GAA needs to tackle fixture list for urban renewal
Dublin’s multi-million pound sponsorship deal and their droves of full-time coaches were no match for the men who play their football on the Atlantic coast.
The provenance of this year’s finalists provided affirmation, not that it was needed, that Gaelic football is essentially a rural game. It remains rooted in the heather, reeds and rocks of the countryside.
That observation should represent a huge concern to the GAA’s leadership. Given the fact that the population is moving towards towns and cities, the GAA stands to lose huge numbers if it fails to attract participants in urban areas.
In recent years, there has been a lot of self-congratulation in the GAA. Some of the praise is merited.
As all the other amateur codes have been swallowed up by money, the GAA stands as a shining citadel. It’s one of the few sports left in the world where the players represent their place. It’s about pride rather than pounds.
That pride of place is the fuel which runs the GAA. Loyalty to the club is the GAA’s single greatest strength. Despite the incompetence of officialdom, the farcical fixtures programme, and the ridiculous demands that are placed on players, the GAA has been able to survive largely because of the fanaticism of its membership.
But what would happen if that incredible loyalty was removed? For example, what would happen if participation was dependent on the provision of regular fixtures? Yes, that’s right. In plenty of counties, the GAA would be finished. It would be obliterated.
In the country, the GAA is essentially a tribal affair. First and foremost, it’s about families. Then, it’s about the community. The game comes a distant third.
A journalist friend who lives and works in Dublin is a case in point. He’s a Meath man. His club is Meath Hill. His grandfather played for Meath Hill. His father played for Meath Hill. And now he plays for Meath Hill.
On training nights, he joins the rush hour from Dublin at 6pm and returns at 11pm. Across the country, there are thousands of young men who make that journey to the land of their fathers. Their dedication can only be admired.
But for too long, the GAA has abused the loyalty of its fanatical club membership. The subservience to the bloated county programme has made a mockery of club fixtures.
Donegal put their football Championship on hold until the county team was knocked out of the All-Ireland series.
This led to the situation where players from Naomh Conaill played seven games in 36 days.
Imagine the outcry if that schedule was imposed on a county team. And yet, GAA officials (when seeking election) will declare with steely conviction that the club is the “lifeblood” of the Association.
Unless the GAA is prepared to radically overhaul the master fixtures programme, the games will never reach their potential in the country’s town and cities. The strongholds will continue to be in the mountains and the moors.
Paul Galvin is a good example. Galvin represents the modern GAA player. He is a rural man with urban tastes. Born in the country, he has cosmopolitan interests. A son of North Kerry, he feels equally at home in New York.
After quitting his job as teacher, Galvin has been able to earn a “good living” from his lifestyle website. He is currently planning to launch a new fashion label and he’s toying with the idea of “doing a bit of TV”.
The great thing about Galvin was that he never saw any conflict between fashion, music and Gaelic football.
When some people broaden their cultural horizons, they often feel slightly embarrassed by the parochialism of the GAA.
Galvin is different. In a recent interview with Paul Kimmage, he said: “To me, it was only about being a Kerry footballer, really. That to me was the ultimate, and it still is. People say, ‘You’ve so much on the go now and you’ll go on to bigger and better things.’ And I’ll listen to them and think: ‘Bigger and better than winning an All-Ireland with Kerry?’ There’s nothing bigger or better than that’.”
Like many GAA members, Galvin remains deeply wedded to his native land. Although he lives in Dublin, he travels home to Kerry to play hurling for his club. But how will the GAA retain the loyalty of the next generation of Paul Galvins?
If Galvin stays in Dublin, if he has children, they will be exposed to a wider range of sports. Soccer, rugby, cycling, boxing… The list goes on.
It is easy for the GAA to capture the interest of children in remote communities. In places like Lixnaw, you can play football or hurling.
The same does not apply in Dublin, Belfast, Cork, Limerick, Galway and Derry. When family bloodlines are taken out of the equation, the uncomfortable truth for the GAA is that it has struggled to have the same impact. When judged on their own merits, football and hurling have not enjoyed the same uptake.
That trend is not going to change unless the GAA has the courage to reduce an inter-county fixtures calendar that starts in January and ends in September.
The die-hards in the rural clubs have been willing to tolerate the inertia and ineptitude which has surrounded fixtures planning. But the new generation being raised in our towns and cities are not as forgiving.
If county boards can’t provide them with a regular supply of games, they can consider other options.
There is more than ‘bog and forest’ outside their front doors.
