Diarmuid O'Flynn
IT started as just an informal poll, an effort to see what players (current and former) thought of the new GAA practice of hurling under lights, but it became a bit of an avalanche. Long after the deadline for Tuesday’s edition of the Irish Examiner had passed, replies were still coming in from players from all over the country.
Whether it was in favour on light-time hurling, or against, one thing was very obvious – it was an issue on which most players had an opinion, a strong opinion in many cases. Herewith, anyway, the full poll results.
Those in Favour:
Lar Corbett (Tipperary forward), current hurler-of-the-year): I don’t mind them.
Alan McCrabbe (Dublin forward): I have no problem with it.
Ger Farragher (Galway forward): I'd be for it.
TJ Reid (Kilkenny forward): They’re grand, it doesn’t bother me.
Brian Carroll (Offaly forward)): I've no problem with it, if it meant you could play with your club on a Sunday it’d be great. That leads into another debate though of too much training and not enough matches for lads.
Johnny Pilkington (former Offaly midfield star): I love matches under lights, always a good atmosphere at them.
Liam Dunne (former Wexford defender): I don’t see any problem at all with it.
Anthony Daly (former Clare All-Ireland winning captain, current Dublin manager): I think the positives outweigh the negatives.
Brian Cody (former All-Ireland winning captain of Kilkenny, current manager): I'm happy enough with it.
Michael Jacob (Wexford midfielder): I always enjoyed hurling under lights. I don’t have a problem with vision, and I wear contact lenses when I play.
Rory Jacob (Michael’s brother, Wexford forward): I have no problem with it. I think if it were promoted in a correct way it would be a success and there could be a great atmosphere. GAA should possibly look at playing two hurling games on one night in Croke Park or Thurles and give it the same promotion as they give Dublin and the International Rules series!
Brian Geary (Limerick defender): Difficult to spot the ball at times, but all in all I enjoy it.
David ‘Dotsie’ O'Callaghan (Dublin forward)): Personally I’ve always liked playing under lights, with club and county. It brings a different and unique sort of atmosphere.
Jamesie O'Connor (former Clare hurler): I'm for it. I think there’s been a big improvement in the quality of lights. I only played under them once, against Cork in Páirc Uí Rinn, and they only came on in the second half. We have them in our club and they’re very good. With the fixture congestion now, I think it’s an option definitely worth pursuing.
Those Against:
John McIntyre (former Tipperary midfielder, current Galway manager): Not for me!
Brian Hogan (Kilkenny defender): I'm not a fan of it.
John Meyler (former Cork forward, current Kerry manager): I'm not a fan; there are blind spots, you can’t see the white ball in the lights on cold evenings. The league games should be played on Sundays as double-headers with games from division 1 with division 2, to add profile to the lower divisions. We had only 200 in Carlow Sunday - tough going!
Tony Óg Regan (Galway defender): It can be difficult for players to judge the flight of the ball but I'm sure this is down to lack of matches under lights.
Stephen Lucey (Limerick dual defensive star): Sure it’s very common now, but you'd much prefer to play in daylight, you find vision easier, don’t lose sight of the ball.
Eddie Keher (former Kilkenny great, hurling legend): I don’t enjoy it, the atmosphere is not the same. I feel players have difficulty with the high ball, a lot of catches missed. Hurling is best played and enjoyed on Sunday afternoons.
John Mullane (Waterford, current All-Star forward): Hate it!
Jerry O'Connor (Cork midfielder, former hurler-of-the-year): It creates a good atmosphere for supporters but I would not be for playing games under lights.
Ben O'Connor (Jerry’s twin, multiple All-Star forward with Cork): It’s fine for training, but I wouldn't fancy them for championship.
Keith Rossiter (Wexford defender): It can be hard to judge the height/flight of the ball, which can sometimes get caught in the lights – there’s a blind spot.I wouldn't fancy hurling an important match under lights!
Eamon O'Donoghue (former Cork forward, multiple All-Ireland winner): I'm not a fan of it.
Kevin Martin (former All-Ireland winner with Offaly, manager of Westmeath); I don’t like it at all. It is ok for football but not good for hurling.
OKAY, BUT WITH RESERVATIONS
Eoin Kelly (All-Ireland winning captain of Tipperary last year): I don’t mind playing under lights but the odd time when you look into the lights for high ball you're blinded for a few seconds afterwards.
Noel McGrath (Tipperary forward, current All-Star): We have to play whenever we’re told, we’ll do what we have to do, whether it’s Saturday night or Sunday afternoon – nothing we can do about it. You want to be playing on Sunday afternoon, that’s the best day, but you have to get on with it, hurl when you're told. The atmosphere is different, maybe it brings a bigger crowd, I don’t know – from a player’s point of view we just want to hurl, and hurl whenever we can.
Brendan Cummins (Tipperary keeper, current All-Star): It’s fine but not really a runner for championship unless it’s being played in Croker.
Paul Curran (Tipperary defender): Doesn’t really bother me, but I don’t think there is the same atmosphere.
Shane Kavanagh (Galway defender): Haven’t had much experience of it but I don’t see the point of it. I don’t think any player would prefer to play under lights instead of on a sunny afternoon.
Eddie Brennan (Kilkenny forward): You'd need a different colour ball – maybe orange – to make it easier to see. I quite enjoyed any match I've seen played under lights; only problem is when the ball goes into the lights when you're looking at it! Probably harder if the weather is bad compared to day-time. The Saturday evening match is a bit of a novelty as well.
Andrew O'Shaughnessy (Limerick forward): It’s grand for challenge games but I wouldn't like it for important matches.
David Collins (Galway defender): Croke Park or Thurles only. The lights need to be of the highest quality as it’s impossible to see the ball with shadows etc. I wouldn't be a major fan of hurling under lights though.
Tom Kenny (Cork midfielder): I’ve no problem playing under lights but they need to be as high as is regulated.
Colm Callanan (Galway keeper): Can be a bit difficult to judge speed of ball at times but in general it’s good for the purpose of challenge games and for easing fixture congestion.
Source: http://feeds.examiner.ie/~r/iesportsblog/~3/pZe1wWQ1MI0/post.aspx
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