Darragh Ó Sé: Ger Brennan’s push for Parnell Park made Dublin look weak

Dublin were always going to play Donegal in Croke Park. I know there may have been some butting of heads between the GAA and the Dublin County Board this summer, but let’s call a spade a spade here. There was no chance of it going to Parnell Park.

The difference between the number of people who can go to a match in Parnell and the number who will go to this one is probably at least 25,000. I’d say that’s a conservative guess. At €25 a go and a fiver for juveniles, you’re talking about over half-a-million euro the GAA would be leaving on the table. Tom Ryan and Peter McKenna would get some fright if they heard that was happening.

But leaving all that aside, I think it’s a bad look for Ger Brennan to be even bringing the idea up in the first place. I totally understood Kildare doing the “Newbridge or nowhere” thing. Or Antrim making sure Armagh went to Corrigan Park, or Louth insisting on Inniskeen. I get all that. You’re allowed to do those things when you’re up and coming and you’re fighting for every inch.

Let’s be honest, though – there are certain counties where that stuff doesn’t fly. I come from one of them and so does Ger Brennan. You can’t be Dublin or Kerry and go around pretending you’re the small guy. It never rings true and nobody buys it.

The most important group of people who don’t buy it are your players. If Dublin are going to do anything for the rest of this championship, it’s going to be on the back of the fellas who’ve won them All-Irelands in the past. It’s Con O’Callaghan, Ciarán Kilkenny, Cormac Costello and all the rest of them. To them, Parnell Park is a place for club matches. Croke Park is where they play for Dublin.

If it was an ex-player or something, fine. But at a time when every other footballer in the country is trying to make it to Croke Park, it makes no sense for the Dublin manager to be looking to bring his team in the opposite direction. To me, that sends out the wrong message. It’s basically telling the rest of the country that Dublin have lost one of the things that was always an advantage to them.

Why give the opposition that help? Imagine Jim McGuinness in team meetings this week and in the dressingroom on Sunday. The Dubs don’t fancy this, boys. They don’t want to be here. They want to get out of this place.

Croke Park is where you win All-Irelands. That’s the long and short of it. I’d say Donegal are delighted to be going there at this stage. The All-Ireland final is in 5½ weeks. Donegal need all the practice they can get in that stadium.

Apart from anything, they actually don’t have a huge amount of big wins to shout about in Croke Park since Jim came back. They beat Monaghan and Meath there last year and Louth the previous year. All three counties were having decent seasons but at the same time, they were Division Two teams. Donegal fell short each time as soon as they played a Division One team in Croke Park.

All the more reason for Dublin to want to go after them now. I can see Dublin raising their game on Sunday. O’Callaghan is back and looks fit and healthy. Peadar Ó Cofaigh Byrne will be important around the middle. Donegal are probably the better team overall but they’ve lost to Down and Cork already this summer. The Dubs shouldn’t fear them at all.

But I think they’ve given up a psychological edge here and it will be hard to get it back. Donegal will focus on O’Callaghan in the way they focused on the two Cliffords in Killarney. They will take away Dublin’s match-winner and tell the rest of Brennan’s players they’re going to have to do it without him.

I can see it ending in one of two ways. Either the Dubs keep it close and they force Donegal to snap to attention but just come up short, or Donegal come out sore after making a mess of it against Cork and win by a cricket score. Either way, Donegal to win.

In Killarney on Saturday, it’s going to be a huge game between Kerry and Armagh. We can moan all we like about the season being so rushed and not having the time to breathe and whatever else. But there’s going to be a real edge to this one – whoever loses better take a good look around because they won’t be seeing each other again until November.

I feel some of Kerry’s injuries are clearing up at the right time. It looks unlikely that Seán O’Shea or Tom O’Sullivan will be back for this, but getting Gavin White and Brian Ó Beaglaoich into the team last weekend was significant. Joe O’Connor is back and bouncing away. That gives Kerry a very different look from the team that lost to Donegal.

They’d love to have Shane Ryan back but Shane Murphy is doing well in goals. His kickouts were very good the last day, but it’s always worth remembering every goalie is only as good as the fellas he’s kicking out to. That’s where the likes of the two O’Connors and White come in. The two Cliffords are able to benefit from a bit more space once the top Kerry players are back as well. It’s a rising tide that lifts all boats.

I fancy Kerry here. Killarney will play open and wide. Armagh got caught by Louth but they shouldn’t have put themselves in that position in the first place and could pay for their carelessness. There won’t be much in it but I’ll go for Kerry at home.

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