Inside Track: Have no doubt, there is life beyond the GAA

Readers of these pages over the weeks, including this one, could be forgiven for believing there’s no life beyond GAA. Apologies.

In my defence, I’ll say there’s been so much happening on and off Louth county teams’ pitches, telling the stories meant it was difficult to find room for anything else.

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This is an attempt to put a bit of a balance on things. Goodness knows there’s no shortage of material to do just that.

Right now, as this is being written, Dundalk FM is playing in the background. John Murphy and Gussie Hearty are reporting on Dundalk’s match with Kerry, in Tralee, and as things stand, the visitors are a goal up, scored in the 19th minute.

I chuckled when, in his analysis of the first half, Gussie said the home side had spent most of the time defending, getting all of their players behind the ball. It wasn’t like that on the previous Sunday, when the other Kerry team was playing.

Full-on attacking was the green-and-golds’ game, and if it was good in the first half, after the break, Croke Park witnessed football of the superb kind.

But let’s keep that intrusion to the minimum. Dundalk continue to stay in front, and if, as is probable, the game will be over before this writing is finished, we’ll bring you the final result, not that it won’t be known by the time you’re reading this.

Every time Padraig Harrington gets a result, as he did a fortnight ago in the US Seniors, I think of the early part of his career, to when he won the Dundalk Scratch Cup as a teenager, just edging out Daniel Coyle, and RTE radio reporter, Gordon – I think that was his Christian name – Richardson’s attempts to pronounce his name.

Gordon, an Englishman, would bring news each evening on how the then-rookie professional PH was faring in a tournament. He’d have no problem with Harrington, but Pádraig was a bit of a problem. ‘Pad-rig’ he used to say. In due course he got it right.

So, too, have all others commentating on the game since. And goodness knows, they have had plenty to say. The latest of Harrington’s win was his second in the Seniors. Prior to becoming eligible for the over-50s, he won three Grand Slam titles, two British Opens and one in America.

He was at Dundalk dogs one night along with the another British Open winner, the greatest golfer to come out of Offaly, Shane Lowry.

Interestingly, both are sons of All-Ireland footballers. But whereas Lowry’s father, Brendan, was a winner on the big day, Harrington’s, Paddy, twice trooped off Croke Park with beaten Cork colleagues.

Not that I would begrudge him a win, but I was glad Tommy Fleetwood didn’t win the recent Travelers Championship a few weeks ago.

The reason’s this: I’ve been following the Englishman over a cliff in my joust with the bookies ever since he finished runner-up to Lowry at Portrush, but didn’t back him in his recent outing.

I’ll be having a few quid on Tommy in the upcoming British Open return to Portrush, though I won’t be terribly disappointed if he’s again pipped by Lowry.

If Harrington and Lowry were to make a return to Dundalk dogs this Saturday night, they’d see the very best greyhounds in this country, and maybe the one closest to it, in action.

The latest renewal of the Dundalk International, first run in 1968, is on the card, and, as always, it promises to be quite a contest.

The field has yet to be finalised, but several candidates for a place in the line-up have been up for trials, one of them, Callaway Kengare, recording a time inside the 525 track record.

Greyhound racing is only one of the attractions on the day. The horses go to post in the afternoon, competing in an eight-race card.

That’s out on the track – off it, ladies, in all their finery, will be competing to see which of them is the best-dressed. No betting on this contest, just a lot of interest.

Hark, John Murphy is telling me, and other listeners, that Dundalk have won 4-0. Good for the scoring average, John says, but will it all come down to that? Signs are it might not.

Trailblazers from the word go, Ciaran Kilduff’s side had given themselves the perfect boost a week earlier, beating their closest rivals, Cobh Ramblers, at Oriel.

A one-time big lead had been reduced to a single point the previous week. But the defeat of the Ramblers’ stretched it to four. New signings and confidence continuing to be boosted bode well.

And Kerry? Are they about the go the same road as other teams that have failed to prosper in GAA strongholds, the likes of Kilkenny, Thurles, and, okay, Monaghan?