Darragh Ó Sé is at it again. The Kerry great has, over the duration of his column with The Irish Times, gracefully settled into the armchair of shrewd analysis. And that's all well and good but it's his occasional moments of comic genius that really stand out.
Last year we all took quite a bit of pleasure in his response to Cork's statement on Brian Cuthbert's departure from the role of Cork football boss. This morning, Ó Sé is back sticking the boot into the Cork footballers after their shock loss to Tipperary in the Munster semi-final on Sunday. And his analogy is bound to cause a stir in the Rebel County.
Do these defeats even leave a sting anymore? If the dog who turns up to the butcher’s door looking for scraps keeps getting a boot in the arse from the butcher, he’ll eventually just stay over on the far side of the street.
Cork look to me like a crowd that are far too comfortable on the other side of the street. If there’s no threat of winning anything, there’s no expectation. It’s as if they nearly don’t need the hassle of being in the position where they might feel the butcher’s boot.
Ó Sé has more than a bit of the 'cute hoor' about him and is probably relishing the response to his comments from the Cork faithful. He may no longer be able to defeat Cork as a player, but winding them up as a writer is probably the next best thing.
As usual, Ó Sé provides great insight into what drove him as a player, referring to characters such as Seamus Moynihan and Paidi Ó Sé who would have no hesitation in pointing fingers if sufficient desire wasn't displayed and referencing Dublin goalkeeper Stephen Cluxton as an example of a modern-day leader on the pitch.
For the An Ghaeltacht man, there are no excuses for Cork, who "looked like a gang of lads who had met up for the first time on Sunday morning."
It will be interesting to see how Cork respond, not just Ó Sé's column, but to the simple fact that for most of the GAA focused population, the border with irrelevance is fast approaching and Cork show no signs of putting on the breaks.
