Mick Bohan Says Criticism Of Dublin’s Dominance Is Hard To Take
No sooner had the final whistle blown in their win over Cork in the All Ireland semi final but some in the media were voicing their concern about Dublin’s dominance of the ladies game.
It was an absurd and over the top reaction, yes the Dublin senior ladies are aiming to win their third All Ireland title in a row this Sunday in Croke Park against Galway, but if successful it will be only the fourth time Dublin have lifted the Brendan Martin Cup in the history of the county.
But that didn’t stop the doomsday merchants claiming it was a crisis for the ladies game, a ludicrous statement particularly when it’s compared to Cork’s record of 11 All Ireland titles in 12 years.
During Cork’s complete rule over the ladies game from 2005 to 2016 there were no voices of dissent, no claims that their dominance was a catastrophe for the game, no just lavish praise of how good a side they were.
It seems that just like the men’s game it’s ok for any county to have a sustained period of success as long as it’s not Dublin.
In Croke Park yesterday afternoon at the LGFA captains day, Dublin senior ladies football manager Mick Bohan expressed his amazement at how some people view dominance within the game.
“It’s amazing how people see domination: Cork won 10 All-Irelands out of 11, we win three or four in our history and we’re seen as dominating. We won nothing in 14, 16’s or minor this year,” Bohan said.
Bohan continued that the criticism of Dublin’s dominance was hard to take and was dismissive of the work that goes into it from everyone involved.
“I’m not trying to play down that whole card about dominance or otherwise, but it’s a little bit like the minute we found ourselves in this position, people started saying to us,
‘Three-in-a-row, four-in-a-row, five-in-a-row, you’ll end up like the lads’.
“And it’s just so dismissive of the work that goes into it, and equally of the people that are trying to take the prize off you.”
“I feel at times people actually don’t think about it before they say it. And I find that hard at times to take.
“Because you just think about the hours and the days and the nights that you’ve left your own kids at home or whatever, and then everyone just throws it out as if it just happens, and it doesn’t. It’s relentless time, month after month.
“If you look at Jim Gavin, what he’s done with that group, people talk about Dublin men’s team dominating but what has he done? Look at his life for the last seven years, what has he done outside of his work and his football, have his family suffered on the base of the fact that Dublin has benefitted. It’s only when he goes that we’ll see the work that he did.”
“There won’t be that dominance again when he goes regardless of any other player. The same thing goes across the board with that whole thing just thrown out. Sometimes, people need to think about it a little bit more before they say those things.
With all this dominance talk Mick was asked if he has quell it down in the dressing room to make sure the players don’t start to buy into that talk and get complacent.
“No, we don’t actually, at all and I’m not saying this because you have a microphone there, you wouldn’t believe how humble our group are.
“It’s something we’re really proud of. At this stage they’ve lost more than they’ve won, and I know you can say that about most teams, but they’ve been on that stage on three occasions and come out on the wrong side of it, it fairly makes you humble about yourself.
“So the fact that they’ve found themselves on the other side of it, they haven’t got carried away with themselves one bit. They’re hugely appreciative of the fact that they’re back here again with another opportunity to do it.”