Dublin legend Diarmuid Connolly has laughed off suggestions that Dublin footballers ‘get the run of Croke Park’.
The six-time All-Ireland winner was drawn into the debate after former Mayo manager James Horan backed up comments made by Kildare boss Glenn Ryan earlier this week.
The Lilywhites were edged out 0-14 to 0-12 by the Dubs at Croke Park last weekend in the Leinster semi-final and afterwards Ryan hit out at what he sees as advantages handed to the 12-in-a-row provincial champions with a couple of tight calls going their way.
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“You can talk about sour grapes if you like, but it’s a familiarity that’s certainly not Dublin’s fault,” Ryan said.
“It’s always the fourth official telling our sideline to maybe step back a bit, when a mentor from the Dublin team is actually standing in ours - and then you see a sideline ball that’s nowhere near a sideline ball given against you.
“There’s the familiarity that Dublin have with here, that no other team gets a chance, and it does benefit them. And I’m probably echoing the thoughts of most other counties.”
Ex-Mayo manager Horan has been on the end of a series of marginal defeats to the Dubs in Croke Park and was quick to support that viewpoint.
“In my experience, he is 100% right,” he said on the Irish Examiner GAA podcast.
“I think the familiarity that Dublin have with Croke Park, I think there’s a bias there that favours Dublin that some of the people there, some of the officials, don’t even realise.
“We’ve had manys the battle up there with them. When Dublin are there, it’s, per se, their home ground. They know the people around the place, times, dressing rooms, stuff on the big screen, images that are shown, music that is played.
“Players on the pitch before the game, some are allowed, other teams are not. Some teams can have more than others and nothing is said.
“Now it’s small in isolation stuff but when you add it all up, there’s definitely something there that favours Dublin.
“Now this is nothing to do with the Dublin players. But it’s because they are there so often, be use they have been so successful, they know the names of all the people on the doors, they can go where they want. Other teams can’t. We can’t do this, we can’t do that, we can’t do the other..
“It does add up to something that can be a frustration. It does add up to something. It might be that one attack, or that one play or bit of confidence that can impact a game.
“Certainly for me, because Dublin are there so often, they get the run of the place.”
But St Vincent’s and Dublin legend Connolly, so often a thorn in the side of Horan’s Mayo teams, was quick to rubbish that narrative.
“Comedy gold,” he replied on social media, followed by a laughing face emoji.
Earlier this week, another Dublin hero Paul Flynn also hit back at the criticism from the Kildare manager, describing Ryan as ‘narky’.
“He needs to look at that why they didn’t win it. They could have closed that game out, Dublin were there for the taking. Dublin were poor,” he said.
“His timing, in my opinion, was all wrong. Not after losing a game like that where they arguably should have won.
“I got home and it was sent to me on WhatsApp and I thought ‘is he kidding?’”
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