The "Should Tommy Walsh have been sent off thread"

[Bud Wiser]

The answer is that Tommy Walsh plays the game of hurling exactly as it should be played, if he didn't Cody wouldn't have him on the team. As Cody himself said when asked "Does Tommy Walsh play on the edge" his reply was, "if he didn't I'd be very worried"

So here in advance are some of the questions and comments likely to arise after the All Ireland Final.

1.  Walsh started it, he looked at Cyril Donnelan coming out of the tunnel.

2.  The disputed goal was definitely wide, Tommy had pulled the umpires cap down over his eyes as the ball was being struck by Henry. (By 8pm and the Sunday game, said cap becomes an umbrella) Probably hear "Yeah, despicable act by Walsh, sure the Galway team were all out of line and walking into walls during the parade before the game because he was sneaking up and interfeering with their helmets"

3.   Did you see when Walsh called for water, that was that Frytex Spray used for cooking that he sprayed on the handle of Cannings hurl, Canning couldn't get a grip for the rest of the game.

4.   It aint fair, the ref knows Tommy Walsh is being painted as the John Terry of Gaelic Games and everyone wants to see him getting sent off. During the game the ref will be accused of being blind. After it he will be , blind, a bollix, stupid, incapable and a disgrace among other things.

5.   Tommy Walsh changed his helmet from Red to a lighter shade of pale for the last twenty minutes so that he would not be noticed by the referee going around Croke Park swinging like a madman at anything that moved.

6.   The umpires, all of them, drink in the Spa Bar in Johnstown and they would not report any dirty play to the ref even if Tommy went in and drew across one of themselves.

7.    News from the sideline was that Cody got word to Tommy Walsh to say if he didn't crease Tannion, Canning and Conor Cooney within the last 5 minutes of the first half that he, Walsh, would be singing songs and telling jokes in Langtons before the game ended.

Feel free to add as you wish but for jaysus sake allow some credit to one of the best hurlers that I have ever seen in Croke Park in the last forty years.  Time to stop the witchhunt?

[Keepthefaith93]

Tommy Walsh is a Legend!

[Canalman]

Best player I have ever seen by a country mile. Great attitude as well......... a real hurlers' hurler.

However don't think he has done enough this year to merit the Allstar (his 10th in a row) but a barnstorming  AIF performance may change that.

[Bord na Mona man]

He just proves my theory that the smaller you are, the more you get away with.
Great hurler of course.

[orangeman]

Tipp paid him the ultimate compliment on Sunday past by allocating one of their best players to run round after him trying to put him off his game.

Tipp's attitude seemed to be stop Tommy Walsh and you've KK beaten.


What a compliment indeed.

[Bud Wiser]

He just proves my theory that the smaller you are, the more you get away with.
Great hurler of course.

Only two players have ever been sent off in an All-Ireland Final, one of them was Eamonn Scallan from Wexford against Limerick.
The other player was Benny Dunne from Tipp in the 2009  final against Kilkenny.

The interesting statistic here is that in one hundred and twenty eight years only two players have been sent off in an All Ireland and one of them, Dunne, was sent off for striking Tommy Walsh. This would indicate that the smaller you are you have about 128,0000% more of a chance to be at the receiving end than getting away with anything.

[Croí na hÉireann]

The father in law, a KK man, reckons that his hurl is just too heavy for him. That would explain an awful lot of incidents. 

[Bord na Mona man]

He just proves my theory that the smaller you are, the more you get away with.
Great hurler of course.

Only two players have ever been sent off in an All-Ireland Final, one of them was Eamonn Scallan from Wexford against Limerick.
The other player was Benny Dunne from Tipp in the 2009  final against Kilkenny.

The interesting statistic here is that in one hundred and twenty eight years only two players have been sent off in an All Ireland and one of them, Dunne, was sent off for striking Tommy Walsh. This would indicate that the smaller you are you have about 128,0000% more of a chance to be at the receiving end than getting away with anything.

Little Tommy was pulling at the straps of Benny Dunne's helmet which lead to Dunne lashing out at him.
The cheeky little rascal.

[screenmachine]

I enjoyed Marty Morrissey's commentary on Sunday, especially the point where Tommy came in and cleared a ball and Morrissey was all over hime like a rash, 'Ohhh, look at Tommy Walsh, wee Tommy bursting through the middle.  What a man...Tommy Walsh...'  I'm glad there was no camera in the commentary box, I'm pretty sure Marty had the hand down the front of the trousers every time he touched the ball! 

