Ger McCarthy: Art of the post-match GAA interview

THE life of a freelance journalist is far from glamorous.

On any given match day, you need to be at the ground ahead of time, attempt to extract the correct starting fifteen players and their positions before throw-in, note every score, wide, substitute and scorer as well as every other important moment before the final whistle shrills. Easier said than done. Shortly after full-time, everything you have just witnessed needs to be pieced together in a readable format, without mistakes and emailed. An awaiting sports desk performs forensic analysis on your submission and makes any necessary corrections before publishing.

Once that stressful exercise is complete, the final act of any freelance journalist’s match day involves locating and cajoling coherent answers from each of the opposing managers. Your online match report is live at this juncture but another report needs to be filed for tomorrow’s printed edition complete with either manager or player quotations.

Asking questions that (a) won’t upset the losing manager, (b) won’t cause that manager to walk off in a huff or (c) might elicit interesting and thought-provoking responses is an art form.

WORDS OF WISDOM

Cork and Limerick played out a surprisingly entertaining pre-season Munster Co-Op Superstores hurling league clash in front of close to 5,000 supporters at Páirc Uí Rinn recently. Having bashed out a match report, I and my fellow media colleagues made our way across the pitch to record some words of wisdom from the opposing managers.

New Cork senior hurling boss Pat Ryan patiently listened to each question posed and offered an honest assessment of his side’s victory.

Ryan has had to deal with his fair share of media requests throughout his GAA coaching career. In this instance, it is clear he’s being honest when queried about the importance of Cork’s win. Of more importance are the media pack’s questions about the number of upcoming third-level Fitzgibbon and Sigerson Cup matches that will involve the bulk of his Cork senior hurling panel.

What can the Cork manager answer with other than the truth? The New Year has become an increasingly busy period for his players. Managing game time and training are the most important things to consider right now in the month of January. The real business will begin once the National League cranks up and that is just around the corner.

We had to wait a bit longer before speaking to John Kiely. The Limerick manager was putting a number of the Limerick seniors through a rigorous set of after-match runs on the Páirc Uí Chaoimh playing surface. After a while, the All-Ireland-winning manager wandered over pitch side to face numerous microphones, recorders and a barrage of questions.

Expected praise for his players’ work rate including four debutants and injury updates out of the way, my attempt to get Kiely’s thoughts on Cork’s performance did not go down too well. The All-Ireland winning manager made it clear (in a pleasant tone) he preferred to focus on his own team’s display i.e. please don’t ask me what I think of the team that just beat us.

Having expanded on the importance of his players experiencing life outside the senior hurling bubble, had Mr Kiely any comment on those missing from Limerick’s end-of-season holiday for possible disciplinary reasons was met with a curt “I don’t”.

You sometimes have to ask difficult questions.

Páirc Uí Rinn was close to empty by the time the media contingent walked out and back to their respective cars. Once back inside my vehicle, it was time to reopen the iPad to re-write my match report including some of the key managerial comments obtained.

The send button clicked and a second updated report submitted, then and only then could I finally exhale. That is, unless the sports desk emailed back to query any potential mistake or misspelling (a common occurrence when starting out).

A final note on that particular Cork versus Limerick Munster senior hurling league match. It was the first I attended since the passing of my friend and colleague, Paudie Palmer (RIP).

Not getting to experience Paudie’s voice, thumbs up, wink, laughter, one-liners or devilish smile amid the small confines of Páirc Uí Rinn’s freezing press area made for a poignant afternoon. The unexpected loss of a colleague put the stresses of any journalistic match-day into sharp perspective on the drive home to West Cork. What I wouldn’t give for another quote from my departed friend.