Rubicon has been crossed

SO thorough and so well thought out is, Árd Stiúrthóir, Páraic Duffy’s discussion paper on GAA amateur status and payment to managers, finally released this week, that it seems all that is left for today’s gathering in Croke Park to do is firstly to decide upon which of the three proposed intervention options is least likely to leave the Association open to charges of double standards and secondly to assign figures to any putative payments to inter-county managers.

Almost everybody agrees that the ambiguity couldn’t continue. On page 10 of the 29 page document, Duffy says that the GAA “now finds itself in a situation in which a mix of incomplete information, half truths and rumour have created an unhealthy atmosphere, one that has generated cynicism, created envy, undermined the Association’s volunteer spirit, and dishonoured its core value”.

This would appear to obviate the need to employ option one — to continue doing nothing. Furthermore, option one does not meet with Duffy’s approval so its further consideration is futile.