Dublin’s Paddy Small on small crowd at semi-final: ‘We can only focus on the task at hand’

With the Sam Maguire line-up now confirmed and the mixing bowls at the ready, Dublin are less than three months away from potentially reaching another All-Ireland final. Even though on the decibel level in Paddy Small’s head that’s still another world away.

On Sunday, Small sat among the replacements as Dublin quietly went about their 20-point dismantling of Offaly, setting up another Leinster final showdown against Louth; Dublin beat them last year by 21 points.

Named among the 26-man match panel, Small didn’t see any action on Sunday, which afforded him ample opportunity to soak up the atmosphere or lack of it. Only 21,957 showed up for the double-header (along with Louth beating Kildare), yet it felt like there wasn’t much more than half that in the house at the one time.

On the final Sunday of last July, 45 minutes into the All-Ireland final against Kerry and before a full house of 82,500, Small scored Dublin’s only goal into the Hill 16 end, deftly set up by Colm Basquel, and the atmosphere went somewhere out of this world — and the volume compared to last Sunday from zero to 11.

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“It’s a tough one,” Small says, when asked about Sunday’s muted and small attendance. “In terms of the crowd, I don’t really know why that is. I know there are different ideas floating around with regards to why attendances might be low.

“I know from myself, growing up, going into Leinster championship games there was phenomenal buzz around games, I remember going to Dublin-Meath games in Croke Park, as a child, and there was always a great atmosphere. As players, we can only focus on the task at hand, who we’re playing, where we are.”

After their quarter-final win over Meath, also in Croke Park, Ciarán Kilkenny admitted the Dublin players would have preferred that game to have been played in Páirc Tailteann.

Dublin go into the Louth game on Sunday week chasing a 14th consecutive Leinster title. When asked how many Leinster titles Small has won, he does a quick calculation in his head and replies: “I think seven?” (It’s actually six).

Now 26, he made his Dublin debut in 2018, three years after his older brother John, although the four-time All-Ireland winner admits that initial breakthrough came against expectations.

“I would have had great ambition, but for me, on a personal level, my underage career with Dublin was pretty much nonexistent, to be honest. Very lacklustre would be a very nice way to put it.

“He [John] has been there that bit longer, things have gone quite well for him, but I’ve learned a lot from John, even breaking on to the team, understanding the lifestyle, how to live your life. It’s been helping massively.”

Injuries have plagued his progress at times and Small reckons he’s had “15, 20-plus hamstring tears over the last five or so years”.

If after this year the provincial councils decide to try something different in football, or at least play more of Dublin’s fixtures outside of Croke Park, he would gladly listen.

“I suppose as players we’re very aware we don’t decide or pick on the actual structures of championships. But what I would say, on a personal level, I love playing competitive games, that’s where I get my buzz, so whatever form that might take I’d certainly be for it. And I love travelling around the country, getting into different stadiums, different buzz. I know the Dublin fans are great to travel as well.

“In terms of enjoyment you get from football, of course winning is a massive part of that. Almost seeing the reward of effort. But on reflection, it’s those times when things mightn’t be going your way, or you are injured, being resilient, staying on top of things, and hoping that pays off. Of course … we love playing in those sold-out [ties], 82,500, they are the ones you cherish the most. But we’re also in a very privileged position and we don’t take any of those for granted.”

• Paddy Small was speaking in Croke Park as an ambassador for Insomnia Coffee’s partnership with the GAA and GPA