Overt aggression has been one of the darker aspects of Gaelic games, writes Keith Duggan.
The James McCartan verdict has its origins, not in the amphi- theatres of the Ulster football championship or some other high-intensity encounter, but from a hastily-arranged weekend challenge game.
A court case and a judicial decision, which ought to have deep implications for the culture and attitude towards violence within the association, emanated from a game that did not matter.
As an All-Ireland medal- winning player and a scion of one of Ulster's most distinguished GAA families, McCartan had done it all. That the autumn of his career should reach a definitive note in the sombre confines of a legal chamber is a grave indictment of the state of play on Ireland's Gaelic fields.
Yesterday's decision brings some sort of closure to a protracted and undoubtedly distressing period of hearings and evidence for the young Westmeath footballer Kenny Larkin, on whom McCartan was found guilty of assault. The Down footballer must now wait until November 22nd to learn his punishment.
Over the decades, overt aggression and deliberate attacks, provoked or otherwise, have been one of the darker aspects of Gaelic games and rather than being firmly dealt with, they are breezily explained away in terms of hollow- sounding machismo.
Hence the sight of Tomás Ó Sé, an All-Ireland medal- winner in September, having his jaw broken on a local pitch in Kerry just weeks later. Hence the sight of minor kids going at it 'hammer and thongs' alongside their adult mentors during an eruption of violence at an All-Ireland quarter-final game which shocked those in the crowd who were not participants.
Hence the mass brawl that erupted during the opening minutes of the 1996 All-Ireland final replay and the infamous tunnel incident during half-time of the 1983 All-Ireland football final. Hence the news of Henry Shefflin, the celebrated Kilkenny hurler, leaving a summer championship match by ambulance after receiving a blow that came within millimetres of costing him an eye.
Players get hurt in Gaelic games: their physical nature makes that inevitable. Up to now, though, there has been a virtual code of silence, a twisted honour or perhaps a fear which has meant a prevailing silence among both victims and aggressors in the acts of raw violence which besmirch the character of Gaelic games every so often.
That is why the McCartan verdict is such a wake-up call. It is not uncommon to hear of Gaelic stars in the dock, particularly in recent years, but these occasions invariably arise from civil disturbances.
The phenomenon of young single men dominating the elite level of Gaelic games has led to an increase in late-night disturb- ances featuring names who light up the sporting summer. McCartan, though, was the subject of a criminal investigation initiated after a report of assault was made to gardaí.
The legal investigation was carried on at the same time as the GAA's Games Administration Committee's investigation. As the association's investigation got mired in mislaid reports and ongoing hearings, the legal side pressed on.
Garda representatives presented themselves at Croke Park to interview the Down player the same evening as he was scheduled to appear there before the GAC. McCartan declined and the GAA was annoyed that the legal proceedings spilled into its realm.
The incident seemed to high- light the fact that the simpler days of association solutions to association problems had passed.
Like the various boards in rugby union, the GAA has a tradition of dealing with transgressions, physical and otherwise, through its own system of review and committee.
However, there has been a growing trend to seek justice through the legal system. Teams have sought High Court injunctions over the result of football games, individuals protest their legal status through the courts and, last summer, GAC suspensions were appealed through the court of law.
That an on-field act of violence should end up in a full-blown legal trial was a natural progression. This was not the first hearing of its kind, but it is the most high- profile. It involved James McCartan, but there are many other GAA athletes who know that it could have been them.
Although rugby union has a long history of violent incidents, they are generally dealt with in-house. British soccer, however, pays regular visits to the courts. The Scottish international Duncan Ferguson was sentenced to three months imprisonment for head-butting an opponent in 1994. The same period saw legal proceedings involving Paul Elliot from Chelsea, whose career ended after a tackle on Liverpool player Dean Saunders in 1995. In 1997, Gordon Watson was awarded damages after it was found that his career had been ended by a deliberately dangerous tackle in a game between Huddersfield and Bradford City.
More recently, the admission by Irish international Roy Keane that he had deliberately targeted Manchester City player Alf Inge Haaland led to calls that the Manchester United captain should be indicted.
Haaland was injured in that game, but admitted that Keane's challenge was not the cause of his career prematurely ending.
However, the reaction to what Keane had written touched a nerve. Some commentators lauded him for his honesty and argued, with some justification, that at the heart of all physical sports lies the impulse of revenge. Others believed that his mindset as he approached Haaland was tantamount to premeditated assault and, as such, ought to be dealt with by the courts.
The McCartan hearing offered a discrepancy over how Larkin received his injuries: it was heard that the Down man turned and deliberately punched the Westmeath man. McCartan maintained he was struggling to break free of his marker's over- zealous attentions when contact occurred. Both scenarios are common in Gaelic games, particularly in football.
The incident throws a spotlight on the degree to which interpretation governs the rules of Gaelic football. "Pulling and dragging" is regarded as its most negative aspect, but it also seems all but impossible to prevent, yet it occurs Sunday after Sunday, leading to frustration, aggression and reaction.
No altercation should end with the injuries sustained by Kenny Larkin. For a young player on the up to mark a football player of James McCartan's stature should have been a great opportunity. Established stars often sit it out for challenge games.
It is probably a source of regret to both of them that that was not the case last May.