“The last day, you could hear the pigeons chirping up in row ZZ!”
Croke Park, with a capacity of 82,300, is one of Europe’s largest stadiums, but playing at the iconic venue on Jones’ Road behind closed doors was an eerie experience for Antrim hurler Eoghan Campbell.
The Saffrons returned to Headquarters on Saturday in a bid to win the Joe McDonagh Cup for the second time in three years. Their opponents Kerry were on the receiving end of a 0-22 to 1-17 loss in 2020 and will be hoping for a change of fortune this time around.
Watch: Joe McDonagh winners should gain All-Ireland SHC status says Darren Gleeson
The decider in December of 2020 was played as a curtain-raiser ahead of Limerick’s All-Ireland SHC win over Waterford with Covid-19 restrictions meaning both games were played behind closed doors.
The Antrim and Kerry teams weren’t even permitted to remain in Croke Park to watch the All-Ireland senior final.
On Saturday afternoon, the Joe McDonagh final is on before the Leinster decider between Galway and Kilkenny and Campbell is anticipating a totally different occasion at Croke Park.
“It is going to be majorly different from 2020,” said Campbell.
“You are going to have a half-full Croke Park, your family members there, your friends there - it is a massive occasion for us. It is something we have to embrace and enjoy as well.
“You don’t get the chance to play in front of 40,000 people every day, so you have to go out and enjoy it too.
“I think having it before the Leinster Final is great, it works out well.
“It was definitely unique in 2020 because there was nobody there. Now, there will be people there. So, even for the boys who have been there, it is still going to be a different experience.
“What the senior boys have been preaching is just communicating with ourselves and focusing on ourselves. Trusting that we’ve done the hard yards in November and December and, if we bring the work-rate and express ourselves well, we’ve a great chance in Croke Park.
“The big thing is, we don’t want to go down there and go into ourselves, we have to embrace everything, the crowd, and just go at it.
“You don’t get to play at Croke Park too often, so you have to enjoy it.”
Saturday’s decider has also stoked up some controversy over the prize on offer for both finalists.
Both teams gain entry into the preliminary round of the All-Ireland series next weekend with the winners hosting Cork while the runners-up are at home to Wexford.
Antrim would also go into the 2023 Leinster Championship if they win. Kerry, however, would be forced to play a play-off game against Tipperary, who finished bottom of this season’s Munster group, in order to gain entry into the 2023 Munster SHC.
While Campbell stressed he doesn't agree with the prospect of Kerry facing a promotion play-off if they win, he believes the Joe McDonagh Cup is a great competition.
The Cushendall native also says the GAA could learn a lot from the second-tier hurling competition as they seek to promote the new Tailteann Cup in football.
“Absolutely, if Kerry win, they should be in the Munster Championship,” said Campbell.
“There are six teams in the Leinster Championship, there are only five in Munster so even it up? It is very simple, there’s nothing complicated about it.
“If I was a Kerry player knowing I’d have to play Tipperary after winning the Joe McDonagh. . . it is not a great prospect and I’d be up in arms to be honest. It is unacceptable and it is really unfair on them if they do win.
He continued: “The promotion of the Joe McDonagh Cup has gotten better and Covid probably helped with that in terms of streaming services showing the games.
“In terms of the actual promotion of the competition from the GAA - that could be better.
“The media ban didn’t really help us.
“In terms of the first year of the Joe McDonagh and the first year of the Tailteann Cup, it is probably night and day. Offaly and Wexford played in the first round of the Tailteann Cup and you’d hardly have known it was on.
“If you are an Antrim footballer, there is no promotion and no incentive. Whereas there is plenty of talk around the Joe McDonagh. People are chatting about, if Kerry win, should they go into the Munster Championship.
“It is night and day in terms of the promotion of the two competitions I would say.
“The Joe McDonagh Cup is always going to be competitive and it is a great cup and it gives you competitive games."
Antrim confirmed their place in Saturday’s decider with a remarkable 7-29 to 3-13 win over Meath in Navan in round four.
Their subsequent loss to Stephen Molumphy’s Kerry in Corrigan Park meant they’d face a rematch at Croke Park with the Kingdom edging out Carlow and Offaly on scoring difference.
While their loss to Kerry mattered little to Antrim, Campbell insists their opponents are much improved since 2020.
“From the time we played them in 2020, it is very different,” added the Antrim skipper.
“They’ve players who aren’t there and some new players who have come in, some very good players - Colin Walsh, Eoin Ross, Fionan MacKessy.
“They’ve developed as a team and as individuals and it is going to be a massive battle.
“We probably know each other inside out and we’ve played a lot over the last couple of years and we’ve been evenly-matched.
“It will come down to a real battle and whoever wants it more on the day.
“I think they’ve improved (from 2020). Even the structure they bring to their game.
“They’ve developed their style of play and how they want to play. They probably don’t have a reliance on Shane Conway anymore - they have a lot more scoring forwards.
“It is a different team and a different prospect.”
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