Billy Morgan's Trousers

[Frank Casey]

From today's Irsih Examiner. The wagons are circling and the knives are being sharpened!

Seroiusly it this another example of the boorishness of a manager who believes is his own omnipotence or a reporter and paper who can't take a joke. There must be a joke somewhere in stuffing a dictaphone in your underpants though.

What's eating Billy Morgan?

By Michael Moynihan
ON SUNDAY, Cork football manager Billy Morgan finally reached the promised land. His side reached the All-Ireland final, and not by the skin of their teeth either: they put a 10-point trimming on fancied semi-final opponents Meath, the conquerors of Tyrone.

For Morgan, the man who steered Cork through some stormy encounters with the Royals in the late eighties and early nineties, the result must have been extra sweet.

A shame, then, that he chose to mark a fine victory with settling some scores at the final whistle. Right after the game the Cork manager had a word for RTÉ's sideline reporter: ("Would you tell Michael Lyster . . .").

A little later he expanded on that point for the print media at the usual post-game scrum in the bowels of Croke Park ("The boys upstairs gave us plenty, and some of ye too").

At that point Morgan took a journalist's dictaphone and put it inside the waistband of his pants. When the journalist asked for his dictaphone back Morgan handed it over and then ended the briefing abruptly, walking away.

People tend to have a low opinion of reporters generally, and no doubt as word seeped out about the incident some belly laughs were enjoyed: serves them right, what are they getting so precious about anyway, etc. You know the stuff.

But by any of the normal rules of society Morgan's action was grossly insulting, a gratuitous attempt to humiliate someone going about their day's work. If it happened in any other sport in any other country you can only imagine the reaction.

In fact, you don't have to stretch your imagination that hard: just picture having to confront that scenario as part of your working day. Or your father dealing with it. Or your wife.

If Billy Morgan has a problem with the media in general, then there's no excusing an attempt to humiliate the representative of one particular newspaper. He can co-operate with the State broadcaster, after all, in the heat of the post-game moment.

If Billy's problem is with this particular newspaper, then that's news to us. Over the last few months we've interviewed Cork football players and selectors and reported on all their games. At no time have we been told there's a problem with the Irish Examiner and/or its coverage of the Cork footballers.

If Billy has a problem with the bona fides of the journalist involved, Brendan Larkin of this parish, then he certainly picked the wrong man.

Brendan Larkin represented Cork at football and was on the first Cork team to win an All-Ireland minor championship. He has a record of almost 50 years service as player and administrator with his own club and the Cork County Board.

It might be worth pointing out that his record of service to the GAA in Cork stands comparison with anybody's. That includes Billy Morgan.

It's easy to get up on your high horse and preach about standards. A pulpit can be an intoxicating place to stand, and preaching from that high can go to one's head. Often you can end up making a plea for standards which are impossible to reach. Not here, though. This is more about reaching minimum standards.

Cork's victory on Sunday was overshadowed by Billy Morgan's odd behaviour, and the Cork County Board's reluctance to comment on the matter at the time of writing doesn't cover them in glory either — particularly when the person involved is a past officer of that body.

The goodwill generated on Sunday by a young team breaking free of the confines of Croke Park to express themselves with a free-flowing performance was tainted by their manager's behaviour afterwards. The whole incident brought to mind the old saying that whatever about the after-effects of failure, it takes a rare individual to be embittered by success.

IRISH EXAMINER STATEMENT

"WE were surprised and disappointed with Sunday's incident when Billy Morgan took reporter Brendan Larkin's dictaphone from him. Brendan had not even asked him a question.

We don't know why it happened, but by any standards it was unacceptable behaviour from someone who has a responsibility not only to win matches, but also to act appropriately when managing his team, representing his county and the GAA.

It's a pity it happened after a brilliant performance by Cork, which was a credit not only to the players who gave it their all, but also to Billy Morgan and his management team. It was all the more surprising because Brendan Larkin has been covering GAA matters with distinction for this newspaper for many years, and has had a lifelong involvement with the GAA at all levels. Thankfully nothing like this happened before and we would like to believe it will not happen again.

But we want to put it behind us, move on, and concentrate on the enticing prospect of a Cork-Dublin All Ireland final or the even more intriguing prospect of a historic showdown between Cork and Kerry in Croke Park on September 16. That's what the fans, young and old, expect from all of us."

Tim Vaughan, Editor

[Hardy]

Talk about precious. I'm sure it was very funny to everyone except po-faced journalists. And it made a nice change for De Paypur to be talking through Billy Morgan's arse instead of its own.

[Mike Sheehy]

I dont know why anyone is surprised by this. When he kicked those kerry players out of his pub after a Munster final it became perfectly obvious what a bollix he is.

[Mike Sheehy]

Hardy, if it was any other manager, yes, you'd see it as a joke but knowing Morgans form I doubt it.

