PROGRAMME PLUS – VOLUME 1, NUMBER 4, APRIL 29 th , 2016

Collectors young and old, the newer additions and the veterans of the hobby, are very welcome to the fourth edition of Programme Plus which comes at the end of a month featuring five rather than four Fridays. That leaves an extra week of material to consider, so I’ll get into the content without any further delay!

PROGRAMME OF THE MONTH: I pinpointed my likely award winner for April very early in the month - on the first Saturday in fact when I travelled to the Fairgreen Shopping Centre in to buy copies of the souvenir programme for the 1916 Carlow and football finals re-enactment taking place later that day in Netwatch Cullen Park.

Bagenalstown played Carlow-Graigue in hurling while Tullow took on Tinryland in football, and it was Carlow’s special way of celebrating the centenary. It’s always wonderful to come across something different to adorn a collection, and for €3 the organisers produced a 20-page programme very much in keeping with the way things were one hundred years ago.

The newspaper font of the time was used throughout to give it an authentic feel, on a faded brown background with a similar purpose in mind. Page two features a report on the 1916 football final, a 1-9 to 0-5 victory for Tullow over Tinryland. Eamonn Byrne contributes three pages on what the G.A.A. was like in Tinryland in 1916, and then there’s two pages apiece of pen pictures on the Tinryland and Tullow panels.

The centrespread features the team line-outs from one hundred years ago, with the players taking part in the re-enactment listed below, including details of the direct family links six of them had to the men of 1916.

There’s similar coverage for the hurling teams on the next two pages, although the full Bagenalstown side of 1916 wasn’t known with just four players’ names available as the complete squad wasn’t listed in newspapers of the time.

Next up is a page apiece on the early days of the G.A.A. in Carlow-Graigue and in Tullow respectively, followed by two pages of Carlow-Graigue pen pictures. The last of the reading material is a piece on Bagenalstown’s victorious campaign with pen pictures underneath of the four players whose involvement in the final could be confirmed through match reports.

The back page of this fine historical item is an advert for event sponsors, Fairgreen Shopping Centre, and once again it is suitably done in 1916 style rather than a modern look which would have been out of place.

Leo McGough, a good friend of this bulletin and one of the foremost statisticians in the country, was responsible for the vast majority of the research for this programme and, true to form, he left no stone unturned. Hats off also to Clem Delaney for the design and layout, and I should stress that there’s no fewer than 17 photographs too from a long-gone, but not forgotten, era to adorn a truly excellent publication. Now, to address a matter that I’m sure has crossed some minds reading the above details: how can I give programme of the month to the Carlow offering when DBA did such a fine job on the historical content for the Allianz Football League finals at the end of the month?

Well, first of all I feel a distinction needs to be made between programmes compiled by volunteers as opposed to professional publishers. The purpose of this ‘award’ - and there’s no prize as we know, just acknowledgement of a job well done and hopefully encouragement for the future - is to highlight the best work of programme compiling enthusiasts all over the country.

That’s why I have given Carlow the nod, without taking in any way from DBA’s 80-page programme from April 24 th in Croke Park which cost €5 and should be a part of every collection. There is a striking front page collage of photographs from one hundred years ago, and the programme’s real strength is the 18-page focus on 1916 to the rear which was superbly researched and presented in a very attractive manner.

Noel Treacy, National Chairman of the Commemorations and History committee, outlines their work to date and events to come before three pages on the G.A.A. and the 1916 Rising in Leinster, written by Richard McElligott. He also contributes three pages on Munster, before three on Connacht penned by Dr. Conor McNamara, and three on Ulster from Dónal McAnallen, another of our subscribers. That’s followed by a striking two pages listing the G.A.A. members who fought in The Rising, a thorough list of approximately 300 men with their clubs outlined, the sites where they saw action, and, sadly, those who died have their names highlighted in red.

This programme is a fitting souvenir of what was a special occasion in Croke Park, and there’s also a three and a half-page piece by Seán Moran on the 1916 All- football championship won by my own Wexford; it’s safe to say that we won’t be seeing a repeat of that one hundred years down the line! That article contains an illustration of the front cover of the 1914 final programme, presumably because one for 1916 wasn’t available in the archives. If you haven’t got a copy of this fine publication, make contact with Lynn in DBA quickly before it goes out of print!

GREAT WORK IN : It takes a lot to really impress me after more than 30 years collecting programmes; it’s a rare occasion when my jaw drops to the floor at the sheer quality of a publication, but that’s exactly what happened as recently as yesterday when I opened an envelope sent by Joe Keane, the new Galway Hurling Board P.R.O. to whom I bestowed the programme of the month honour in a previous edition.

An unexpected delight awaited me and, like the DBA Football League finals programme, it’s one that should be in every collection, even those without much emphasis on the club scene. Joe has produced an absolutely magnificent 64-page, full-colour programme for €5 to cover the group rounds of the Galway Senior ‘A’, Senior ‘B’ and Intermediate hurling championships.

The quality is astounding and, in fact, the vast majority of counties wouldn’t even produce something as good for their finals, let alone games at this time of year. The layout by KPW Print in Ballinasloe is superb, and the colours burst off every page.

The grand total of 35 clubs are involved in these three championships; all of them are given a page apiece featuring the club’s name, crest, plus Facebook, Twitter and website details if applicable on the top, along with a plug for the sponsor. There’s an action shot of one player beside a potted history of the club, and a helpful panel giving the Senior or Intermediate final record in thumbnail form, e.g. ‘Cappataggle have never appeared in a Galway senior final’, or, ‘Liam Mellows won the title eight times, 1933, ’43, ’45, ’46, ’54, ’55, ’68 and ’70. Runners up in 1957.’

