Clash of the ash to reach Congress
Alas, with the volcanic ash crisis, it turned a simple journey into a travelling ordeal.
In fact only after three taxis, three other cars, eight trains, two ferries and one hotel room in London did I finally make it to the Mourne County on Friday night.
I was particularly sorry to miss the iconic celebration of Down’s All-Ireland successes of 1960-61 – 800 people turned up for the celebration of one of the greatest teams in GAA history, with President Mary McAleese present.
However, I was there for the main business of Congress, the debate and voting on the 123 motions before Congress.
Sorry did I say debate? Well, I wasn’t long in the hall when I noticed, to my surprise, the absence of debate on most motions. It was as if delegates were transfixed with fear that if a debate took place on too many motions that the clár wouldn’t be completed. Thus many motions were proposed, seconded and put to the floor without discussion. For instance, a motion proposed by Thomas Downes that all (attacking) frees inside the 20m line should be taken from the ground. Thomas bemoaned the fact that the art perfected by the likes of Jimmy Keaveney, Mikey Sheehy and Maurice Fitzgerald, was dying out. An interesting idea I thought, but lost without discussion. Another motion that a sideline cut be awarded two points in hurling hardly got out of the starting blocks either as was the case with many motions, even the motion that cups should be made drink-free. It too passed without discussion.
Still some momentous decisions were taken which will benefit the GAA in practical as well as PR terms in years to come.
As I forecast last week, the GPA motion went through without any difficulty. Its time had come and despite some opposition from Mark Conway (Tyrone) and Paddy McFlynn (Iar-Uachtarán), its passage was never in doubt. I was pleased to support Nickey Brennan in recommending approval. Essentially it’s far better having the GPA inside the tent looking out, rather than outside the tent looking in with intent and anger.
Some say the GPA are elitist and they are (by necessity) in the narrowest sense of the word. Only 1% of players get to play at inter-county level. They are our elite players, our shop window and prime representatives. Their needs must be addressed, their voice heard. It will be done formally now. But added to official status is heightened responsibility. The GPA will be expected to come up with some ideas and solutions to curb the trend in too many counties where stand-offs between managers and players is all too frequent. If the new cosy arrangement of “we’re all in this together” is to really mean anything, a structure must be put in place to create understanding, harmony and unity in all inter-county squads. Another great victory for Dessie Farrell. It will be interesting how he manoeuvred the GPA in the future with its “official” badge on.
The other great decision of Congress was to make the opening of Croke Park permanent. Kilcummin had a motion to this effect and both Gerald McKenna and I spoke in favour of it. I was delighted with the overwhelming support for this motion. Far too often all these “bans” in the GAA were handing critics a stick to beat us with. Now we are saying “if ye want to do business with us, do come and talk to us”. And mark my words, sooner or later it will happen: money talks and a lot of money, talks a lot.
Croke Park as a pitch is underused compared to most grounds in the GAA. In 2009, it had 20 game days, 13 international fixtures, one Heineken Cup game and 15 children’s days. With internationals now going to Aviva Stadium, it’s going to have long down periods. It’s hard to predict the future but I wager that we haven’t seen the end of rugby and soccer in Croke Park.
Also, as I predicted, the experimental rules proposals got short shift and again little debate. This was particularly disappointing.
All in all, though, it was a productive Congress, where good decisions were made to move the Association forward while protecting its amateur status and voluntary ethos.
