Conor Counihan and his dummy teams have been the topic of much comment this summer. It was the stick his critics used to beat him after the Munster final defeat to Kerry. Lo and behold against Galway last Saturday he sent out the 15 he had put in the programme.

“There were situations where the team that was named wasn’t the team that took the field. That mightn’t always be the case of being deliberate.

“If people want to make an issue of it, they can make an issue of it. If you went out last weekend and looked at how many teams went out in terms of named teams, there was quite a lot different.”

So, why do it?

“I would say most of the time that there were issues around players. But sometimes you wouldn’t tell an opposition that you were going to play a fella five-foot-four against a fella six-foot-six. You just wouldn’t do it. I don’t see what the big issue is.”

We move on to another issue that has most Cork people not travelling up to see the Dublin game in Croke Park.

“For the Cork public, the practicalities of families with youngsters having to travel to the game for a 7pm throw-in, by the time they get there, watch the game and then go home to wherever they live in West Cork for example, you could be talking 1am, 2am, or later.

“It’s disappointing from that point of view, notwithstanding the expense it puts on families and fans anyway.”

Fracas
Meanwhile, both Wexford and Longford County Boards have been hit with €5,000 fines by the Central Competitions Control Committee as a result of the fracas at the end of normal time of their All-Ireland senior football championship qualifier earlier this month.

Model county centre-back David Murphy has had a one match suspension recommended, with team trainer Jason Moran faces an eight week ban.

Longford’s Michael Quinn has been recommended with a one match ban, while two mentors, Dave Hare and James Murray have also been recommended with eight week bans.