[Kerry Mike]

Billy: "Can I use your dictophone"
Journalist: "that wont get you in my good books, use your finger like everyone else"

This is a smoke screen by Morgan, he knew some of the focus after the game would be on O'Leary's punch so this has distracted the media nicely, and it will keep the focus on him and not his team for the next few weeks before the final. This is the man that left the field in Killarney after losing a Munster final smiling, he's becoming more cute hoor than some of us, not a mention of the "cynical" word from the bould Billy this year, it was his mantra last year, it seems its okay to elbow, Kick and punch your way through games, espeically when you have a rebels jersey on you.

Alll that's left to be done now is for Frank Murphy to "prove" that the punch did not connect on Geraghty like Anthony Lynch's elbow "did not connect"   with Kieran Donaghy's jaw last year and O'Leary will be in the clear.

[Frank Casey]

Billy: "Can I use your dictophone"
Journalist: "that wont get you in my good books, use your finger like everyone else"

This is a smoke screen by Morgan, he knew some of the focus after the game would be on O'Leary's punch so this has distracted the media nicely, and it will keep the focus on him and not his team for the next few weeks before the final. This is the man that left the field in Killarney after losing a Munster final smiling, he's becoming more cute hoor than some of us, not a mention of the "cynical" word from the bould Billy this year, it was his mantra last year, it seems its okay to elbow, Kick and punch your way through games, espeically when you have a rebels jersey on you.

Alll that's left to be done now is for Frank Murphy to "prove" that the punch did not connect on Geraghty like Anthony Lynch's elbow "did not connect"   with Kieran Donaghy's jaw last year and O'Leary will be in the clear.

Was studying the Book of Yerra while on a penetential retreat on Skelligs last week. Sure I came across that joke some where in the book of piss alms.

[paddypastit]

Morgan's a rare one alright. In '89 or '90 in the Burlo after the AI final, about 2.30 / 3.00 in the morning, a clubmate of mine - a man at the time with an insatiable appetite for beer and nearly as big an appetite for fight (still managed to sit on the county executive for the guts of 10 years!!) was belining along the foyer towards the residenst (as yoiu do) when the lift opened to Morgan and a party.  On spotting the aforementioned Sligo man, Corks finest charged over, grabbed ihim by the front of his shirt, roarded a few obscenities and then ripped off the sleeve.  We assumed mistaken identity.  Lucky our man was so hammered that he didn't couldn't react.  Were he sober, Morgan would have got one unmerciifub beatring

[mick999]

From Tom Humphries in the Times ...

Nothing about Morgan is uncomplicated though. Billy is a one-man soap opera, a man who is never dull and whose enduring presence seems to enliven every passing season.

Yesterday he provided us with an incident more colourful than anything the game had offered: Trousergate! His happiness had subsided by the time he came down the tunnel to the dressingroom area and the gauntlet of microphones. Asked for his view on the game Billy first inquired who exactly was asking for his view.

These were fraught moments. If Billy kept his grievances in formaldehyde they could scarcely be more perfectly preserved. He considered the answer, deemed the media organ involved to be one with which he currently had no beef, and then began laying into the so-called media experts.

He hadn't gone far with his thoughts when a decent crowd of so-called media experts gathered around to listen.

Billy was reflecting that the lads above in the press box had given him plenty of ammunition and was just noting that some of the ammo had been supplied by people standing in front of him when he spotted a representative of that media organ which in Cork they refer to as de Paper. Billy isn't a subscriber, apparently.

He snatched the tape recorder out of the hand of the man from de Paper and then, bizarrely, slipped the instrument down his trousers while continuing to speak.

He turned his attention to a third question (none of us could turn our attention the same way; words and phrases like "dictaphone" and "Billy Morgan and his amazing media organ" kept flashing up in our minds) and then announced, "I'll have to go, lads."
He vanished off down the corridor, leaving the so-called media experts gaping at each other.

[Billys Boots]

I would cheer on any county/club to hammer the living sh*te out of any team associated with Billy Morgan - even Dublin. 

[the Deel Rover]

I would cheer on any county/club to hammer the living sh*te out of any team associated with Billy Morgan - even Dublin. 

same as can't stand the bollux, when we won the all ireland club against nemo in 2001 he couldn't even say that we deserved the title that day instead said something like nemo threw it away, he is a sore f**king looser and i hope he is again on the 3rd sunday on september

[orangeman]

Love hom or hate - bollox or no bollox he's a top man - a real GAA man - working for no reward except listening to shite when he gets beat - so he's entitled to have a go when he gets an unfancied team to the AI final. Fair play Billy.

[full back]

Although not knowing him personally, he comes across as a bit of a dry pr1ck.
Seems to be arrogant as fcuk

[Fear ón Srath Bán]

Don't mind Billy, adds a bit of colour even if he does go slightly OTT at time, and he has been the object of no little venom in his time.

[the Deel Rover]

Don't mind Billy, adds a bit of colour even if he does go slightly OTT at time, and he has been the object of no little venom in his time.

its just that he is so ungracious in Defeat like he can't bring himself to say that the opposition were better on the day.One thing we are in mayo is gracious in defeat maybe we need billy to manage us

[Fear ón Srath Bán]

One thing we are in mayo is gracious in defeat maybe we need billy to manage us

That's the key!