In comments that are sure to go down well with the general Gaelic football-watching public, the Leinster GAA chairman has suggested that the onus is on the province's other counties to catch up to Dublin.
Speaking in the Leinster GAA annual report, chairman Pat Teehan said that he did not want to actively disadvantage the Dublin footballers, despite their recent dominance in the province.
Leinster GAA chairman wants to avoid "Dublin vs The Rest"
The unprecedented dominance of the male Dublin footballers in recent years has understandably raised concerns across Leinster for the future of Gaelic football in the province. Dublin have lost only one provincial game since 2004 and, despite a late scare against Meath in the final, claimed a 16th title in 17 years in 2021.
Concerns have been raised from near and far about Dublin's financial advantages over their competitors, and Leinster GAA chairman Pat Teehan recognised those concerns in his end of year report.
Dublin have advantages in terms of population and in terms of the finance they can raise. Corporate and sponsorship opportunities offer them access to money not available everywhere – that’s a fact of life. Their continued success helps that process.
The main focus of Teehan's comments on Dublin GAA will be of more interest to their competitors, however. Despite acknowledging the wealth of resources at the Dubs' disposal, Teehan suggested that any criticism of those advantages is rooted in a desire to "prevent" them from achieving success.
In the wake of the Metropolitan’s historic success it is unfortunate that some people have decided to target Dublin in a negative manner, with suggestions being put forward, in some quarters, for collective collaboration to prevent a team from being successful.
The people calling for their dismantling have short memories. It is not so long ago since Gaelic Games was the third most popular sport in the capital. That has been turned around by proper structures being put in place at club and county level and by a lot of hard work.
Do we really want to see that effort decline or even see it reversed? Surely that would be counterproductive for our Association?
What was your favourite score of the Gaelic football year?
Kevin McLoughlin's point for Mayo in the 63rd minute of the All-Ireland semi-final against Dublin, after Diarmuid O'Connor stretched to keep the ball alive, is definitely up there.pic.twitter.com/A51mhDB3kg— Balls.ie (@ballsdotie) December 22, 2021
Dublin suffered a knock to their dominance in 2021. Despite claiming another Leinster title, their march to a seventh consecutive All-Ireland title was halted by Mayo at the semi-final stage. With the departures of Stephen Cluxton and Jack McCaffrey, coupled with some pre-season controversy, chinks are beginning to appear in the Dubs' armour.
Nonetheless, they are a fearsome and dominant prospect for the other counties in Leinster, and Teehan's comments are sure to provoke plenty of fans from around the province.
In his closing remarks on the matter, Teehan urged fans not to take a combative stance on Dublin's excellence, rather praising the Dublin team and urging those other counties in Leinster to raise the bar themselves.
There is nothing to be gained from division or in depicting Dublin as a problem.
Of course we cannot sit back and admire the achievements of Dublin and simply throw in the towel, when it comes to challenging their dominance at senior football level. The bar has been set very high but it is up to all of us to raise our standards, to be the best that we can be, and if that’s good enough to win titles then all the better.
We in Leinster GAA cannot shirk our responsibilities either and we will continue to have a major part to play in helping our counties to develop and grow their potential.
The 2022 season was already set to be a fascinating fork in the road for the Dublin footballers, given their disappointing 2021. Teehan's comments on the state of play for Leinster GAA have only added to the intrigue surrounding Dublin for the year ahead.
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