No taking Farrell for granted

I HAVE stated a few times in this column that people underestimate Dessie Farrell at their peril. Some people in the GAA saw him as a soft touch but everything he has done has proven those doubters wrong.

He has the predatory instincts and patience of the perfect poacher. He was that as a Gaelic player and a hockey player. Now he is that as an administrator.

He waited patiently for six years to deliver the Government grants or stipends or expenses — call it what you will for players. But he gradually backed all parties into a corner and they had no choice but to deliver.

How many of the parties involved really believed in the scheme? Well, the GPA did. How many more were “of one belief”? You can make up your own mind.

So it was no wonder, that when there was talk of a recession and Government cutbacks, one of the first victims might be the player welfare grants. Martin Cullen, the Minister for Sport indicated this view in the Dáil last week. It was a kind of last in, first out scenario.

The grants were brought in at a time of plenty, now at a time of empty they were unsustainable.

How did Farrell respond? Did he sabre rattle and say “not over my dead body”? No, quietly and reasonably he said that if the grant for sport was cut by 8%, he would be willing to take a cut of 8% in players’ grants.

It’s a fair argument and it will be interesting how it all pans out. It took six years to bring in the scheme. Farrell and the GPA are not going to leave it go in six months.

This morning I’m looking forward to a visit to Croke Park for the unveiling of the strategic plan. This will set out the vision and direction Ard Sturthóir, Paraic Duffy, hopes to take the Association over the next seven years. Paraic and Nickey Brennan have put huge work into this and are very excited about it. This plan will define Duffy’s tenure and outline the work that will be done under the next two presidents rather than each president deciding his own agenda.

All will be revealed today.