Players want real progress at next meeting

CORK’S striking hurlers and footballers want “real movement” from Cork GAA chiefs when talks resume with members of the County Board executive tomorrow night.

Up to ten players will meet with around five members of the executive at a city hotel, and are looking for considerable progress to be made on a number of issues.

The players’ representatives hope to present a package of measures to their hurling and football colleagues at a subsequent meeting tomorrow night.

“We are hopeful that the Board will match its public promises of last week with real movement, are (we) are attending on that basis, while continuing our withdrawal of services.”

Sources indicate that both sides are keen to top and tail negotiations tomorrow night.

Said one player: “We would like to be able to bring a complete package to our playing colleagues for their consideration, so we are looking to make a lot of progress at the meeting.”

Meanwhile, Gaelic Players Association chief, Dessie Farrell, said last night he was “speechless and spellbound” at an Antrim County Board document which allegedly discourages players from joining the GPA.

Antrim officials deny it is considering proposals which would prevent county panellists from being members of the Association but a proposal in a Board report appears to imply that GPA membership would not be looked upon kindly by Saffron officials.

The 20-point discussion document, drawn up by county secretary Eamonn McMahon, includes these paragraphs: “All team management’s and players accept the county’s policy of non-recognition and non-co-operation with the GPA.

“All players to be informed of this policy. Inclusion on a panel is subject to a player agreeing to abide by this policy.”

However, county secretary McMahon last night rejected any suggestion that such a policy would ban Antrim panellists from membership of the GPA.

“A player has the right of free association but whenever he is involved with Antrim his first loyalty should be to the county,” said McMahon.

Asked if a policy of ‘non-recognition and non-co-operation with the GPA’ would not, in effect, prevent an Antrim county player being involved with the players’ body, McMahon again disagreed, stating:

“Our policy is that players should not promote the activities of the GPA within the areas of the Antrim county board.”

However, GPA boss Dessie Farrell was in no doubt that the recommendations were a blatant attempt to prohibit Antrim panellists from joining the players’ union.

Farrell was outraged by the proposals and lashed out at the Antrim secretary.

“It is very disappointing to discover that there are people of such short sightedness still in positions of power within our Association,” he said. “I am spellbound to be honest.

“We are established three years now and to encounter narrow mindedness like that is absolutely astonishing especially in light of the events in Cork over more recent weeks.”

Farrell said that McMahon_s document was completely out of sync with the current policies being adopted by the GAA_s hierarchy.

He pointed to the fact that the president-elect Sean Kelly attended the GPA_s annual awards along with Players’ Committee chairman, Jarlath Burns.

“For almost a year, Croke Park has sat with us around a table and held negotiations in good faith.

“If they felt that it was inappropriate they would not engage with us,” he said.