GAA must grasp ‘big issue’

ANOTHER bumper year for the GAA, with two memorable championship campaigns and record attendances.

No worries about World Cup qualification, but in Croke Park they have a world-class stadium that is the pride of members and the envy of other sporting organisations. The top teams tour the globe in end-of-year holidays, the inter-provincial hurling final will be played in Boston and this afternoon the Coca-Cola Irish International Rules team heads off for Australia.

Scratch beneath the surface, however, and the veneer of harmony is breached by a simmering discontent among leading players on player welfare, most notably in relation to financial remuneration.