GAA exploiting loyal players

On the subject of GAA players being forced to play on a championship match on a Friday, I want to voice the implications of this personally for the players, their families and colleagues, and also professionally for the players and the organisations who employ them.

As a colleague of one of the Laois players, MJ Tierney, my ability to deliver my work schedule has been directly affected. Both he and I were due to spend Friday, Jun 27, in Belfast at an organisational review and training day for one of our business divisions. Cognisant about MJ’s welfare, and as a respected member of staff, our management have agreed to give him adequate time off, even though this directly impacts our business.

Like a lot of others, availability of work in smaller rural towns is difficult to come by and my colleague commutes to Dublin five days a week. Along with an extremely demanding full-time job, he travels 18-20 hours a week on the commute to Dublin. After the round trip and a full day’s work, he then trains for two hours each evening. He usually has a match on a Saturday or Sunday, while also trying to devote as much time as possible to his two-year-old daughter and fiancée in between.

I think it’s fair to say that this is a person who is more than dedicated to GAA and willingly sacrifices much of his time, energy and personal life, for the sake of his position on the Laois football panel.

By expecting and demanding that he also he sacrifices his career in these recessionary times is a step way too far. Liam O’Neill, the president of the GAA, has stated that he is ‘quite proud of the fact the committee was brave enough to take the chance’. He said he ‘would rather learn by making mistakes trying something new than sitting cagey, doing nothing, and keeping with the status quo’.

I’d like O’Neill, a fellow Laois native, to just sit down and ask himself what is to be gained from enforcing this precedent, and what is to be lost? Your pride may be one thing, Mr O’Neill, but the exploitation, disregard and disrespect of our unpaid GAA players has gone too far.

Laura Murphy

Portlaoise

Co Laois