Emmet Moloney writes for the 'The Irish Farmers Journal' and is a former sports columnist with 'The Kerryman'.

With talk of referees and hand-passes dominating, the championship is yet to spark. Thank God for hurling, writes Emmet Moloney...

There were about seven of us in the bar watching Meath and Offaly play out their Leinster championship match last weekend. Three from each county and myself as the neutral. Outside, the Spanish Sunday was lazily unfurling, kids splashing in pools while adults kept a watchful eye. Inside, there was adult-like language every time the ref blew his whistle. While the Royals and the Faithful counties wouldn’t be mortal enemies, the ball hopping was healthy and the craic was good.

There were two Pats in our number – Offaly Pat and Meath Pat. Both knew their football. Before the throw-in, we all had a fond discussion about the 1997 Leinster final – one of the best attacking finals ever played in Croke Park. “And we won it,” Offaly Pat kept reminding Meath Pat. But we couldn’t agree on what the final score was; I voted for Offaly 3-17, Meath 1-15. We hoped we’d have a similar encounter. Again, views differed.

There was, however, one thing we could all agree on: this new interpretation of the hand-pass rule is a disaster. At the start of every championship, the refs usually crack down on something and the weaker counties who are traditionally out first pay the price. They become the ones the GAA experiments on. These guinea pigs have no realistic All-Ireland ambitions anyway so we’ll lay down the law and all those looking on will have a fair idea what to expect. This is how it usually pans out. But this year is different. For a start, the Ulster championship match became the most open fare on view! That can’t be right.
What was right was Pat McEnaney’s attitude. He refereed with his head and not the strict rulebook. We had a much better game for it and everyone was better off. Not so in Portlaoise.

Offaly Pat was not enjoying the match until two first-half goals got his side back into a game they had no right to be in. Meath duly ran out comfortable winners in a decent enough performance. They could trouble the Dubs yet. Not as much as officials like Derek Fahy could, though. Sunday’s Leinster championship ref probably played things to the letter of the law, but Offaly Pat is not a fan. “Himself and his whistle,” was the kindest comment.
“We want only consistency from referees,” is a common complaint of managers in every code. We didn’t get it on Sunday but thank God for that, because Pat McEnaney knows what he is doing. Pat is an experienced championship man and I wonder is that why he decided to let the fisted pass go unchecked? I doubt that these referees’ assessors concern him too much. He knows he’ll get big games. (By the way, a referees’ assessor recently docked a ref two points off his overall score at a match because one of his umpires wore a baseball cap and the other three didn’t! That’s the type of nitpicking we are dealing with.)

This thing has to blow over and quickly. We had Mick O’Dwyer and Jack O’Connor giving out after their teams had comfortably won their championship openers. Despite their wins, they both see this ridiculous attempt to further stymie the hand-pass as hurting their game plan. They’re right.

Gaelic football is a game that must be played fast and furious. The modern game is all about hitting the runner. The hand-pass facilitates that perfectly. Like it or not, the hand-pass is here to stay. Those who talk dismissively about it must have their heads in the sand these past 40-odd years because the hand-pass is integral to the quality of the game. Most of the crucial goals originate from a hand-pass. Going back to catch and kick is not a realistic option unless we cut team sizes to about 11 per side. So let’s get on with – by all means eliminate the open-handed pass, but leave the fisted one and stop blowing the whistle lads. Offaly Pat won’t be able to take another Sunday of that.

This Sunday there will be more in Flanagan’s Bar in the south of Spain because, call me old-fashioned, this is the real start of the championship. Two heavyweights clashing. Hurling in Páirc Uí Chaoimh. We won’t be talking about the whistle on Sunday night, we’ll be talking about Tipp’s All-Ireland prospects. The premier men have been thinking about this championship since Martin Comerford ended 2009 for them. Forget their league form, they had no interest. It’s all about Liam McCarthy and it will be through the front door for them. Some people think there is huge pressure on Kilkenny to win the five in a row. Try living in Tipperary. Their fans feel, correctly, that the Cats were let off the hook last September and that doesn’t sit well with them. Tipp have serious points to prove and Cork will be the first of them. Thurles will be rocking. So will the home forwards, who will run up a total the Rebels won’t match. I expect a comfortable enough Tipp win.

Of course, there could be a little hand-pass controversy here, too, because Cork do tend to throw/pass the ball in a split second. It can be hard to tell the difference. I wonder is Pat McEnaney free?

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