At the bottom of each page are the team panel numbers along with names of the backroom members and main club officers. Perhaps a teamsheet will still be issued for each game to save patrons who buy this programme from thumbing through it when, for example, the team listed on page 10 plays the one on page 15 during the group stage. That’s not a quibble though, merely an observation.

In his acknowledgement, editor Joe Keane states ‘to you the public who like collecting programmes I hope this souvenir edition fits nicely into your collection’. You can say that again Joe, it’s simply magnificent!

As well as the page per club format, there’s a number of topical news items such as a page on the 2015 club All Stars, coverage of Mullagh’s win in the delayed 2015 league final played on Easter Monday, two pages on last year’s Sarsfields v. Craughwell Senior final draw and , details of the cups being played for, the championship regulations, the group fixtures and dates plus dates for the championship rounds, competition previews by members of the local media, two pages on Galway’s Easter Rising celebrations, a page on last year’s Intermediate final, and four on the recent Féile na nGael hurling finals.

With so much detail on the clubs, this is an incredible resource and it should be a must-have for anyone with an interest in history in particular. I cannot praise it highly enough - contact [email protected] to secure a copy.

Many counties adopt a similar approach to Galway - but nowhere near this level of detail - by producing one programme to cover a full round of club games. This is a handy item to bring around to the matches, especially for the dedicated followers who will attend matches Friday, Saturday and Sunday on any given weekend.

I believe this is the first year a combined Offaly programme has been produced rather than individual teamsheets. The hurling first round was on April 10 th , with six Senior games and five in the Intermediate grade held at eight venues between 12 noon and 6.15 p.m. A 16-page, black and white, programme was produced for €2 with full game details on the cover, the Senior roll of honour on page two, line-outs on three and four, a page on the new Celtic Challenge on five, a page on the Pádraig Moran Memorial football match, Mountjoy Garda Station v. Tubber, on six, and line-outs from seven all the way up to 15 before summer camp details on 16. Each line-out fills half a page and, unfortunately, there always seems to be one club that won’t play ball - in this case, Birr didn’t furnish their Senior and Intermediate squads, with the following printed instead: ‘No team details received from Birr GAA at time of going to print. Unfortunately due to this there will be no programmes available at this game’.

The combined programme has been an established part of the Wexford club scene for some time now. Three were issued during the month to cover the early rounds, with all teams listed from Senior down to Junior ‘A’, sharing the page with their opponents. This time last year it was decided to give each club a set page that wouldn’t be altered throughout the campaign but this met with an outcry as spectators were flicking from page six to page 31 and back again for example when two clubs met. Thankfully, it was quickly changed back to the way it ought to be for convenience, with the two teams in opposition included on the same page. Programme size varies depending on the number of games taking place - the last two weeks were 36 and 28 pages for example. There’s no additional reading material apart from the line-outs, with the championship sponsors getting a page for advertising too. And the Birr equivalent down here was Enniscorthy club Shamrocks, with ‘no team supplied at time of going to print’ filling their otherwise blank space.

THE MONTH IN PROGRAMMES: It was a bumper month on the programme front, with a great deal to review and the usual quirks in quality from one county to another. Here’s what I came across since the last edition -

March 27 th , Drogheda – Allianz Football League Division 4, Louth v. Wexford: Sixteen full-colour pages for a pricey €3, but there was one very interesting piece on Louth’s individual scoring records written by former team manager Paddy Clarke who is the go-to man for stats in the Wee county. James Califf had joined a select band of players scoring more than ten points in a game for Louth during the O’Byrne Cup in January, and this prompted Paddy to tabulate the full details of all 16 men who have managed that feat, from James Clifford in 1925 (4-1 versus Laois in the Leinster championship) up to the present day. Paddy also contributes nearly two pages on Tom Burke from Drogheda - ‘Freedom Fighter And Sportsman’.

April 2 nd , - EirGrid Leinster Under-21 football championship final, Dublin v. Kildare: The Leinster Council seems to have decided on a template for its finals because this was like the Senior colleges hurling programme reviewed in a previous edition: just eight pages in full colour for €2 featuring cover, welcome page, a piece on Dublin, line-outs, a piece on Kildare, a Leinster Council promo and a back page EirGrid advertisement. This programme struck me as a box-ticking exercise rather than a fitting souvenir of a big game; I hope it’s not a portent of reduced content for the Senior championship games to come.

The Electric Ireland Minor championships started earlier this month, and it’s necessary to do a ‘compare and contrast’ exercise between Munster and Leinster. In Munster the provincial council takes ownership of the programmes for all games, with dedicated editor Ed Donnelly doing a fine job. However, in Leinster it’s left to the home county to produce a programme, and the difference in quality between the provinces is crystal clear.

Two Munster hurling games were played on April 6 th , with Waterford hosting in a game I attended in Walsh Park while Limerick took on Clare in the Gaelic Grounds. Both games had 16-page, full-colour programmes for €2 including a match preview penned by Ed, a player profile per county plus backroom details, and a questions and answers feature with the referee.

Unfortunately, it’s a different story in Leinster. It could be argued that it’s easier for Munster to produce their own programmes because they don’t have as many counties and therefore less games to consider. Still, it would be nice to see even one or two Leinster counties making some effort, but that doesn’t appear to be the case from the programmes I have seen.

There was a four-page sheet handed out free of charge at the turnstiles in TEG Cusack Park, , on April 9 th when Wexford beat Westmeath in Minor hurling. The county and Leinster crests, plus an Electric Ireland strip ad, were in colour on the front so it wasn’t a shabby effort to be fair. The county crests were repeated twice on each line-out page, and the back carried details of the TG4 highlights for the following Monday under a colour strip ad for their television programme, along with the six names on the extended Wexford panel.

