President allays talk of Dublin split

GAA president Liam O’Neill has no intention of making Dublin consider a split.

Pundits such as Colm O’Rourke and Martin McHugh have called for the county to be divided while O’Neill predecessor’s Christy Cooney has recommended the idea.

O’Neill sees arguments both for and against it at underage level but insists only Dublin can decide their own fate.

“That was suggested first in 2002 in the Strategic Review Committee and it cannot be done without the cooperation of Dublin. It can only be done, to the advantage of the organisation, when Dublin feel ready for that.

“People have suggested the fielding of underage teams at the level of public authority areas.

“At underage level, there would be huge promotional opportunities and extra opportunities for young people to represent their areas.

“Unfortunately, a Dublin underage player who is of reasonable standard has less (of a) chance of getting on an underage squad or a minor team and that’s probably a pity. That’s the unfortunate thing. They used to say back in the 60s when Cork were particularly strong at minor that it was more difficult to get on a Cork minor team than it was to get on an Ireland rugby team because of the selection process and the hoops you had to go through.”

O’Neill said a division of the capital will only become a serious matter if Dublin believe it’s in their best interests to follow such an avenue.

“As far as I’m concerned, it’s not something that’s going to be forced on them. I certainly have no appetite for it.

“If Dublin feel at underage level that it’s going to be of benefit of them, I am sure that Leinster Council would be more than willing to accommodate them.

“That could be done and it’s probably in that context that it should be looked at. If it worked at underage level, it could grow naturally.”

However, O’Neill is also aware of what a breaking up of Dublin could do to the identity of the county.

“I can see the argument against breaking the brand that’s working. That’s why it would have to grow from a wish within Dublin from people involved in clubs who want representative opportunities. I certainly won’t be pushing it. There is an awful lot tied into it and I am always worried about breaking brands that work before you have something else to replace it. Listening to the arguments, we would have to find ways to accommodate them in our structures if they did decide to go down that route. We could accommodate that, but it won’t work if it’s forced. It would have to come from within.”