In our latest Hospital Pass, we take a look at Limerick’s lazy dual players and an up, coming and going teenager from Down.
The Limerick football manager Maurice Horan has been left a few cards short of a deck this weekend with the news that dual players Stephen Lucey and Mark O’Riordan have opted to take the easy road and concentrate solely on the county’s hurling qualifier against Cork.
Frankly, the commitment of these two leaves a lot to be desired. Why couldn’t they have played both games?
After all, as long as Saturday’s football qualifier against Offaly doesn’t end in a draw, the final whistle goes at the Gaelic Grounds at around 3.30pm. A quick wash and into the car for the 140-mile journey to Dublin’s northside and they’d be at Parnell Park – according to AA Route Planner – at least half an hour before throw-in for the hurlers’ game against Antrim. What’s more, they’d hardly need to warm up again, would they? And they can eat the pre-match meal in the car.
We have just one word for you, Lucey and O’Riordan. Lightweights.
(And here’s another, this time for the GAA’s fixtures committee: amadáns.)
Down teen
Further north, Down manager James McCartan is ready to, ahem, give youth its head in this weekend’s second round of the All-Ireland qualifiers.
The Mournemen are trying to rebuild their reputation, which has taken a few hits in the ten months since they came so close to a first All-Ireland title since 1994, and teenager Caolan Mooney is one of the lads who’s been picked out to shoulder the burden.
Mooney might be just 18 but he’s well used to burdens. He’s been head and shoulders above all his contemporaries in leading St Colman’s of Newry to back-to-back Hogan Cup wins, and GAA fans will be well pleased to see him in the black and red just a few months after it was reported that he was on the verge of a permanent move to the Seventh Gate of Hell For All Up-and-Coming Gaelic Footballers: Australian Rules.
That still looks likely to happen at the end of the year, so enjoy him while you can – which should last at least two more games, Leitrim in Newry this weekend being the nearest thing to a walkover in inter-county football.
