Player welfare a live issue in Offaly for years, says Oakley
He retired from inter-county hurling eight months ago, but is not surprised by the rift after the senior hurling panel were prevented from training in O’Connor Park on Saturday.
“This is a clash between management and county board officials and it has to come to a head,” said Oakley. “Player welfare has been a problem in Offaly hurling for the last six or seven years.
“It’s not right that an injured player who has hurled for the love of the game and the county jersey should lose out financially or not be looked after with immediate medical care and the fees that go with it. Whatever thefinancial circumstances with a county board, it can’t be used as an excuse not to look after players.”
Oakley said the GPA wouldn’t have been aware of everything that has gone on between the parties: “The GPA can only do so much and they wouldn’t be aware of it all.
Oakley says it wasn’t as if the hurling management and panel had always expected to be able to train atO’Connor Park.
He believes that some of the hurlers’ games should be staged in Birr but believes the team can’t expect not to play at all in Tullamore. “You’d get a text telling you where training is going to be and it wasn’t always the county grounds but you’d expect to get some sessions there.
“Not all the games can be taken away from Tullamore.
“The place is a credit to the county board and those who raised money.”
Meanwhile, Offaly chairman Pat Teehan declined to comment on the controversy after watching the county claim victory over Carlow in the Walsh Cup Shield last night.
He would only confirm that a special meeting of the county executive had taken place on Tuesday night, but refused to divulge the outcome.
Manager Joe Dooley also sidestepped the issue, saying: “It's important that we stay focussed, there's a lot of stuff going on so it was important that we stay focused and concentrate on our job.”
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