To its eternal credit the Dublin County Board, as we reported in an earlier circular, asked its Clubs to discuss and vote on the November agreement. We understand Naomh Olaf was the first to do so, last Thursday night. The result? A whacking 74% to 26% AGAINST!The discussion then moved on to the meeting of the Dublin County Board on Monday night. The result here? Another resounding rejection of the scheme with at least 35 delegates speaking out against it. Dublin’s Clubs were very clear about two things. They don’t want the scheme and they were bitterly disappointed that the whole thing had been handled as a “done deal” at a high level and they had not been consulted.
A very consistent pattern is emerging here. When ordinary GAA people have their say, they’re very strongly against this move to pay-for-play. So far that’s been the case with votes in Armagh; Derry; Down; Dublin; Fermanagh; Mayo; and Tyrone. In fact the only vote we know of that’s gone in favour of the arrangements was … yes, you’ve guessed, the fateful 8 December one by Central Council! Surely it’s not a case of everyone being out of step but “Our Johnny”?
We also believe that the GAA’s Management Committee was by no means unanimous when it voted on this issue. But convention evidently is that Management votes as one when it goes to Central Council … so a small majority translates into a unanimous vote. It all seems a wee bit Stalinist! But if we add the Management Committee dissenters to those Counties which have clearly set their faces against the agreement … then surely Central Council’s true position on the arrangement should be far from the near-unanimity we were told occurred back on 8 December? If it’s not, then our GAA systems are worryingly dysfunctional.
DRA Affairs
We’ve formally gone back to the DRA asking it to hold a hearing on our submission. It’s now been lodged for over a month and with the deadline for motions to Congress fast approaching we feel it’s reasonable that our case should be heard by 24 January. We’ll keep you posted.
The GAA’s “Iraq War” …? Are There Certain Similarities?
A small, remote group of high-powered people enter into a secret arrangement with third parties … wave a nonsensical threat (Weapons-of-Mass-Destruction/GPA Strike) … refuse to consult the rest of us … insist on committing us to something we neither needed nor wanted … break the fundamental rules … shift the rationale after it happened (waving UN motions and phrases like “no binding decision”) … leave the subject (Iraq or the GAA) in far worse shape than they found it …effectively create a civil war … but continue to insist they did nothing wrong.
It’s enough to make you cry!
Well, You Have To Laugh!
Following Central Council’s clear confusion about what it actually decided on 8 December, one of you came back to us with the following:
“The situation gets more bizarre by the day. I think between “It’s not binding!” and “It’s not pay for play …and never will be!!” I have to share with u now, encouraged by this novel approach to logic, that when I approached my wife last night to tell her that I considered our marriage vows no longer binding and wished to have a meeting at another date to ratify that “decision”, if it was a decision … or perhaps not, she planted her very nicely rounded knee in my groin … but, said later that it never happened … and in any case if it did happen it was only a matter of showing me how much she loved me … or not … and whatever ur having urself !!”
Yes, They Said It!
Some words of wisdom from a variety of sources:
“The reality is that this issue (ie grants) requires the collective decision of the Association through Central Council following consideration and debate, particularly at county level”
Nickey Brennan 22 April 2006 (Hmmmm!!!)
“The GAA should maintain its position as the country’s leading amateur sporting body and should continue its policy of not paying its players for playing, whether directly or indirectly: this should include not paying any form of reimbursement for wages/salaries for time lost as a result of either playing or training.”
The often referred-to but rarely-quoted CLCG Amateur Status Report 1997, Paragraph 2.8(a)
“What makes the GAA so great is the fact that you have to sacrifice so much to play football matches. I would never like to see that change and I think the grants could be the start of something bigger.”
Philip Jordan, Double All-Ireland winner
“Paying players, by whatever devious means concocted, is dangerous and ultimately self-defeating as far as the amateur ethos of our great association is concerned.”
Paddy Buggy, past-GAA President, in January 2008
“What used to p*** me off was players, young fellas, telling you how to play the game – telling you the sacrifices they’d made. Telling you that there should be a government grant at the end of it. How they felt their image rights were being infringed on and all that. You’re playing for your county, like. There are kids out there who’d love to do it. Kids who can’t get out of bed in the morning who’d love to be there. That’s not grá mo chroí stuff – it’s a fact. I hated that attitude of these people who were giving the impression it was a chore, that being a modern day inter-county footballer was tough and ‘I’m missing out on overtime here’ “.
Dara Ó Cinnéide, All-Ireland winning Captain
“Our clubs want the amateur status of the GAA protected and are opposed to the grants scheme. Delegates at our meeting let it be known in no uncertain manner that they had no hand, act or part in the (grants) decision making”
Dublin County Chair Jerry Harrington
And no, that first one doesn’t change the second time you read it:
“The reality is that this issue (ie grants) requires the collective decision of the Association through Central Council following consideration and debate, particularly at county level”
Nickey Brennan 22 April 2006
And Finally … Keep This Issue Alive!
The mantra for opposing pay-for-play in the GAA remains the same:
- We work within (and want to protect!) the GAA’s structures and systems
- Bring the issue up in your Club
- Bring it to the National GAA Club Forum on 9 February
- Bring it to your County Committee and swell the growing tide of County opposition to it
- Make sure it reaches the floor of Congress: it’s becoming increasingly clear there’ll be a Congress debate on all this … but we need the motions submitted!
- Ask your Central Council delegate just what went on at the 8 December meeting
- Talk to people about the damage pay-for-play will do to the GAA … and how Ireland will suffer as a result
- Keep hammering home the point that nobody in the GAA has to do anything: we’re all volunteers … and if the burdens are too much we should just walk away or reduce our input
- Above all, in the GAA we don’t pay people to play our games!
January 17th, 2008 at 12:10 am
Great to see the groundswell of opposition to the grants proposals–lets hope we can keep it going
Seamus