Relishing a novel challenge

GAELIC GAMES: KEITH DUGGANtalks to the Galway footballer who is looking forward to taking on the Australians tonight

‘I SAW him when I got up off the ground,” laughs Finian Hanley, the Galway full back and Irish vice-captain for the latest instalment of the rambunctious history of the International Rules. Hanley was reminiscing about his jolting introduction to the sport two years ago, when Australia’s Campbell Brown ran a sweet angle into him as he was chasing down the ball and by no means thinking about the possibility of a 190lb opponent blindsiding him with a full-speed body check.

Campbell halted his progress by shouldering the Irishman square in the chest. The action sequence has generated 60,000 views on You Tube and more or less distils the cultural and psychological differences between the Irish and Australian interpretation of the hybrid sport.

Brown’s hit occurred in the fourth quarter, with Ireland leading 45-38. In the previous quarter, Daniel Motlop had also hammered into Hanley with a late tackle. Together, the hits suggest that the Australians had become aware of Hanley’s influence and sought to do something about it.

Brown’s intervention was effective. He received a yellow card and strides off the field clearly thrilled with himself. But Hanley had to retire. “I had a small problem and I was a doubt for the second Test,” he recalls, sitting in an armchair in the Meyrick Hotel in Galway’s Eyre Square. The tea-room is hushed; it might be Hanley’s last bit of peace for quite some time. He intended to leave straight for the Irish training camp in Limerick as soon as he finished work with Ulster Bank that evening.

“I was a bit sore and had a few breathing issues. But look, it was fine. He was yellow-carded and that was it.”

In the film of the tackle, you can see Hanley as he takes a seat on the bench, winded but grinning as a few Australian fans heckle him. “There was a bit of abuse, yeah. It was nothing too hectic. You get that. The atmosphere for that game was fantastic.”

Afterwards, he met Campbell, who sought to put their collision in some sort of context.

“That’s just the way we do things over here, mate,” he explained. “Fine,” Hanley said. “I better remember to bring the gum shield.” And they left it at that.

Since August, Hanley has spent his Friday evenings driving to Dublin training for the forthcoming Series. He mournfully points out that Galway’s early exit from the All-Ireland championship made this less of a trial. Irish manager Anthony Tohill invited almost 60 players to his preliminary session and Hanley was struck by the collective eagerness to make the cut.

He acknowledges that the International Rules has had its critics throughout its 26-year history. But he insists the enthusiasm among the Irish players could not be higher.

“I suppose I am thinking about players like Seán Cavanagh. He has won All-Irelands and was footballer of the year – done everything really. But he loves playing it and the whole thing of players coming together. So when you see that he wants to come back the week after an All-Ireland, it says something.

“The same with this year’s All-Ireland finalists, with Graham Canty and Marty Clarke. Those who were let go were awfully disappointed. I enjoy the game. It is a small bit different to Gaelic football. You know, burn out is partly down to repetition so playing a game that is slightly tweaked gives you a different aspect. There is more fielding and kick passing than in Gaelic because the hand pass is limited. You have to kick pass the ball after four hand passes. So there is variety there and I enjoy it. And it is a big honour as well.”

Ticket sales for tonight’s game in Limerick suggest that public appetite for the Series remains high. The attraction of the compromise game has always existed in the grey area between high-octane athleticism and out-an-out violence. The sport is by nature an experiment; a marrying of two distinct games and cultures and part of the thrill and interest lies in observing how both sides adapt. Frequently, they have adapted by squaring up to one another.

After particularly explicit outbreaks of violence, both parent organisations are inevitably quick to condemn the incidents and offer severe warnings about the future of the series. But if a game is completed without incident, it can look like an exhibition of catching-and-kicking and can be labelled boring. The unspoken truth is that many fans walk through the turnstile privately hoping for a bit of a row.

“It is a hard one to get right,” Hanley says. “That has been there since the 1980s. You never know which way it is going to blow. The last one was said to have been the platform for the future of the series. So is this one. But the GAA say they like the Series and the relationship with Australia. The players involved this year are well behind it.”

