Speaking at a commercial event for the GAA on Thursday, Dessie Dolan, quoted by the Irish Independent, reiterated his distrust of 'Kerry fan' Pat Spillane and his proclivity for preparation.
Initially airing his concerns for Spillane's approach to punditry on last weekend's 'Sunday Game', a brief spell of introspection has led Dolan to the following conclusions:
Do I think my opinion has changed from Sunday night? I don't to be honest. I think it was fairly well rehearsed what Pat had to say. When he was quoting the rules and stuff like that, that raised my suspicions, that was all.
It was unusual circumstances and I suppose there were a lot of big factors; number one, it's Dublin, number two, it's Jim Gavin, number three, it's Diarmuid Connolly. It's all divisive and to be honest there's an awful lot of people sitting on the fence either way.
With Sky Sports having aired the Saturday evening match between Carlow and Dublin in question, the notion that Spillane may have simply picked up where James Horan, Peter Canavan and the particularly vehement Jim McGuinness left of seems to have escaped Dolan. Then again, the Champions League final coverage had already started on RTE at that stage, so maybe Spillane fancied a change. After all, as Dolan went on to specify, when it comes to the weekly narrative of the GAA, only one media source sets the tone:
They set the agenda, like, the 'Sunday Game', people sit down to watch it, to see (what they say) and it's the talking point generally then for the week.
That's the way it has been. Nobody ever tells you what to say, to be honest, it's a free rein, there's nobody coming in saying you can say this or that and that's what makes it very good.
While Dolan's condemnation of Spillane and his devious methods of manipulating Diarmuid Connolly's absence until Dublin probably meet Kerry in September's All-Ireland final remains fascinating, one cannot help but wonder, had it not been Dolan's own Westmeath that had just lost by thirty-one points to Dublin, would he be so determined to avoid all mention of the match in question? Then again, talking about events on the pitch seems like something Pat Spillane might do.
Picture credit: Piaras Ó Mídheach / SPORTSFILE
