A few weeks ago myself and Mike Finnerty — the GAA commentator for Setanta Ireland and TV3 for the coming championship — were staying over in Omagh after the Tyrone v Derry game. We were having a few beers and were chilling the beans after the long road, the game and the commentary in the Silverbirch hotel, just off Gortin Road, down from Healy Park. We had itchy feet and wanted to head into town to check out the local hostelries, have a bit of a laugh with the locals, and enjoy the night. However we were a tad reticent due to being in unfamiliar surroundings and not knowing the lay of the land.
There was also a distinct sense of security and safety looking at the two burly bouncers at the bar entrance.
At least if we stayed put, we knew the only danger and risk to our health that we faced would be a sleep-walking west of Ireland man in the middle of the night who might be feeling a tad amorous. Not a pretty sight admittedly, but not life threatening. We asked the lady behind the bar what she thought about us going into town. Her reply quelled our adventurous nature.
“Well up town is mostly Protestant and down town is mostly Catholic. And you have a bit of a mix in the middle. I’d stay down town.” The problem we faced is we didn’t know which part of town was up. Or down. So the Mayo man and the Galway man decided to stay put, and analyse our respective county’s chances of glory for the summer ahead.
That evening, and the choice we made, came back to me early this week after hearing of the very tragic death of Conor McCusker — brother of Derry vice-captain Niall McCusker — who lost his fight for life in hospital this week after being attacked outside a nightclub in Cookstown, Co Tyrone, in the early hours of last Sunday morning.
The 31-year-old had suffered serious head injuries after a row broke out, and was taken to the intensive care unit at the Royal Victoria Hospital in Belfast. A minute’s silence will be held in his memory in Croke Park on Sunday ahead of the Derry v Kerry league final.
All too often now we hear of and perhaps see some brutal violence on the streets of many towns in Ireland, both North and South. Talk to any garda or people who work in A & E and they will tell you that they are stretched to breaking point most weekends due to antisocial behaviour. There is an edge now to many people, some of it alcohol and drug induced, that seems capable of exploding at any time and with little provocation.
Many older people and even middle aged are now quite fearful of heading into major towns and cities on weekend nights. They are afraid of being sucked into something that they do not want to be part of. They would like to go out for a few drinks, a bit of a skate for old times’ sake, they might even have a curry chip after the disco, but they are frightened to do so.
After all, too often it is innocent parties who take most of the pain. If such violence is taking place in our cities and towns, it is only logical and understandable that we would see an extension of that type of behaviour in our schools and on our sports fields. The GAA or any other sporting organisation does not operate in isolation and what happens in the community will be mirrored on the field of play.
That’s why when you hear of a massive brawl at a game up in Meath, Galway, or anywhere else for that matter, we should not feign surprise. We should not bother with the falseness of pretending we are shocked and horrified as if it could never happen on our patch. It can and it does. Maybe some of the readers of this column are too young to remember the iconic cop series of the early eighties called Hill Street Blues.
I remember as a young lad staying up late on a Thursday night to catch the programme. Bilko and company are still characters that I can remember with ease. Before they went out on the job, the duty sergeant would brief them and he always finished with the line, “Let’s be careful out there”. And he is right. If a young man could have his life tragically cut short in a fight in Cookstown last Saturday night, it could happen to any of us this Saturday night.
