Dublin vs. Kerry: The 2011 All-Ireland Final and the World's Last Amateur Sport

On Sunday, 82,300 people will pack into Croke Park in Dublin to watch the Gaelic footballers of Dublin and Kerry contest this year’s All-Ireland Final. It is the annual showpiece for Ireland’s leading sport. Every year it is sold out, with fans traveling from throughout Ireland and from around the world to savour the occasion. 

Two weeks ago, it was the turn of the hurlers of Tipperary and Kilkenny. Again, the stadium had the house full signs up. The match was an intensely physical affair. It included a series of brilliant scores, last gasp tackling and a first-half melee in which referee Brian Gavin’s nose was split open with a hurley.

In the final reckoning, Kilkenny won by four points, avenging their 2010 defeat at the hands of Tipp. It was their fifth All-Ireland title in six years. This Kilkenny team is widely considered the greatest team to ever play the game.

What’s remarkable about that? Well nothing, except that the 30 Kerry and Dublin footballers taking the field on Sunday are amateurs.  Likewise, so are the hurlers of Tipperary and Kilkenny.

Under the rules of the Gaelic Athletic Association players aren’t paid to represent their counties. Nor is there any transfer system or draft that allows a major talent to move from one team to another. Nor are their million dollar product endorsements. There are no superstars being paid $15,000,000 to play the game they love. 

Players get a modest mileage allowance to go to training. They get free training gear, waterproofs for winter sessions, their gym fees paid and hot food after training.  If they are lucky, they may get the occasional endorsement or appearance fee from a local business. 

Other than that, it’s a case of what you can do for your county, rather than what your county can do for you. The team you represent is as much an accident of birth as anything. Literally, the shirts are passed from generation to generation.

Inevitably in such an archaic system based on old Irish county boundaries, there are weak counties and strong counties. The smaller weaker counties tend to stay weak even though they may occasionally unearth a superstar player. The stronger counties stay strong and into their ranks are born players who expect to be winners at the All-Ireland level. 

And so, Sunday’s match will see the Brogan brothers line out for Dublin, following in the footsteps of their father who won All-Ireland medals in the seventies with a legendary Dublin team. In the Kerry ranks are the Ó’Sé brothers, nephews of the great Paidí Ó Sé who won All-Irelands with Kerry as both a player and manager. A fortnight ago, Kilkenny hurler Micheal Fennelly again followed in the footsteps of his uncles Ger and Liam who each captained All-Ireland winning teams in Croke Park. 

Croke Park is a sporting citadel and to play there is a childhood dream for youngsters the length and breadth of Ireland. When the Irish Rugby team was homeless a few years back, international matches were held at Croke Park. That in itself required a vote from the GAA's 400,000 strong membership as the association’s grounds are closed to other sports. The ruling is a throwback to earlier more troubled times in Ireland. 

Likewise, the Irish soccer team played there. Croke Park has also regularly hosted U2 concerts, the Special Olympics and, earlier this year, a visit from the British Monarch Queen Elizabeth II. What is remarkable is that this magnificent stadium was built through funds raised mainly by the GAA membership, themselves all volunteers. It is a monument to Ireland’s devotion to national sport. And, every club player in the country can aspire to play there for their club or county. 

The economic situation has hit Ireland hard with the European bailout denting confidence and the collapse of the Building Boom having reverberated through every town, village and hamlet. Having reversed the national blight of emigration during the Celtic Tiger Years, the young people of Ireland are now once again heading for airports, better opportunities and a glimpse of hope in the United States and Australia. 

In last year’s hurling final, Lar Corbett hit a hat-trick of brilliant goals to seal Tipperary’s win over Kilkenny. This year he was back in the final. His performances were as brilliant as ever and, having won hurler of the year in 2010, he seemed set to repeat the dose this season. It wasn’t injury or loss of form that threatened his participation.

No, Lar Corbett is an electrician by trade. He works by day and hurls by night and on the weekend. With the economic collapse he, like so many Irish young people, was faced with the stark choice of emigration. Eventually, he had the opportunity through hurling to open a bar in his home town of Thurles. Thousands of others haven’t been so lucky on or off the field of play. 

Speaking at the time Lar said: 

“These are difficult economic times for everybody. I’m not the only player on the Tipperary panel currently out of work. But there is an opportunity here to start a new business. It means that I can stay at home and continue to hurl for my club Thurles Sarsfields and Tipperary." 

One young émigré who chose to travel was Fermanagh footballer Mark McGovern, who travelled to San Francisco in search of work and hoping to play a bit of Gaelic football with the local Ulster team based in San Francisco, made up of ex-pats and traveling students. 

In his first match for the club, Mark was struck off the ball by an opposing player and knocked unconscious. The injury left him in a coma. That was in June. 

On 3 August he recovered consciousness for the first time. To date, his medical expenses have topped $1,000,000. His experience is a far cry from the bright lights of Croke Park and over eighty thousand fans. Mark has yet to be repatriated back to Ireland and fundraising goes on to pay his burgeoning medical bill. This is the blight of emigration and the lure of a brighter future elsewhere. 

That said, this weekend, for the Irish worldwide, no matter where they are scattered around the globe, all eyes will be glued to the television to see whether Kerry can beat the Dubs at Croke Park in one of the greatest rivalries in sport. The Irish Rugby team may be in action on Saturday, but for many the real action is Sunday afternoon. Be there. The last truly amateur sport in the world where the players are anything but.