Duffy remaining steadfast on sideline personnel rule change
The Gaelic Games Doctors Association (GGDA) met last Saturday where anger was expressed among members about the limit of one team medic on the sideline. Since then, a communication development has given doctors cause to be more optimistic about a relaxing of the stipulation and both a physio and a doctor being permitted to be stationed at pitch-side.
However, Duffy, who defended GAA president Liam O’Neill in the wake of heavy criticism from Kilkenny selector Martin Fogarty in the Irish Examiner last week, maintained there will be no amendment.
“You’ve a choice of putting in one medical person, a physio or a doctor. I’ve been at six or seven inter-county games this year and there hasn’t been the slightest problem.
“In most games, a physio or doctor has been sitting a few rows back from the sideline at the end of a row. He gets out of his seat, goes down to the pitch. I don’t see a problem.”
In his annual report to Congress, Duffy points out it was he who suggested the idea of reducing the number of people who are given access to the sideline. Acknowledging Kilkenny have been most vocal in their opposition to the regulation, he hit out at the manner in which O’Neill has been singled out for his backing of the regulation.
“I think that’s unfair. I would utterly and 100% support him. This was a decision taken by Central Council. The first Central Council meeting approved it. The second Central Council meeting, some counties came back and complained.
“The overwhelming view was ‘no, we’re going to stick with this and do it’. I’d be 100% supportive of Liam and he shouldn’t have taken it.”
Duffy said inter-county management have to set an example for the rest of the organisation to follow.
“25 [people] up and down the sideline is not good for the games. It engenders a risk of indiscipline. We need to address this.
“It’s important that if inter-county teams accept this, it’ll make it far easier to bring it in at club level. That’s our experience in the past. The standards are set nationally.
“Managers and coaches in counties should realise that for the good of the Association let’s do this. Okay, they mightn’t like it but let’s go for it. It’ll improve discipline right down to grassroots level in the GAA.”
Meanwhile, Duffy revealed Croke Park are currently dealing with up to 15 clubs including Portlaoise who are under severe financial pressure. He doesn’t anticipate any of them will fold but acknowledges their situations are extremely onerous.
“The cases we deal with are the ones in big debt. I think we know them all. We would deal here with 12 to 15 clubs and I wouldn’t like to put a number on it [what they owe].
“When you’re talking about clubs with debts you are depending on their capacity to meet that debt. To some clubs a debt of €1m is quite do-able. Some very big clubs can handle that, but to some clubs a debt of €1m is a disaster. You can’t put it in terms of figures.
“Portlaoise is well known... the pressure it is putting on clubs is having a huge impact. The impact on people — if you are the voluntary chairman of a club with a debt of €1.5m, that’s huge personal pressure that you have volunteered for. My concern would be that people would hesitate before taking on those jobs like chairman of a club if you are buying into servicing a debt.”
The toilet facilities in some GAA county grounds aren’t up to scratch, according to GAA director general Páraic Duffy.
The Monaghan native admitted if such basic amenities aren’t sufficient games should be played elsewhere.
“It’s not as if we haven’t enough venues. We have so many grounds with large capacities. There are always alternatives,” he said.
“Sometimes we’re bound because that’s where those two counties always play or we’ll go there this time if you go there the next time and so on. We really have got to move away from that. If facilities are not adequate we should be going to some place else or people will stop going.”
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