Seán Moran looks at the reasons behind Dublin's surprisingly poor record at under-21 level
Dublin's poor record at under-21 level is completely at variance with the county's place at the top of Leinster's roll of honour in all other grades. The relationship between the county and under-21 has been a peculiar one with Dublin pulling out of the championship altogether in the mid-1980s.
Galway are in a similar position having won only one All-Ireland at this level, so one way or another there will be unusual winners this weekend in Portlaoise. Both sides are managed by the counties' senior managers, John O'Mahony and Tommy Lyons.
It won't be the first time that John O'Mahony's path has crossed with that of the Dublin under-21s. The Galway manager won under-21 championships as both a player and manager with his own county, Mayo, in 1974 and '83. In 1984 he also took the team to the All-Ireland final.
In 1974 he was corner back on the team that beat Antrim in the final. In the semi-final Mayo defeated Dublin with O'Mahony at left corner back and current Dublin selector Dave Billings playing the same position for Dublin.
Ten years later Mayo beat Dublin at the same stage and the Leinster side promptly withdrew from the championship for eight years.
According to Billings, there had been growing discontent in the county about the grade. "It was felt that the under-21 was interfering with local fixtures. When it was eventually agreed to go back at the grade it was on the basis that local fixtures wouldn't be interfered with."
Beneath the surface there was also tension caused by legendary Dublin manager Kevin Heffernan's dislike of the under-21 championship.
"No one really mentioned that," says Billings, "but Heffo was opposed to it. In 1974 when I played on the team against John O'Mahony, Brian Mullins injured his ankle and nearly missed that year's All-Ireland (senior final) because of it. He cracked a bone in his ankle and Heffo wasn't very impressed."
Heffernan's exasperation with the perils of the under-21 championship is echoed to an extent these days by the ever more crowded fixture lists. Central Council voted to run this year's All-Ireland in the autumn to alleviate pressures - both academic and Sigerson-related - on under-21s in the spring.
"For whatever reason," says Paraic Duffy, chairman of the Games Administration Committee and who also chaired the Fixtures Work Group, "the provinces decided to ignore this - with the exception of Connacht - and go ahead with their own championships in the spring."
The effect of this and the preparations necessary for those teams meant that a lot of under-21s found themselves under even more pressure than usual with the demands of a games calendar that at national level presumed there would be no under-21 activity and that at provincial level subjected them to the usual rigours.
"It has been mooted," according to Duffy, "that the grade be abolished along with minor and replaced with an under-19 championship. But I couldn't see that attracting support from the counties."
Meanwhile, it has been confirmed that the Australian squad and officials for the International Rules series will arrive in Dublin Airport next Tuesday evening, October 8th. They will stay in the Berkeley Court Hotel while in Dublin.
On Wednesday, they will play a practice match against the Dublin All Stars selection in Parnell Park at 4.0, after a press briefing. They will have a training session in Croke Park on Friday. The first test game will take place in Croke Park on Sunday, October 13th and the second test a week later.
Tickets for both test games are available on the GAA website www.gaa.ie and from Ticketmaster outlets. Prices are €20 for Stand tickets and €15 for Hill 16. Family tickets are available (two adults and two children) priced at €50. Special group rates for clubs and schools are also available (25 juveniles and two adults) at €50.
