Three cheers for moderation

LESS than two weeks ago, the Down minors poured exuberantly into their dressing room in Croke Park with Mayo beaten and the Tom Markham Cup in tow.

As the door began to close behind them, one of the younger panellists burst into a chorus of "Let's get loaded", a tune that has become all too synonymous with sporting successes in this country.

The reaction of the adults outside - a mixture of journalists and stewards - was one of mirth rather than shock or disgust. Just another example of how the drinking culture is not just tolerated but taken for granted.

In 2002, Irish people spent €6 billion on alcohol. The average spend per adult in that 12 months was €2,000. It's that environment Brendan Murphy aims to change.

Murphy is the National Coordinator of the GAA/Department of Health initiative launched yesterday that bids to change attitudes towards alcohol consumption.

Even for Murphy, who has 15 years experience working in drug and substance abuse education, treatment and prevention, it is hard to envisage a more daunting task.

"It is a huge task," said the Carlow native. "We don't just want it to be a national media campaign. I'm going to get feedback directly from the people on the ground about what's going on in their club, in their parish, in their county.

"We're going to try and design a whole range of initiatives that suit each county but I can only do that with the support of people in those clubs, in every parish and town in the country. I'm on my own at the top, but I'm hoping to have all that support behind me."

The aim of the three-year programme is to have a dedicated alcohol and substance abuse officer in every one of the 2,500 GAA clubs nationwide. A further 32 officials will be put in place at county level with four again overseeing the provinces.

Economics is likely to be the biggest stumbling block. Many GAA clubs depend on bar sales for much of their income and a large number are sponsored by pubs.

Add in the symbiotic relationship between club and pub where teams socialise and entertain in the 'local' and it's clear that breaking that interdependency is not going to be straightforward.

"That was identified in the Task Force report that Joe Connolly headed up (last year)," says Murphy. "We actually need to look at all these practices; filling the cup with drink, bringing junior teams to pubs on the way home from matches and sponsorship arrangements.

"These will all be up for discussion and renegotiation. We're talking about changing a whole culture, not just about rolling out one or two media campaigns."

As an association whose hurling championship is sponsored by a brewery and allows alcohol to be sold freely in Croke Park on match days, the GAA is also leaving itself open to the accusation of preaching a gospel of 'do what we say not do what we do'.

"I'm aware of that and I'm expecting to hear a lot of that. A part of my job too will be to act as a conduit and bring that back to Croke Park and say, 'This is an issue, this is what's going on here on the ground'.

"I think it's best to look at it like the GAA is a mirror for what's going on in Ireland. It's so reflective of what's going on in every town in the country. We're dealing with Ireland when we're dealing with the GAA."