‘The punishment didn’t match the crime’: Ger Brennan on his ‘draconian’ suspension

Ger Brennan is preparing to serve out the remainder of his high-profile suspension when Dublin open their National League campaign in 2027.

The Dublin manager, who missed four Championship games last summer following an altercation in the final round of the league which led to a subsequent 12-week ban, still has a two-game ban in the league to serve.

Brennan said that his solicitor, Conor Sally, looked into the matter but found that the Sky Blues boss would only fit two of the three required elements for clemency or “mercy” to kick in.

In a wide-ranging interview at the launch of Londis’s two-year title sponsorship arrangement with UCD GAA – in which Brennan revealed he has identified 50 potential “new players” for 2027 and was heavily critical of rules currently on trial in third-level games – he acknowledged that the suspension saga was hard “on a personal level” and said “a lot of people could have handled themselves better throughout the whole thing”.

Dublin suffered relegation from Division One last spring so will begin next season’s campaign in the second tier, without Brennan on the line. The St Vincent’s man was reprimanded following an altercation with Galway’s strength and conditioning coach Cian Breathnach McGinn.

“I think the whole country, or anyone involved in Gaelic games in Ireland and beyond, would be in agreement that this eejit here chatting deserved something. But the punishment didn’t match the crime and I still miss the first two league games of 2027,” said Brennan.

“The Association can be slow-moving at times but I think something will need to be done, to look at this part of the rule book to make it less draconian, I guess.”

Brennan said a plea to disciplinary authorities for mercy, or reinstatement, was likely to fail.

“I don’t fit the mercy element of it, we have asked,” he said. “There’s three criteria, I think I meet two of them. I don’t meet the third one. I can’t remember what they are but Conor Sally did have a look at it for us at the time. But I have to not be on the sideline for whomever we’re playing in the first two league games. I’m not allowed in the dressingroom, or on the pitchside.”

Brennan said not being able to coach an underage team in Portmarnock was the worst part of the saga.

[ A minute of glory and resilience in timeless Galway showpiece sums up magic of county finalsOpens in new window ]

“That was very disappointing,” said Brennan, who suggested there was a lot to learn from the episode. “There’s a lot of [people], I’m starting with myself first, but there’s a lot of people who could have handled themselves better throughout the whole thing. But yeah, not being involved with the kids’ team, that was a kicker.”

Dublin fared poorly during Brennan’s absence, losing to Westmeath and Louth and struggling past Wicklow. They then beat Cavan, Donegal and Galway following his return, and pushed Kerry hard in an All-Ireland semi-final.

Brennan said the uptick in form didn’t amount to redemption, arguing that redemption would only come if the disciplinary rules were changed in light of his situation.

On plans for 2027, Brennan, who handed competitive game time to 60 different players this year, said he’s busy.

“We have 42 new players identified from this year’s club championship already, along with seven or eight guys from Jonny Cooper’s Under-20 panel. We’re going to be trialling them quietly over the next couple of weeks. We ended up with 39 on last year’s Championship panel. Ciarán Kilkenny is obviously gone so we’re down to 38.”

Brennan isn’t expecting any more retirements.

[ Unlocking inspiration remains sport’s final frontier that can’t be boughtOpens in new window ]

“No, is the answer, I don’t expect any more,” he said. “Having chatted to a few lads, everyone is gung-ho and ready to rock for next year’s campaign.”

Brennan is UCD’s GAA Executive and has watched their three games so far in the third-level league.

He admits he doesn’t like the four-point goal experiment, and outlined a number of instances where referees had struggled to properly implement the three handpass limit and the backcourt directive.

“The handpass one and the backcourt one, we’re going to give ourselves awful trouble with them if that moves to come in,” he said. “It’s too much for referees. They [the possible mistakes] scare the crap out of me now, to be honest. And if I was a referee, I’d be more frightened.”