GAA needs to deal with the elephant in the room
Letters to a Young Contrarian was written by the journalist Christopher Hitchens, who died last Friday. It was a compliment. I was 35 at the time.
A well-chosen gift, Hitchens provides advice to those who find ourselves defending unpopular opinions. Hitchens believed in the necessity of disagreement. He understood progress and democracy stem from discussion. An interview Hitchens gave to Jeremy Paxman before he died was broadcast by Newsnight on Sunday. Once again, Hitchens stood up for those who challenge the majority. He said when governments want to suppress dissent, or silence protest, they equate unity with progress. In America, those who oppose the status quo are: “being in the politics of division.”
Yet, as Hitchens pointed out: “Politics, by definition, is all about division.”
I suspect he would have approved the way the GAA conducts business. Or, to be more precise, the way the GAA used to do business.
Often criticised for being unwieldily and slow to change it is sometimes a victim of its own democratic structures.
From clubs to Croke Park, committee meetings share characteristics. With the notable exception of those who were there solely for the tea and sandwiches, everyone talked. Meetings were characterised by debate, argument, hostility and prolonged bouts of chitchat. Progress could be slow because decisions depended on a consensus.
A few weeks ago the film Dances with Wolves was on television. There is a scene where the Lakota tribesmen sit around a campfire and discuss the pendinginvasion of the white man.
Remove the wigwam and the pipe, and the discussion adopted was typical of a GAA committee meeting.
After all the men had their say, the wise old chief (chairman) declared more time was required, and the tribe would revisit the issue (probably the first Tuesday of the month).
Admittedly, it’s not necessarily the best way. But speed isn’t everything.
Quick decisions made by an elite will lead to alienation.
Consider the highly controversial issues the GAA addressed during the past few years.
Opinions on Rules 21 and Rules 42 were bitterly divided. But the prolonged discussion meant when change came, those in opposition could accept it because their views had been aired.
Given the progress the GAA has been able to achieve via its tried and trusted system, it is difficult to understand why President Christy Cooney appears so reluctant to tackle illicit payments to managers.
In April 2010, the GAA’s director general Páraic Duffy was asked by Management Committee to prepare a report on amateurism.
Six months later, he provided proposals which addressed the issue of illegal payments.
It’s understood these ideas ranged from legalising payments to banning managers working with teams outside their counties. Under normal practice, the Management Committee would discuss Duffy’s ideas and reach an agreement. A motion would be drafted for Annual Congress before the real debate.
What has happened instead is farcical.
Under the direction of its chairman, Christy Cooney, the Management Committee has shelved the report.
More than a year after it was completed, Duffy’s document is gathering dust.
The debate suppressed.
Meanwhile, the GAA continues to produce a rulebook Croke Park is incapable of enforcing.
What’s that sitting in the corner of the room? No, it’s not an elephant. It’s a county manager receiving a brown paper bag.
The GAA president seemingly doesn’t want to deal with the issue. His term runs out in three months.
It will be left to his successor, Liam O’Neill to tackle.
It’s difficult to understand why Cooney is so reluctant to allow ordinary GAA members to read the report. Any controversy or argument isn’t a reflection on his presidency. Preventing the discussion from happening — as appears to be the case here — is a much greater offence.
Moreover, it’s worth remembering the Management Committee and Central Council are supposed to devise policy.
The president should implement it. But as recent presidents have adopted an increasingly influential role regarding policy, management and Central Council have become rubber stampers.
Too compliant and submissive, the men expected to be guard dogs behave like sleeping dogs (and if anyone can highlight an instance where either body has rejected a motion from the president, let us know).
As things stand, we have a president who has described the practice of paying managers as a “cancer”. Meanwhile, the discussion document has been buried.
It’s not traditional GAA campfire democracy.
The most worrying aspect is the highest-powered committee has agreed to partake in this incredibly evasive conduct. Sounds like the committees in Croke Park could do with a few old contrarians.
* p.heaney@irishnews.com
