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‘One of the toughest games of club football I’ve ever played in’ – Chasing that All-Ireland dream

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THE LAST TIME an All-Ireland club football title was on offer, Kieran Fitzgerald was immersed in the heat of the action.

That was back in January 2020, his last act as a Corofin player was a winning one, he signed off on a joyous note as the north Galway club football dynasty completed three-in-a-row.

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It was their fourth national crown in six seasons but Fitzgerald had experienced the flipside when county and provincial titles could not translate into the greatest club prize of all.

In that 2020 decider they prevailed after extra-time in a gruelling battle with Kilcoo.
The Down club have returned to that final stage next Saturday, when they pit themselves against Kilmacud Crokes, and aim to complete a mission they have been on.

Since 2009, Kilcoo have won ten county titles and Ulster silverware has finally arrived in 2019 and 2021.

They just need an All-Ireland to complete the set and Fitzgerald can relate to the scenario where the pursuit of that trophy consumes a club.

“We were in that position down through the years where we were winning county championships and winning Connacht which was great but eventually you want to get to the next step and Kilcoo are at that now. They have won in Down, two in a row in Ulster and they nearly got there two years ago against us. I have no doubt that they are consumed by the pursuit of that All-Ireland championship.

“They play like guys who are thinking like that and from my experience from playing against them, they were like men possessed to get over that line. I can totally appreciate where they are coming from and in many respects for a rural club like that – like we were in Corofin – to get over that line you nearly have to be 24/7 thinking about it.”

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Kilcoo’s style of football is well-defined and while Corofin faced an array of contenders in their various seasons playing on the Galway, Connacht and All-Ireland stages, Fitzgerald rates that 2020 battle as ‘one of the toughest games of club football’ he encountered.

“I’m really interested in it. There are loads of different ways of winning and that was what worked for us. What works for Kilcoo is a different form of football, that’s what they believe in, and best of luck to them. They nearly won it two years ago against us and we really struggled with that.

“They’re tough opposition, they made it so difficult for us, they were one of the toughest, most aggressive teams I’ve ever played against, and I mean that as a compliment.

“They made us earn that and it was one of the toughest games of club football I’ve ever played in. They nearly did it and I fancy them this weekend.

“Tackling, work rate, their organisation, their discipline in the defensive structure, the turnovers, the way they tackled, they led you up alleys, there’s a method to their defence, they encourage you to go up avenues then they turn you over and break.

Kilcoo manager Mickey Moran.

Source: Ken Sutton/INPHO

“They have very talented forwards and when they break they break well, wing-backs like the Branagans break at speed, Johnson up front. Mickey Moran has them well tuned and it’s going to be a very interesting final.

“They are going to have a massive test against Kilmacud Crokes, even though they are minus Paul Mannion. They are a fine outfit as well so it will be an intriguing contest, it will be low-scoring possibly and tight but I do fancy Kilcoo.”

Fitzgerald brought a decorated playing career to a close after that 2020 club final, moving into a role as part of the Corofin management team for the past two seasons, something which aided his transition.

“I had my decision made to retire coming up to the Kilcoo All-Ireland final which seems so long ago now. Then obviously Covid hit and there was no football at all, so everybody wasn’t playing, so it wasn’t only me. It was great to play for years under Kevin O’Brien but probably didn’t have a full realisation of the extent of the work those guys were doing behind the scenes to keep the Corofin machine going.

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“It was an eye opener for me to cross to the other side and see how that worked and obviously I was happy to play a small part in it.”

The theme of change in Corofin’s fortunes has been created by new county champions in Galway for the past two seasons in Moycullen and Mountbellew-Moylough.

Going into 2022 they will have a new manager at the helm in Kevin Johnson after Kevin O’Brien brought his hugely successful spell to a close late last year.

Kieran Fitzgerald celebrating the 2019 All-Ireland final win with Kevin O’Brien and Ciaran McGrath.

Source: Tommy Dickson/INPHO

After three All-Ireland club title wins as a boss, Fitzgerald feels O’Brien has the capability to move into inter-county management in the future if he desires.

“I don’t know what his ambitions are but he is very well capable of it. He is a hugely organised guy, very considerate and a great planner. He is so structured and organised, a great man manager.

“He has all the attributes to be an inter-county manager if that is the route he wants to go down but I am not sure exactly what his ambitions are. He is a super manager, he knows how players tick and I would not be surprised if he did go down that route.”

  • Kieran Fitzgerald’s Laochra Gael episode airs on TG4 this week on Thursday night at 9.30pm

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The 8 counties still chasing a first GAA football league win this season

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WE’VE MOVED PAST the halfway point of the 2022 GAA football league as the action enters a decisive phase.

Eight teams are still awaiting their first win, frustrated in their four games to date and hoping for better luck as Round 5 fixtures await this weekend.

