PROGRAMME PLUS VOL. 2, NUMBER 4, MAY 20 th, 2017

Transcription

1 PROGRAMME PLUS VOL. 2, NUMBER 4, MAY 20 th, 2017 Hello readers, and welcome to the 16 th edition in total of Programme Plus, and the fourth of this calendar year. It arrives on a day when many of us were looking forward to meeting up at the first-ever fair to be held in Turloughmore, Co. Galway. Unfortunately though, chief organiser Liam Rabbitte was left with no option but to postpone it for the second time, due on this occasion to the death of former club President Jimmy Rabbitte (no relation) whose funeral is taking place over the weekend. I m sure Liam will be endeavouring to come up with an alternative date, and any information I receive will be passed on to fellow collectors in due course. PROGRAMME OF THE MONTH: This category covers two months (March and April) this time around, but I still didn t have to look very far to come up with a worthy candidate. The clear winner was the 92-page plus cover A4 magazine-type masterpiece issued for the MacRory and MacLarnon Cup finals held in Armagh on St. Patrick s Day. The Ulster schools showpiece occasion has been adorned with a superb programme for many years now, and this time it was no exception. It s colourful, factual, thorough and informative, with a pleasing mix of historical pieces plus all the details you could possibly wish for on the current campaigns and the players involved. It s a credit to producer Rafael Gatt, and to S Design (Seán McCrystal) for its bright and breezy design. Top marks to all concerned, although the Magherafelt contingent must have experienced what it feels like to turn from a feast to a famine when they journeyed to Inniskeen for the All-Ireland semifinal against St. Peter s (Wexford) five days later to discover there was no programme, not even a teamsheet. I first commented on that sad state of affairs last month, and I ve been informed since that there was something available at the other semi-final between St. Brendan s and St. Colman s, although I haven t seen it. No All-Ireland semi-final at any level should be played without a programme, but full credit again to the Ulster Schools Council for showing how it ought to be done. TWO MONTHS IN PROGRAMMES (MARCH AND APRIL): I have two months of programmes to review, so I won t go into as much detail as usual on each individual publication. Instead I will look at the material I received under competition-related sub-headings, so here goes: ALLIANZ HURLING LEAGUE Tipperary v. Clare (Division 1A, Thurles, March 5 th, with Tipperary v. Longford in the Allianz FL Division 3 as the intended curtain-raiser - match postponed): This was 3 for 32 pages, with the actual details of who was playing listed on page 4 as opposed to the cover which merely gave the competition information below a couple of Tipperary cut-outs. Good friend of the bulletin Seamus O Doherty contributes his usual share of readable material, including odds and ends, the league history between the hurling counties, and their past meetings in 2008 and Programme Plus is also advertised under his three pages praising G.A.A. volunteers, while football is catered for in a two-page spread by Jackie Cahill.

2 Kilkenny v. Cork (Division 1A, Nowlan Park, March 5 th ): This was 3 for 24 pages, and it s good to note that Kilkenny always include a caption outlining the players in action on the cover on the first inside right page (Cillian Buckley and Seamus Harnedy in this instance). Jim Fogarty profiles the late John Horgan, while another collecting enthusiast, Dermot Kavanagh, looks back at the career of Christy Heffernan. Wexford v. Kerry (Division 1B, Innovate Wexford Park, March 5 th ): After criticising my own County Board for the complete absence of colour in any of their February programmes, let me state that the matter was rectified in this offering. It was 16 pages for (I think) 2, as again the price wasn t listed. The county hurling championship draws filled two and a half pages, while there was a page on the 1891 All-Ireland final between the counties, won by Kerry on a 2-3 to 1-5 scoreline. There s a profile of Kerry s Darren Dineen plus some regurgitated material on joint captains Matthew O Hanlon and Lee Chin, as well as a half-page with photograph on new Kerry manager Fintan O Connor. Galway v. Laois (Division 1B, Pearse Stadium, March 5 th ): Regular readers will know I m a big fan of Joe Keane s programme output in Galway: colourful, easy on the eye, newsy and full of reading. Naturally enough, this 28-pager for 3 ticks all of those boxes. There s a look back at three recent meetings, and the results of their last ten league clashes stretching back to Johnny Coen is profiled over two pages, and the historical content focuses on a spread of photographs commemorating Kiltormer s All-Ireland Club triumph of 1992, plus pictorial look backs to the All- Ireland wins at Minor (1992) and Senior (1987) levels. There s two pages re-produced from the Irish Independent also on how a 30-year-old ordinary club hurler (Cyril Farrell) ended Galway s famine. Mayo v Down (Division 2B, Castlebar, March 5 th ): A freebie of four black-and-white pages, with cover, line-outs and Allianz ad, and it was the same when Mayo hosted Meath in Ballina seven days later. Tipperary v. Kilkenny (Division 1A, Thurles, March 11 th, with Tipperary v. Longford in the Allianz FL Division 3 as the curtain-raiser): The undoubted highlight of this 36-pager for 3 was Seamus O Doherty s three pages on programme collecting titled Cherished Memories. It was illustrated with seven programme covers: Limerick v. Clare from 1955, Tipperary v. Cork from 1969, Tipperary v. Clare from 1971, an undated Tipperary v. Waterford, plus three modern programmes. The late Michael Maher is remembered over a two-page spread written by Noel Dundon, while Seamus also contributes a page on the Tipperary and Kilkenny tradition of honouring teams of the past on county final day, suitably illustrated with items of interest to collectors. Another good friend of the bulletin, Jim Fogarty, is responsible for Seamus Callanan s statistical championship record which shows he has chalked up from his 38 appearances to date. That s the type of material I really love to see in a programme. Seamus O Doherty used a colour photograph from the counties meeting in the league semi-final of 1963 and provided full biographical details of the three men pictured - Denis Heaslip, Kieran Carey and Michael Maher - over three pages. Seamus also lists the ten most recent meetings, and the last treat for collectors is the half-page announcing that all Tipperary yearbooks from 1970 to 1992 are now online, because it includes thumbnails of eight of the covers. Laois v. Limerick (Division 1B, Portlaoise, March 11 th ): 28 pages for 3, but no fewer than 18 are ads/promotional. The only bright note is that Pat Delaney is back on board to provide some historical

