GAA faces rural crisis as local rivalries wane, warns Walsh

THE GAA is facing a crisis in rural areas, one of the organisation’s leading officials has warned.

Seán Walsh, chairman of the Kerry County Board, warned that local football and hurling rivalries will fade away as more families decide to live in towns and cities.

Mr Walsh was speaking at a special seminar in Caherciveen entitled The GAA and its Future. The seminar was organised by the South Kerry Board to mark its 100th year.

The large number of rural inhabitants relocating to urban regions on the east coast is a major concern for the organisation, Mr Walsh said.

“It’s unlikely that the GAA will be as popular in a hundred years time.

“We have to accept that we may not continue to be in every village, and the local rivalries, that have done so much for the game, might go,” he said.

The organisation will have to make changes at games, coaching, refereeing and development levels to cope with declining populations, Mr Walsh said.

He also warned that the attraction of other sports, combined with the fact that most teenagers have part-time job, is making it harder to field juvenile teams.

“Change is necessary but slowly. One of the things we will have to do is look at a more community-based approach,” he said.

The county board believes that in 20 years, the majority of young footballers will be living in places like Tallaght in Dublin, where there are 34 primary schools.

But small areas in Kerry, like Valentia, Foilmore, and Caherdaniel will struggle to form teams.

This year only one boy and one girl started school in the village of Caherdaniel in south Kerry, the seminar was told.

Addressing the fraught question of pay for play, Mr Walsh said the GAA’s greatest assets are the players, and the enthusiasts who work behind the scenes to keep the games alive.

He said players in Kerry have never made any excessive demands on the county board, and there was no desire among them to get paid for playing.

“Players are entitled to be rewarded and looked after; yet I’ve never met one who wants pay for play,” Mr Walsh said.

The seminar was also addressed by Croke Park administrator and Cumann na mBunscoil PRO, Jerry Grogan.

Mr Grogan, said the biggest challenge facing the game is to keep it “cool” and attractive for young children.

“It’s about teaching children a love of the games and a sense of place.

“We have to remember that style and image have replaced religion and class in this society and it’s against that backdrop that we have to promote the game,” he said.

The centenary celebrations began on Friday night when Sports and Tourism Minister John O’Donoghue, opened an exhibition of photographs and memorabilia in Caherciveen Library.

The exhibition charts the development of Gaelic games in south Kerry since 1902.