By John Hughes

j.hughes@gaeliclife.com

A website implicated in attacks on Armagh's Steven McDonnell was pulled down last Monday morning. The administrator of orchardcounty.com, Barry Coleman, said it was a regrettable decision.

"This is because of recent criticism in the press, regarding a topic on Steven McDonnell's form following the Westmeath game," said Coleman. "Benny [Tierney] initially referred to the topic in his column in the Irish News however there was also a full two page article in Sunday's Irish Mail based largely on Benny Tierney's comments. Although orchardcounty.com was not referred to by name, it was obvious that it was my site being mentioned.

"There was also a piece by Karl O'Kane in the 'The Irish Star' recently referring to Peter McDonnell's objection to abuse received by Steven McDonnell and website forums, although I can't say that was relating directly to orchardcounty.com."

Coleman said he was particularly incensed by the Irish Mail on Sunday article, singling out the quote: "These internet sites where people go on and form an opinion of a player or say, 'Oh I saw him in a pub on Saturday night' or cast aspersions on his private life. They give people license to rant," implied that this standard of comment was tolerated on orchardcounty.com, an accusation he angrily denies. "I can assure you that at no time has reference been made to a players personal life on orchardcounty.com, be it in a pub or otherwise," said Coleman

Coleman says he initially had seen no problem with the offending thread. "At the time, I allowed the topic to stay as I thought (rightly or wrongly) the comments on Steven McDonnell were about a dip in form and/or team tactics that didn't suit his play. His ability was never questioned, nor was there any personal abuse. I was also happy to let the topic ride even after Benny's mention because there were as many, if not more, positive comments about Stevie, especially after his blistering display against Roscommon."

The site has been on the go since 2000 and was popular with Armagh fans across the globe who are sure to be upset by the decision. Coleman feels he had no other option though. "I have been an Armagh supporter all my life and the last thing I want to do is upset anyone involved with Armagh GAA, at any level. I appreciate the efforts made by all concerned, but especially the super-human effort put in by our county players, who have provided us with so much success and entertainment over the years. The website was never meant to be used to abuse anyone, and although I thought it was well enough administered obviously that is not everyone's opinion."

Asked if he felt the site would go live again and under what circumstances it might happen Coleman said, "I haven't really thought about that, as the decision to take it down was only made on Monday morning. To be honest I don't even know if I'll bother continuing, which, is a pity considering how popular orchardcounty.com has become since its launch."

Net nannyism must end

Steven McDonnell: All-Ireland medal winner, All-Star, Armagh legend, and victim of internet bullies. That's how some in the Armagh camp seem to see it these days. Both Peter McDonnell and Benny Tierney have felt the need to lash out at the loose talk by internet message board users regarding Steven McDonnell's decidedly indifferent start to the league campaign. They are only the latest in a series of GAA managers, players and pundits who have poured scorn on the banter and horseplay that is par for the course on internet message boards.

Critical comment is fine, so it seems, just so long as it doesn't come from the nameless expanses of the internet. The visceral response that internet babble can excite in some quarters of GAA is nothing short of bizarre.

Some of the comments regarding Steven McDonnell appeared on orchardcounty.com and were prompted by a thread started on the site entitled, "Is it time to drop Stevie?"

The debate that took place around the issue did not go into personal issues or denigrate Steven McDonnell's character. They focused on what could only be described as an uncharacteristic dip in McDonnell's form. The tone of the comments reflected the views, informed and otherwise, of Orchard fans who were frustrated at the way Armagh's year had gone prior to the Roscommon game. With that being the case you would wonder why the Armagh management felt so particularly put out by them.

It might come as a surprise to those in the Armagh hot seat, but the fortunes of the Orchard footballers, McDonnell's poor form included, will have been debated in bars, bookies, gyms, lunch rooms, street corners and everywhere else two Armagh fans meet. And you can guarantee that there will have been a lot less complimentary things said about the form of Stevie from Killeavy than the mild stuff that featured on orchardcounty.com.

If you're interested in seeing what the comments were, you'll have a bit of a problem. On Monday morning the usual entry screen for the site had been replaced with a bare page featuring the following bald statement. "Due to recent events highlighted in the press regarding this site, I have no option but to suspend it until further notice."

It is a sad state of affairs where some relatively harmless cut and thrust can get a site suspended or closed down. Are the players and coaches of the GAA really so delicate, so sensitive to criticism that they must be defended from the strong views that appear on the internet?

Are we really expected to believe that players who can go out into the heat of championship football and listen to 70 minutes of their marker questioning their sexual preferences and the fidelity of their partner, are left teary-eyed by the comments posted by BeerGut69 on gahcrazy.com?

In any event Steven McDonnell has emphatically rammed the words of his critics down their throats with his performance against Roscommon. Does anyone really believe that McDonnell was thinking, 'this'll show those tossers on the internet,' as he clocked up 3-06?

It does a disservice to such a great player to dignify the rantings of a tiny number of message board users with public recognition, and particulary to imply that he gave a damn about them.

The GAA in general needs to develop a thicker skin where this kind of debate is concerned. What this episode has shown is that players and management need to develop a sense of perspective about the chatter that appears on internet message boards. The views published on such boards come from anonymous, faceless individuals who are accountable to no-one. The users could be All-Ireland winning county footballers, losers sitting at their laptop in their Y-fronts who never kicked a ball in their life, or the Dalai Lama for that matter. Read them for entertainment by all means, but taking them personally or giving them any credence is a futile and, ultimately, stupid exercise.

SIDE BAR

It's true, I read it on the internet...

Barak Obama is Muslim

Barak Obama has had to go on record to publicity refute claims circulating on the internet that he is a Muslim. The claims say that Obama was sworn into office as a senator on the Koran and that he belongs to a church that is 'covertly Muslim and excludes non-blacks.' This along with claims such as those stating his election challenge has been funded by Hugo Chavez and that his campaign has been endorsed by the Ku Klux Klan are clearly intended to undermine his bid to become the US President. Just wait until they find out he's from Offaly.

Flesh eating bananas

An e-mail purporting to come from the Manheim Research Institute was circulated across the internet several years ago. The mail alleged that bacteria which causes a terrible flesh-eating disease had been found on bananas imported into the US from Costa Rica. The claim, like the Mannheim Research Institute, was a total fabrication and the American Center for Disease Control was forced to release a statement saying flesh-eating bacteria probably couldn't even survive on banana skin. The damage had been done though and the hoax cost the banana industry in the region of $30 million in lost sales.

Paris Hilton is a celebrity

Perhaps one of the greatest crimes of the internet was to launch the career of the artist known as Paris Whitney Hilton. In 2003 a four-year-old home video of Hilton and her then-boyfriend Rick Salomon getting into a bit of a hoult with no clothes on was leaked to the Internet. Conveniently enough, It came out a week prior to the premiere of 'The Simple Life', the reality show that launched Hilton's 'career'. Previously a shrink-wrapped piece of disposable reality pap, the release of the sex tape transformed 'The Simple Life' into compulsive viewing.