In the past few weeks weeks it was was announced by Programme Plus (a publication published by programme collector Alan Aherne) that the Silver Hill Foods SHC Final won their Prestigious Programme of the Month Award. Please see below Alan’s thoughts on the programme.
PROGRAMME OF THE MONTH: I have a confession to make: when I sought the programme for the Monaghan Senior hurling championship final between Inniskeen Grattans and Monaghan Harps, played in Clontibret on August 7th, I wasn’t expecting much.
The reason wasn’t out of any disrespect towards the Farney county, but rather my past experience when seeking out hurling final programmes from counties in the 2nd lowest tier, namely the Nicky Rackard. It’s not uncommon for basic teamsheets to be the norm, with Leitrim in 2015 an example that springs readily to mind.
Therefore, I was pleasantly surprised when I received the Monaghan publication, because it’s clear that county P.R.O. Noel Duffy and his fellow communications committee members were intent on doing the occasion justice. The end result was a 28-page publication for €3, and the first thing to comment favourably upon is the eye-catching front cover.
It carries the usual match information along with crests of the four competing teams, but the centrepiece is a cartoon-style drawing of two helmet-less, rough and ready characters in a race for the ball. They’re not actually looking at the sliothar in the foreground as they’ve eyes only for each other, but I’m sure that’s no reflection on how the game is played in Monaghan!
It’s certainly a different cover, and there doesn’t appear to be a credit for the drawing although the programme was designed by Declan Savage. The cover is on slightly heavier card than the inside pages, with an advertisement on the inside front. The first page of text is numbered 1 rather than 3, and it’s a welcome from the Co. Chairman complete with head and shoulders photograph along with a panel bestowing credits on the editor, designer, photographers, contributers and printers.
Next up we have profiles of the two referees with photographs, along with full details of the match officials, a profile and photograph of the national anthem singer, plus its words below. The facing page is image-free and features reports of the semi-finals in which Monaghan Harps reached their first decider since 2004 by pipping Clontibret (1-11 to 2-7), while Inniskeen advanced to their seventh on the bounce with a 4-21 to 0-3 demolition of Carrickmacross.
Previews of both matches (the shield final between Castleblayney and Clontibret was the curtain-raiser) are carried on the next left-hand page along with the club crests. There’s a page from Inniskeen Chairman Gerard McArdle complete with large photograph next, followed by the same for the Monaghan Harps Cathaoirleach although his name is omitted.
The page numbered 7 carries a Clontibret team photograph, and the shield final line-outs are on 8 and 9 before the Castleblayney and Inniskeen team pics on 10 and 11 respectively. The centrespread has the Senior line-outs in white text on a green playing field grid backdrop, and the numbers 1 to 15 are super-imposed on the front of the respective club jerseys (green with red and white trim for Inniskeen, green with white hoop on the chest for Monaghan Harps).
The Harps team photograph is on 14, beside a page of Inniskeen player profiles carrying name, age, height, weight and occupation, with a backdrop of their club crest in silhouette. There’s similar treatment for the Harps on 16, with full-forward Robert Healy clocking in as the oldest player on view at the age of 48.
Page 17 has brief profiles of the two mentors from Harps and the two from Inniskeen, with photographs carried of three of the four and a nice white space for us to imagine what Richie Nash of Inniskeen looks like! Pages 18 and 19 are filled by four action photographs from the semi-finals and photographers Fintan McTiernan and Peadar McMahon are credited.
Page 20 is a one-minute Q&A with Inniskeen captain Philip Brooks whom I gather from his answers may originally be a native of Carlow (I’m sure Leo McGough will let me know!). There’s an ad on 21, and then a similar Q&A with Monaghan Harps captain Patrick Meehan on 22. I like page 23 as it has the results of the last 25 finals since 1991 tabulated above the full Senior hurling championship roll of honour, all in white text and super-imposed over a full-page photograph of hurl (or hurley!), grass and sliothar. There’s an ad on 24, and then similar on the inside and back covers.
This was the second county Senior final programme of the year and the first for hurling, following in the footsteps of the Kilkenny football publication which was reviewed in a previous edition. In both cases I was very pleased to see the compilers making a genuine effort to produce a programme worthy of the occasion, even though the sport in question comes a poor second in terms of priorities within the respective counties.
We will be moving into heavy county final traffic from September onwards, and it’s always a period of the year I look forward to with relish as there’s a guarantee that a broad range of programmes will be produced. Each and every county has its own little quirks and different approaches to content and the production process, and that’s what makes it so interesting given that variety is the spice of programme collecting, and not just of life itself! After a month of formulaic programmes at inter-county level and a general ‘same-ness’, county final season brings a freshness and the promise of plenty of admirable work by dedicated volunteers across the country who take immense pride in showcasing their championships through the medium of a well-presented programme. Bring it on I say, as I for one cannot wait!
In the meantime, well done to Noel Duffy and company in Monaghan on a fine effort. For the record, Inniskeen won by 5-15 to 1-6 to claim their third title in all, and first since 2013.
By Majella Boyd Wed 7th Sep