3 content, and he looks at past league clashes in 1985 and 1995 as well as listing previous meetings since Waterford v. Cork (Division 1A, Walsh Park, March 12 th ): A black mark here is the lack of a date on the front cover. It states that the game is in round four, so by a process of elimination I deduced March 12 th myself to save the bother of rooting through records. The 20 pages for 3 are light on readable text, although there is a re-production of a look back to their 1967 championship clash at the same venue, written by the late John A. Murphy. Cork radio commentator Finbarr McCarthy describes it as a must win game for his native county, and they duly obliged. Offaly v. Wexford (Division 1B, Tullamore, March 12 th ): Twelve black and white pages for 2, with all of the hard work in terms of providing reading material done by our own Patrick Donegan. He writes with authority on fellow Lusmagh clubman Joachim Kelly who was inducted into the Offaly hurling hall of fame, as well as contributing a page on former Offaly defender Shane McGuckin, a long-time resident of Gorey whose children are now starting to feature on Wexford under-age teams. All previous league meetings between the counties are also listed, and five of the pages contain ads or promotional material. Wicklow v. Down (Division 2B, Arklow, March 12 th ): Just four pages for 2, and the players clubs aren t even listed underneath either of the line-outs. An over-priced, poor effort. Cork v. Tipperary (Division 1A, Páirc Uí Rinn, March 26 th ): 32 pages for 3, but 19 carry mainly ads/promotional details. There s a page tribute to the late former Cork Co. Chairman Tony O Mahony, profiles of Dean Brosnan and Michael Cahill, and two different match previews by Noel Dundon from a Tipperary perspective and Eamonn Murphy from the Cork angle. Clare v. Waterford (Division 1A, Ennis, March 26 th ): Four and a half of the 12 pages for 2 are ads/promotional. There s player profiles of David Fitzgerald and Kevin Moran, with a look back at their meeting in 2014 plus a list of all previous meetings since Wexford v. Laois (Division 1B, Innovate Wexford Park, March 26 th, with Wexford v. Westmeath in the Allianz FL Division 4 as a curtain-raiser): Full colour and with 24 pages, but crests rather than the names of the competing teams listed on that horrible poster-type Step Up cover I alluded to in a previous issue. No fewer than 14 and a half of the pages are ads/promotional, although it s a nice touch to highlight the role played by all G.A.A. mums by wishing them a Happy Mother s Day on page 3. Local newspaper columnist Billy Dodd contributes a page on the footballers, but there s nothing similar on the hurlers. And the biggest cop-out of all is the blank bottom half of page 11 left clear for Autographs - give me strength! Laois v. Kerry (Division 1B relegation play-off, Portlaoise, April 1 st ): DBA s responsibility for all programmes in the competition beyond the group stages didn t extend beyond a four-pager for 1 comprising cover, line-outs and Allianz ad. Meath v. Wicklow (Division 2B final, Parnell Park, April 1 st ): An eight-pager for 2 from DBA featuring a two-page spread on 6 and 7 comprising paths to the final, scorers, referee s profile, final league table, previous finals since 2012, and details of the counties last five meetings since 2007.