But who is feeling the greatest pressure as fears of relegation start to intensify?

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Division 1

Monaghan

The last day out against Kerry was Monaghan’s most dispiriting performance of the campaign, undone by the scoring magic of David Clifford and Sean O’Shea. Yet apart from that they have been highly competitive, and while that run has yielded no wins, they have a pair of points in the bag from draws against Tyrone and Armagh, along with a narrow defeat to Mayo.

They face into a difficult trip to Ballybofey on Sunday against a Donegal team buoyed by their recent win over Tyrone. The Round 6 game the following week against Kildare, a meeting of 6th and 7th currently in the table, may be the crucial one before they face Dublin on the last day. A long-running operator in the top tier, last year proved Monaghan have the wherewithal to escape from a tight spot.

Conor McManus.

Source: Ben Brady/INPHO

Dublin

The most high-profile of all the eigth sides still without a win in this spring’s football league. Having shared last year’s title and collected the silverware five times between 2013 and 2018, being rooted to the bottom of the table is a stunning scenario for Dublin to now face. It’s all the more striking because they are the only team in the country to have lost all four of their games to date.

The stakes are high as Dublin head into their final set of matches. Defeat on Sunday in Omagh could send them down, if Kildare have already won Saturday night in Armagh. Injuries have hurt their squad and there was improvements in their play last time out against Kildare, but it’s still a tough task to mount a rescue operation as Tyrone, Donegal and Monaghan await.

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A dejected Dean Rock.

Source: James Crombie/INPHO

Division 2

Meath

Last June saw Meath lose out by three points to Kildare in a promotion play-off with Division 1 football the sizeable prize on offer. This time around it’s been a tougher season as they have travelled in the opposite direction in the second tier. They endured a horrible start, hit by the weather and a Galway onslaught in Salthill, before succumbing to Roscommon.

Meath’s last two outings have produced draws against Down and Offaly. Given those were against relegation rivals, the failure to win even one of those could be costly, albeit they were grateful for a last-gasp goal to save themselves in Tullamore. Sunday’s game against Cork looks highly significant, they have Clare and then high-flying Derry to come after that.

Cork

In a similar state to Meath as relegation concerns start to grow for Cork, and the potential knock-on impact of missing out on competing for the Sam Maguire in 2022. They have one point less than the Royals, a draw garnered against Clare their only positive outcome to date. There is vital context in their fixture list, Cork’s three losses to date have been against the three teams that will fight it out for promotion – Derry, Galway and Roscommon.

So the schedule looks kinder on paper from hereon in as they face fellow basement scrappers in Meath, Down and Offaly. But the pressure to get points on the board increases for new manager Keith Ricken, a county that finished 2021 by getting walloped by Kerry, have not seen 2022 begin in a more positive fashion.

Action from the recent Cork-Derry game.

Source: Lorcan Doherty/INPHO

Down

A draw with Meath is the only bright spot in the results record to date for Down. Similar to Cork, there is a source of comfort in that their defeats have been at the hands of this division’s dominant trio. Thus their next two games against Offaly and Cork, should in theory be less daunting.

The county did produce the All-Ireland club kingpins last month, but it’s not yet clear how many Kilcoo players will be available to fire Down’s charge. A critical eight-day period commences this Saturday night, having home advantage is a help against Offaly and the sense is they must win in Newry.

Offaly

After making the leap from Division 3 last year, Offaly will be aiming to avoid a swift return to that sector. They suffered two convincing losses to Clare and Derry to begin with, but their displays since were far more heartening against Meath and Galway. The issue is neither resulted in a victory, caught in sickening fashion by a late goal from Meath and ending four points in arrears in Salthill last Sunday, despite amassing 3-10.

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Down on Saturday night is a critical encounter, then they travel to Roscommon and host Cork in their last game. At present they are bottom of the table but only on scoring difference as Cork and Down are also on a point each. Check out the scoring difference to be reminded of how tight it is – Cork (-23), Down (-24) and Offaly (-25).

Offaly boss John Maughan.

Source: Bryan Keane/INPHO

Division 3

Wicklow

Last June, Wicklow pulled off a shock in their relegation play-off, two points superior against the then Ulster title holders Cavan. That preserved their status in Division 3 but their manager that day, Davy Burke, departed last August and his successor Colin Kelly moved on last week ‘due to a change in work commitments’. This week saw Alan Costello and Gary Duffy both installed as joint managers for the remainder of the season.

That’s plenty turbulence off the pitch and on it they have sustained three losses at the hands of Westmeath, Antrim and Limerick to date. Those defeats have been by margins ranging from four to six points, so the gap is not vast, and they did draw with Fermanagh. But they need to prevent themselves getting cut adrift. The next two games are critical as they entertain Laois, who are sixth, this Sunday, and then travel to Longford, who are seventh, on Sunday week.

