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29th Jul 2023

Joe Brolly takes fresh swipe at Sunday Game panel ahead of All-Ireland final

Rory Fleming

The outspoken pundit wasn’t pulling any punches here…

Seemingly the GAA’s answer to Roy Keane, Joe Brolly is nothing if not entertaining when there is a microphone in front of him.

Ahead of this weekend’s All-Ireland Final, the Derry legend was joined by former colleagues Pat Spillane and Colm O’Rourke as the trio previewed the biggest game on the football calendar for the Independent.

Appearing on their Breaking Ball podcast with Philly McMahon, Brolly took yet another swipe at RTÉ, the organisation he infamously parted ways with back in 2019.

Given the trio’s association with RTÉ’s ‘The Sunday Game’, Brolly was asked to reflect back on his time working at the state broadcaster.

Joe BrollyBrolly was joined on the podcast by his former RTE colleagues Colm O’Rourke and Pat Spillane. (Credit: Sportsfile).

Joe Brolly takes aim at “Mormon” punditry.

Bemoaning the appointment of Declan McBennett as the head of the broadcaster’s sports coverage, Brolly said;

“Whenever your man (McBennett) came in, his first mission was to separate us and to destroy that conviviality. His first mission was to break that up.

“The way the game’s being discussed now on the Sunday Game, they all dress like Mormons or those non-denominational pastors.

“If you went into the clubhouse in Ballymun and you started talking about football the way it’s talked about at the moment on RTÉ, people would be saying, “Is that fella alright? Is he mentally well?”

Similarly, Kerry’s 8-time All-Ireland winning hero Pat Spillane slated the “generic and bland” coverage afforded to the sport at present.

“Us dinosaurs still have a role to play in Gaelic football and still know a lot about Gaelic football.

“What we get nowadays in all sports analysis is generic and bland.

“It’s a bit like having a f***ing McDonalds, it satisfies a need and an hour later you’re starved.”

So, it appears the lads will not be tuning in to RTÉ Two on Sunday.

Perhaps they might enjoy the BBC coverage of the event after the UK broadcaster agreed to a new five-year deal with the GAA this season.

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