GAA President Jarlath Burns phoned Ger Brennan to clear up comments
Ger Brennan returned to the sideline on Sunday as Dublin defeated Cavan
Dublin boss Ger Brennan has revealed GAA President Jarlath Burns called him to clear up his comments in relation to the Dublin boss’ well-publicised suspension.
After seeing his Blues cruise past Cavan on Sunday, Brennan said: “To be fair to Jarlath Burns, he did ring me last week. We had a lovely conversation on the phone – he was sincere, honest and he apologised. I accepted it and we move on.”
Asked if it was emotional to return to the sideline after receiving a warm reception from Dublin supporters before throw-in, Brennan said his attention was fixed on the challenge posed by Cavan.
“You’re just trying to stay focused on the football and ensure that you are thinking straight for the players,” he said.
“Obviously, Cavan, their last two Championship matches were Westmeath and possibly five, six weeks before that was Monaghan. They had a lot of changes from the Monaghan game to the Westmeath game.
“And again, a bit of uncertainty around who they might start. So I was just trying to keep sharp when we got the Cavan first 15 to ensure we had our couple of match-ups and structures right. So I was just focusing on the job at hand.”
On the injury front, Brennan revealed that both Sean Bugler and Cormac Costello had suffered knocks but hopes they will be available for Dublin’s next outing.
“Sean just picked up a bit of a knock on his leg and hopefully he’ll be back in the mix next week and Cormac just got a dead leg and he tried to go on, he kicked a free after the incident.
“He tried to push on but he wasn’t able to and he’s been great for us this year so hopefully Cormac is back for next week.”
He also confirmed that Brian Howard, who was replaced during the second half, is “fine”.
With Dublin safely through to the All-Ireland quarter-final draw, Brennan’s focus was on the bigger picture.
“A lot has happened in the previous 12 weeks and it’s just about being in the draw, it’s the only thing that matters and we’ll get who we’ll get.
“I’m very happy with how the lads applied themselves today. Very, very focused.
“The guys worked hard.
“The subs that came in today kept the energy levels high and added value when they came in so that’s probably a positive.
“We probably haven’t had that impact from the bench in some of our games recently.”
