O’Dwyer fuming as GAA defends parade mascot fine

THE GAA has defended its decision to impose fines totalling €1,400 on Laois County Board for allowing the twin sons of corner-back Joe Higgins parade as mascots at last month’s Leinster football final.

The decision, which is to be appealed, has been branded a "total disgrace" by team manager Mick O'Dwyer.

The association also defended its decision to refuse Special Olympics athletes permission to carry a flag at this year's All-Ireland finals.

The fine on Laois comes under Rule 6 of match regulations, which states: "Mascots shall not be allowed for team photographs or the parade Fine: €700."

A GAA spokesman yesterday said he fine had been imposed twice because it regarded the inclusion of both Joe Higgins's six-year-old sons Jack and Kevin as constituting two infringements of the rule.

The boys later watched their father and his team win the county's first senior provincial title for 57 years.

Mr O'Dwyer, however, was incensed by the decision.

"In the name of God, what harm did two little lads do by walking around Croke Park? Young lads are the future of the association, but we seem to be losing sight of that. This is indicative of the disdain with which the GAA often treats its players.

"If the GAA is trying to encourage the next generation to get involved with their games, they have a funny way of going about it."

The GAA spokesman said that while they understood emotions were running high over the issue, it was "absolutely ridiculous" to suggest that the decision represented an anti-children stance.

"There were 80 kids on the pitch throughout that day," he said. "Many of them were taking part in Catch-and-Kick and other competitions, and some also acted as linesmen and

officials. The GAA is not anti-family."

The organisation is also under fire over the decision to refuse permission to Special Olympics athletes to carry a flag promoting the European Year of People with Disabilities at this year's All-Ireland finals.

Danny Lynch, the organisation's chief spokesman, said: "Some people have short memories.

"The GAA has done more for Special Olympics than any other sports organisation in the country. It took an enormous effort and cost on the part of the GAA to have Croke Park available.

"People should remember also that GAA clubs around the country raised 1m for the Games."

Explaining the reasoning behind the decision, he said: "We are faced with hundreds of requests like this on a daily basis."

The decision was a shock to the campaign's organisers. "We were really surprised by it," said national co-ordinating committee chairwoman Angela Kerins.

The European Year of People with Disabilities flag was paraded at half-time during this year's European Cup rugby final at Lansdowne Road. It will again be displayed on Saturday week at the Irish soccer team's European Championship qualifier against Russia at the same ground.

DESPITE the GAA's assertion that 'rules are rules' and cannot be broken, the organisation has sometimes been forced to bend to popular opinion and is often capable of double-think. Here are some examples:

THEN: The Ban - put in force from the foundation of the GAA in 1884 - forbade members of the association from playing or attending 'foreign' games. It mostly applied to soccer and rugby.

NOW: The ban was finally overturned in 1971.

THEN: Rule 21: This excluded members of the British armed forces and police from membership of the GAA.

NOW: The exclusion rule was overturned on November 17, 2001. The decision was passed by a margin of three to one.

THEN: The endorsement by Adidas (Three Stripes International) of the Cork county hurling team drew the wrath of Croke Park in the 1980s.

NOW: Freelance deals like this are still frowned upon. Two weeks ago, Paddy Power bookmakers had to suspend their sponsorship of eight intercounty hurlers involved in the All-Ireland semi-finals after Croke Park objected. Cork's Seán Ó hAilpín and Wexford duo, Damien Fitzhenry and Paul Codd, had the bookmaker's logo emblazoned on their hurleys.

However, the GAA itself is no stranger to lucrative commercialism. The full title of the hurling final on September 14 in Croke Park is the Guinness All Ireland Hurling Final.