Brolly is a Tool - Huge banner at Monaghan v Armagh match

[5 Sams]

http://www.facebook.com/pages/Derry-Ireland/JOE-BROLLY-IS-A-BOLLOX/209731260211?ref=nf

[longrunsthefox]

brilliant line in his column in Gaelic Life - "'Who's laughing now?' as my father might say from his marbled office in stormont, as the Para in question is sleeping in an underground bunker in the Afgan hills."
The banner is not funny... crude and says more about the amadans who took the time to make it.

[Fear ón Srath Bán]

Good, straight, and fair piece by Brolly, and FFS Monaghan lads, put a bit of poetic feckin' effort into the damned banners!

Brolly's piece today in the Gaelic Life:

This Saturday, Derry and Monaghan go to war, but should it be so spiteful?

The man with an opinion on everything...


A Bit of Perspective Anyone?


LOOKING at the banner behind the goals at last week's game, I despaired that a once proud county has come to this.

I thought of the things that Monaghan is celebrated for, the terrific wit of its' people, its' marvellous cultural heritage, Nudie Hughes, their magnificent side of the eighties, the greatest living referee. I thought of its mmaculate literary tradition, from the incomparable Patrick Kavanagh through to the extraordinary McArdle Twins.

Then I looked again at the banner, and it was hard not to feel a sense of great disappointment, of an opportunity wasted. It didn't rhyme. It wasn't subtle. It wasn't funny. It referred to the male member, which vies with the female version for the title of the world's least pleasant image.

It described an umbrella – somewhat awkwardly - as 'a tool', which it isn't really. It brought back memories of bad jokes about umbrellas by RUC men as the family car sat in yet another checkpoint, being stripped clean.

One miserable night in the eighties, when what Kavanagh would have described as the 'English bother' was still in full swing, I was crossing the border at Truagh with my father, when the army got us out and stood us in the rain for an hour. "You forgot your brollies then chaps" said the Para who seemed to be in charge, as his cronies laughed helplessly. "Who's laughing now?" as my father might say from his marbled office in Stormont, as the Para in question is sleeping in an underground bunker in the Afghan hills.

Anyhow, I think lads you should consult the McArdle Twins for the wording of this week's banner, or at the very least Nudie. Finding someone in Monaghan with a sense of humour won't be hard.


Perhaps the greatest work of the Monaghan poet was 'Epic', which has words that resound for this uneagerly awaited rematch, and more particularly for the good Gaels of Monaghan and Derry. The poem describes a bitter
feud over an irrelevant strip of infertile stony ground, and goes on to make the point that these things need to be kept in their proper perspective:

'I have lived in important places, times
When great events were decided, who owned
That half a rood of rock, a no-man's land
Surrounded by our pitchfork  armed claims.
I heard the Duffys shouting "Damn your soul!"
And old MacCabe stripped to the waist, seen
Step the plot defying blue-cast steel -
"Here is the march along these iron stones"
That was the year of the Munich bother.'

The 'Munich bother' was the great war. The point is that the ill-feeling generated by the Derry V Monaghan game needs to be reigned back. The way the match on Saturday is being painted, you wouldn't be surprised if Michael  Buffer, the American boxing announcer, comes out onto the pitch in his tuxedo and announces  teams' arrival with his trademarked phrase "Let's Get ready to Rummmmmmmmmmmmmmble!"

Then, "The referee Martin Duffy will now issue his final instructions to the players" at which point, the referee, miked up to the PA system in the stands, will shout "No stamping, no gouging, no spitting, no kneeing, no
trash talking. Break on my call, protect yourselves at all times. Let's have a good clean fight gentlemen."

The truth is that what happened in the first game was blown a little out of proportion, but only a little, probably due to the fact that it was an ugly bad game of football. Great games tend to gloss over the peevish attrition.

But it is also true that players on both teams were guilty that day of unsporting, and in some cases disgraceful behaviour. Some of those taking the field on Saturday should not be there at all if the CCCC had done its job. The fact that Tomas Freeman  missing the game is particularly unfair, since his misdemeanour was relatively trivial, and it is clear he was subjected to a high degree of provocation.

The problem for Tomas is that he was highlighted on the TV and in spite of the fact that there was little or nothing to it, this was enough to trigger a charge. In turn, once the charge of attempted striking with the head was proffered against him and proved, the rule book stipulates a minimum ban of eight weeks.

Put in a nutshell, the rules were properly applied, but not in a way that achieved fairness.


I saw everything that was captured by all of the cameras, and most of the stuff was minor bickering and pushing and pulling. Yet there were two really bad separate incidents, involving one player from each team.

The CCC had all of the footage themselves, saw both incidents and did not take action. One them was a stamping on the face - and I am choosing my words carefully when I say this - it was the most atrocious thing I have seen on a sporting field. The other was a really nasty throttling of the throat. Yet no action was taken.

For this, the CCC should be ashamed of itself, since it was an opportunity to punish severe conduct that was truly disgraceful, rather than selecting the targets pre-prepared by RTE.


I make no apologies for anything I have said. The truth is after all the truth. Both sides must shoulder blame. But there is a bottom line here. This is a Gaelic football match, not some sort of street fight. Both managers and both boards must spell out clearly before the game on Saturday what is expected of their players.

