Armagh legend Joe Kernan calls for axed competitions to be restored to GAA calendar
Joe Kernan is hopeful that next month’s experimental interprovincial games will lead to a revival of the old Railway Cup.
The competition is being staged on a one-off basis for the first time since 2016 on October 18-19 under the proposed rules drawn up by the Jim Gavin-led Football Development Committee before they are finalised for a vote at Special Congress on November 30.
There will be two semi-finals on the Friday evening with the winners playing in the final the following day, while the two losers will also play-off in the curtain raiser to maximise feedback and data for Gavin’s committee.
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The games will take place at Croke Park and will be shown live by RTE and TG4 though it is believed that there are no plans to present a trophy to the winners for now at least, with all the focus on the rules. The four provincial squads will be drawn from players whose club commitments have finished for the year.
Former Armagh manager Kernan both played on and managed successful Ulster teams and has always been a big supporter of the concept, which was discontinued amid dwindling interest from its heyday decades ago, when tens of thousands would flock to Croke Park for the games. But now he hopes this initiative will breathe new life into it.
He said: “As somebody that was involved in it over the years, I was sorry to see it go. It was one of those competitions that was easy to run and it didn’t take too long out of the GAA calendar whereas now we see we’re going to have a long break until January.
"A lot of the clubs will be sort of finished now come the next few weeks. We’re at the semi-finals here in Armagh, I don’t know what the rest of the country is like so there’s going to be a lot of space to play football in.
“It was always a great competition for players, not just because they’re from weaker counties, but there’s great players in every county and this was the only way we have of seeing them and the International Rules so it would be great if that was coming back. I would certainly go and watch a Railway Cup match tomorrow no matter where it is. Ulster was always great for fielding very strong teams and all the boys wanted to come and enjoyed being part of it.”
Kernan holds the unique distinction of managing his club, county, province and country to ultimate honours and remains the last man to take charge of an Ireland team in the International Rules series back in 2017. The series was due to be played in 2020 but was pulled due to the Covid-19 pandemic and there has been little indication of it being restored since.
With the pre-season competitions cancelled for 2025, it means that there is no top class football from late July to late January and Kernan feels that the likes of International Rules, along with the interprovincials, should be used to bridge that gap.
“Without a doubt, without a doubt, my God, to represent your country as a player or manage your country was one of the greatest honours I ever had. I was never good enough or lucky enough to play it but certainly I enjoyed my spell as manager.
"It was a great honour and everybody who put on a jersey, it was a great honour for them. I remember when we used to hand the jerseys out to the players on the week of the match, the players were delighted to be part of the set up and delighted to get their hands on an Irish jersey.
“Not everybody can have that and, a bit like the Railway Cup, except even on a higher stage, they’re playing against professional players from a different country and it is a true international game so certainly if you’re asking me would I want it back, 100 per cent.
"It would be easy to fit it into the calendar, it doesn’t take up that much time. Four or five weeks of training together, one day a week or on a Saturday, you can get a team together, boys are in good condition now all the time and barring injuries a lot of boys would be very interested to have a go again.”
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