Watch out on the road tonight. Wide Load on the way to Croker

[Barney]

RTÉ Sport's new midweek GAA programme The Road to Croker with Des Cahill makes its eagerly anticipated debut on RTÉ Two and RTÉ.ie/sport this Thursday and will run for ten weeks as The Championship reaches its climax this September.

A weekly, hour-long programme with a mix of reviews and analysis, discussion and debate with plenty of colour and character, the ten-week series will bring viewers news on all the emerging national storylines of the Championship further strengthening and complementing RTÉ's comprehensive Championship coverage.

Celebrating the grassroots of GAA, The Road to Croker will be broadcast each week from a different GAA club from around the country.

The show will also be available live and on-demand within the island of Ireland, so if you miss it on the night, you can always catch up with the programme here on the RTÉ website.

In the build-up to this weekend's Leinster Senior Football final, Des will kick-off the new series from St Oliver Plunkett's Eoghan Ruadh GAA Club in Dublin.

Home to four of Dublin's star players, including the Brogan brothers and Jason Sherlock, the club was recently promoted to Division 1 in the National League.

Among the studio audience of club members and supporters on the night will be Bernard Brogan Senior. The former Dublin football legend will chat with Des about how playing for the county in the 1970s compares to the current day as he looks back at his own experiences and compares them with those of his sons Alan and Bernard, current member of the Dublin panel.

Special guests joining Des on the night include former Dublin star and current Wexford manager Paul Bealin, while Donegal's former All-Ireland winning manager Martin McHugh will also be joining Des for a preview of next weekend's Ulster Senior Football final.     

On the eve of the Ulster Football final, Frank McNally of The Irish Times will also be musing on the dilemma of being a Monaghan man in Dublin.


And following Sligo's success in the Connacht Football final on Sunday, key players Eamon O'Hara and Kieran Quinn make an appearance with the Nestor Cup.



Clarinbridge in Co Galway is confirmed as the venue for Pregramme 2, where former Clare star Jamesie O'Connor and former Tipp hurler and current Offaly manager John McIntyre will be featured.

From the same production team that made Breaking Ball, The Road to Croker with Des Cahill begins this Thursday, 12 July on RTÉ Two and RTÉ.ie/sport at 8.00pm.

[Jinxy]

*shudder* Just saw the words "studio audience". I'll watch it, but more in hope than expectation.

[Pietas]

On the eve of the Ulster Football final, Frank McNally of The Irish Times will also be musing on the dilemma of being a Monaghan man in Dublin.

What's the dilemma about being a Monaghan man in Dublin.  Surely is you are from Monaghan, being in Dublin is a good thing.  The only dilemma would be pressure to go home.

[rosnarun]

other words to fear are colour and character in other words fecking eejits.
it all sound fearfully like a cross between up for the cup and the H cup roadshow

[Hardy]

Indeed, rosnarun. I'm also fearful of tthe threat to "broadcast each week from a different GAA club from around the country". We saw what this amounted to when The Sunday Game brought us that series of riveting interviews by Marty Moorrissey (d'oh - and the day was going so well) from "clubs around the country". I'm affeared it'll be the same tired old formula and there's nothing in this blurb to dispel the dread, I'm afraid.

[Tyrone Dreamer]

Although I think RTE made a terrible decision in relation to the live game on Saturday I cant understand the criticism of the new show already. Theyre in a no win situation from what I can see. People on here have been calling for a midweek show discussing the previous week matches and looking forward to the games in the weekend ahead. RTE come up with an hour show doing exactly that on a Thursday night. Before it even goes to air people critice the presenter and its quality etc. For God sake give the show a chance. Its been the same with any midweek show such as end to end - constant criticism from the start. I look forward to the new show and filling in a current void. In a few weeks if its crap Ill criticise it but will give it a fair chance first.

[Pietas]

RTE's a peculiar attitude to Gaelic games is a bugbear of mine.

The truth is that very few people in station management actually understand the GAA.

That's why we wind up with lightweight gaelic games broadcasters (who shall remain nameless as they are notoriously litigious).

As with national newspapers, where the same situation pertained up until a while ago, they have tried to improve things a bit.

But they do not apply the same standards to gaelic sports as they do to soccer and rugby.

[Kerry Mike]

I for one am looking forward to this tonight, it has to be better than some of the normal  Thursday night drivel, usually enjoy Des on the radio and the choice of guests looks interesting.

The fact that its for an hour is good as some of these magazine programmes are too short at 30mins.

But the proof of the pudding will be in the eating, so we will see after a few weeks what the outcome is like.

[IolarCoisCuain]

Pietas is correct. A fundemental misunderstanding of the very nature of the GAA in RTÉ is the only possible explanation for the depths to which their coverage so often sinks.

As for what Tyrone Dreamer is saying, I take his point but it's no harm to remember that there was more or less universal praise on this board for the late lamented Breaking Ball. If RTÉ want to do us a favour why not bring that back, instead of inflicting Ger Gilroy on the nation, or another serving of the nation's teddy bear, Dessie Cahill? Bring back Breaking Ball and give Lyster the heave-ho, and then we'll see. Until then, RTÉ keeps getting the hammer, because they deserve it.

[Hardy]

I just want to say I agree with that. And with the fact that contrasting RTE's slipshod couldn't-care-less GAA coverage with their excellent coverage of soccer and rugby betrays their attitude to GAA and GAA followers.

[Pietas]

There was an anti-gaa attitude in RTE and the national newspapers for years perpetuated by the fact that the people in the top jobs in the sports deaprtments invariably went to some poncey fee-paying school.

Ever wondered why so much time and effort is put into rugby? It remains, essentially a minority sport in this country.  Remember how Sports Stadium used to show hockey matches, FFS.

Because those at the top didn't understand gaa at all, a country accent was all that was required to cover gaelic games. 

Now, in fairness, this has changed, but next time you're listening to some god awful commentary on RTE, ask yourself how the guy got the job...

[Gnevin]

Did anyone else thing this thread was about T Fearon taking a trip to hq tonight?

[deiseach]

I wouldn't say RTÉ were anti-GAA. This year they have jumped through hoops to accommodate the Dublin - Meath and Limerick - Tipperary replays, and a two hour long Sunday Game can hardly be said to be tokenistic. That doesn't mean they love the GAA - they're all following in the footsteps of Fred Cogley and his love of the rugger - but they give us enough hours of live coverage (during the summer), which is what matters in the end.

[J70]

During the soccer season its their anti(depending on your perspective)-Man Utd/Liverpool bias we always hear about. Now they're actually anti-GAA too, despite showing three live games at the weekend in the summer time, along with the Sunday Game package!

[ONeill]

Midlanders are an awful whiney bunch. You couldn't plase them.