Today’s Hospital Pass features probably the oddest GAA photocall we’ve ever seen and a plea to one of the good guys of Gaelic Football to hang around for a while yet.
The oddest GAA photocall we’ve ever seen
There isn’t normally a lot asked of GAA players attending photocalls, particularly pre-game photocalls where there is no onus on them to strike a ridiculous pose while lending their face to some product or another.
Before a game, it’s usually throw on your county kit and a pair of runners and be pictured exchanging pleasantries with an opposition player you’ll more than likely be beating seven shades of sh*te out of once you cross the white line.
Spare a thought, then, for under-21 players Jason Forde of Tipperary and Clare’s Conor McGrath, who were asked to pose for one rather unusual snap in Killaloe in the run-up to the Munster under-21 hurling final tonight (see main picture above).
Whether the photographer in question was going for some sort of Olympic themed image or whether there was another symbolic reason behind it we’re not so sure, but if anyone does know what it’s about, feel free to enlighten us in the comments section at the bottom of the page.
One unnamed hack in the JOE office suggested that one of the teams in question might be going for two in a row (geddit?), but seeing as Limerick triumphed in the Munster decider this time last year, we can say with absolute certainty that that’s not the case. Thank God.
Please don’t go Johnny
Reaching the quarter-finals of the All-Ireland Championship would be an achievement of some significance for most teams, but having done so for the last five seasons, Kildare have bigger fish to fry. As a result, their capitulation at the hands of a rampant Cork side on Sunday was desperately disappointing for Kieran McGeeney and company.
McGeeney’s future has been the subject of plenty of discussion in the aftermath of the weekend’s defeat, with many pundits wondering if he’s taken them as far as he can while often overlooking the fact that any potential replacement would do incredibly well to match Geezer’s record at the helm.
Whether or not McGeeney does stay on, Lilywhites fans might have to get used to the absence of a familiar face as the evergreen Johnny Doyle has hinted that this year might be his last in inter-county football.
“It is not the time to be talking about things like that (retirement), but it is definitely a young man’s game,” Doyle told the Leinster Leader.
“Unfortunately, I am not getting any younger. Who knows what the future holds.”
Given his boundless energy and his consistent excellence, it is hard to believe that Doyle is 35, but the silver fern on the front of his fringe and the fact that he’s played in 63 (that’s right, 63) consecutive Championship games are more of an indicator of just how long he’s been on the scene.
Although this year was far from a vintage one for the Allenwood man, we feel that he has a bit left in the tank yet. If he does head off into the sunset, however, he’ll be sadly missed.
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