4 Limerick v. Cork (quarter-final, Páirc Uí Rinn, April 2 nd, with Cork v. Down in the Allianz FL Division 2 as a curtain-raiser): Seven of the 20 pages in this DBA effort were ads/promotional, and the cover charge was 3. The football game was confined to three pages: the two line-outs plus a page with Division 2 top scorers, top individual scoring feats, and a profile of referee James Molloy. Galway v. Waterford (quarter-final, Pearse Stadium, April 2 nd, with Galway v. Kildare in the Allianz FL Division 2 as a curtain-raiser): Another 20 pages as per above for 3, with the exact same treatment given to the football game. Wexford v. Kilkenny (quarter-final, Nowlan Park, April 2 nd ): No fewer than eleven of the 20 pages for 3 contained ads/promotional information, including a spread on the Kilkenny development squads. Details on the past meetings between the counties are only included from 2000 to 2016, and the generic piece by a journalist that was used in all quarter-final programmes is by Enda McEvoy of the Irish Examiner, titled Every Match Matters. The quarter-final covers featured player cut-outs with a very strong white background. Galway v. Limerick (semi-final, Limerick, April 16 th ): 32 pages for 3, with pieces from journalists Denis Walsh, Damian Lawlor and Christy O Connor, profiles of David Burke and Ronan Lynch, the full list of both counties previous semi-finals, the complete list of semi-finals since 1986, paths, scorers, a look back at their last meeting at this stage in 1979, and all previous meetings since Tipperary v. Wexford (semi-final, Kilkenny, April 16 th ): The exact same template as above, and practically all of the same generic material with the exception of player profiles on Conor McDonald and John McGrath. The full list of both counties previous semi-finals isn t included though, probably because this one had more ads to fit in than the Limerick equivalent. ALLIANZ FOOTBALL LEAGUE Dublin v. Mayo (Division 1, Croke Park, March 4 th, with Dublin v. Waterford in the Allianz HL Division 1A as a curtain-raiser): The standard issue 48-pager costing 3 for a Croker double bill, with a slightly odd cover mix of photographs in that two hurlers are pictured above the two football managers. It s not a big gripe, but I think four players would have worked better. Dublin use the press releases issued to the media by Allianz in full, and therefore the text covers the full league programme on any given weekend rather than just the games in question. The player profiles feature Chris Crummey, Ryan O Dwyer, Paddy Andrews, Stephen Coen and Ian O Regan. There s a page on the launch of an exhibition in the Little Museum of Dublin titled Heffo s Army - The Rise of Dublin GAA. It rather unhelpfully doesn t list the address, but it s running until May 28 th if you re interested in tracking it down. Roscommon v. Kerry (Division 1, Dr. Hyde Park, March 5 th ): It was interesting to see Roscommon changing from the A5 to B5 format for this 32-pager priced at 3, possibly as a result of seeing the size used regularly and effectively by Tyrone when they visited there earlier in the campaign. The centrespread contains an article by Darragh Kelly titled Thy Kingdom come, thy will be done?, an ode of sorts to Roscommon s visitors. It pushes the line-out pages from where they should be to pages 12 and 13, while there s player profiles of Thomas Corcoran and Donnchadh Walsh. One odd inclusion in my opinion is the Meet Our Media page which asks Ian Cooney of the Roscommon Herald a series of questions; as a journalist myself of 25 years experience, I can t see any worth in

5 this feature at all, and thankfully I haven t seen it anywhere else until now. In fairness though, there s plenty of decent reading in this, including an interview with Conor Devaney, although the three pages on a past championship meeting is spoiled by the absence of the year being listed (the report is a straight lift from a Monday newspaper, referring to yesterday in the intro). There s plenty of reading after the fold too, including a look back to a civic reception when Roscommon hosted Kerry in 1978, two pages on John Horan s election as President, a piece on Maurice Fitzgerald joining the Kerry management team, and something from Liam Cahill of anfearrua.com, a blast from the relatively recent past. Clare v. Cork (Division 2, Ennis, March 5 th ): A 12-pager for 2 with player profiles of John Hayes and Tomás Clancy (Fermoy) plus a look back to their 1994 meeting in Páirc Uí Rinn. The full list of previous meetings also features. Derry v. Down (Division 2, Celtic Park, March 5 th, with Derry v. Wicklow in the Allianz HL Division 3 as a curtain-raiser): Derry s magazine-style A5 programme, titled Oakleafers, is one of my favourites of all, and the style hasn t been altered even though the position of county P.R.O. changed hands a few months ago. Conor Nicholl is the new man in the hot seat, and he edited a 32-pager for 3. His predecessor, Dermot McPeake, contributes another one of his thought-provoking pieces based on the administrative side of the association, while there s a re-production of a wonderful piece Joe Brolly wrote for the Derry Journal on a man named Eddie Kealey. There s three pages by Seamus McRory on former Down great Paddy Doherty, and the only criticism is that the Wicklow hurlers aren t covered in any way apart from their line-out. In terms of general reading material though, the Derry programmes are hard to beat. Wicklow v. Wexford (Division 4, Arklow, March 5 th ): Eight pages for 2, with a full-colour outer four, and black and white innards. Save for the Chairman s address, the only reading material is a look back at their high-scoring clash in Innovate Wexford Park one year earlier (a 4-23 to 3-14 home win). Carlow v. Waterford (Division 4, Netwatch Cullen Park, March 18 th ): You know the drill as far as home league programmes in Carlow are concerned if you ve read John Kelly s entertaining contributions to this bulletin. So, drum roll, wait for it..the free four-pager for this game was on.green paper!! Mayo v Cavan (Division 1, Elverys McHale Park, Castlebar, March 19 th ): Lee Keegan and Seánie Johnston adorn the cover of this 24-pager for 3, and Programme Plus is advertised thanks to another good friend of the bulletin, James Rocke. There was an interesting piece on the fact that Cavan s Paul O Connor is a cousin of Mayo duo Cillian and Diarmuid, illustrated by photographs of the trio. I also love the idea of picking a past league campaign at random and looking back at it in detail, with 2002 getting the treatment this time. What I like best is the full list of Mayo appearances and scorers for the campaign under review. There s a profile on Cavan great Gabriel Kelly, and also a look back at the counties league clash in 1965 complete with a captioned Mayo team photograph. Two pages are filled with Westport s All-Ireland Intemediate triumph, while there s the full list of league meetings since 1933 with venues and scores. To top off a fine programme, a one-page history of the Wembley Games includes a photograph of Cavan great Charlie Gallagher receiving the O Gorman Cup from G.A.A. President Alf Murray after his side s victory against Sligo in A full set of Wembley Games programmes is on the wants list of several collectors, and they crop up quite regularly on ebay and at auctions.

