Deegan: Jobs must be priority

THE GAA should be doing more to keep its players in Ireland, according to two Ulster greats.

Deegan believes current inter-county players should receive preferential treatment when it comes to securing permanent employment. He insisted the introduction of professionalism would destroy the game but believed jobs should be found for out-of-work GAA stars.

“I saw it come up recently about preferential treatment and I know other people would have a problem with that,” he said.

“But I wouldn’t. I played inter-county football, I know what it’s like and what they have to do. The person who complains about it, tell them to go and live the life of a Gaelic footballer for a year and then see how they feel about it. Now I think payment would destroy the game and that’s not the right way forward.

“But looking after them in some shape or form is only right and proper. A fella is giving up four or five days a week and is expected to do that year after year. And then you’ve people up in the stands abusing them for what they’re doing.

“Gaelic footballers are very brave players and they put bums on seats in magnificent stadiums.

“From our Down team that won All-Irelands in the ‘90s, players had problems getting work. Some were teachers but then (Peter) Whitnell had bother and I myself ended up coming to Dublin. There wasn’t any work at home. Nothing really was done at that stage but that’s how it was.

“But things have changed dramatically and rightly so. Everything that is humanly possible should be done to look after players.”

The lure of professional sport has affected Down football in recent seasons with the AFL clubs raiding the Mourne county for its brightest young talents. The departure and subsequent return of Marty Clarke is well documented but Jamie O’Reilly is currently domiciled in Richmond while St Colman’s Hogan Cup star Caolan Mooney is off to Collingwood in the autumn.

Deegan believes underage stars cannot be condemned for pursuing that course of action. But he does notreckon either that his own county board should be scapegoated for not doing enough to keep players at home.

“For any county it’s disappointing. But in this day and age, it is the way it is. If I had the chance to go away again, I’d probably look at it. Gaelic footballers live the professional life but they don’t get paid for it. It must be a fantastic situation to be in to go and live the professional life. Gaelic players don’t have that opportunity. It’s a very tough one but you can’t hold it against anyone. The unfortunate thing is many players go but they end up coming back.

“I don’t know what’s happening in the inner circle within Down. But the northern economy wouldn’t be that buoyant at the moment and it’s never really been that buoyant. Down is not an affluent county. It’s never been able to shake the trees in that regard and get jobs. If you didn’t have work, you had to go somewhere else. I don’t think that’s changed a great deal.”

Meanwhile, Eamon McEneaney has called on the GAA to help stem the flow of inter-county players by providing coaching roles here at home. It was announced prior to Christmas that up to 300 such roles could be created under the Tús initiative but that was under the former government and it remains to be seen if it is followed up by the new administration. McEnaney was speaking on the matter after confirming he would be without Tommy Freeman for the summer as the forward has accepted a job in New York after a period of unemployment here at home.

“It is disappointing but it is understandable,” said McEneaney.

“There is very little work out there. I know a lot of guys out there who have no work, no job, and it is very hard to blame them for doing anything.

“The future looks bleak for an awful lot of kids and even boys who are in college that might be coming out that are promising footballers are going to have look elsewhere. It is something that the GAA as an organisation need to look at.

“They need to see within the realms of their own organisation can they improve the association by putting in more coaches that are inter-county players which might keep them at home. It might work in our favour to help people out like that.”