TG4 documentary 'GAA 70’s – Réabhlóid Shóisialta' a must watch

By John Harrington

The best sports documentaries don’t just tell us something about sport, they also hold a mirror up to society.

TG4’s new feature length documentary, GAA 70’s – Réabhlóid Shóisialta (GAA 70’s – A Social Revolution), certainly does that.

It’s a beautifully shot (in stunning 4K) paean to arguably the most significant decade in the history of the GAA.

It was period of cultural and social transformation in Ireland and the GAA wasn’t just at the heart of that metamorphosis, it accelerated it.

It’s hard to imagine now, but until the 1970s the GAA was nigh invisible in Dublin.

It was so unfashionable in fact that Robbie Kelleher never told any of his fellow students in UCD that played football for Dublin because it was such an unfashionable pursuit to the point of embarrassment.

That all changed in 1974 when Dublin won a most unexpected All-Ireland title in a buccaneering style under the charismatic leadership of manager Kevin Heffernan.

‘Heffo’s Army’ was born and neither Dublin nor the GAA as an entity would ever be the same again.

Timing is everything in sport and Dublin’s emergence from the wilderness coincided with the arrival on the scene of an extraordinarily talented young Kerry team in 1975.

The stage was set for the greatest rivalry that Gaelic football has ever seen. One that pitted 'Heffo' versus 'Micko', city versus country.

It was a sporting crucible that made national names of not just some of the greatest footballers to ever play the game, but some of the greatest characters too.

This story has been told many times before, but perhaps never in such a captivating fashion has it is in GAA 70’s – Réabhlóid Shóisialta.

The documentary brings together the Dublin, Kerry, and Galway players of that era and their reminiscences combined with rare archive footage and a stirring soundtrack make it a hugely enjoyable multi-sensory experience.

There’s a poignancy to it as well, because the film includes the last recorded interview with Seán Doherty and previously unseen footage featuring the late Brian Mullins.

Ireland changed hugely in the 1970s and so did the GAA. ‘GAA 70’s – Réabhlóid Shóisialta’ brilliantly captures it all.

• GAA 70’s – Réabhlóid Shóisialta (GAA 70’s – A Social Revolution) premiers Monday 22^nd December at 19:45, with Irish Sign Language (ISL) and Audio Description on TG4 and worldwide on TG4.ie

• Premiers Tuesday 30th December at 21:00, with English Subtitles and Audio Description on TG4 and worldwide on TG4.ie