6 Cork v. Meath (Division 2, Páirc Uí Rinn, March 19 th ): A 28-pager for 3 with a player profile on Colm O Neill, two pages on the President s awards, a match preview, and otherwise mainly promotional material and plenty of ads. Wexford v. London (Division 4, Innovate Wexford Park, March 19 th ): Twelve black-and-white pages for 2, although the price isn t listed. Neither are the two competing counties on the cover for that matter, although their respective crests are repeated twice for some reason. The only text of interest is a two-page spread looking at Wexford natives who were actively involved in London G.A.A. through the years. Westmeath v. Wicklow (Division 4, Mullingar, March 19 th ): Twelve pages for 2, all black and white except for the front and back covers. There s a look at their last meeting in the 2010 championship, while Gerry Buckley lists the past league clashes above a captioned photograph of the Westmeath team which drew with Wicklow in the 1982 championship in Newbridge. Dublin v. Roscommon (Division 1, Croke Park, March 25 th, a double issue programme with the Division 1 hurling game, Dublin v. Kilkenny, Parnell Park, March 26 th ): 48 pages for 3, with a generous four pages devoted to Cumann na mbunscoil news, player profiles on Liam Rushe, Cian Boland and Ultan Harney but, oddly, no Dublin footballer or Kilkenny hurler, and a two-page spread congratulating Cuala on their All-Ireland title. The football curtain-raiser, the meeting of Dublin and Mayo in Division 1 of the Lidl ladies National League, was confined to the line-outs plus an ad for the sponsors. Monaghan v. Dublin (Division 1, Clones, April 2 nd ): 24 glossy pages plus heavier card cover for 3, with cut-outs of Neil McAdam and Diarmuid Connolly on the front. Co. P.R.O. Noel Duffy makes a big effort with programmes, and one of the most interesting items here was a Team Throwback halfpage showing the centrespread of the programme listing the line-outs from the clash of the counties in Castleblayney in Two photographs from that programme are also re-produced, of the Monaghan side which played the Dubs in 1984, and the Dublin team taken on league final day in The full details of Dublin s unbeaten run, still intact at the time, are helpfully carried on page 7, while there s a page each devoted to the Monaghan Senior and Intermediate footballers of the year, James Turley and Francis Markey, with action shots and text. Carlow v. Wexford (Division 4, Netwatch Cullen Park, April 2 nd ): These Carlow lads sure know how to keep a collector on tenterhooks. After opting for green paper against Waterford, they pushed the boat out this time and went for yellow! Look on the bright side, at least the four-pager was free. Tipperary v. Louth and Westmeath v. Wexford (Division 3 and 4 finals, Croke Park, April 8 th ): 32 pages for 3, with Dermot Crowe of the Sunday Independent writing about Five Moments To Remember from the league on the centrespread. From a statistical viewpoint the spread listing all Division 3 and 4 finals from 2008 to 2016 is useful, with the top scorers from play and overall in the current campaign filling out these pages. A word of caution though: I know from the errors contained on another page listing the total Wexford scorers that the material has been taken from inaccurate information in the daily newspapers. Some things will never change.

7 PROVINCIAL SENIOR CHAMPIONSHIPS I haven t seen any of the new DBA productions for the Leinster championships yet, but I believe for the round robin hurling games they included the details for both in one 32-page programme. Therefore, I ll be interested to see if tomorrow s football game between Wexford and Carlow will be a three-in-one job along with the other two matches in the competition taking place at the same time. Ulster hurling championship and shield, April 8 th (Armagh v. Down; Antrim v. Donegal; Fermanagh v. Tyrone; Derry v. Monaghan): 32 B5 pages for 2 with one-page previews for both competitions as well as items on the Celtic Challenge, Scór and the Cuchulainn Cup among others. Ulster hurling finals, April 16 th (Championship: Antrim v. Armagh; Shield: Derry v. Tyrone): 28 B5 pages for 2, with some material from the semi-finals repeated plus reports on the Ulster Schools Under-15 hurling finals, the facts and figures from the previous rounds, and a page on the Ulster Senior hurling Tain Club League. ALL-IRELAND CLUB CHAMPIONSHIPS Slaughtneil v. Sarsfields and Myshall v. Eglish (AIB Senior and Intermediate camogie finals, Croke Park, March 5 th ): The Camogie Association deploys designers and printers that aren t credited in this programme, but purely from a visual viewpoint it s nice to look at something a little different. The 28 pages cost 3 and the full use made of colour leads to an attractive publication, particularly on the spread listing mini games participants. Otherwise the information supplied is of a standard nature, including player profiles without photographs, rolls of honour, final previews and captioned team photographs. Cuala v. Ballyea and Dr. Crokes v. Slaughtneil (AIB Senior hurling and football finals, Croke Park, March 17 th ): DBA went with the larger B5 format for this programme, charging 5 for 64 pages. There s a cut-out of a player from all four participants on a striking front cover, and I m very interested in the lay-out used for the contents pages across 4 and 5 because it s exactly similar to the Spurs home programmes (I have a subscription)! Perhaps there s a fellow supporter among the DBA design team! As a journalist, I can never understand why view from the press box gets an airing in a lot of these programmes. Does anyone really care about the predictions of, in this case, Donal Keenan, Christy O Connor, Declan Bogue and Malachy Clerkin? I know I certainly don t, so you won t be offending me if you agree! A complete waste of a page in my humble opinion. On a brighter note, I liked the lively design of the Road To Croke Park pages as seen through the opinions of Tony Kelly, Oisín Gough, Eoin Brosnan and Chrissy McKaigue. The player profiles are presented over three pages per team, with one large cut-out action shot per page rather than thumbnails of each player. Head and shoulders of each captain and manager feature at the bottom of two of the pages though. The latest tweak on the line-out pages is to have the name, colours, jersey and crest of one team on top of the left-hand page, with similar details for the other on the bottom right. The centrespread

