Donal Og Cusack is gay.....well, shock and horror.

As Shoulder highlighted two blogs ago, what has been an open secret for years now is out in the open, out of the closet and whatever other terminology you fancy.

Donal Og is a very intense person, but there are many who are close to him in Cork who feel the book will prove more than unhelpful and there are others running for cover.

But Donal Og has opened a few cans of worms

Dessie and GPA are anxious that talk of the infamous "P" word will make Croke Park even less likely to do a deal in the coming weeks while it is his criticism of the unholy Trinity of Kilkenny, Frank Murphy and Gerald McCarthy, that will fill the GAA page this week as the scribes scurry for reaction.

Have no doubt that a Kilkenny legend will react and some of the McCarthyites will do likewise.

Watch the papers for more trouble.

My GPA sources tell me a deal is still on the cards for the immediate future...my GAA friends are not as adamant.

The Club game is suffering

Now Shoulder is a big fan of the club finals and I paid a visit to watch the Armagh football decider. I have also seen video footage of the Dublin football final and heard the eye witness reports from Waterford and Kildare.

The club county finals are very special days, and I am sure there is mighty fun to be had in Ballygunner, Tullamore, Portlaoise, Dromore, Ballyboden and Corofin this weekend. The weather was fine and the crowds turned up.

What has struck me though is that several inter county players look dead on their feet and are suffering from burnout....not from too many matches, but too much training. What has also been blatantly obvious is that the standard on show has been pretty poor.

The Club play lacks structure

The club game is neglected with no proper structures and with seasons runing into seasons and clubs fielding teams without their star players for vast chunks of the summer.

Young players are now heading off for the summer at will, leaving the club season in semi hibernation. The standard though is definitely suffering and while the intensity is still there, the basic skills of many players are non existent. 

GAA needs to do something

The club needs its star players to be playing to raise the standards and needs proper start and end dates.

A team may start a championship campaign in April but not finsh until March if they win an All-Ireland...thats almost 11 mnths on the on the go...Crazy.....

 

 

 

 

Comments (4)

  • Oct-21 - MosstrimStrange that it's a case of "whatever you say,say nothing.."..are you all suggesting that Cork can't face the truth?..c'mon..grow up..Ógie is not a gay player..he's a player who's gay...we don't have a Woman President, we've a President who's a woman.....louts you'll always have...nothing you can do about that..get on with your lives...  Show Full Comment
  • Oct-20 - shouldermaguirewell.....it is disgraceful that anyone gets taunted but Donal has been getting slagged for years. Sean Og too has been subject to abuse and there was an infamous text after the Clare scrap about Cusack, O'Hailpin and Diarmuid which was distatseful. My issue with Cusack is that he seems very entrenched on his views on KK in particular who have been gracious winners and he seems to leave himself open to criticism for the way he didnt seem to ever give McCarthy a chance....whether this was right or not.
  • Oct-20 - limerickhunkShoulders - what do you think of what Donal said today? He said he was taunted during the championship from the terraces about being gay. pretty disgusting homophobic stuff was said. He said he's mother won't go to matches any more. In the week stephen gately died, we should all make an effort to be less judgemental about gay people
Login to Add Comment
Blogger Bio
shouldermaguire

Meet Shoulder Maguire, Ireland's inaugural GAA spy. 

Shoulder lives, breathes and eats GAA.

And he knows where the skeletons are buried,  he knows the real story behind the story and isn't afraid to tell it like it is.

But to share it with us, Ireland.com has wrapped him in the cloak of anonymity.

Log on every week for his compelling analysis of the latest in GAA circles

Blog Calendar
«November 2009»
SMTWTFS
1234567
891011121314
15161718192021
22232425262728
293012345
At Ireland.com, we encourage a fair exchange of views, opinions and responsible comments. We will not post any comments that are antisocial or that are personal attacks. Comments of this nature will be removed: we'll be monitoring the site but if you do see something objectionable then you can report it to us. We will at our discretion block users who violate the Ireland.com terms of use.