulletin. While there won’t be the same volume of

programmes to review in August, it won’t be long before county final time comes around and that

will be a very interesting and varied exercise!

My e-mail address is alanahernesars@gmail.com, and I’d love to hear from you to discuss all

aspects of our hobby. Don’t forget to print and post the bulletin to any collectors you know without

e-mail access, and feel free to contact me with any information worth sharing in next month’s

edition!

Mise le meas,

ALAN AHERNE