8 features a piece as Gaeilge by Dara O Cinnéide who experienced bitter disappointment at this stage as a player with An Gaeltacht versus Galway s Caltra in There s a two-page look-back on the finals of 1997 including action shots from both games, although the opportunity to slip in an image of the programme cover wasn t taken. Seventeen of the 64 pages contain ads or promotional content. ALL-IRELAND COLLEGES CHAMPIONSHIPS St. Brendan s v. St. Peter s and Ballinrobe C.S. v. St. Ciaran s (Senior A and B football finals, Croke Park, April 1 st ): Twenty pages for 3 from DBA, with an interesting centrespread talking to Peter s mentor and Wexford footballer Brian Malone who is the county s Player Welfare Officer. It starts off on a dud note by stating his co-manager with the school teams is Chris Thompson rather than Chris Murphy, but the message that follows is important as Malone outlines the key issues affecting young players who are being pulled at from all sides. Otherwise, each school gets a page to include their history, path to the final and a photograph, while there s two-page spreads previewing both finals. The roll of honour page also helpfully includes the details for the Vocational Schools victors from 1975 to 2013 before the amalgamation of all participants at post-primary level. EIRGRID UNDER-21 FOOTBALL CHAMPIONSHIP Offaly v. Wexford (Leinster quarter-final, Gracefield, March 1 st ): Offaly are possibly the only county to charge 50 cent for four-page black and white teamsheets (cover, line-outs, and Under-21 fixtures on the back), but it suits me just fine and here s why: I was able to hand over my 3 in Gracefield and get my usual minimum quota of programmes per game of six without any hassle. That isn t always the case when the teamsheet is free on a turnstile for example as, if you tried to take six you would more than likely be admonished by an official with a sometimes less-than-gentle reminder that they want to make sure everyone gets a copy on their way in. Therefore, you re left with perhaps two at most and have to scrounge for a few more. I normally approach a different turnstile or two from the inside and pick up another couple after concealing the ones I got already, but it s a pain. Therefore, I m in favour of charging a pittance, even though I m sure most of you will disagree. Kerry v. Cork (Munster final, Páirc Uí Rinn, March 29 th ): A 32-page publication for 3 from Ed Donnelly and his team of helpers, with the captains posing in a studio setting complete with lampshade on the front. All previous meetings between the counties are carried in a well laid-out two-page spread, although the headline is erroneous as it states Munster Under 21 Football Final results 1962 to The usual template is followed with match reports from both semi-finals, previews from both camps, player profiles and photographs of the mentors and teams. Dublin v. Offaly (Leinster final, Portlaoise, March 29 th ): A far more slimline version compared to what Munster produced on the same night, just 12 pages for 2. The historical content is good all the same, with a full list of the previous final meetings for both counties, a half-page on the first final in 1964 when Laois beat Offaly, a page on the remarkable four-game final saga between Offaly and Wexford in 1988, and one looking back at Dublin s three-in-a-row from 2014 to This small but busy programme also featured full-page interviews with Rúairí McNamee and Colm Basquel. Donegal v. Derry (Ulster final, Armagh, April 10 th ): Sixteen pages in B5 format for 2 with the usual pieces from managers and captains, plus a match preview that conveniently lists the teams and

9 scorers for all games in the earlier rounds. There s a page on the Ulster Schools award winners as well as the full list of all final results since Galway v. Kerry (All-Ireland semi-final, Ennis, April 15 th ): DBA enter the fray here with 16 pages for 3. Articles are contributed by Fintan O Toole, Arthur Sullivan and Mártan O Ciardha, while the Under-21 scoreboard for 2017 is listed beside details of all semi-finals played since ELECTRIC IRELAND MINOR CHAMPIONSHIPS Clare v. Waterford (Munster hurling quarter-final, Ennis, April 5 th ): 16 pages for 2, with pages devoted to two player profiles, photographs of the management, a profile of referee Jason Mullins, and the championship facts and roll of honour. Tipperary v. Limerick (Munster hurling quarter-final, Thurles, April 5 th ): Broadly similar to the above, but with a match preview piece from Ed Donnelly thrown in for good measure above a very prominent, and much appreciated, plug for Programme Plus. I like the front cover photograph which is somewhat different from the norm: a shot of Limerick and Tipperary players shaking hands in the pre-match formalities when they met in Croke Park last year. Laois v. Offaly (Leinster hurling first round, Portlaoise, April 8 th ): A colour four-pager issued for free, with a picture of the empty O Moore Park stand as a backdrop on the cover, followed by the line-outs and an ad for the main Laois sponsors. Kilkenny v. Wexford (Leinster hurling second round, Nowlan Park, April 15 th ): Four full-colour pages for 1 with the usual Kilkenny template used on the line-outs. Offaly v. Wexford (Leinster football first round, Bellefield, April 17 th ): A four-pager in colour for 1 with line-outs in the middle and the Electric Ireland ad on the back. Wexford v. Offaly (Leinster hurling quarter-final, Innovate Wexford Park, April 29 th ): A four-pager in colour for 1 with line-outs in the middle and the Electric Ireland ad on the back. Wexford v. Wicklow (Leinster football qualifying round, Innovate Wexford Park, May 6 th ): A fourpager in colour for 1 with line-outs in the middle and the Electric Ireland ad on the back. Dublin v. Wexford (Leinster hurling semi-final, Parnell Park, May 13 th ): The black and white fourpagers at this venue are available inside the turnstiles, and rather than a set price you re asked to make a donation to support a local hospice. UNDER-17 FOOTBALL AND HURLING COMPETITIONS Tipperary v. Clare (Munster football, Thurles, April 4 th ): It is gratifying to see that the Munster Council deemed these competitions sufficiently important to produce match programmes. This one ran to 12 pages and cost 2, with one player profile per team plus photographs of both sets of mentors. Leinster Under-17 hurling competition: Leinster don t seem to be placing as much importance on these competitions as Munster, certainly not in terms of programmes anyway. For the Wexford v. Kilkenny first round in Taghmon, the teams were listed on a single-sided A4 sheet, with no cover

