There are some repeats on television that you can live with, such as Virgin Media’s Sport Stories. Flick through the channels on any of these random, rainy evenings and you will hit upon Philly McMahon or Paul McGrath, Roddy Collins or Nina Carberry, chatting about their life and career. It felt somehow apt that we came across Tommy Martin’s illuminating conversation with Eamon Dunphy last week, just as the nation was mourning another journalistic firebrand and truth-teller in Nell McCafferty.
The discussion is fascinating because Dunphy always is. Of course, the most interesting part was Italia ’90 and an angry Dunph flinging the pen across the RTÉ studio (in reality, he just threw it down on the table, but a story can grow legs) following Ireland’s drab goalless draw with Egypt. It was a difficult time in his life, although he is much more upset about how difficult it was for his children.
But Dunphy’s rage that day came from a good place. For years, the favourite target of his brilliant writing was ‘Official Ireland,’ which was the Church, Fianna Fáil, Fine Gael and all the other mechanisms of the State that held this country back from fulfilling its potential for such a long time. As he explained to Martin, this was the day when ‘Official Ireland’ gathered around to watch the foreign game.
It was a Sunday afternoon and there were big screens in GAA clubs. The entire country had come together to watch a football match, which he says was a beautiful thing because, fundamentally, Dunphy, like so many of us, believes in the beauty and power of the world game. And, as he infamously spat in the RTÉ studio, they had to ‘watch that crap’.
Even though, this country has moved on from when Dunphy and Nell were two of the sharpest observers of Irish society, scrape beneath the surface and some of the old attitudes still exist. I can’t help but think if there were remnants of Official Ireland’s perception of the garrison game in the way that RTÉ has treated the League of Ireland and ignored the European odysseys of Shamrock Rovers and St Patrick’s Athletic. You didn’t need to stray too far into the weeds of social media last Thursday to find some wit suggesting that it was probably for the best that our national broadcaster has ignored Rovers in Europe.
That misses the point somewhat. Granted, it’s not much fun watching an Irish team get outclassed in Europe, but PAOK are Greek champions, one of their midfielders was a regular for Serbia during the recent Euros and they had a striker who played eight times for Brazil and was part of their 2018 World Cup squad. I don’t always agree with Stephen Bradley, but he was right when he painted the Europa League play-off as a David v Goliath clash.
All the more reason that our national broadcaster should have fulfilled its public service remit. Forget about the 4-0 scoreline – that was mostly down to self-inflicted wounds that happen every Irish club when they face superior opposition in Europe – but the fact that the champions of Ireland were playing the champions of Greece for a place in the Europa League should have been broadcast on television here. The Greek public got to see it.
Just as the Slovenian public got to see the Hoops’ historic result against their national champions in the last round. Last November, RTÉ met with the FAI and told them because of the Olympics and Euros, they wouldn’t be broadcasting any European games from League of Ireland representatives this season. Or next season, apparently.
One would have to ask why there had to be a meeting to relay this information. When the completely unsurprising revelations about the shocking level of waste at RTÉ emerged last year, it was telling that clients were brought to Rugby World Cup games, rather than say Euro 2016 matches. It says something about the Montrose mindset and that feeds into their neglect of the domestic game.
It’s true that under the previous ruinous regime the FAI was just as guilty of ignoring the league, but it’s more than five years since a certain chief executive was thankfully removed. The FAI might not have done a whole pile to win back public trust since then but, at least, there is a lot more care and attention given to the league. The surge in interest has helped, but again that is something that seems to have passed them by in Donnybrook, as well as other elements of Official Ireland.
Amid the wave of goodwill following the Olympics, Thomas Byrne was out political pointscoring last week and the Sports Minister couldn’t resist having a dig at the largest participation sport in this country. ‘I see lately they’re blaming Brexit on not having academy structures. Quite frankly, when I hear this stuff, I kind of wonder because the FAI has always had the responsibility to train Irish players, but they weren’t doing it.
Now, they realise that they need to do it and need Government support. I’ve said we want to do that for academies but it won’t be to the extent that they have sought,’ said Byrne. So, there you go.
Until the national football team makes the country feel good about itself – and it will always be the main national team – there is no political capital in helping to produce the next Evan Ferguson or Katie McCabe . In fairness, a couple of days later at a Swim Ireland press event, Byrne did slap down RTÉ for not showing the European games. But if our public service broadcaster was policed properly – and not rewarded for their gross mismanagement by being given a cheque of almost three-quarters of a billion (from our pockets) – the head of sport would be pulled before a Dáil committee and asked why RTÉ has continually ignored our national champions.
This is the sort of backdrop that has made it impossible to create a proper and functioning football industry that exists in every other country in Europe. Meanwhile, the League of Ireland continues to thrive. Virgin Media’s coverage of Shelbourne’s thrilling draw with Bohemians on Friday night was excellent, and even had Vinny Perth time-travelling into the past at halftime when he referred to the ‘Eircom League’.
The product is entertaining and enjoyable and those within the league should be confident enough now to hawk it to other broadcasters. Sky Sports are always looking for content to fill their summer airwaves. TG4 are doing a fine job with the Women’s Premier Division.
Perhaps, it is time for the League of Ireland to free itself from the yoke of ‘Official Ireland’. And then, we might not have the shameful situation of St Patrick’s Athletic playing one of the biggest games in their history this Wednesday in Istanbul and it can’t be watched on our televisions here. One thing’s for sure.
It can’t go on like this..
