Cooney’s legacy on the line

Decisions made this weekend could help define Christy Cooney’s term as GAA President. John Fogarty reports

THERE was vitality about GAA president Christy Cooney’s address to Congress this year. Although it was extraordinarily long (62 minutes), he spoke with authority about the need for change. To the provincial boundaries. To the casual attitude towards what he described as the “cancer” of payments to managers. To the very structure of Congress itself.

It was a convincing oration and yet it is highly unlikely any of the issues will be resolved before his successor, Liam O’Neill, takes the Uachtarán’s pin in Portlaoise next April.