Two weeks later Wexford beat Dublin after extra-time in Innovate Wexford Park and there was a €1 charge on another four-pager in colour. Coiste na nOg P.R.O. P.J. Howlin designed an attractive cover with cut-outs of a player from each county eyeing a super-imposed sliothar against a backdrop of the venue taken from the Clonard end terrace, looking towards the harbour in the background. There’s Cúl Camp details on the back with the line-outs on the centre pages.

Incidentally, our readers, those from Limerick in particular, may be interested to know that Wexford goalkeeper James Henebery is grandson of the late Seamus Quaid who is remembered in his adopted county with a plaque on the wall near the main entrance to Innovate Wexford Park. Unfortunately, James’ surname has been spelled incorrectly in his two games to date - Henebry in Mullingar and Heneby in Wexford; hopefully they will get it right on May 14 th ! The sons of our 1996 team are starting to emerge too, as the panel features Michael Codd (Tomás), Damien Reck (M.J.), Barry O’Connor (George), Connal Flood (Seán), Rory O’Connor (John), Jack Cushe (Ger), Conor Scallan (Eamonn, the team manager) and Ger Dempsey (Tom).

In between those two hurling games, I was at THAT match in on April 16 th - yes, the Wexford v. Minor football farce which I will return to later in the ‘Talking Point’ feature. The game was a joke but the free, four-page full-colour programme was well crafted to be fair. There was a generic cover action shot with the heads hidden while the back page was that detailed graphic from Leinster Council again outlining where their money is spent. And as for the teams, it’s worth pointing out that Kilkenny had an extended panel stretching to 30 players, so difficulties in fielding a team couldn’t be put forward as an excuse for the bizarre 60 minutes that followed.

April 2nd and 3rd , Allianz Hurling League quarter-finals: I’m taking these four DBA programmes in one block. All were 16 pages for €3, although some of the generic hurling content didn’t appear in the Innovate Wexford Park programme (Waterford v. Wexford) to accommodate details on the Wexford v. Carlow football curtain-raiser. There was a piece by Christy O’Connor - ‘Surviving In Hurling’s Death Zone’ - reduced to two pages in Wexford but stretched to three in Ennis (Clare v. Tipperary), Parnell Park (Limerick v. Dublin) and Nowlan Park (Kilkenny v. Offaly).

Here’s the view of one subscriber: ‘ DBA's NHL quarter-final programmes were a major disappointment; no, that’s not true, they lived up to low expectation. Christy O'Connor's articles are good but when you are at a Clare v. Tipp game in Ennis and the article is all about Kilkenny, and it’s the only real article in the thing, then it's not value for money ’. And so say all of us!

At least some effort was made to alter the content for the Cork v. Galway relegation play-off in on April 3 rd where’s Christy’s piece was replaced with a story by Brian Murphy entitled ‘Can Galway Inspire Rebel Rising?’ Mártan O Ciardha’s piece as Gaeilge was also changed, from ‘Ar An Slí Anseo’ in the other three to ‘Gaillimh Agus Corcaigh 1966’.

The weekend directly after the last edition also featured the Allianz Hurling League finals in Division 2A (Westmeath v. Carlow), 2B ( v. Down), 3A (Roscommon v. Monaghan) and 3B (Fermanagh v. ). I’ve seen the DBA programmes for 2A, 3A and 3B, all eight pages for €2 comprising cover, President’s welcome, sponsor’s welcome, line-outs, path to final and scorers, league table, referee and previous finals, with an Allianz advertisement on the back page. The most interesting aspect of these programmes is that list of finals to date as such facts are often difficult to accumulate for the lower grades.

DBA also produced four-pagers for €1 for the promotion/relegation play-offs in Division 2B (Roscommon v. Donegal) and Division 3A (Fermanagh v. Tyrone), plus the Division 2B relegation play-off featuring Wicklow and Donegal. The first two had county crests on the cover, while the latter had an action shot from a previous meeting.

I called into the Division 1B promotion/relegation play-off between Laois and Westmeath in Tullamore on April 9 th on my way back from our Minor hurling game in Mullingar. I arrived ten minutes into the Senior game, to discover that the programmes had sold out before half-time in the Offaly v. Laois Leinster Minor hurling championship curtain-raiser.

It’s a most annoying experience for an avid collector, to be at a game but unable to secure a programme, and it hadn’t happened to me for many years. Thankfully a fellow collector sent me a copy as soon as I told him about my predicament, and it’s also available to buy direct from DBA despite being a sell-out. I assume that’s because a certain small number are always kept on file away from direct match-day sales, as I used to do the very same when I was county P.R.O.

It was just eight pages for €2, including the four line-outs, with no reading material as the remainder consisted of the cover, two sponsors’ advertisements, and match details on page three. This annoyed the regular programme compilers in Offaly as they would have made an effort to do something more substantial if they had control for their Minor derby game. Unlike the situation as outlined in Mullingar and Wexford, an Offaly v. Laois Minor match in Tullamore would normally be marked by an eight-pager minimum.

Incidentally, I was informed by our county P.R.O. that I couldn’t do a piece congratulating Ciarán Lyng on being honoured for his one hundredth Senior football appearance in the Wexford v. Waterford and Wexford v. Carlow programme because it was a DBA production. Why does such a rigid situation apply? Should each suggested contribution not be judged on its merits? No disrespect intended to Christy O’Connor, but I reckon more Wexford people would be interested in a piece on Ciarán Lyng reaching such a milestone than the Clare man’s thoughts on hurling devoid of a single mention of the Slaneysiders.

