DON’T be surprised to hear of a few televisions being attacked with a hammer and sickle as people sit down this evening to find no terrestrial coverage from Páirc Esler or Kingspan Breffni Park.
The All-Ireland SFC Group 4 finale has the potential to throw up some gripping drama.
But instead of broadcasting Dublin’s clash with Derry or Armagh’s meeting with Galway, RTÉ 2 are showing a documentary about the Soviet economy.
Thankfully both games are available on GAA+.
But given what is at stake, surely having one of them available on free-to-air TV is a no-brainer.
At least streaming is an option in a few cases where RTÉ are not carrying coverage.
But for three of this weekend’s Sam Maguire games — including the one involving All-Ireland favourites Kerry — the only way to watch live is to be on site.
This is simply not good enough.
Forgive me for dredging up the Covid-19 pandemic as I try to make sense of the TV coverage.
When it was possible to watch your local club from the comfort of your own sitting room during those dark times, it is difficult to fathom the reality that important inter-county Championship games are slipping through the cracks.
It is particularly baffling at a time when the GAA owns its own broadcast platform.
There is no excuse for games like these not being available somewhere.
There should be blanket coverage of a suite of games such as the one upon us this weekend.
It is a disgraceful scenario that we should not be bemoaning again this time next year.
