Paul Galvin is no fan of suggestions that Diarmuid Connolly should learn to accept that he will be targeted by opposition sides.
As a player who was often subject to special treatment, the Kerryman is well able to empathise with Connolly's situation.
Writing in his Sunday Times column, Galvin opined that there is nothing intelligent about attempting to antagonise a player through shouldering and sledging. The two-time All-Ireland winner feels those who try to antagonise an opposition player - as many said happened to Connolly during last weekend's game against Carlow - should receive punishment equal to someone who retaliates.
If the targeting of players is something which the GAA does not address in the immediate future, Galvin thinks Connolly should reconsider his future in Gaelic football. However, he does not believe that Connolly should quit GAA. Rather, he thinks that the St. Vincent's man should take a road less travelled for a Dublin footballer, one which leads to the Dublin hurlers.
If he is expected to see out the rest of his career being targeted, as the pundits suggest, then he should consider the remainder of his football-playing days carefully.
I watched him hurl recently and he is inter-county quality. Dublin’s hurlers will have Leinster honours and more on their minds over the next few years. At 29 he’s young enough to hurl and revisit football if he wishes.
The hurling world would welcome him I’m sure, even if the football world seems intent on exposing him.
It would certainly be unusual to see a Dublin footballer - especially one as prominent as Connolly - quit the senior panel and move to their hurling counterparts. In recent weeks, Mark Schutte, one of Dublin's best hurlers, quit the panel and joined Jim Gavin's side.
Connolly has featured for St. Vincent's in this year's Dublin SHC. Back in April, he scored two monster points as his side easily beat St. Jude's.
Picture credit: Sportsfile