DBA also produced programmes for the following Masita All-Ireland Colleges finals: Senior ‘A’ and ‘B’ hurling (16 pages, €3); Senior ‘A’ and ‘B’ football (20 pages, €3); Senior ‘C’ football (eight pages, €2); Junior ‘A’ football (eight pages, €2). It struck me as rather odd to see the ‘A’ and ‘B’ football centrespread devoted to a feature on ‘A’ final referee David Gough, especially when his ‘B’ counterpart, Fergal Barry, got no recognition bar his name on page two.

The story was hung on the fact that Gough won a Hogan Cup medal himself with St. Patrick’s (Navan) in 2001, but while brief profiles are welcome and deserved, I don’t believe that a full-blown feature of this nature was necessary. Personally I would have preferred to see those two pages devoted to some player profiles, but in fairness to the referee he merely answered the questions put to him, and how they were used wasn’t down to him. Should a referee get two pages out of 20 in a programme for an All-Ireland final double-header? What do you think? It looked rather incongruous to me.

It was a very busy month for DBA, and I also saw their programmes for the Allianz Football League semi-finals (32 pages, €3), the Allianz Hurling League semi-finals (32 pages, €3), and the EirGrid All- Ireland Under-21 football semi-finals (20 pages, €3). The publishers have tried various different formats over the years with regard to line-outs, purely to keep things fresh I imagine, and I liked the one used in the Under-21 programme whereby the names of the players in Irish above the English were in colour boxes, i.e. white on red for Cork, white on blue for Monaghan, white on green for Mayo, and white on light blue for Dublin. Otherwise these three programmes were along expected lines, with the usual mix of facts and figures, articles as Gaeilge by Pádraic and Mártan O Ciardha, and general articles across the centrespreads written by Dermot Crowe of the ‘Sunday Independent’, Arthur Sullivan of gaa.ie, and Enda McEvoy of the ‘Irish Examiner’.

April 7th , - EirGrid Munster Under-21 football championship final, Cork v. Kerry: A 32-page full colour offering for €3, four times bigger than its Leinster counterpart and a worthy final souvenir. The cover features a photograph of two apprehensive-looking captains from the pre-game photoshoot, and inside there’s the usual mix of match reports from earlier rounds and their Minor meeting in 2013, player profiles, and a colourfully laid-out two-page spread listing all Cork v. Kerry results in the grade since it started in 1962 (Munster was a few years ahead of the All-Ireland competition). Programme editor Ed Donnelly is showing his provincial counterparts how it should be done this year, and long may it continue.

I acquired an interesting addition to my collection since the last edition. It’s the souvenir menu for the Ballyboden St. Enda’s meal after their All-Ireland Club final victory over James Rocke’s Mitchels on St. Patrick’s Day, and it’s eight colour pages complete with club history, a message from the Chairman, and full pen pictures with photographs of the winning squad. They stayed in suite 416 in Croker for the meal, and had a choice of chicken veloute, field mushrooms, smoked garlic and fresh tarragon braised rice, or Hanlons of Dublin North Atlantic salmon and Galway Rope mussels with colcannon potato cake and leek chowder. Now you know what All-Ireland champions eat…it makes that ham sandwich I consumed this lunchtime sound very insignificant indeed!

TWO GAPS FILLED: I am indebted to two regular readers for supplying me with programmes I had mentioned in previous editions, but was unable to get my hands on at the time. Firstly, the ever- helpful Jim Whelan in Graiguenamanagh came up with the Kildare football final offering that won the McNamee award for 2015, and then Marty Birt from Maghera followed suit with the v. Fermanagh Allianz Football League publication from the last day of January. Marty is a Kilkenny hurling fanatic who travels down to as many Cats matches as possible and meets up regularly with Jim; I’m obliged to both for their assistance.

First let me deal with the Kildare programme. I looked at it asking myself two questions: what sets this apart, and what makes it an award winner? And to be honest, I wouldn’t rate the 60-page (€3) offering in a higher league than many of the 2015 county final programmes I had already seen.

It’s a good production without being outstanding. I did particularly like the two-page spread on the Dermot Bourke Cup history, as the game marked the 40 th anniversary of the first presentation of that trophy to the county champions. A factual grid listed all final results, winning captains and referees, with a photograph of the late Dermot Bourke and a separate grid giving a breakdown of each club’s final appearances and what they have scored.

If that was the highlight, I was surprised that a programme with full-page ads on prominent right- handers (7, 13, 21 and 23) would be deemed worthy of an award. Another gripe was a two-page Q&A with new Kildare manager Cian O’Neill minus any photographs, and a similar look back at the year in a spread written by Ger McNally, but crying out for at least one image to accompany the text. There’s also a glaring typo on the Sarsfields’ captain’s profile page where his club is named ‘Sarsfiedls’.

I’m only making these observations because I believe a McNamee award winner should be without such obvious faults. However, this scheme doesn’t always reward the best programme. For starters, did every county P.R.O. enter? I very much doubt it. Once upon a time I served on a communications work group in Croke Park, and one of my tasks was to adjudicate on the ‘best county Secretary’s report’ when that was a category in the McNamee awards. Guess how many of the 32 entered? Three. It made my task easier but it was an eye-opener for me. There’s a lot to recommend this Kildare programme, but if I was judging all of the 2015 county final programmes I have seen, it would struggle to make the top three. It’s all down to personal opinion of course!

Next I turn to that Derry v. Fermanagh programme. It transpires that Marty had to source it from Fermanagh because he found his own Derry officials as unresponsive as I had. Why oh why is this? A collector wants to buy a programme but can’t even get a reply to an e-mail. It really baffles me.

The programme editor of this bright and breezy 32-page offering has the following to say in his welcome: ‘ We take great pride in delivering these wee books because it matters. Even if only several hundred people may read them on any given day, it matters because it is done voluntarily and to the best of our ability. In the land of ‘Oakleafers’, we are blessed with many gifted sports writers and photographers who combine under our banner. It matters to them all because it’s who we are ’.

