DCU pull out amid ‘pressure’ on players

THE simmering row between third-level colleges and inter-county teams finally came to a head yesterday when DCU withdrew from the O’Byrne Shield, and now the pressure falls squarely on the GAA to deal with the thorny question of player burnout.

DCU were one of a number of colleges unhappy they were not allowed to have all their players — some of whom are on GAA scholarships — for the early-season secondary competitions such as the O’Byrne Cup and Shield, the McKenna Cup, and the FBD League. They pulled out in advance of yesterday’s trip to Athlone to play the local IT.

There have been reports of a number of county managers putting pressure on players to line out for the county team in the competition, and DCU were one of the colleges who suffered. Now they have withdrawn from the O’Byrne Shield and thrown open the debate on college-versus-county and player burnout.

“We feel the recent pressures that were placed directly on some players to play for their county instead of their college were unfair to those involved. We appreciate the considerable pressures inter-county managers are under, given their preparation for the national leagues and upcoming championship, however converting this selection pressure directly onto certain players is not the answer in our opinion,” said DCU’s GAA Academy Director Declan Brennan yesterday.

“Furthermore we feel there is considerable argument for the respective provincial councils to look into the role of the third level colleges in the O’Byrne Cup, McKenna Cup and FBD League given the above-mentioned pressures. Why allow a team into a competition if they cannot pick the players they work with both sportingly and academically throughout the year?

“In addition to the above is another aspect of player welfare, that of burnout. Many of DCU’s players have been asked to play U21 or senior challenges matches on a Saturday, and then play for their college or county senior team the following day. This is again unfair on the players involved as it leads to insufficient recovery times and increases the risk of over use injuries.”