Kilmacud Crokes manager Robbie Brennan has described it as comical that the All-Ireland Club SFC semi-final between Crokes and Glen was played under a thick blanket of fog on Sunday.
Sunday's game also had added spice due to the events of the previous year. In the 2023 final, Crokes had 16 players on the field in the closing stages of their 1-11 to 1-9 victory, and Glen initially lodged an appeal before later withdrawing it.
The defending champions, Crokes, faced beaten finalists Glen in Páirc Esler in Newry yesterday, securing their revenge with a 2-10 to 1-14 victory on the day.
Glen's win against Crokes also occurred under a thick blanket of fog, which worsened as the game progressed. According to pictures from the game, the players and the pitch were hard to see.
Brennan, who managed Crokes on the day, admitted that his side was well beaten by Glen but also expressed concerns about the game proceeding under such conditions. However, according to a broadcast schedule, the game could not be moved.
"It is not an excuse because we were beaten all over the park, but it was a bit of a joke that it was played," said Brennan.
“You look at Thurles (St Brigid's and Castlehaven in the other semi-final), and half the pitch is frozen, looking at it on the telly, and the other half is fine.
"Obviously Conor (Lane), the ref, and the players could see it. And it’s the same for both sides. No issue, but if it was an oul' Division 2 league game or championship game, it wouldn’t have gone ahead," Brennan suggested.
Off The Ball's @ashoreilly gives her first-hand account of the Glen-Kilmacud fog.
"I didn't even see the last goal!"#GAA #AllIrelandClubChampionships #KilmacudGlen pic.twitter.com/wNgEVhvhdw— Off The Ball (@offtheball) January 8, 2024
“It’s a calendar thing again. It should be finished in the calendar year. This game is even getting lost between the O’Byrne Cup and stuff like that.
“It’s ridiculous that it’s on at this time of the year. But I don’t want that to sound like an excuse because we were beaten by far the better team."
Watty Grahams manager, Malachy O'Rourke, also offered his take on the game and said that last year's controversial loss to Crokes was not the sole reason for their statement win on Sunday. The motivation for his players was to defeat the best club football team in the country.
"We weren't talking about revenge," the Watty Grahams manager said in an interview with BBC NI.
"Kilmacud has proved themselves to be the top team in Ireland. That was the challenge that faced us today if we wanted to get a chance (to win an All-Ireland)."
O'Rourke is now eagerly anticipating a return to Croke Park, where he would strive once again for the Andy Merrigan Cup against the 2013 champions, St. Brigid's, in just two weeks.
"Ourselves and St. Brigid's now have the chance to be the top team in Ireland. We were very focused on what we had to do today," he continued.
"St. Brigid's have come under the radar in many ways because there was so much spotlight on this game, so they will be rubbing their hands as well. It's up to us to deal with the two weeks well, to prepare really well, and to try and give a good account of ourselves.
"St. Brigid's won an All-Ireland not that many years ago, so they are no strangers to Croke Park either. It's quite simple. You just have to go out and perform."