I wholeheartedly endorse those sentiments, but I would add the following: it matters to programme collectors too, because we appreciate such good work. Personally I would love to take out a subscription for all Derry programmes given their quality, but all of my e-mails over the past two years have gone unanswered. Is there anything we can do to rectify this?

There is an at times irreverent, fanzine feel to this programme, and it’s all the better for it, as we could do with a laugh at a game on a cold winter’s afternoon. For example, Conan Doherty pens a piece entitled ’15 Things Derry Supporters Should Really Give Up Shouting At Games’. Among them are: ‘Make a sub, for f**k sake’; ‘How’s Patsy’s back?’ (namely Patsy Bradley, their talismanic midfielder); ‘Where’s that ref from? Ack, Jesus, he’s a Leitrim man, sure what would he know about football?’….this is just a sample so you get my drift, but I really enjoyed it.

There’s also a well-written piece by Chris McCann on the different ways of obtaining G.A.A. news in this modern age entitled ‘Big Patsy, Big Ian And The iPhone Versus Local Paper And The High Stool’. For those of you who prefer a straight historical piece, well-known author Seamus McRory has contributed three fine pages on Fermanagh icon Peter McGinnitty. This is an excellent programme, full of reading…I just wish Derry would recognise that collectors all over the country would love to buy their output given half a chance.

I’ve been ranting and raving since the start of this edition, so it’s time to hear from somebody else with a different slant on things. Here’s the latest item supplied by our chief contributor. Many thanks James, and please keep them coming!

THE COLLECTOR - BY JAMES A. LUNDON (LIMERICK VIA GALWAY)

Collectors (or accumulators) come in all shapes, and sizes, albeit most are men. I have encountered a few who are women, possibly only one, actually, and she doesn’t have a wants list either!

Women don’t make great collectors, whether by nature or nurture, I don’t quite know. Collectors are mostly middle-aged, with only a small number being under the age of 40 at present, with very few children or teenagers. The majority are collectors since they were very young, not necessarily of programmes or related memorabilia to start with, but of anything that is collectible, as we spoke about hereabouts before. Are there fewer collectors nowadays, in the internet/web age, than there was way back in less-connected days? I believe there are but it's only a feeling.

Many collectors over 65 have a fixation for newsprint, which is nigh on incomprehensible to those under the age of 40. Newsprint to the modern generation is throwaway, while newsprint to the old men of this game takes on an almost sacred fascination, so much so that I know at least three collectors who have been compiling scrapbooks daily/weekly since they were boys over 60 years ago. I often wonder whether this fascination is a godsend or a millstone around their necks? Both! None have heard of IrishNewsArchive.com, where most daily and many provincial newspapers are now accessible for a very small fee, and which is a boon for the serious researcher.

While newsprint was sacred to the old timers, programmes weren’t always. I have seen relatively recent programmes which have on their front, instructions how to safely dispose of them in the nearest waste bin after use! It is amazing to think that programmes in the old days were considered throwaway, lower than newspapers. That is why many very old All- are rarer than hen’s teeth, or the winners' medals from the games themselves?

All collectors have their own way of dealing, as can be seen from the excellent DIRECTORY that our esteemed editor is slowly building up. No two collectors are identical in this respect, just like no two players, or two referees, are alike in how they play or officiate. How can we be, as we are all built to think and act differently when the same stimulus is applied!

Some collectors are extrovert; many are not. Most are naturally cagey; some are naturally exuberant. Many are very shy, amazingly so, given that this is such a personable pursuit. Some use the web; many don’t. Some seek out other collectors; a surprisingly high number do not.

How can you build a collection without getting out there and talking to and dealing with other collectors or, at least, making yourself well known to others in the game? Some have wants and swaps list; many don’t (see last month’s article). Some collect for a few years and then move on to something else but keep their collection intact; some just get tired of collecting and sell what they have accumulated; some will collect until the day they die, even though they might regularly claim that they want to get out as ! Pick your favourite response from any of the following: , , , , , .

Some collectors collect only their own lifetime i.e. they go back as far as 1975 or similar in all competitions. Some possibly collect only or hurling, though I have yet to meet such a person. Some collect only their county, this author included. Some collect only books and annuals and magazines. Some collect just programmes, though this is quire rare. Some collect everything, as far back, and as wide, as they can.

Some don’t know quite what they collect, other than not to throw out anything - including the aforementioned newsprint - they come across or are given. Some even collect soccer and rugby, as well as the G.A.A. Such collectors are not fundamentalist enough for my liking: you are either a G.A.A. collector or you are an interloper ;-). Never hear of The Ban?

Some collectors will only buy and sell for cash. Some collectors will only swap, like for like, no exceptions. Some collectors will do both, and they are the ones I like the best: pragmatists always best. Some collectors do nothing, if that is possible, which it is! They are impossible to deal with and should be avoided so as to avoid eternal disappointment.

Some collectors will never break their collection, no matter what. Golden rules etc. Some collectors always have to win in every deal they do, no matter what. They must have read the ‘Trump: Art of the Deal’ book way too literally? These are the collectors who must be avoided at all costs, as they suck the life and soul out of the game, which is all this really is, a game. Collecting is a game of give- and-take and without such an open attitude, one’s collection will never improve, other than what such a collector comes across himself. See ‘naturally cagey’ above!

Some collectors are the best of friends with each other; some collectors never talk to each other, especially at the top end, primarily due to previous misdemeanours or rivalries, real and perceived, which is the same in every collecting game. Some collectors are happy to show their collection to all and sundry but a good minority do not expose what they have to anyone, even to their close family, but especially other collectors!

Collecting is life, the good, the bad and the in-between. You have been warned!

