Personality clashes at core of Cork’s latest ‘industrial’ row

WHEN news reached us here in Australia of another standoff between the Cork hurling panel and the Cork County Board, our immediate reaction was: “what the hell is gone wrong now?”

A second major dispute leading to a possible withdrawal of players less than nine months after the last one ended has the potential to be far more damaging than the first conflict. Hopefully it won’t come to that. While the major personalities are the same, the genesis of this latest standoff is different to the last one.

Last year the dispute was about principle, this year it is about personality.

Last year, in the wake of an about turn by the Cork County Board regarding the manager’s right to name his own selectors, both the football, and hurling panels saw red. It effected the footballers immediately, but in due course, would effect the hurlers.

Thus the senior panels joined forces and went on strike. Because there was a clearly visible principle at stake, the striking players held most of the high moral ground.

Croke Park after doddering for months and insisting that it was a local dispute finally sent in the chief executive of the Labour Relations Commission, Kieran Mulvey to resolve the issue.

Many wondered at the wisdom of such a high profile intervention especially as everything was done in the full glare of the media. Then after initial failure to break the deadlock, newly-appointed Ard Stiurthoir of the GAA Paraic Duffy was sent to Cork — again under the full media spotlight.

He was shown on tv at through Cork Airport. But a few days later he was on his way back to Dublin without a resolution.

Back came Mulvey and it was only when both parties agreed to binding arbitration that the dispute eventually ended.

While Mulvey had great experience as a labour court mediator, many GAA people were privately uncomfortable with his involvement.

It was nothing personal for Kieran is a decent man and did a good job in the circumstances. No, it was the messages that came from that involvement that concerned GAA people. It elevated the dispute from a local to a national level and transformed it from a sporting to an industrial one. Shades of professionalism. A professional labour commissioner brought in to solve an amateur sporting dispute. Could nobody from within the GAA ranks of experienced officials, managers and players be found to negotiate between fellow players and officials?

Anyway it didn’t happen so with binding arbitration agreed by both parties Mulvey had a clear canvas. The result — total vindication (or victory) for the players and humiliation (or defeat) for the County Board.

To the Cork County Boards eternal credit they accepted the decision and implemented it. The unfortunate Teddy Holland and his selectors were forced out and Conor Counihan and a new regime was put in place.

Not only did the players get all they looked for but even more than that. Mulvey added that for all future managerial appointments, that the players should be entitled to have two members on the appointments committee. Many astute observers saw this as a fundamental error, a fatal flaw that would lead eventually to the players hiring and firing managers. It also had the potential to effect not just Cork but every county team. Some one say not just every county team but every club team.

Gerald McCarthy made the point that the manager’s job is to manage, the players job is to play. Not anymore, Gerald! You doubt it? Well, look at what has happened in Waterford, Wexford and Donegal this year. The simple fact is, if county boards or clubs go against the wishes of the players representatives in the appointment or re-appointment of the manager, they are courting trouble.

The players can say their views are not being take on board and can refuse to co-operate with the manager. That’s what seems to have happened in Cork.

To the outsider, all seemed to be fine in Cork once again. While they didn’t win the All-Irelands, the footballers and hurlers didn’t collapse either. The footballers certainly did very well especially against Kerry and the hurlers had a brilliant win over favourites Galway in the quarter-final and were in sparkling form against Kilkenny until the champions, as they did to all other teams in the land, stepped on the gas and pulled away. Still there was no cause for alarm, no signs of major dissent.

However, nobody knows what goes on behind closed doors and obviously within the Cork hurling camp, something was stirring.

But, of course, we all blame others, don’t we? It’s very easy to blame the manager. However, Gerald McCarthy, is no ordinary manager. He has played and succeeded at the highest level. He has 45 years of inter-county experience behind him and, crucially, in this instance, it wasn’t his appointment but his re-appointment for another two-year term that was involved.

As I pointed out here a few weeks ago, managers — all managers — should reasonably expect to be given a three year term to prove themselves. Others have a different view and that’s fair enough.

Judging by McCarthy’s statement during the week, he is not for turning on this one. All the steely determination that was the hallmark of his style as a player, came forth in his well-worded and comprehensive statement of assertion and defiance.

He pointed out that his re-appointment was not a “done deal” but also very pointedly stated that a small number of players had “a pre-disposition to conflict” and added that sometimes you think that it’s a trade union you are dealing with”.

Fiery words indeed, but isn’t it rather ironic that he should say that as it was a former trade unionist, Kieran Mulvey, that was asked to solve the dispute last year.

Now, before this business goes too far it’s time to move and move quickly. Nickey Brennan has stated that Croke Park is keeping out of it. That could change as it did last year. But that change could take months. In the interim more and more damage is done, with each passing day.

There are only two possible solutions. One is to ask genuine GAA people to intervene, bring the two sides together around a big table and thrash it out. There are plenty of well qualified GAA personnel around who could do that without resorting to the Labour Relations Commission. Failing that, and in this instance it might be the best solution of all — have a vote on the matter in every club in Cork. Let the paid up members have their say. Cork refused to have a vote on Rule 42 at club level. It did them a lot of harm.

Have a vote now on this matter at club level and it could do Cork a lot of good.