10 outlining competition details, venue, date, etc. Still, that was better than for the subsequent quarterfinal between Wexford and Kildare in Hawkfield when there was no programme or teamsheet whatsoever. Celtic Challenge Under-17 hurling: This competition is in full swing at the moment, and for all games I have attended in St. Patrick s Park (Enniscorthy), Innovate Wexford Park and Dunmore, there has been a four-page programme with match details on the cover, line-outs inside, and full competition rules on the back. All six finals will be played on June 24 th in Netwatch Cullen Park, Carlow. LOCAL CLUB CHAMPIONSHIPS Galway hurling championships 2017: There would be something wrong if I wasn t singing the praises, yet again, of Galway Hurling Board P.R.O. Joe Keane for this tremendous guide to the club scene. Similar to last year, it s a 68-pager for 5 in full colour intended to be used for the duration of the group games in the Senior and Intermediate hurling championships. The potted club histories alone make this a must-read, but there s so much more besides. Each and every county P.R.O. should be shown this and urged to do the very same. Wexford: Three championship rounds have been played to date, two football followed by one hurling. On all three weekends the line-outs for every game from Senior, Intermediate, Intermediate A and Junior were listed in composite black and white programmes, consisting of 28, 32 and 28 pages respectively. Wicklow Post-Primary Schools Senior football final, Gaelcholáiste na Mara (Arklow) v. Coláiste Bhríde (Carnew), in Aughrim, March 30 th : Eight black and white pages for 2 with uncaptioned team photographs, a page of snippets, and the full competition roll of honour since 1973 on the back. THE PROGRAMME TYPES PART 2 OF 3 (BY JAMES A. LUNDON, LIMERICK VIA GALWAY) We continue with our whistle-stop tour through the main competitions that are collected in the G.A.A. programme collecting world, having stopped off at All-Ireland Senior football and hurling quarters, semis and finals in part one. Without any further ado the author presents the provincial championships Munster hurling finals: All years back to the mid- 40s are or have been available in the modern era, with increasing rarity the further back one goes. The first official souvenir programme produced for the Munster hurling final was 1974 [see Collectors Club price list PDF or XLS], a white-covered programme. This switch-over year (underlined) is important in all provincial final programme types as such programmes are usually significantly less scarce than the preceding years. It is a rule of thumb across all provincial finals and that cut-off year is usually as far back as medium collectors are able to go cleanly, without being lucky, or increasing one s programme-buying budget substantially. The years between 1956 and 1974 are all available, with only 1960 being much scarcer is also a key year, Mackey s Greyhounds etc. It is a fine programme but there was a very small crowd at that final, a bit like 1995 ;-) is another key year for a set of programmes that is otherwise available in relatively significant numbers, but which is also very strongly collected.

11 Munster football finals: Munster football final programmes back to 1974 are all available with the minimum of fuss, the year which saw the first official souvenir programmes being produced for both Senior Munster finals. That football final is a green-covered programme. Before 1973, these programmes get substantially more difficult to secure, with even many of the best collectors missing multiple 60s finals. There are many key years pre-1974, with the 1965 game in Limerick between the locals and Kerry being extremely difficult to acquire, as well as the 1961 replay. In general, many final replays are much rarer than their equivalent draws. The 1970 Munster football final must get a special mention in dispatches as being singularly the poorest-produced modern provincial final official programme ever, by either Croke Park or a provincial council. It was very rare, going over 600 (now retailing at about 150) in a now infamous Geoffroy Mail Bids auction nine or ten years ago is also on most serious collectors wants list. Munster non-finals: Munster hurling championship (MHC) is very attractive to many collectors, with a few attempting to collect all MHC games, as far back as the late- 40s in some dedicated collectors cases. The same is not true of Munster football championship (MFC) programmes. Hurling is easier collected as all games have in the past attracted - and still do - substantial crowds and therefore programmes, while the football does not attract the same attention in any meaningful way, and therefore not the same interest from collectors. The author has a full run of Limerick games in the MHC back into the 1940s, while is still missing a handful of Limerick MFC games from the 1980s, and has only two Limerick MFC programmes in total from the 1970s. Connacht football finals: The first official souvenir programme was produced in 1971 by Jack Mahon; Connacht being the first province to introduce bigger, better programmes to their Senior provincial competition(s). However, it wasn t a totally new concept: All-Ireland and league final programmes had had the same dimensions and quality of content since That is not to say that these early souvenir Connacht football finals are not hard to acquire though! The first few years of large official programmes in Connacht had the added complication of a few draws being thrown in for good collecting measure. The programmes are all available (most with black-themed covers) but a few are scarcer than others. From 1976 onwards, all programmes are available, with perhaps the pink of 1981 being the most difficult to secure. Everything before 1970 is pretty much impossible to source and they have almost never been seen on ebay or any auction house. Connacht football finals are the single hardest provincial final programme type to collect for that reason alone. Connacht hurling finals: There are only five programmes to be concerned with here, all from the mid- 90s. None are scarce. Connacht non-finals: A few collectors like the Connacht football championship (CFC) but there are two added complications in this pursuit, even in recent times: New York and London. Both have been in the CFC for many years at this stage and each has a home game every season, whose programmes can be hard to come across without prior arrangement and effort. Ulster football finals: Ulster football finals moved into the official souvenir arena a bit later than other provinces, in 1977, but this hides the salient fact that Ulster football finals were a much better quality programme than the other provinces for a long time before this, with a uniform design and multiple pages for nearly 25 years, from the mid- 50s, until changing to a more modern-looking programme design. All these programmes are very collectible and not too expensive. All serious Ulster collectors are able to get back to 1956, but not much before that. There is no hard drop-off difficulty point in these programmes at the same time as other provincial finals. The prices obtained for mid- 50s to early- 70s finals are not as high as other provincial finals. There doesn t seem to be any key dates in the last 60 years either.