CUL CARDS ARE BACK: That excellent Galway club programme I received wasn’t the only pleasant surprise for this collector yesterday. I also purchased the starter folder for the new Cúl Heroes trading card collection, with the team behind this admirable project aimed at children living up to their promise to have the next collection in the shops in April.

My starter folder contained 14 cards, but it’s possible to purchase a deluxe folder with 50. New collectors’ tins are also available with 50 cards including three special editions (there was two ‘specials’ in the starter folder, and three in the deluxe). The number of cards per pack is increased from six to seven (€1.50), with one special edition in each plus a chance to win a prize.

There’s 565 cards in all to collect, with some welcome additions since last year such as county crests, individual award winners, and All-Ireland and provincial cups. There’s 27 cards to collect from the All-Ireland finalists, 18 from the provincial winners, and nine apiece for the rest. However, the Galway hurlers have decided not to be included for the second year running, making them the only county team in contention for the Liam MacCarthy or Sam Maguire Cups not to feature (newbies Kerry have replaced Antrim in the album, just like the hurling competition itself).

They must have their reasons, but it reflects poorly on them in my view; after all, every child collecting these cards would love to have and his colleagues along with every other player in the country, and their absence sticks out like a sore thumb. Perhaps some of our Galway subscribers could shed some light on why this situation prevails for a future edition? I don’t care if curiosity killed the cat, it’s really getting the better of me on this one!

In terms of the actual cards themselves, they are jazzier in design than last year’s with improved graphics, very colourful and attractive I would imagine to younger folk. There must have been an extremely early cut-off point for printing deadlines though, because Graeme Molloy, one of the Wexford footballers featured, retired in late January, while hurler Jack Guiney is included despite removing himself from the county squad in mid-February.

There’s another bonus this year though: this week also marked the publication of issue one of the new Cúl Heroes magazine. This glossy, full-colour 56-pager costs €4.25 and is aimed at the young market, going very much along the lines of soccer magazines like ‘Shoot’ and ‘Match’ with an array of posters and easy-to-read features. There was a free pack of Cúl Cards sellotaped to the cover, and happily it was possible to extract them without ripping the magazine due to its glossy sheen; there’s nothing worse than a freebie sellotaped to normal newsprint as invariably it will leave a tear mark on the paper.

This new magazine is edited by Kevin O’Brien ( [email protected] ) and designed by Eduardo Goncalves. The big children among us will welcome it as much as the young guns; remember the days when there was a choice of monthly G.A.A. magazines to buy? That will surely be a topic for a future edition (what happened and where did they disappear to?), but in the meantime hats off to the Cúl Heroes team based in Kilcruttin Business Park, Tullamore, Co. Offaly, for improving significantly already on last year’s maiden voyage into the trading card world. As an aside, the most attractive trading cards I think I have ever seen are those from brand leader Panini for the Euro 2016 finals in France under the Adrenalyn XL banner, but these new Cúl Cards aren’t far behind!

And while I mention magazines, I should say fair play to the Association whose spring/summer edition of ‘On The Ball’ was recently published, a free 16-page magazine with the content written primarily by journalists Brendan Coffey and Daragh O Conchúir. Their ladies’ football counterparts also produce the more comprehensive ‘Peil’ four times per year, with Jackie Cahill writing most of the copy, and a subscription to the printed version will cost you €20.

LABOURS OF LOVE: New readers should note that the history book section in these parts is labelled ‘Labours Of Love’ because that’s exactly what publications of this nature entail, with years of devoted voluntary research finally coming to fruition. And I’m delighted to announce this month that a new book concentrating exclusively on members of the Gardaí who played at inter-county level will more than likely be published before the end of the year.

The research has been undertaken over many years by Brian Willoughby and Noel Hynes, and Brian told me last week that he is putting the finishing touches to the book at this stage. Over 1,500 players are featured in it, with a number of chapters all about the G.A.A. combined with life in the force. Sponsorship has been secured from ex-Garda Cathal Jackson of Copper Face Jacks, so everything is good to go.

No doubt one of the names featured will be Seán English, a native of Ferns, All-Ireland winner with Wexford in 1960 and ex-Garda Sergeant, who sadly passed away in Nenagh, Co. Tipperary, on Wednesday. Ar dheis Dé go raibh a anam. I helped Brian with some research for this, and as the son of an ex-Garda Sergeant myself (though not an inter-county one!) I’m really looking forward to it. There will be more details revealed in future editions.

Moving on to the topic of club histories, I would advise any collectors driving along the main Cork to Waterford road to take a slight diversion to Glounthane if you haven’t already bought Paddy Twomey’s ‘Erins Own - From An Acorn To An Oak 1988-2013’. That’s exactly what I did recently, to Fitzpatrick’s shop in the village just outside Cork city to be precise, where the impressive 530-page book, a follow-up to Liam O’Connell’s ‘Story of Erin’s Own’ published in 1988, is still available.

There was just one well-thumbed book partly hidden on the shelves, but a helpful assistant went into the store to procure a good as new copy for me…now that’s what you call service with a smile! If you’re in the vicinity and have an interest in the book, ring Fitzpatrick’s first (021-4353299) to make sure it is still in stock. This book charts the rise of the club during the glittering career of its most favourite son, , and it’s a wonderful record of 25 successful years.

Staying with Cork, I know that the Freemount club in the Duhallow division recently published a history book, but my e-mails have not garnered a response. Honestly, I’m starting to think that I need to brush up on my e-mail etiquette, because I’m being stonewalled all over the country! If anyone knows how or where the Freemount book might be obtained, I’d be delighted to hear from you.

