A county which knows how to do things right
That’s the way it’s supposed to work in theory.
In practice, it’s slightly more subjective. The reality is I like players and managers who give interviews. Fickle, superficial, unprofessional? Of course it is. But try disliking someone who makes your job easier.
My gauge for judging county boards is even worse.
My assessment of any county board largely hinges on their Wifi connection. A day in the press box is so much easier when an excellent internet connection allows you to email your copy without any technological hiccups.
County boards that make the effort to equip their press boxes with good Wifi are considered efficient, hard working and well organised. Grounds with poor internet access are run by officials who just aren’t the real deal.
Although my ‘Wifi model’ isn’t scientific, it’s an excellent barometer for measuring the efficiency of county boards. It’s like judging a restaurant by the cleanliness of its toilets.
It’s simply a question of detail. The best run organisations always pay closer attention to the smaller details.
There are county boards that muddle along. There are some that do a good job. Then, there’s Tyrone. Last week I attended Tyrone’s press night at the new Garvaghey complex outside Ballygawley.
Like most GAA training centres, Garvaghey is close to the clouds. Wind turbines are nearby.
On arriving, I immediately started thinking about where I would need to drive to file my copy. I needn’t have worried. The building has Wifi access.
In typical Tyrone style, the press night was run without a hitch. Scheduled to start at 6.30pm, it started at 6.30pm. That doesn’t happen in other counties. When it was over, I was offered a tour of the complex. Built at a cost of €7.86m, Garvaghey comprises five pitches and a full-size artificial pitch. Every pitch has floodlights.
There are 10 changing rooms and a 200-seat auditorium with comfy, cinema-style seating. The changing rooms I visited were vast and much bigger than Croke Park. The shower room, which provides access for wheelchair users, was equally huge.
Located at the end of the showers, there were two plunge pools, a warm one and a cold one. The strength and conditioning suite has all the standard weightlifting machines. There was also an anti-gravity treadmill. This gizmo elevates injured players, thereby allowing them to run without forcing their limbs to take the full impact of their weight.
The administrative offices are equally impressive. Tyrone’s officials conduct their business in a boardroom that wouldn’t look out of place in a blue-chip company. Leather-bound executive chairs are dotted around an oval-shaped table that stretches for an eternity.
Cynics who want to undermine what Tyrone have achieved will point to the amount of funding the county board received. More than 52% of the total cost was covered by grants.
But Tyrone still had to stump up more than €3.5m.
Last year, Tyrone’s supporters contributed nearly approximately €420,000. Members of Club Tyrone give €500 per year. More than 250 Garvaghey patrons give €5,000 over five years. Apart from providing a training base for county teams, the 43-acre complex will become the GAA’s version of the Ajax Youth Academy, to be used for the county’s development squads.
There will be no shortage of willing applicants. Tyrone’s children are being coached from the cradle.
At The Irish News Club and Volunteers Awards, Killyclogher received a prize which recognised the strong links they have forged with local primary schools. Killyclogher has seven primary schools within its catchment. Tyrone captain Stephen O’Neill teaches at the largest school of 400. The smallest school has about 20 on the roll call.
Killyclogher’s methods were simple. They visited the principals and asked them what they wanted.
The schools wanted goalposts, catch nets, footballs and handball alleys. Some schools wanted the club to provide additional coaching to supplement what the county board was doing. Killyclogher agreed to every request. They provided the voluntary labour and paid the bills.
Does this level of fanaticism exist in other counties? How many counties receive €400,000 in voluntary donations? How many counties have schools principals willing to develop such close relationships with their GAA clubs, and clubs who are willing to develop those links? A couple of weeks ago, I interviewed Matty Donnelly. Providing he’s injury-free, it’s a virtual certainty the 23-year-old will start in Ballybofey on Sunday.
Yet, when he was a schoolboy Donnelly failed to make a Tyrone development squad. Having determined he was snubbed because he was too small and light, the 16-year-old embarked on a weights programme.
Two years later, Donnelly was on the Tyrone team that won the All-Ireland minor title. That was in 2008. In 2010, Tyrone won another minor title and their star player was Ronan O’Neill.
O’Neill was one of the Tyrone players interviewed in Garvaghey. A torn cruciate forced the 20-year-old to miss last season. A year on the sidelines proved a major burden for O’Neill. When trying to explain his ordeal, he simply said: “Football is my life.”
O’Neill’s statement doesn’t just apply to himself. It applies to his county.
Having set the benchmark in Ulster and beyond, Tyrone have been surpassed by their neighbours in the northwest.
After beating Tyrone in their last two championship outings, Donegal can rightly claim to be the new northern standard bearers. But it’s a title the All-Ireland champions must guard with their body and soul.
Tyrone aren’t just going to Ballybofey to play a football match. They’re going on a crusade.
Some sensible, rational people might say football shouldn’t mean so much.
And maybe it shouldn’t. But thank God it does.
*Email: p.heaney@irishnews.com
