Cooney: Clare crisis is internal

GAA President Christy Cooney is hoping the crisis involving the Clare hurlers can be dealt with without any involvement from Croke Park.

Mike McNamara’s future as senior hurling manager is under serious threat after an overwhelming majority of players voted for his removal at a meeting in Ennis last Sunday night.

The script is similar to the situation in Cork last season when the senior hurlers there expressed their disenchantment with Gerald McCarthy and that chapter eventually rumbled on until early March.

Croke Park was equally reluctant to become embroiled with what it deemed an internal matter at that time but, ultimately, Cooney and Director General Páraic Duffy played significant roles.

“I don’t know how serious the Clare situation is and how big the stand-off,” said Cooney of another possible intervention: “It might be a storm in a teacup or it might be a serious issue. I would personally like to see Clare sorting this out themselves.

“Someone coming in from the outside doesn’t usually solve a problem. If there’s a problem, the hurlers, Mike Mac and his team and the county board need to sit down and resolve it. Maybe have a clear-the-air meeting to move things forward.

The GPA also confirmed yesterday that they were not actively involved in the situation in Clare. Like the GAA, they are adopting a “watching brief”, according to a spokesman.

Cooney added that he was not “up to speed” with the latest events but said that, while the appointment of managers was the preserve of county boards, consultation with players was an important part of that process.

“It is my understanding that Mike Mac was appointed for a two-year term and that he’s going into the second year. Outside of that, it’s an internal matter and I believe the Clare County Board chairman and secretary should sit down with Mike Mac and the players to iron out any issues and move it on without the disharmony that’s there.

“We have had enough of this over the years and it’s time we all moved on in a positive manner. It takes both sides to deliver — a team management and the players. All I honestly wish is for the good of Clare hurling.”

Cooney and the GAA Director General actually presented a paper to county chairmen and secretaries recently on how they should go about appointing team manager and the plan is to introduce what Cooney called a “template”.

This would involve the type of interviews to take place, the standards required and the type of coaching expertise and man management abilities required by prospective managers. Further presentations and meeting with county officials are in the pipeline.

The GAA’s presentation did not advocate the involvement of current players in the process of choosing managers but it did suggest that the possibility of former players would be beneficial in identifying candidates.

“There’s no-one perfect in this world,” the president added. “I have known Mike Mac for a long time. He has made an enormous contribution to hurling in Clare and Galway, and on the club scene, as have the current crop of players.”

Meanwhile, Cooney reacted guardedly to a weekend survey reporting that two-thirds of inter-county players contacted had expressed a wish for the qualifiers to be discontinued in the hurling and football championships.

“I don’t know how many players were surveyed from each county, maybe one from each county in hurling and football. Whether that it a true view of what the situation is, I don’t know.

“People will have different views. It is grand to suggest there is a problem with something but I would like to see people suggesting alternatives that are better. When we have something better we can look at it.

“I have said already that I am open to looking at the structure of the championships but I am not going to look at the structures of the championships for the sake of it. There has to be an alternative that is better than what we have today.

“We are going to meet the counties fairly soon anyway, with Páraic (Duffy), to look at how we are going to manage the hurling championship structure around promotion and relegation. Are we going to do that in the future, to bring a concrete motion back to Congress for next year as we have outlined in the Special Congress?

“If it comes up we will listen to it but it is not an issue we are hearing from our county boards. There is nobody hammering on our door saying they want to change the championship structure. The provincial councils certainly want no change. That is very clear.”

Meanwhile, the GPA is awaiting correspondence from Minister for Sport Martin Cullen regarding the next step in the government grants for inter-county players issue.

The players’ body has all but accepted the need for a drastic cut in the funding for the scheme, from €3.5m to €1m, but remains vehemently opposed to the minister’s suggestion that the funds be concentrated among those counties which reach the latter stages of the two championships.