Kelly: RTÉ is failing GAA

Former GAA president Seán Kelly believes RTÉ have a duty to provide more coverage of Gaelic games.

Kelly says the national broadcaster have to do more to reflect the magnitude of the GAA membership among those who fund it.

His call follows GAA director general Páraic Duffy’s point in his annual report about Gaelic games not getting as much exposure as they deserve.

Kelly echoed Duffy’s argument but centred on how much more RTÉ could be doing to promote the interests of a vast number of their TV licence holders.

“I would feel the GAA have a strong case to get more television coverage for Gaelic games,” said Fine Gael MEP Kelly.

“I certainly agree with Páraic Duffy in the point that he’s making because number one, they’re the national broadcaster, and number two, Gaelic games are by far the most popular games right throughout the country as seen by participation and support.

“If they’re reflecting where their money is coming from, that would suggest the GAA certainly have a strong case for more coverage.”

In a strongly-worded annual report, Duffy wrote that the GAA isn’t getting as fair a crack of the whip in media coverage as other sports.

“It does seem to some of us that our games do not always receive the nature and extent of the exposure they deserve.

“It is as if some commentators were less impressed by what is Irish only or else that the very fact of our games being amateur means that they are somehow less worthy of notice.”

In a statement released to the Irish Examiner last week, RTÉ admitted the “current financial climate” has impacted on their coverage of Gaelic games.

Kelly appreciates everyone is feeling the pinch of the economy’s downturn but would still like to see RTÉ turn the spotlight on weaker football and hurling counties who are only debilitated by their size.

“I’d like to see more of the big teams featured but also more of the other teams as well. They’re all performing pro rata at the top level.

“It’s only their populations that are holding small counties back. They can’t achieve what big counties can achieve because of their size but that’s not to say what they’re doing is not worthy of recognition.

“There are so many channels available now anyway and we should be giving priority to what is unique and distinctive to our country particularly when it concerns our own sportsmen and sportswomen.”

Kelly expressed his disappointment at the scant coverage now given to the lower hurling inter-county championships. “Sometimes they cover the basics, a couple of minutes of most games that you would probably expect to see covered far more extensively.

“For instance, the Christy Ring and Nicky Rackard Cups that were introduced when I was president, they don’t get any coverage at all at the moment.

“That’s a combination of years of work in planning and training and they’re the highlight of careers for many of those players. They deserve their coverage. It can’t just be about the big counties.”

However, he believes sport on TV has a far more beneficial factor than the reality TV programmes which have sprung up in recent years.

“As I’m concerned the more sport the better. We are recognised as being a sporting country. We talk about being world-class in certain sports and our sports people have shown that more than anyone. Particularly nowadays, with so many challenges facing young people, we want to see more people involved in sport and certainly seeing our heroes on the national broadcasters can be a great contributory factor to that. Sport contributes more than these un-reality TV programmes, as I call them. They’re called reality programmes but they’re the most unreal of all kinds.”

Meanwhile, Kelly has given his backing to the GAA making a number of their pitches available for a potential 2023 Rugby World Cup hosting bid by the IRFU, providing it’s on a short-term, limited basis.

“Obviously, Croke Park is available. Croke Park opened permanently years ago.

“People at the time said that would lead to an onslaught — there was no onslaught. Maybe the time has come to make a pitch or two available for special occasions in the national interest.

“Congress will have to approve it but as long as it is strictly for special occasions they can be judged on their merits.

“I would see an opportunity for the GAA without damaging its own rules or its commitment to its own games to look at that in a broader context.”