Players can go in hard and manly as they like, but there must be respect, and this unreal corner boy hatred must be stamped out. I don't expect an open spectacle. There is nothing after all wrong with the way for example that Monaghan set out to stifle the opposition, or with Damian Cassidy's defensive wingers. But it would be great if the players reflected the proud traditions of these two fine counties on Saturday.

Football is not after all life or death, merely the pursuit by thirty grown men of a leather bag of wind.

[The Mighty Oaks]

Totally disagree with a banner displayed at the Armagh / Monaghan game - Joe Brolly like so many other gaels has dedicated his sporting life to the betterment of gaelic football not only within his own county but also within Antrim and in particular St. Brigid's GFC, Belfast in the hope that such traditions at grass root levels grow and become the foundation of something each community can identify with! For such an articulate Gael, to be publicly ridiculed, not only is an outrage on free expression but also gives a licence to those to take such the opportunity of television coverage to display their disfavour against possible current political situations, opposing religions playing our national sports, or even the opportunity to mount a more personal attack on opposing team players or management.  Such banners should therefore be banned from all county games - as our tradition dictates not only the amateur ethos, the essence of fair play but also the 'ability to respect the GAA, and its members'!

[Main Street]

What's all this about poetry all of a sudden?

[Fear ón Srath Bán]

What's all this about poetry all of a sudden?

About your literary level! 

[never kickt a ball]

Yet there were two really bad separate incidents, involving one player from each team.

The CCC had all of the footage themselves, saw both incidents and did not take action. One them was a stamping on the face - and I am choosing my words carefully when I say this - it was the most atrocious thing I have seen on a sporting field. The other was a really nasty throttling of the throat. Yet no action was taken.

For this, the CCC should be ashamed of itself, since it was an opportunity to punish severe conduct that was truly disgraceful, rather than selecting the targets pre-prepared by RTE.

Totally disagree with a banner displayed at the Armagh / Monaghan game - Joe Brolly like so many other gaels has dedicated his sporting life to the betterment of gaelic football not only within his own county but also within Antrim and in particular St. Brigid's GFC, Belfast in the hope that such traditions at grass root levels grow and become the foundation of something each community can identify with! For such an articulate Gael, to be publicly ridiculed, not only is an outrage on free expression but also gives a licence to those to take such the opportunity of television coverage to display their disfavour against possible current political situations, opposing religions playing our national sports, or even the opportunity to mount a more personal attack on opposing team players or management.  Such banners should therefore be banned from all county games - as our tradition dictates not only the amateur ethos, the essence of fair play but also the 'ability to respect the GAA, and its members'!

Maybe somebody should tell the players that too Mighty Oak.


Obviously Joe was irked by the banner too when he felt the need to address it. In my opinion he should've ignored it and not given the "tools" who displayed it any more publicity.

[bigpaul]

I couldn't believe that those boys actually stood holding thon banner for the whole 90 minutes on Saturday night! It wasn't any more than slightly amusing for about 20 seconds! I couldn't help but get the impression that Joe was rowing back a bit in his column today from the sentiments he expressed on television and in print in the week after the match,his mention of the 'throttling of the throat' is his first reference  to any wrong doing by a Derry man that I can remember,not that I think his sentiments on the day didn't have some truth to them.

[Shortso79]

wonder will the banner make a reappearance today

[rrhf]

If it does and the Derry lads have any bolllix on them they will take the banner off them cubs.  I feel it wasnt funny, and I fear that it has so much potential to lead to banners which could raise tensions on the terraces etc.  Next banner might have a go at the new sports minister for example and thats only the start of it.  It dosent show the GAA in a progressive light at all.  The stewards should have dealt with it.  I detected a tone amongst the humour from Brolly of understandable disappointment in the gaelic life, As a Northern nationalist I am proud of Irish  men like Brolly who whilst controversial and different, combine great charisma, principles and massive intellectual ability, coming from a committed Irish family and are possessed with an ability to communicate to all.   These guys bring us on, thon rabble behind the goal just showed what they bring us on from.  Im not as eloquent as Joe - Ill just call them w**kers.   

[INDIANA]

I couldn't believe that those boys actually stood holding thon banner for the whole 90 minutes on Saturday night! It wasn't any more than slightly amusing for about 20 seconds! I couldn't help but get the impression that Joe was rowing back a bit in his column today from the sentiments he expressed on television and in print in the week after the match,his mention of the 'throttling of the throat' is his first reference  to any wrong doing by a Derry man that I can remember,not that I think his sentiments on the day didn't have some truth to them.

Lets face it the banner was more interesting to look at then the match itself.

[Shortso79]

Its back......

[orangeman]

I´ll tell you one thing,


The banner boys aren´t laughing now and i can bet Brolly is!! Yeoooooooooooooooh

Exactly.

[Archie Mitchell]

Was disappointed the banner made an appearance today. Thought they would have made a new one.

So were you at the game today SouthDerryGael?

[Archie Mitchell]

Ah right, was wondering with the quick response. Derry men counting their chickens before they hatch then