It’d be nice to see an old GAA tradition return in the modern age

There are some great stories that come out when the club scene gets into full flow.

There's some really top notch stuff, like how St.Martin's in Wexford treated their sick physio the way he should be after winning the Wexford Hurling Championship. Or when a former 42-year-old former All-Ireland winner scores four points to win a championship title in Meath. But one that certainly captured the imagination of the nation was Paddy McBrearty and Kieran Hughes as they went toe to toe on Sunday. Kilcar beat Scotstown by 10 points in a scoreline of 1-16 to 1-6 with McBrearty scoring 0-7 on the day. Hughes offered McBrearty a place to stay for the night so the two could catch up and go out after the game McBrearty revealed last week:

"I was chatting to him today, so I was! It was just a bit of craic, so it was - just seeing what's happening. Ah, like, he was texting earlier on, he was talking about staying down on Sunday night maybe. We'll decide about that afterwards," he said.

It's a small gesture, inviting a lad to stay over, but it's not something you hear of too much anymore. It was spoken about on the latest episode of the GAA Hour and Colm Parkinson said he'd love to see the old tradition back:

"That is what the GAA is all about, we have lost that at intercounty level but it’s great to see that at club level. "We used to do this in the league 15 years ago you’d be playing a league game against Galway and you’d have a mate from college and you’d say I’ll stay up with you and you’d have a few pints and that was the great thing about it so it’s great to see that carrying on at club level. "I was talking to Eddie Brennan at the weekend…and he was bemoaning the fact that after league games now everyone goes home and does their recovery the next day, what harm is it after a league game on a Sunday if the team go for dinner, have a few pints and a bit of craic. "Is that really killing you being able to socialise after the first four or five league games and get a bit more serious then but it just seems like going after a league game is out of the question."

Conor Heneghan also highlighted that the tradition isn't what it used to be at club level:

"We used to always do that but now it has changed to tea and sandwiches after a game, you’lll find that a lot of clubhouses will lay it out and you really do appreciate it. It give you a chance to mingle. "Back in the day if you were playing a league game away it’d be stay on for a couple of hours afterwards and mingle with a few boys from the opposition if it didn’t get too heated on the pitch beforehand"

You can listen to the full show below https://soundcloud.com/sportsjoe-gaa-hour/aidan-oshea-interview-darach-honans-hips-ballyragget-celebrations