Aughrim, the home of the Wicklow footballers.

Source: ©INPHO

Division 4

Waterford

Waterford are the only side in this winless group, that do at least have the comfort that relegation will not come into play. Still an upturn in results would be something their camp would appreciate before Division 4 concludes. They fought hard in their first two games to draw with Tipperary and lost by a single point to London, before defeats to Carlow and Leitrim ensued.

They are away to Wexford this weekend and then Ephie Fitzgerald’s charges have two challenging assignments before they wrap up, at home to Sligo and away to Cavan.

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The absurd controversy over Joe Biden’s “transition away from the oil industry”

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At the second and final 2020 presidential debate on Thursday, when asked by President Donald Trump if he would “close down the oil industry,” former Vice President Joe Biden said that he intends to “transition away from the oil industry, yes.” Republicans are working furiously to make this supposed admission into a scandal, hoping it will get Biden in hot water with oil-state Dems and swing voters and sow division in the party. The right sees energy as a key wedge issue as the election approaches.

Trump himself put it in the most dramatic terms:

After the last debate, Republicans hoped Biden’s refusal to ban fracking would get him in trouble with the climate left. That didn’t go anywhere, and my guess is that this gambit won’t either. So far, a few oil-state Dems have distanced themselves, oil companies have expressed “concern, not alarm,” and most everyone else seems distracted by a virus that is setting new case records and infecting White House staff.

However the politics play out in this instance, it’s important to consider the underlying dynamic of these recent energy disputes. It’s an extremely familiar dynamic that finally seems, in fits and starts, to be working in Democrats’ favor.

Let’s begin with a little armchair political science.

Americans want reform as long as it doesn’t negatively affect them

Social science suggests that most people, even most politically active people, don’t have particularly well-considered or coherent views on public policy issues. They vote based on identities and social affinities. Their opinions on issues are easily swayed by elite cues or the phrasing of poll questions.

In my experience, the one rule that reliably governs public issue polling is that the public likes things that sound good and doesn’t like things that sound bad.

If you poll a health care system that covers everything, with no copays and free choice of doctors, it does well. If you poll tax increases to pay for other people’s health care, it does poorly.

If you poll cleaner energy or less pollution, it does well. If you poll gasoline prices rising and fossil fuel workers losing jobs, it does poorly.

When polled on individual progressive policy goals, Americans tend to respond positively. Universal health care and clean energy sound good. When polled on ideological abstractions like “taxes” and “big government,” they tend to respond negatively. Giving up money to some distant bureaucracy sounds bad.

This is why there’s an unending argument over whether America is or isn’t a “center-right nation” — it depends on how you ask America. More or less everyone wants to improve the collective welfare, but not at their own expense. Depending on how they are phrased, these kinds of questions don’t so much uncover preexisting opinions as they guide and shape opinion formation. Trigger thoughts of things getting better, you’ll get good poll results; trigger thoughts of sacrifice, privation, or unfair burdens, you’ll get bad poll results.

Democratic politics isn’t much different. Reformers pushing for change guide attention to the collective good that will come of it. Reactionaries pushing against change guide attention to the risks and dangers.

These are not, unfortunately, parallel endeavors. Asking people to imagine an alternative future calls upon their thinking and imagination — their frontal cortex. Asking people to fear change calls upon something much deeper and older, their brainstem sense that it’s a dangerous world, they’re lucky to have what they have, and any disruption threatens it. The latter, when invoked, tends to drown out the former. That’s why progressive change is so difficult to muster and so easy to reverse.

But that’s the game in a democracy: changes that can improve collective circumstances versus the fear of personal loss.

Making the clean energy transition seem scary

This brings us back to Biden and energy. The core Republican approach, which they understand at a gut level even if there is no particular strategic intelligence at work in the Trump era, is to make change seem scary. They need to make Biden’s climate plan seem abrupt, alien, and threatening. That’s why they have resolutely ignored all the actual policies involved in the Green New Deal and instead made it a boogeyman, a repository for every conservative fear. They’re going to take your hamburgers and your SUV!

That’s why Republicans are so delighted to make a fracking ban — a policy that no president can pass and no Congress would pass — the center of discussion. And that’s why they are delighted when Biden says he will transition away from oil. These changes sound sudden and disruptive; they draw attention to what will be lost, not to what will take its place. They define a playing field favorable to Republicans.

There’s an element of play-acting to all this. For all the hue and cry about his gaffes, Biden’s climate policies are articulated quite clearly on his website. (No manned outpost on the moon, sadly.) He plans to ramp up clean energy and electrification while ensuring that affected communities, including fossil fuel communities, are taken care of through investments in infrastructure, clean energy projects, education, job transition, and other kinds of assistance.

