GAA to press ahead with ‘full feasibility study’ on Hawk-Eye

GAA CHIEFS confirmed yesterday they are pressing ahead with a “full feasibility study” on the Hawk-Eye technology used in tennis and cricket — but say it won’t be fully operational for March 17th’s All-Ireland senior club finals.

As reported in The Irish Examiner yesterday, Hawk-Eye inventor Paul Hawkins was in Croke Park toundertake an advance study of the pitch and stadium.

We were told on Tuesday that the system will be trialled on St Patrick’s Day at Croke Park, but the GAA say they want to determine the feasibility of the system before they will green light it for formal use in the competitive arena. We understand the Hawk-Eye system will be operational for the All-Ireland club finals though not in a “live” context.

“At the December 11 meeting of Coiste Bainistí, a full feasibility study on the possible use of score detection technology was sanctioned and this is expected to be completed before May,” said a Croke Park statement in response to our story yesterday.

The GAA added that the roll out of the study will continue in the coming months ahead and no final decision will be taken on its use before further discussion at Coiste Bainistí and Ard Chomhairle (Central Council). As Hawk-Eye’s director of operations Steve Carter outlined, the company expect it will take three weeks to instal, test and fine-tune their systems at Croke Park before it can be demonstrated.

If the feasibility study is deemed a success and the GAA authorities give it the thumbs-up, the hurling championship is likely to be the first of the Association’s competitions to experience the score detection technology. That is the procedure supported by the GAA’s director of games development Pat Daly, who heads up the Association’s research committee, and similar sentiments have been expressed from Hawk-Eye’s England base.

Although the All-Ireland SFC wasn’t without disputed score incidents last year, both the Leinster and Munster hurling championships suffered game-deciding adjudicating errors. In the Galway-Offaly Leinster semi-final last June, Ger Farragher’s sideline appeared to have tailed wide although it was recorded as a point.

Meanwhile, in the first Munster final game between Cork and Waterford in July, video footage showed a Ben O’Connor free, which was deemed to have sailed between the posts by match officials, had actually been pushed wide. Both games ended in draws.