HEADING to north Dublin on this year's third Sunday in September was a very different experience to what it had been for much of the history of the GAA.
Little traffic, and not just because my destination was Abbotstown in the north of the county rather than Croke Park in the north of the city.
No need for a ticket hunt, nor even to apply in advance for accreditation; unlike gaining entrance to many club grounds, simply showing a GAA national media pass sufficed. Parking was easy too – and free.
Instead of the senior football final, which was always the case pre-Covid, before the split season, the occasion was the GAA Rounders All-Ireland Finals.
The 'family feel' to the weekend's games at Abbotstown was self-explanatory – the spectators were almost all friends and family.
That's both a strength and weakness of a growing sport. The three senior deciders on Sunday involved six different clubs from three provinces – Ulster sides Erne Eagles (Mullahoran, Cavan) against Monaghan's Carrick Emmet's (Carrickmacross) in the Men's; Connacht against Leinster in the Ladies, with Breaffy of Mayo taking on Carlow's Bagenalstown; and an all-Leinster affair in the mixed, Cuchulainn (Ballon, Carlow) facing Glynn Barrtown (Wexford).
Yet there were probably no more than a couple of hundred spectators at the National Games Development Centre over the entire day. There may have been a smattering of neutrals, but this reporter only spotted a noticeable contingent from the nearby Limekiln club, based in the Dublin suburb of Walkinstown.
On the positive side, many of those watching and cheering on were female and/ or young. The previous day, Saturday, Abbotstown had also hosted Junior Mixed and Junior Ladies Finals, following the Intermediate Mixed, Ladies, and Men's deciders.
For those seeking sporting drama, unfortunately the Ladies and Men's Finals were rather one-sided, with comprehensive victories for Breaffy and Erne Eagles, but both those clubs are setting the standards; it's up to others to catch them up.
TG4's cameras were there to capture highlights, and viewing those might encourage others to join a club or, better still, start up one of their own.
Ulster is particularly sparse in terms of rounders, despite the best efforts of those involved, including voluntary figurehead Anna Bradley, who has revived the St Trea's club at her native Ballymaguigan. Otherwise, though, in 'the wee six' there's only Sean Treacy's in Lurgan and an incipient rounders scene at Wolfe Tone's, Greencastle, just north of Belfast.
Again, the upside is that Ulster is particularly strong, notably in the men's category. Erne Eagles won their fourth title in five seasons, and their record-extending 15th overall, beating Carrickmacross, who had taken the 2020 crown. The Cavan club had also won the Mixed title last year and in 2020. The Breffni county also includes St Clare's and Cootehill Celtics, while Monaghan also has Drumhowan.
Perhaps some in the six counties may be daunted by the strength of the Mullahoran outfit, but there is rounders history in places such as Cargin, Magherafelt, Lissan, Pomeroy, and Kildress/Cookstown. Besides getting those going again, there's scope for rounders to make its mark in Donegal, Down, and Fermanagh.
Rounders is a simple sport to get going, as Erne Eagles manager Ollie Fitzsimons explained: "All you need is a few bats, a few balls, a team, and someone to show you how to do it properly."
It's definitely more competitive than in his playing days, he acknowledges, when he was part of the 10-in-a-row team that won the Men's All-Ireland from 1998 to 2007 inclusive.
Playing it is deceptively simple, although it is easier for novices than baseball, given that rounders pitching is under-arm. The physical exertion involved isn't massive, although some speed is still required in running between the bases and in making up ground to take catches in the outfield.
Breaffy ladies captain Avril Coyne, who like many of her colleagues first played the sport with nearby Castlebar, voiced the virtues of the game:
"Rounders is for everybody – you can be any age, any fitness. It's such a great sport to come back to and the kids come to training too, it's such a family-orientated sport. Not a lot of fitness needed for it, which is good for some people," she laughs, "and there's a lot of social rounders going on, so people can get a taster of that."
The GAA could play its part in giving much better promotion to one of its traditional core sports, one that is open to all ages and a range of fitness levels. I might even pick up a bat myself.
At a small level, it would have been a gesture of support to allow the senior finals at least to operate without mats protecting the grass; otherwise the message is that football and hurling training sessions are far more important than All-Ireland Rounders Finals.
Despite having only an average of two clubs per county – 63 overall, with the bulk (38) in Leinster, nine each in Connacht and Munster, and seven listed in Ulster – rounders is a close-knit community.
Under the guidance of enthusiastic President Micheal O Dubhlainn, national secretary Iain Cheyne, and games secretary Dylan Whitty, rounders aims to keep expanding.
Its All Star Awards will be held at Dublin's Green Isle Hotel on the evening of Saturday October 1, with the AGM at the Athlone Springs Hotel from 2pm on Sunday November 13.
There's plenty of information on the website, www.gaarounders.ie including an application form for setting up a new club, a coaching manual, and contact details for existing clubs.
So go pick up a bat, pitch a ball, get rounders going at your own club. This time next year you might be competing for an All-Ireland.
