O’Neill questions counties’ Interpro commitment

GAA president Liam O’Neill hopes the new charity aspect to the M Donnelly Interprovincial series will convince some people to change their minds about the competition.

It was reported yesterday none of the Kildare footballers approached by Leinster manager Pat Gilroy have made themselves available for Sunday’s semi-final against Connacht.

Proceeds from the final between Connacht/Leinster and Ulster/Munster in Croke Park on Sunday week will go the Our Lady’s Children Hospital, Crumlin in a venture which guarantees the future of the competition for the next three years. O’Neill didn’t name any county in particular but suggested there may be one or two managers preventing their players from lining out for the provinces.

He referred to his point made in yesterday’s newspaper about inter-county managers acting “divorced from the county and from the organisation” and like “almost independent agents“.

O’Neill said: “I’m not sure how many people (haven’t released players), I heard of one county. Of course, you’d be disappointed. I would hope that when they realise what we are doing that they’ll look at it differently.

“It’s a little bit back to what we were talking about yesterday, who is in control of the counties and who is making the decisions.

“What I said yesterday might have sounded over the top to you, but it’s not really. There’s a real issue around this. It’s about who controls, really.”

O’Neill will be meeting with all county chairmen next month where he will underline the need for them to regain control of their units.

“Ever since I became president, I’m asking county boards, provincial councils to take responsibility for the authority vested in them by their positions.”

O’Neill believes the great cause that will benefit from the final gate receipts can convince otherwise reluctant players to compete in the series.

“I would be urging all counties in a positive way to support this venture, to send their players at the weekend to play in the competition, support the concept that this is bigger than just whatever reasons people might have for not playing for the province. The fact that we’ve gone a step outside the box here should, I think, stir the consciences of people to say, ‘Look, we really should be supporting this’.”

O’Neill anticipates Our Lady’s Children Hospital could raise between €50,000 and €100,000 from the February 24 final proceeds.

In what will be billed as a family day out with players signing autographs and make themselves available for photographs with fans, tickets are priced at €10 per adult and €5 for each child.

O’Neill also sees it as copper-fastening the future of the series in a worthwhile way. “Up to this, people have not always been as supportive in coming to the games as they have been in demanding the competitions take place. I took a decision before Christmas that once we had a decision to hold the games, we would have some means to give a bit of life to it and do it properly. This is a means by which we can do that.”