Open up Croke Park, we need the cash!

Dear Sean,

“I’ve spoken to the lads, they tell me it was a fantastic experience, the highlight of their playing careers to date. Beating England in front of 84,000 spectators made for a truly unique and emotional occasion. In fact, the extra capacity meant that we could cater for far more of the genuine, hardcore rugby supporters than would have been the case in Lansdowne Road, and the boys have already made clear just how important that support was, from Hill 16 especially, in those long minutes when we were under the cosh.

“From your own point of view, I presume you are well satisfied with the additional exposure your own games have had worldwide as a result of this. Previously, the rugby world was probably under the impression that all we had in this country by way of sporting stadia was Lansdowne Road, which is long past its best days.

“Now, they are aware of Croke Park, aware also of the games it would normally host, and I heard a lot of complimentary comments from journalists from across the water and from across the oceans about your superb facility. Perhaps it might spark some international interest in your games, who knows? Anyway, just thought that, formalities aside, I’d drop you these few lines to register my appreciation. On behalf of Brian O’Driscoll and the team, thank you. A friend in need, and all that, but we are all Irishmen, and it’s nice to see that still counts for something.

Sincerely Yours, .............

Sadly, the above fabricated words, from IRFU Headquarters to GAA President Sean Kelly, were never written.

But they could have been - and with a little foresight on the part of the GAA, could well yet be.

What will it take? I won’t advise anyone to forget about altruism, about generosity of spirit, about practical patriotism. Co-operation, lending a helping hand to a neighbour in trouble, is a tradition with which everyone on this island, from country, city or town, was reared.

Generosity of spirit, the kind that was so manifest these past few months in our response to the tsunami disaster is an integral part of our character.

Practical patriotism, not of the kind practised on so many bar-stools nationwide, but of the kind that sees Irish trade and industry prosper, that sees us buying Irish where possible or supporting local business.

Practical patriotism, that will not see Irish fans travel in their tens of thousands to support an Irish international team, rugby or soccer, in Britain, spending Irish millions there, losing tens of millions in foreign tourism euro in the process. No, I won’t advise anyone to forget all that.

For those who are of such a narrow mind however, let’s just look to home, let’s look to what that extra money, refereed to above, could do for the GAA.

“We don’t need it,” a top Cork County Board official said to a clubmate of mine lately, “We have millions in the bank, in Cork.” And they do, in Cork (if the IRFU or the FAI were run as efficiently as the Cork County Board, neither body would now be in this fix).

But we don’t have it in Ballyhea, nor do any of the thousands of other small clubs in the other counties around Ireland. At the moment, with a growing (and successful, let it be noted) camogie club needing pitch-time alongside a full complement of hurling teams from U10 to intermediate, Ballyhea GAA is in the process of developing a badly-needed second field.

Badly-needed also however are the funds; euros, dollars, pounds, any currency the club can lay its hands on. There is no major industry in this parish, no sugar-daddy we can go to, just the same people, the same houses, time after time after time. Believe me, even if there are those who say otherwise, Ballyhea GAA could really use some of the cash that Croke Park could generate, if it was opened to other sports.

There’s another argument that’s been raised lately, that the ‘Unique Selling Point’ of the GAA is Croke Park, that’s because it’s something no other sport has in Ireland, it attracts young people to the GAA. Rubbish! I played hurling competitively for over 40 years; never once did I even dream that I would play in Croke Park. It wasn’t on my horizon; I played because I loved the game, loved my parish, full-stop. The guy out there, hurling, gaelic football, rugby, soccer, who will be attracted to that sport, solely, mainly or even just peripherally, because he might one day play in Croke Park, is shallow beyond words.

Open the gates, collect the revenue. On so many counts, it’s sorely needed.