12 Ulster hurling finals: The modern Ulster hurling final was re-booted in 1989 and all finals since then are available, with the first one and a mid- 90s replay being more difficult to obtain than the average. Ulster non-finals: Ulster football championship (UFC - not that caged monstrosity by the way!) are collectible but usually only by the very committed Ulster-based collector. Good coverage can be obtained with a lot of work back to the mid- 80s but it is difficult before that. Leinster hurling finals: The first official souvenir programme was produced for the final of 1974 and is blue in colour. All finals since then are pretty easily obtained with patience and effort and at little cost, as is the case with all other provincial finals over the last 40-plus years. Leinster has an anomaly in that a handful of finals ( ) before the advent of the increased-sized programme are extremely scarce, both in hurling and football. Most collectors find it very hard to fill those gaps, even though all these games were played in Croke Park and had good attendances. This era seems to have been a fallow one for Irish sporting programmes in general, with this problem being reported in soccer too. Those few finals are much harder to source than equivalent Leinster finals for the preceding 15 years, back into the mid- 50s. The key date is 1961, the last time a Leinster hurling final was played outside of Croke Park. Leinster football finals: The first official souvenir programme was produced for the final of 1974 and is green in colour. Again the same observation can be made about Leinster football as Leinster hurling: those few years before the advent of the larger-format programme was a desert and all such final programmes are very scarce. Most Leinster finals before 1974 are one-sheet efforts, usually on white paper, though the early- 70s saw an upsurge in the use of coloured paper: blue, green, even yellow. The old-timers must have been appalled at these funky colours ;-). The key date over the last 60-plus years is, again, 1961, when the final was last played outside Croke Park, in Portlaoise, while the hurling was in Kilkenny. Both programmes of these key dates in Leinster look very alike too, using almost the same print block etc? I believe one of these programmes has hurling instead of football on the front such was the intimacy of their production. Leinster non-finals: There are very few collectors who collect Leinster championship non-finals with any energy. Of all provincial championships, the Leinster championships are probably the least collected, perhaps a function of the relative dearth of serious collectors in the province, or from its twelve counties. There will have to be a part three of three! EDITOR S NOTE: On behalf of the collecting community, I would like to take this opportunity to sympathise with James on the recent death of his mother, Josephine. Ar dheis Dé go raibh a h-anam dílis. On the subject of Leinster championship programmes of the 1960s and earlier, those of you with copies in your collections will note the printing credit for An Mac Alla on the front. That was a reference to The Echo newspaper in Enniscorthy whose printing contract I would assume derived from the involvement of Ferns man Martin O Neill as Secretary of the Leinster Council from 1927 through to 1969, when he was succeeded by his son, Ciarán. The printing works was within a stone s throw of my late grandparents house in Enniscorthy, and it shut down many years ago. I have never come across a big batch of these programmes lying unloved and unwanted waiting to be rescued by a collector, although I live in hope! However, something in

13 my sub-conscious tells me there was a fire on the premises at one stage when I was a child, so the bad news is that anything of interest to us probably went up in smoke at the time. THE HARDER I LOOK, THE LUCKIER I GET (BY JIM WHELAN, KILKENNY) I get a great kick out of a car boot/charity shop/auction find. Yes, they are out there. Never pass a second-hand shop even once is only second in my vocabulary to never refuse a programme, because you never know what you re missing. I have picked up some great finds in charity shops and second-hand book shops. The local book festival which is on every August here in Graignamanagh has been very good to me also. I love to hear stories of how hard it is to get such a book or such a programme, and I come across them as a find for 2 (my wife tells me my big guilty head will give me away some day when I m paying 2 knowing I should be paying 30 or 40. I have got some good swaps out of such finds. Unfortunately, I am not prepared to name my favourite second-half shops just yet. The dreaded Hogan Stand magazine seems to be the most common G.A.A. publication available in the car boot sales. Gaelic Sport often turns up as well; last year I got a bundle of 50 for 15 and, most unusually, I needed about half of them which was a good return. The others were swapped or I still have some left to swap. Club history books very often are found very cheaply in second-hand book shops. As for A Season Of Sundays, I have never bought a new one but I have the full collection except the latest edition. Never pay more than a fiver for one because they will eventually turn up if you are prepared to look hard enough. Programmes turn up also, but not as much as the above-mentioned. Still, I have got some gems from time to time including an elusive programme from the Offaly v. Antrim All-Ireland semi-final from Auction houses can be a good source of finds also, the ones that are not online that is. Sadly, my local one that was a bit backward in the social media department (which was great for me) has closed as the auctioneer has retired. If you have never gone to a charity shop yet, when you do and you get that find, remember where you heard it first. Happy hunting. PIRATES OR NOT? (BY JIM WHELAN, KILKENNY) Is this (see of images) the only programme produced for the Leinster semi-finals of 1979? While it has a pirate look about it, it may be the only programme that was produced on the day, so this could make it the official programme of the day s events. The games were played in Athy and it s possible the host club were asked to produce the programme of the day s events which also included the All-Ireland B final replay. The Leinster club final (played in 76) programme is another example of a pirate-looking effort, but it may be the official programme produced on the day.