On my last visit to Thurles I purchased volumes one and two of ‘A Central Culture - Gaelic Sport In Nenagh’ covering pre-1884 to 1933, and 1934 to 1959, respectively, compiled by leading collector and bulletin subscriber P.J. Maxwell along with Donal A. Murphy and Nancy Murphy. The books run to 398 and 416 pages respectively - that’s over 800 pages and the planned trilogy is only up to 1959, so you can guess how thorough the authors have been in researching this project…yes indeed, that’s exactly what I mean by a labour of love!

Just to show that the Tipperary club can combine the old with the new, I also received a link from Enda O’Sullivan for their monthly newsletter. It’s been a staple of club life for a few years now and, while it’s only available via the internet and there are no hard copies, it should still be of relevance to anyone with an interest in club histories. Here’s the link: http://www.nenagheireog.com/index.php/newsletterarchive/

Moving now to Kilkenny, copies of ‘O Fhás go hAois - Cumann na mBunscoileanna Cill Chainnigh 1989-2014’ by Gerry O’Neill and Dermot Dunphy are available to buy from Jim Whelan (see the directory for his contact details). This is a very impressive 324-page colour record of all primary school G.A.A. activity Noreside over the past quarter-century and is a follow-up to ‘Caoga Blian Og’ which was published 25 years ago to mark the golden jubilee - I imagine that older book is nigh on impossible to source at this stage, although if anyone can lay their hands on a copy, it will be the bould Jim! And if you’re talking to him, he’ll also be delighted to sell you ‘Graignamanagh GAA Club - A Field Of Dreams’, the golden jubilee history of his beloved home club which was published in 2003.

I mentioned Gerry O’Neill above, author of the excellent ‘Kilkenny GAA Bible’ some years ago, and that reminds me that John Phelan is working on a similar ‘Laois GAA Bible’. The more bibles the better as far as collectors are concerned, and I hope that the O’Moore version will be available soon.

Here’s something I want to do for the next edition, and I would invite as many readers as possible to help me out: I’d like to compile a directory of the best bookshops countrywide to source club history books from. For example, The Book Centre on Wexford’s Main Street is the place to go down here because it has at least four recent G.A.A. histories for sale.

Anyone on holidays or passing through another county would find it very helpful to be directed to the best shop to enhance their collections. Therefore, please send me information on the most appropriate shop in your locality, along with a list of the local G.A.A. books available where possible, and I will be happy to compile a full list.

YEARBOOK WATCH: There was a welcome addition to the yearbook library since the last edition with the launch of ‘Limerick G.A.A. On The Rise’ which includes an article on previous Limerick yearbooks by our own James A. Lundon. I was in Limerick city just one night after the launch to report on a soccer game in the Markets Field, but unfortunately it hadn’t been distributed to any shop in the vicinity by that stage. It runs to 150 pages, costs €10 and the blurb says it’s ‘generously peppered with many photographs’, so perhaps someone who has a copy would be good enough to supply a review for our May edition.

THE GOOD OLD DAYS: Remember the good old days when there was a kiosk at the back of the Hogan Stand selling G.A.A. books? All of the recently-published county yearbooks were available along with many club histories, and a visit there was always one of the highlights of the day for a collector.

Nostalgia took me over and I started to long for those days on a recent trip to Croke Park. That kiosk is long gone of course, and the only books available in Elvery’s were old Croke Park annuals at half price. I picked up the 2011-2012 and 2012-2013 versions for €4.97 apiece, but that’s about as good as it gets unless you’re a DVD collector too.

The number of outlets selling G.A.A. material are few and far between. Of course, Lár na Páirce on Slievenamon Road, Thurles, a very short walk from the iconic Hayes’ Hotel, comes with a high recommendation, particularly that little alcove on the ground floor housing an array of books. Similarly, drop in to see Pádraig Mac Mathúna in his shop after a match in Cusack Park, Ennis, and he will be happy to let you browse and will sell you old programmes and yearbooks at very reasonable prices. Is there anywhere else around the country that I don’t know about, some hidden gem for collectors? Let me know about it if I haven’t mentioned it above please!

DIRECTORY OF COLLECTORS: The fourth edition of the directory of collectors is attached in another Microsoft Word document, with a couple of additional entries from Keith Heffernan and Tom Morrison respectively. 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.

TALKING POINT – STATS AND RECORDS: Call me pedantic if you like, but one thing that really bugged me about the recent Wexford v. Kilkenny Minor football farce was the inaccurate reporting of the final scoreline by so many outlets. The margin was indeed 71 points, but for the record the score was 17-21 to 0-1 and not 17-20 to nil. Those of us who were actually there (roughly one hundred I would estimate) all cheered in unison when, with the second-last kick of the game, Kilkenny centre-back Seán Boyd scored their only point. It was a good-natured roar from the stand, and it brought a weird hour to an uplifting end.

So where did the 17-20 to nil scoreline come from? From what I can gather, the official Wexford G.A.A. Twitter account posted that as the final result, and it was immediately picked up by various strands of social media and several radio stations, and reported as ‘gospel’. Now, I know for a fact that the person looking after that Twitter feed wasn’t in Kilkenny, and it’s not the first inaccuracy to be posted on that particular account.

And for those of you reading and thinking to yourself, ‘what the hell does it matter either way?’, I’ll tell you exactly why: because, as C.P. Scott wrote in 1921, ‘ comment is free but facts are sacred ’. Accurate facts form the cornerstone of every decent programme and book in our collections, but the G.A.A. doesn’t have a great track record in this field.

The one saving grace in Kilkenny was that the other journalist working at the game - Trevor Spillane of the ‘Kilkenny People’ - supplied the result and scorers to the ‘Sunday Independent’ and everything was accurate (17-21 to 0-1, with the Wexford scorers correct). I make that comment because, as far as I can ascertain, whoever compiles the stats used in official G.A.A. publications uses the ‘Indo’ as its source.

