Dolan and Brolly set for 'On the Ball' GAA discussion night

Westmeath football legend Dessie Dolan will be among the special guests as Mullingar Shamrocks presents a night of GAA discussion and craic tomorrow (Saturday).

Former Waterford hurling star John Mullane, outspoken Sunday Game pundit Joe Brolly and former Meath and Shamrocks ace Bernard Flynn will also be on the panel.

Another Sunday Game pundit, Michael Duignan - an All-Ireland medal winner with Offaly in 1994 and 1998 - will act as MC on the night. The event will take place in the Greville Arms Hotel, Mullingar on January 20, with doors open at 8pm.

The 2018 season is likely to be one of the most momentous in the GAA’s history and this On the Ball event will prepare GAA people for what promises to be a revolutionary season.

The new season will see the introduction of the Super 8s in the football championship, a development that will see one quarter of counties eliminated from the championship during the first week in June. And the provincial hurling championships will be played as a round-robin series with the Munster championship increasing from four matches to 11.

The GAA will have a new Director General in the coming months. The minor championships will now be for players under 17 years of age, while the under-21 football championship is no more and will now be limited to under-20s who are not members of their county senior panel. 

The month of April has been set aside for club competitions, with the All-Ireland finals to be played in August, and already fixture committees are starting to tear their hair out in frustration as the implications of the changes are beginning to emerge. Will the Leagues be totally devalued, particularly in hurling? Is Joe Brolly’s idea of the GAA as a community enhancing organisation built on voluntary commitment and selflessness an outdated philosophy?

This Mullingar Shamrocks event provides the ideal forum for GAA people to discuss the implications of all this change.

A Shamrocks spokesperson said the club is delighted to have lined up Joe Brolly, Bernard Flynn, Dessie Dolan and John Mullane for the event, describing them as "four of the greatest corner-forwards in the GAA’s history but also four of the most exciting and opinionated pundits in the business".
 
"Mullingar Shamrocks mightn’t have a horse outside the Greville Arms Hotel on the night, but the club will have Michael Duignan on stage controlling the discussion and issuing black, yellow or red cards as necessary. And the club has Conor’s Sketches starring Conor Moore supplying the voices and mannerisms of a wide cast of legends in their own minds. If your favourite pundit is missing, don’t worry Conor will deputise and no one will know the difference. Conor Moore is that good."

A brilliant night’s entertainment is in store. Admission costs €20. Tickets have been selling fast but are still available at the Greville Arms Hotel or from any committee member or club officer (086 8069007) and are also available to purchase online via the following link: https://mullingarshamrocks.clubifyapp.com/products.