14 It is possible both these programmes are pirates. I have never seen any other programme for either of these games. I have both of these programmes in my collection and was wondering does anybody else have any other programmes from these games, or could anybody shed a bit of light on these programmes please. EDITOR S NOTE: If you have any information to share, Jim will be delighted to hear from you ( ). PICK UP A PROGRAMME: The Pick Up A Programme scheme seems to have died a slow death since the end of the National Leagues. I haven t been contacted by anyone since, so I can only hope that collectors who benefited from the arrangement up to that point have opted to cut out the middle man so to speak and are inter-acting directly with each other rather than availing of this medium. You are reminded though that Danny Beary is willing to retain a batch of Limerick programmes until the particular competition is over and then post a person s order in one lot. Rather than payment, Danny would prefer to receive an equal amount of programmes back from the other collector. If you wish to make an arrangement with Danny, contact him on or drop an to bearydanny@gmail.com SPECIAL REQUEST: I m giving my own special request one last plug: if anyone has spares for the county finals of 2016 from Kildare (football), Laois (hurling draw) and Longford (hurling), please send me an ! Since the last edition I distributed an from a Paddy McManus in Fermanagh who was seeking a copy of the NHL final programme of 1966 between Tipperary and Kilkenny. He had played in the curtain-raiser with the Fermanagh Vocational Schools football team against Kerry, and they were in the process of organising an anniversary celebration. The request came originally to Tipperary Co. Secretary Tim Floyd who passed it on to Liam O Donnchú, and he in turn sent it to me. In double-quick time, Pat Bracken in Thurles library was able to locate the photocopy of the programme contained in their Tipperary Studies department. He sent a pdf to our Fermanagh friend, much to his delight. Once again this shows the value of this bulletin in bringing collectors together to solve problems of this nature. Well done and many thanks to Pat for his efforts on our behalf. CLUB HISTORY DIRECTORY: I haven t received any additional information to cover other counties since last month. Therefore, if someone else is willing to take on this task, please let me know and I will send you on the details I did receive from helpful collectors as a starting point. I don t have the time to pursue this area any further on my own steam. LABOURS OF LOVE: The latest club that I ve heard of to commit pen to paper is Aghamore in Mayo. Initially their book was to be launched last night (May 19 th ), but I checked their Twitter page and the date has been moved to next Friday in the Park Hotel, Kiltimagh. The price is 30. The club account uses a striking photograph from an Intermediate semi-final in 1970 when the spectators are practically on top of the two players vying for possession, it s well worth a look if you can access Twitter.

15 Another book to check out is My Journey Through Life by my work colleague in Wicklow, Brendan Lawrence, which charts the colourful history of Eamon Murray, a native of Kilmacoo who graced the hurling fields of Ireland and England in a playing career spanning nearly 70 years (yes, 70...if you don t believe, then buy the book!). b.lawrence@peoplenews.ie if you re interested in obtaining a copy. IRISH FOOTBALL PROGRAMME COLLECTORS CLUB FAIR: Charles O Regan from our collecting friends in the world of soccer has made contact with news of their annual fair. It will take place on Sunday, June 11 th, from 11 a.m. to 3.30 p.m. in St. Andrew s Resource Centre, Pearse Street, Dublin 2, to coincide with the Republic of Ireland versus Austria qualifier in the Aviva Stadium later that afternoon. There is spare space available if any G.A.A. collectors would like to take a table. It is 30 for a single and 50 for a double table. I ve attended this fair for the past two years and it s well worth a visit if you haven t been there already. I m not sure if I ll make it this time - it probably depends on my humour after what we ve done to Kilkenny on the night before.or perhaps what they ve done to us! DIRECTORY OF COLLECTORS: The 16th edition of the directory of collectors is attached in a Microsoft Word document, with no new additions. Thanks to all those who took the time out to forward their details, and it s not too late for others to follow suit. I intend to attach this directory every month, so any additions or amendments will be accommodated. Hopefully it will help collectors in their quest to establish new contacts or liaise with people with similar interests. ADVERTISING THIS BULLETIN: If you know your local programme compiler, please cut and paste the following and ask them if they would be kind enough to include it in their upcoming programmes: PROGRAMME PLUS INFORMATION BULLETIN 'Programme Plus' is a monthly information bulletin for collectors of GAA match programmes, histories, yearbooks, magazines, photographs, etc. It is distributed via and is free of charge, with its sole aim being to highlight all aspects of collecting for enthusiasts. In order to be added to the mailing list, please forward your address to Alan Aherne who is compiling the information bulletin (alanahernesars@gmail.com). PAST EDITIONS: All past editions are available via the following link, with thanks to James Lundon for his efforts in making it happen: CONCLUSION: That s all from the 16 th edition folks. My big wish is that even more readers will turn into contributors, so if you haven t submitted any material yet please feel free to do so as it will be more than welcome. Mise le meas, ALAN AHERNE