[Bud Wiser]

He just proves my theory that the smaller you are, the more you get away with.
Great hurler of course.

Only two players have ever been sent off in an All-Ireland Final, one of them was Eamonn Scallan from Wexford against Limerick.
The other player was Benny Dunne from Tipp in the 2009  final against Kilkenny.

The interesting statistic here is that in one hundred and twenty eight years only two players have been sent off in an All Ireland and one of them, Dunne, was sent off for striking Tommy Walsh. This would indicate that the smaller you are you have about 128,0000% more of a chance to be at the receiving end than getting away with anything.

Little Tommy was pulling at the straps of Benny Dunne's helmet which lead to Dunne lashing out at him.
The cheeky little rascal.

I don't think so, I can't find the video right now but from what I remember one of Dunnes straps had come loose and about five minutes before that Tommy fixed it up temporarily. In this sequence he was just tapping in the stud of the helmet strap with the butt of his hurl when Dunne took umbridge to him. Despite the ferocious looking pull by Dunne Tommy did not seek to get him sent off and was back on his feet and ready to go before the ref even blew the whistle.  http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=v9-muyFaxQ4

[Asal Mor]

I enjoyed Marty Morrissey's commentary on Sunday, especially the point where Tommy came in and cleared a ball and Morrissey was all over hime like a rash, 'Ohhh, look at Tommy Walsh, wee Tommy bursting through the middle.  What a man...Tommy Walsh...'  I'm glad there was no camera in the commentary box, I'm pretty sure Marty had the hand down the front of the trousers every time he touched the ball! 

Ah screenmachine. I'm eating here man. I don't need to be thinking about Marty with his hand down his truosers.

[Onlooker]

He just proves my theory that the smaller you are, the more you get away with.
Great hurler of course.

Only two players have ever been sent off in an All-Ireland Final, one of them was Eamonn Scallan from Wexford against Limerick.
The other player was Benny Dunne from Tipp in the 2009  final against Kilkenny.

The interesting statistic here is that in one hundred and twenty eight years only two players have been sent off in an All Ireland and one of them, Dunne, was sent off for striking Tommy Walsh. This would indicate that the smaller you are you have about 128,0000% more of a chance to be at the receiving end than getting away with anything.

You are completely wrong when you state that only 2 players have been sent off in All Ireland Hurling Finals.  In 1961, Tom Ryan (Tipperary) and Lar Foley (Dublin) were sent off in the 2nd half.   I am sure that there were other players sent off down the years, but I am definite about 1961, Dublin's last A I Final.

[Forever Green]

Tommy Walsh is an absolute legend of the game. I love him

[AZOffaly]

I also seem to remember one of the Limerick lads getting sent off in 1972 or 1973? Was it a Foley lad?

[orangeman]

Fair play Tommy - 

KILKENNY star Tommy Walsh says he doesn't believe there was a deliberate effort by Tipperary to get him sent off in the All-Ireland semi-final.

The Premier County came in for heavy criticism for giving star forward Lar Corbett an unprecedented marking job to do on the Tullaroan wing-back, which he persisted with, even though he was himself being marked by JJ Delaney and Walsh had been tasked with marking Pa Bourke.

There was speculation that Tipp had done this partly in an attempt to get Walsh to pick up yellow cards, and he did get one in the early minutes.

But Corbett has already firmly denied this in his Irish Independent column, and Walsh says he does not believe that Tipperary had deliberately set out to test his discipline.

"I don't think anyone ever really tries to get anyone sent off in hurling," he said, stressing that the sport's inter-county elite know each other particularly well.

"We all meet each other so often at functions and different trips and that.

"While we're on the field, obviously we're trying to beat our man, but everyone gets on very well off the field.

"If a lad gets a belt he gets straight back up. That's the way it's been, that's the tradition and that's what your supporters like, that you go out and do your best."

Walsh said the real litmus test of what is acceptable in the modern game comes from club elders, who will not stand for any play-acting or injury-feigning.

"All they want is hurling, hurling, hurling and when they see things like that creeping into soccer, they don't like that," Walsh said.

"I think if you go back over the last 10 to 20 years, when a hurler gets a belt, 99 times out of 100 he just gets straight back up and gets on with it. That's the way it is at the moment and hopefully it continues that way."