GPA carry out threat as protests go like clockwork

SAMUEL BECKETT'S centenary year will see a fair few revivals of Waiting for Godot and the man himself would have enjoyed the version on offer at GAA grounds yesterday, when fans were left 'Waiting for the GPA'.

However, unlike Beckett's play, everyone arrived. Eventually.

The delay was observed with little fuss at McHale Park, Castlebar, where 8,000 fans turned up for the Mayo-Tyrone game. The PA announcement of the delay was greeted with mild applause from a small section of the crowd. Tyrone came out at 3.25pm, but manager Mickey Harte pointed out that: "We always go out 20 minutes before the start of the game."

Mayo came out at 3.44pm, just a minute before the throw-in time, but they had warmed up on the second pitch at McHale Park. Manager Mickey Moran said management had respected the wishes of the players.

"We are a family. People have a commitment they truly believe in, and we honoured that," he said. "We sat in and adhered to their protest in a dignified manner. We are a family and we face everything together."

The Killarney-Dublin game went smoothly, with officials making it clear that they had planned for a 3.45pm throw-in. Kerry chairman Sean Walsh said that the GPA protest had created no problem, while Dublin chairman Gerry Harrington apologised to supporters for the late start. Dublin were first out at 3.35pm, followed a minute later by Kerry.

With both Laois and Kildare top-heavy with GPA members, the protest was expected to go smoothly in Portlaoise and so it proved, though Kildare made their fans sweat. Any side taking the field over 15 minutes late forefeits the game, and Laois trotted out at 3.39pm but there were less than 60 seconds to spare when Kildare followed them onto the field. Yesterday the GAA had sent a statement to the various grounds to be read out prior to the throw-in: "We want to apologise to patrons for the inconvenience caused by the delay to the commencement of the game. This is due to an action organised by the Gaelic Players' Association."

If that was meant to chastise the GPA it didn't seem to work. A round of applause echoed around the ground, not an overwhelming one, but considerable enough to suggest some of the general public approved of the protest. In Castleblaney, where Cork played Monaghan, Cork coach Billy Morgan said everyone knew his views on the matter: "I didn't see much point in it to be honest. As regards the late start to the game, we anticipated that and made our plans accordingly. It didn't affect our performance one bit."

Monaghan coach Seamus McEnaney said he and his selectors ran with whatever the players wanted to do: "At the end of the day, we all have to realise the players are the jewel in the crown of our association.

"The Monaghan players have no problems. They are well looked after by our board."

Additional reporting by Liam Horan, Brendan O'Brien, Brendan Larkin and Jim O'Sullivan.