Seán Morangets the reaction of both managers after Saturday night's NFL opener between All-Ireland champions Tyrone and Dublin

THROUGHOUT ITS history the GAA has been no stranger to the accusation that it is out of step with modern Ireland and on Saturday night the charge could have been levelled once more.

In a country bedevilled with fear and uncertainty about its future, the association launched its 125th anniversary in an optimistic blaze of dazzle and celebration.

The occasion of the season’s first Allianz NFL fixture, between Dublin and Tyrone, was the peg on which a lavish son et lumiere was hung as fireworks and dancing light erupted into the cold night air to the crashing accompaniment of a poppy, musical selection – from Thin Lizzy to the Cranberries by way of U2 – not usually associated with GAA-promoted events.

There was even an affecting passage from John F Kennedy’s speech to the Oireachtas on his State visit in 1963, just months before his assassination and the show culminated in dancing beams of light merging to form the green, white and orange of the Tricolour.

Despite the reservations about the cost of the event, which it hadn’t been widely appreciated was to be funded by an extra fiver on Saturday’s tickets, reactions to the light show were hugely positive from the Croke Park staff, including a beaming stadium director Peter McKenna to the vast majority of the 79,161 crowd who remained to watch the display as well as the watching television audience.

Earlier the teams had got in on the act taking the field and walking the pre-match parade in 19th-century playing gear before stripping down to more practical attire.

The players stayed on message once the match started and despite no great expectations of an epic, managed to produce a thrilling contest thanks to a much improved second-half performance from Dublin, playing their first match under new manager Pat Gilroy – a major task against a Tyrone side that destroyed them only last August.

Dublin are at a much different stage of the development cycle than the All-Ireland champions. Gilroy’s first team featured a rookie full-back line, a new centre back in Ger Brennan and a debutant set of half forwards. The defensive system appeared to commit the backs to marking space rather than individuals and at times Tyrone exploited the inevitable confusion. But despite an uneasy opening 35 minutes the match climaxed in a touch-and-go second half, won in the end by a typical injury-time scoring burst from the champions, for whom Stephen O’Neill – perhaps with a stronger sense of mission than is usual in January after sitting out nearly all of the county’s championship run in 2008 – looked like the footballer of the year that he was four seasons ago.

“Stephen O’Neill was sublime all night and we had a few trump cards and they did the business when required,” was the reaction of Tyrone manager Mickey Harte.

“It’s a real bonus to have him, not just for Tyrone but look what the public would have missed if we didn’t have a player of that quality on display.

“I think he’s in the top bracket of Gaelic players who ever played this game and obviously we’re delighted to have him.

“If you can get enough ball into Stephen O’Neill you’re likely to get quite a lot of scores and when you do you win more games that you lose and that’s a real bonus.”

Whereas Dublin didn’t have anyone of that advanced quality they will have been pleased with some of the younger players’ performances in a challenging fixture as well as the continuing application and form of veterans Ciarán Whelan, aside from an embarrassing tick for taking a dive, and Jason Sherlock, whose teenage image waltzing in for goal in the 1995 All-Ireland semi-final was screened as part of a commemorative montage before the fireworks.

“We’re pleased with the whole thing,” said Gilroy afterwards, reflecting on the fact that his team hadn’t yet played this year, as their pre-season training had ruled out involvement in the O’Byrne Cup. “We’ve only had the guys for three weeks and they were trying out different things and I think they worked very hard right throughout the match.”

The Dublin manager also paid tribute to the quality of his opponents. “They are a very good team and they kicked some incredible scores and that’s what you’re up against. They are the All-Ireland champions and that’s the bar.

“Their percentage scores were incredible. They got eight out of nine in the second half and we got 10 out of 22. That tells a tale for us. Eight out of nine is incredible, but that’s why they are All-Ireland champions.”

He was pleased with the newcomers to his team. “I think they all acquitted themselves very, very well. You’re going in there against some top-class forwards and I think they got to grips with it in the end.”