Farrell: GPA will still have its power

GPA chief executive Dessie Farrell has rejected suggestions that the players’ body has been left with more bark than bite as a result of its official adoption into the GAA family at Saturday’s Congress.

The GPA has previously dangled the threat of strike action as a means of leverage and it was put to Farrell afterwards that such a ‘nuclear’ option had now been removed from their arsenal given their reliance on Croke Park funding.

Farrell countered: “Our independence is very important to us and our autonomy is enshrined in any interim agreement or future agreement, so that won’t be compromised.

“It is a case now that we are in the broad GAA family and officially approved.

“It makes it much easier for us and for the GAA. I don’t see that there could be future potential conflict that can’t be addressed in a proper fashion. That is what this agreement allows for, it will allow us to tackle these issues head on when they arise.”

The agreement, historic though it is, raises other questions about the day-to-day operations of the GPA which, prior to last year’s interim agreement with Croke Park, depended fully on commercial backing.

Farrell pointed out that there were still existing contracts in place – their Club Energise deal runs until 2013 – but accepted that there was less need for that commercial arm given the new realities.

The GAA will be providing the funds for a number of player-related initiatives on a needs-must basis and, in that sense, will mirror what happens in similar relationships around the sporting world.

Motion 51 was, in fact, one of the few to whip up serious debate on the day. Mark Conway from Tyrone was so incensed by the issue that he breached etiquette by turning his back on the president to voice his opposition to it.

“It was disappointing, but not surprising,” said Conway. “I would be biased but I think the (debate) was manipulated in advance. We are disappointed with the result but not surprised as it has been coming for a while.

“The problem from our perspective is that there will be more of them coming. We have given this outfit €1.6 million this year. What are we going to be giving them next year and the year after?

“When are they going to come knocking on the door for a percentage of the TV money?

“I know it sounds like the argument of the playground, and maybe it is, but ‘we told you so’.”

In the end however, it was remarkable how smooth the last hurdle was for a players’ body that had generated such suspicion in the last decade and Farrell believes that even the few remaining doubters will be won over in time.

“It is still early days and it is only two months since we launched our programmes. Ultimately, the benefit of those will take some time to become apparent, but those pockets of resistance will dissipate in time.”

Farrell admitted that there times when he doubted whether this moment would arrive but paid tribute to those who persevered and ensured all obstacles were overcome. “We lost some here and there but generally there was a core group that was happy to keep this momentum and we have seen today what it achieved eventually. I am 100% convinced that the benefits of it will be seen far and wide.”