Fellow gaels in north Leinster have arranged a public meeting on the pay-for-play arrangements as follows:
Wednesday 19 December
7.30 pm
Cavan Crystal Hotel, Cavan Town
Let’s see what the south Ulster/north Leinster/north Connacht view on all this stuff is. If you’re from there, then turn up at the Cavan Crystal next Wednesday night. Bring others with you … and tell even more people about it. This is one of the most important things you’ll be asked to do to help reverse the pay-for-play agenda … so let’s have a turnout that makes a statement!
If you’re registered on this site you’re a believer. If you’re a believer, be there!
(If anyone sees a bearded gentlemen in a red suit … invite him along!)
After Last Saturday …
After the approval of the pay-for-play arrangements last Saturday – by Central Council only, remember (and in my official guide Central Council is just one of five levels of “jurisdiction” within the GAA, the other four being Clubs; Counties; Provinces; and Congress) – what’s now to stop this scenario:
- Millionaire A offers County A’s Senior Football Panel members €/£20,000 a man to win the All-Ireland
- He offers Player B from County B €/£50,000 to come on board … and gives him a job/address in County A
- All parties sign an agreement stating that they “recognise that the GAA is an Amateur Association and state their absolute commitment to the maintenance of the amateur status of the Association. They state that nothing in this agreement shall be allowed to undermine the amateur status of Gaelic games”. (Does that last bit sound familiar?)
In the new post-8 December world how can the GAA legally or morally oppose such a scenario? It’s performance-based; County panel-specifc; isn’t “our” money; and will be paid/distributed by a third party. And there’s a paper guaranteeing the amateur status. So it clearly isn’t pay for play! (It’s definitely time for that bearded gentleman in the red suit!)
Up Down! Up Tyrone!
Tyrone and Down will meet in next year’s Ulster SFC (GPA strikes etc permitting of course!). Whatever the outcome, we’ll know we have two true GAA counties going head-to-head.
On Sunday Down voted unanimously to reject last Saturday’s pay-for-play deal. On Tuesday night Tyrone voted 152:1 to reject any meddling with Rule 11 via grants or any other sleight-of-hand. Tyrone’s mathematics are interesting in that they almost certainly reflect the proper proportions involved in this whole issue. Don’t let’s pretend there isn’t a “GPA view”. There is. And it has a right to be heard. But for every GAA person holding that view we’d be very confident there’d be 150 who don’t hold it.
To its shame last Saturday made no attempt to reflect or seek the views of the 150.
You’re Growing … and Growing … and Growing!
As of last night, 12 December, there’s 521 of you out there. Thank you for supporting the opposition to pay-for-play.
We believe this is now on the agenda for Congress 2008. And we intend to keep the debate rolling right up until then. To do that we need your help.
- Stay with us!
- Keep raising this issue!
- Don’t accept that the fat lady has sung (she hasn’t even warmed up yet!)
- Keep reinforcing what the GAA’s really about!
And come to the Cavan Crystal Hotel next Wednesday night!
December 14th, 2007 at 11:55 pm
Dia dhaoibh, a chairde.
I still believe that this campaign is not going to succeed unless we address the more fundamental issue of pay for managers/coaches at club and county level. I have already written to you about this and asked for clarification but I have not, as yet, received any enlightenment. My own position on this is:
1. People, professional or otherwise, who are GAA members should not seek or accept any payment other than legitimate expenses with regard to travel etc. for services voluntarily rendered to the GAA.
2. People who sign official contracts for work to be carried out on behalf of the GAA should be paid as agreed in contract but they should not be entitled to any of the other benefits, which may be enjoyed by the bulk of ordinary GAA members – for example All-Ireland Final tickets.
3. Managers and coaches of all club and county teams should be sanctioned by the Central Council and the expenses they receive should be
(a) paid by the Central Council and
(b) made available for viewing to all members of the Association.
Go n-éirí libh.
Donncha.
December 16th, 2007 at 10:24 pm
I believe that an appropriate message would be to publish a list of the GPA’s commercial sponsors. I do not think it will be long before they run for cover or drop the GPA if there any whiff of controversy. For example, can you imagine Energise’s reaction if they hear that a GAA club has voted to exclude their products from the club shop or the touchline.
December 17th, 2007 at 7:11 pm
Current list of GPA sponsors (From GPA website):
Opel
Azzuri
Club Energise
Unison.ie
The Carphone Warehouse
Halifax
Anglo Printers
Bainisteoir Hurling (Tailteann Video Games)
December 17th, 2007 at 8:56 pm
Proposed letter from each county board to each of the GPA’s sponsors:
A chara,
It has come to our attention that your company is a sponsor of the Gaelic Players’ Association. The GPA is an unrecognised break-away faction of GAA members that threatens the unity and survival of our amateur association with its strident advocacy of measures which are sure to lead to pay-for-play.
The GPA has polluted the media with propaganda and invective directed against the volunteers without whom the GAA would not exist. A recent ESRI report confirmed that the GAA is the biggest single source of volunteer activity in Ireland. The irresponsible actions of the GPA have placed volunteer ethos of our unique organisation under threat, an ominous development given the changes that have swept Irish society in the last decade.
We would like to ask that you desist from your sponsorship of the GPA. Failure to do so will result in our county board sending a directive to all of our [number] member clubs to cease trading with you.
Is mise,
[name]
Runaí
[county] County Board