Ogie paints bleak club outlook
Of the 32 players featured in that snapshot from seven years ago, only a handful are still lining out for the Tralee club. All others have either packed in the game or left the country.
“Some went walkabout. Some didn’t make the senior team straight away and they just lost interest. Some of them just wouldn’t give the commitment to it. Some emigrated to Australia and others went to America. It’s frightening,” Moran remarked. “When many players reach the age of 16 or 17 you tend to lose them.”
Social problems in a rapidly changing Ireland are also having an impact and the Kerry legend told delegates at the Munster Council GAA forum in Killarney how he once called to a house looking for an under 16 player only to learn that he was visiting his father in jail in Cork.
Moran continued: “The same morning another kid I went to see wasn’t there because he was gone to his counsellor. His uncle had abused him when he was younger. Going forward, it’s going to be challenging because life is getting tougher out there. The family unit is under pressure and it’s a tougher scene in most homes now but maybe the GAA club scene is the only positive experience some players have and we’ve got to be aware of that.
“Some people are very fragile and the club can play a huge role in those people’s lives if they are getting a good, positive experience.”
Moran said retaining players and attracting volunteers to train teams and manage off-field activities is the biggest challenge facing clubs but it is becoming more difficult to get people because it is so time-consuming.
“Most jobs are becoming more demanding and it is becoming a lot harder to get people. There is more pressure. We need to get more people involved for smaller jobs and plan it for them so that they don’t feel suffocated,” he said.
The Ballybunion man, now involved with the Kerins O’Rahilly’s club in Tralee, said getting parents of players involved was the key and he advised clubs to seek out more women to volunteer their time.
“Women that are involved are exceptionally good. We would be much better served if we had far more women. I’ve a wife and she would run the country for you,” he said.
Moran, who won eight All-Ireland senior medals and later trained the Kerry senior team, said all GAA clubs must be entirely inclusive and there has to be a role for everyone.
“Every club has people they can’t get out or can’t get in but they must delegate properly. We need high standards to maintain the fantastic unit we have,” he insisted.
“The club has a great sense of belonging, a sense of community and the GAA is the heart and soul of a community.”
He said the GAA is the strongest unit of all and this was demonstrated with the huge turnout at the recent funerals of his former team-mate Páidí Ó Sé and Shane McEntee in Meath which portrayed the organisation at its best.
But, Moran warned: “It’s not all happy land. Clubs are complex animals and there is huge politics involved with huge factions and frictions.”
He also highlighted the financial requirements required to operate a GAA club and he estimated that it costs between €50,000 and €80,000 every year to run one club.
Fundraising activities like a lotto boost the income generated through gate receipts and membership but sponsorship is harder to source, he told the forum.
“The builder is not around as much as he was, neither is the developer and neither is the publican. It’s a real struggle now as you’ve got operational costs and you’ve got development costs. Physio bills were crazy and it’s a good thing that they were cut back but there’s a balance needed. You can’t cut back too much as people need to be looked after well. We’ve got to ensure we can raise that money to look after them.”
“Finance is a real challenge. People haven’t got money anymore and companies haven’t got money.”
Moran said fielding teams also presented problems and that is due to the fact that the numbers are just not there in urban areas as well as rural areas.
He said this year in west Kerry, Annascaul, Castlegregory and Lispole had to join forces to form one minor team while Moyvane and Tarbert had to do likewise in north Kerry as did Na Gaeil and Ballymacelligott.
“That’s frightening stuff. It’s worrying. There will be consequences down the road.”
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