Marc Ó Sé knows the craic.
The youngest scion of a Kerry GAA dynasty, the recently retired corner-back was always in demand by the media – invited to those launches in Croke Park that help to set the news agenda in the run-up to big Championship matches.
They are not always the most rewarding experiences, as Brendan O’Brien of the Irish Examiner brilliantly illustrated this week, but they are a necessary evil for journalists in search of quotes.
You see, when the desire to speak to players is at its peak – during the Championship – many counties implement media bans. Even if they don’t like to admit it, like Tipperary hurling manager Michael Ryan.
Appearing on a special live episode of the GAA Hour in Galway ahead of Sunday’s clash between the Tribesmen and Mayo, Ó Sé agreed with host Colm Parkinson that this GAA culture of omerta is harmful for players.
“To be honest, I think it is a bit of a joke. I think that players are told not to speak to the media and then after a game you are coming out of the dressing room and you are keeping your head down because you don’t want to see any of the journalists. I think the players are missing out,” he said, even if he can understand the logic.
“Some players are well able to speak to the media whereas other fellas are caught and say the wrong thing and the other team will have an edge there, and maybe managers have been caught in the past and don’t want their players talking to the media. It is something, if I was in that position I would let players talk away,” added Ó Sé [from 37 minutes below].
“It is something, if I was in that position I would let players talk away.”
That said, Ó Sé does believe that bans can work – particularly in the run-up to big games – when an interview can have a damaging impact for the player in question.
“Sunday morning, if you are a player and you are marking a fella in an All-Ireland final and there was a two-page spread on him it is great for you to be looking at that,” said the tenacious man-marker. “You would be looking for some little thing.
“When you keep your powder dry you are totally focussed, there is no side issue.”
Also on the panel at An Púcán in Galway City on Thursday night was Conor Mortimer – another veteran of the Croke Park media circuit, which could see a man stood next to Ó Sé in a giant Sam Maguire.
The former Mayo forward admitted that his regular, profitable, appearances at these events became an issue within the squad.
“I think a lot of the issues we had for a lot of the stuff that we were doing there were two or three of us in Mayo who were doing it pretty regularly and obviously got a few quid for it and I think other players at a later stage got a pain in the arse with certain players doing everything.
“I was doing it because I was based in Dublin and the media guys asking me to do it were saving the expenses on bringing someone else up from Mayo. That became an issue for us after a while, in Mayo at least.”
The media – a source of inspiration for opponents and cause of division among squads. No wonder managers are imposing bans…
On the other hand, leaving it up to the individual players would solve a lot these issues too.
