Cusack says regulation of payments key issue

CORK senior hurling captain Donal Óg Cusack says he has “no issue” with inter-county managers being paid, pointing out regulation of payments seems to be the major issue.

Speaking at CIT yesterday, Cusack pointed out that if paid managers were improving the game of hurling, then he viewed that as positive for the game.

“If you look at the bigger picture, the wider debate, my personal view is that I have no issue with managers getting paid.

“I think they should get paid – everyone acknowledges that it’s there, but to me the whole thing has moved on from there, it’s a matter of how it’s regulated. That’s where the debate will take place, and there are a lot of challenges around regulating something like that.”

Cusack added he felt it was wrong to suggest players would seek payment if managers were paid.

“For people to be saying that certain things in recent years have put the GAA on a certain road — I don’t buy into that. I think there’s always a natural order or things, and a balance that comes about.

“People are saying ‘what’s the next step if we pay managers’, but to me the question is whether it’s right to pay managers or not. In my head it is (right) if someone is putting in those kinds of hours, contributing to the county and, especially, contributing to the game.

“You have people saying, ‘but if we pay managers the next thing is players will be looking for money’.

“I don’t agree with that. I think players realise money doesn’t exist within the Association.

“In certain situations you have guys going into other counties who have a certain skill set which is suited to that county. Should these people be adequately remunerated? Absolutely. Anthony Daly is a perfect example of a guy improving another county. He’s obviously brought a particular skill set from Clare to Dublin hurling, and for me. as a hurling person, that’s a positive thing if it’s improving the game of hurling.”

Cusack noted administrators within the Association are paid but that development didn’t adversely affect the GAA.

“You could ask why this whole debate didn’t take place when administrators started to be paid first day. How come everything didn’t change then? I believe everything didn’t change because, as I said, a natural balance came into play. Managers weren’t paid when administrators started to be paid because people felt there wasn’t a need for it; now there is, but that doesn’t mean players will be looking for money, because they know that the money isn’t there.

“Who knows what’s coming down the road for the GAA, but whatever is the right move, I think the GAA will make that move and that this will regulate itself.”

Cusack pointed to previous commercial developments within the GAA which didn’t have “catastrophic” results. “The road the GAA is on is not something that’s happened in the last couple of years.

“The GAA made the decision to have sponsorship on jerseys. The GAA made the decision to sell TV rights. The GAA made the decision to open up Croke Park to other sports. All those decisions were made in a democratic way.

“Now, a good friend of mine said recently the GAA might be too democratic for its own good, but those decisions were made democratically and were made because the GAA felt they were the right things to do at those times. Nothing catastrophic happened as a result.”

Should there be a Gaelic Managers Association, then? “That’s a question for the managers,” said Cusack, who also spoke of the “great honour” of the Cork captaincy. “It’s a great honour and something I treat very seriously.

“It’s also a challenge and it’s something I want to embrace. It’s something I want to give everything I have to – for Cork, for Jimmy (Barry-Murphy) and for my teammates.”

Cork manager Jimmy Barry-Murphy said yesterday he was looking forward to starting competitive fixtures with the Rebel County. “The league won’t be long coming around now – our preparations have been going well, we’ve been playing practice matches against colleges and so on with a view to identifying players for the season, and we’re all looking forward to the season starting now.”