Over time, clean energy will come to dominate the electricity sector (where Biden has targeted 100 percent net-zero by 2035) and from there it will expand to the rest of the economy (where Biden has targeted 100 percent net-zero by 2050). By 2035, coal will disappear, and by 2050, the US oil and gas sector will radically shrink. It’s just carbon math.

Some fossil fuels may survive at the margins to fill in the gaps in large electricity systems, attached to carbon capture and storage systems, or for some industrial applications or plastics. And it may be that some oil and gas companies are successful at pivoting away from their core products to clean energy (ahem, geothermal).

But the oil and gas industry as Americans know it, as a major source of jobs and profits, is going away in coming decades. It has to — it produces lots of carbon and carbon is frying the planet. Many oil and gas companies, especially in Europe, have acknowledged this inescapable reality and begun to transform themselves.

So when Biden says his plan will have the US “transition away from the oil industry,” he’s not saying something radical, unexpected, or mysterious. Any serious climate plan must do the same. It wouldn’t be a climate plan if it didn’t (no matter how many trees it planted).

But Biden was also being entirely accurate when he said to reporters later, “we’re not getting rid of fossil fuels for a long time.” And he was being entirely accurate when he said that he will not ban fracking.

These are not contradictory comments. The latter are not “walking back” the former, despite what reporters (goosed on by Republicans) project onto them. It’s not that hard to understand: Biden’s plan will gradually transition the US economy to clean energy, and while it’s happening, ensure that those who are negatively impacted receive assistance and new employment opportunities. Justice — for fossil fuel workers and other vulnerable communities — is at the heart of the new Democratic consensus on climate policy.

Biden needs room to maneuver

When speaking to the left, Biden emphasizes the transition away from fossil fuels to clean energy, and the environmental benefits; when speaking to audiences that contain persuadable voters in swing states (some of whom work in, or have family members who work in, fossil fuels), he emphasizes the gradual, carefully staged nature of the transition, and the economic/jobs benefits.

But in all cases, he’s referring to the same plan — which is, again, right there on his website.

As usual, the media is playing along with Republican efforts to sow confusion about this, playing on Biden’s penchant for garbling his messaging, as with this CNN “fact-check” that pretends Biden’s written plan carries no more weight than one infelicitous phrase in a debate.

Republicans will lie about Biden’s plan and the mainstream media will search for something they can ding Biden for, to “balance” all the negative coverage Trump attracts — but Democrats would be goofy to play along.

Instead of distancing themselves, oil-state Democrats could take the opportunity to defend the massive infrastructure and job investments contained in the plan, targeted at rural, poor, and fossil fuel communities. They could tell their constituents the truth about the long-term viability of fossil fuels, unlike Republicans in Appalachia and Wyoming, who have lied to their constituents about it until their economies have run headlong into disaster.

As for the left, as usual, Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez is taking the smart line:

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She is positioning herself to the left of Biden on fracking, a signal to moderates that Biden has not been “captured by the left,” but she’s also emphasizing the need to get him elected, a signal to the left that it’s important to get on board.

AOC understands what are, to my mind, the two lessons progressive climate reformers can draw from this episode.

The broad lesson is that making change is often less about convincing people that good goals are good — Americans are already convinced that fighting climate change and expanding clean energy are good — than it is about convincing them that change won’t leave them behind, that they have a place and a stake in it.

In practical terms, that might mean less talk about the Earth and children and more about industrial policy and what it can do to foster specific industries that will employ specific people in specific regions of the country. It means talking about how a transition to clean energy will create well-paying jobs in every US zip code and save every US homeowner between $1,000 and $2,000 a year. It means less talk about things that will be banned or taken away and more about things that will be created or improved. The Green New Deal was conceived, in part, to push just such a shift in emphasis, to envision climate policy as a generative, not merely oppositional, project.

Climate reformers have the wind at their back. There’s never been a broader consensus that climate change is dangerous and action is needed. What remains is painting a richer picture of the world that action can help create.

In the meantime, the more specific lesson for climate advocates is that, in the home stretch of this election, Biden needs room to maneuver. His election depends on the whims of a few marginal voters in a few swing states, some of them living in places where fossil fuel production has unusually high salience. He needs votes from union households that do some of the very work he’s talking about phasing out.

He needs to reassure them that the clean energy transition will not be abrupt and destructive; nothing will be banned or shut down overnight. It will unfold gradually, and as it does, new investments will reach their communities and new industries will rise to make use of their skills.

The transition will not come at their expense or leave them behind. They have a place in it.

This inclusiveness is a foundational part of Biden’s plan and, more broadly, core to the spirit of the Green New Deal and the recent Democratic alignment on climate policy. It would immeasurably aid public understanding if more people explained that vision of a managed, inclusive transition and fewer nitpicked Biden’s latest attempt to articulate it.