Alas, I know only too well as a journalist that this practice is fraught with danger, and leads to more errors than you would realise. Just to explain, the majority of National League and lesser matches are covered for the dailies by stringers, local journalists who send in reports when a staffer isn’t dispatched to the venue. And it galls me to see inaccurate scorers listed time and time again. For example, when Wexford played Laois in the Allianz Hurling League in Portlaoise recently, one of Ian Byrne’s points was allocated to Shane Tomkins by the stringer covering the game for all the dailies. As a result, the scoring tallies for both men in the quarter-final programme versus Waterford were incorrect.

This happens over and over again, and it leads to a distorted picture and a misrepresentation of the facts. Relying on the dailies is an inexact science, and here’s another example: Wexford used Joe O’Connor in a number of games early in the year, while his first cousin, Jack, featured at a later stage. Therefore, it would be easy for somebody compiling information on overall appearances from a daily paper to assume that ‘J O’Connor’ was one and the same person. Not so I’m afraid.

What’s the solution to this? It’s simple, but it won’t happen. Accuse me of having a vested interest if you wish, given that I’m sports editor of a local newspaper group, but this is what I’d do if I was tasked with keeping accurate inter-county G.A.A. statistics: I’d identify the main local newspaper in each county, the one regarded as the paper of record, and I’d subscribe to each and every one of them. Then I’d rely on their match reports for the accurate scorers for their own county, because these are the people watching their own players day in and day out. They know their players by their onfield gait, helmet colour, mannerisms, and they are a lot more likely to get scorers right than stringers under pressure to hit a deadline and unaccustomed to regularly seeing the players on the visiting team.

Stats and records are vitally important, and it’s not unusual for programme collectors to have an active interest in this field. For example, Leo McGough in Carlow has the complete record of every game played in the All-Ireland Senior hurling championship since the games began at his fingertips. His work adorned the late, lamented ‘Sunday Tribune’ and is a fixture in the Leinster Senior championship programmes, while he did a fantastic job collating all of the relevant stats for the AIB Leinster Club hurling final of 2015 held in Carlow.

Leo cannot publish his hurling records because he needs a sponsor; can the G.A.A. at central level not see the value of his research and back the project themselves? Imagine having the complete record of every hurler who ever played a provincial or All-Ireland game in book form? It would be the ‘Wisden’ of the sport, and all it needs is a little more appreciation of the value of stats, and a cash injection to make it happen.

Lists of records have always fascinated me. Another subscriber, Patrick Donegan, set about compiling the full Leinster Junior club hurling final history when Lusmagh met Glenmore in the most recent decider last January. The results, winning captains, referees and top scorers were included therein, and I was delighted to be able to fill in a few of the gaps afterwards to complete the list. That sort of information gives a programme authenticity and real value, and it should be encouraged.

The best, most informative programmes are the ones with accurate facts rather than waffle, properly researched information on previous meetings, player appearances, scorers and the like. And that’s the fundamental point of this particular rant on my part: facts are sacred, but accuracy isn’t always what it should be in the wonderful world of the G.A.A.

Is there some aspect of programme collecting that irritates you, that you feel could be improved, or that you would just like to get off your chest? If there is, this ‘talking point’ section is designed for you. I’d like to hear from collectors with any genuine grievances, and perhaps by outlining the situation and getting reaction from readers we can come up with solutions. Any topic to help us in pursuing the hobby we love will be considered, so don’t be shy!

SWAPS AND WANTS LISTS: I didn’t hear of anyone extra advertising a swaps and wants list this month so, just as a reminder, here’s the list of collectors who had lists available last month if readers still want to make contact:

• Joe Lonergan ([email protected]) • P.J. Maxwell ([email protected]) • David Nolan ( [email protected] ) • Neville O’Donoghue ( [email protected] ) • Seamas O’Reilly ([email protected]) 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 new monthly information bulletin for collectors of GAA match programmes, histories, yearbooks, magazines, photographs, etc. It is distributed via e-mail on the last Friday of every month 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 e-mail address to Alan Aherne who is compiling the information bulletin ( [email protected] ).

FUTURE EDITIONS: The publication schedule for the remainder of the year is outlined below. If anyone wishes to contribute to the content, the deadline will be the Tuesday before the publication date. Once again, I have been forced to hold over some contributions until next month which is a sign of the interest being shown by collectors, so please don’t be annoyed if you sent me something and it hasn’t been published yet.

Here is a full list of publication and deadline dates for the rest of the year:

• Volume 1, Number 5: Friday, May 27 th (deadline: Tuesday, May 24 th ) • Volume 1, Number 6: Friday, June 24 th (deadline: Tuesday, June 21 st ) • Volume 1, Number 7: Friday, July 29 th (deadline: Tuesday, July 26 th ) • Volume 1, Number 8: Friday, August 26 th (deadline: Tuesday, August 23 rd ) • Volume 1, Number 9: Friday, September 30 th (deadline: Tuesday, September 27 th ) • Volume 1, Number 10: Friday, October 28 th (deadline: Tuesday, October 25 th ) • Volume 1, Number 11: Friday, November 25 th (deadline: Tuesday, November 22 nd ) • Volume 1, Number 12: Friday, December 30 th (deadline: Tuesday, December 27 th )

CONCLUSION: Thanks for reading everyone, and I wish you all a pleasant Bank holiday weekend and happy collecting. My e-mail address is [email protected] , and I’d love to hear from you to discuss all aspects of our hobby. Don’t forget to print and post the bulletin to any collectors you know without e-mail access, and feel free to contact me with any information worth sharing in next month’s edition!

Mise le meas,

ALAN AHERNE