Even the most enthusiastic advocate of the Series would concede it has not been the most chivalric of sports rivalries. There has always been an edge between the competing teams. The international dimension brings an inevitable surge in patriotism to the games and is a novel sensation for players from both countries. Despite the principle of compromise rules, the traditional Australian belief is they are making the most significant concession in playing with the round ball.

That the Australians are professional and the Irish amateur adds yet another edge to the relationship. Hanley remembers an official dinner prior to the first Test two years ago.

“I suppose they do have this attitude of you know, we are from a small country playing away at our game where they are operating on a bigger scale and playing a game where the hits are bigger. I suppose some of them probably don’t respect us at all. They would be more into there own scene. But I do think they are very keen on winning this and from what I gather, they have put a lot of work into it.

“The fact that we are amateurs is constantly brought up so they aren’t ever allowed to forget about it. They are very proud sportsmen. It is sometimes said that they don’t always bring the best Australian Rules players; that they are off on holidays or whatever. But I think they have been picking players suited to International Rules recently, very fast mobile guys. And the players they do bring want to win this thing.”

Hanley admits the physical superiority of the Australians is one of the key differences between the sides. Nothing highlights the fact that Gaelic football falls short of professionalism quite like the difference in physique between the teams. The Irish are inevitably lighter.

“Yeah, if you happen to be in possession and you are caught, you will know about it. They are bigger blokes. That said, when you train with our lads here, you know about it too. The likes of Eamon Fennell and Michael Murphy are big lads. But these Australian lads are all there and if you get caught in the tackle you are in big trouble. You have to move the ball fast and be aware of what is around you. But we are both relatively fit teams and we will be going for it.”

Tonight’s game offers Hanley a bit of noise and diversion after what has been a disappointing summer on the home front. His club, Salthill-Knocknacarra were narrowly beaten in the county championship by eventual winners Killererin. Galway endured yet another unfulfilled summer, exiting the Connacht championship after a thriller against Sligo in Markievicz Park and then losing in the qualifiers home to Wexford.

Hanley came into one of the squad having won an All-Ireland under-21 medal on a team of high promise. Their breakthrough allied to the diamond calibre experience of Galway’s senior men augured well. But after the Connacht championship win of 2005, Hanley’s summers in maroon have been defined by games escaping from Galway fingertips.

“There is a mental block when it comes to allowing teams to stay in games and we are not able to push on when we create that opportunity. I can’t put a finger on it. Those games we lost were more or less down to the players. When the chips were down – or up – we didn’t push on.

“We have had three managers. They all prepared differently and we felt well-organised in many games so we can’t say that it was down to management. Not at all.”

It is the most frustrating feeling. Joe Kernan’s term in charge was dogged by ill-fortune. The season almost hinged on Michael Meehan’s long-term injury caused by scoring a league goal against Kerry. The league had opened with a nightmarish visit to Castlebar when they were trounced by Mayo. By the Kerry match, Galway were settling into more recognisable form but their championship pedigree was also wildly uneven, beginning with a hair-raising match against New York in Gaelic Park.

“We almost got clipped that day,” Hanley says. He warns that other teams face equally tough encounters in the years ahead.

“Gaelic Park is a very unique place. Nothing can really prepare you for it. The heat that day was incredible and they have put in a serious effort. And they are only going to get better.”

New York’s days of fielding skeleton teams are over. Hanley is 25 now, one of a generation of Irish people who grew up anticipating that the transition into working life would be smooth and lucrative only to find the opposite is true. He has already heard of GAA players forced to leave because of lack of work and feels that it is going to become a big issue in the coming seasons.

“The GPA are trying hard and I know that counties do everything to keep players. But it isn’t easy because quite a number of players have a trade that is building- related and the jobs aren’t there. So it is a tough time.”

Some will go to Australia. It struck Hanley two years ago that the International Rules may be of most significance to those Irish in the crowd, living and working at the other side of the world and delighted to see the players from their own counties out there on the field. In two years’ time, the crowds may have swollen with new Irish faces. But as ever, it all depends on the next match and the next series. Limerick braces itself. Hanley can’t wait. The anthems, the full-house and the sheer aggression of the Australians make for a different adrenaline rush.

“Yeah, the adrenaline is going because you don’t want to get killed in the first five minutes,” he says cheerfully. “You want to be able to take it.”