Ban on college inter-county players would be ’unthinkable’

Kilkenny’s Cillian Buckley has warned any ban on inter-county players playing in the Sigerson and Fitzgibbon Cups would devalue both competitions and threaten third-level sponsorships currently being offered to him and many others.

Buckley is on a scholarship at UCD, where he is part of their elite sports academy, and while he agrees something must be done to combat the excessive demands on some younger players, he finds the idea of such a ban unthinkable.

“That would be affected,” he said of his scholarship. “They would definitely be affected if we were to lose our profile playing there. Hopefully that doesn’t happen.”

It was Roscommon footballer and Connacht GAA strength and conditioning coach Cathal Cregg who advocated the third-level idea and DCU’s Niall Moyna subsequently gave the thought some backing.

“It’s a hectic time of the year, this six weeks,” said Buckley. “You have the college set-up in between the preseason with the county but, as regards leaving county players out of the Fitzgibbon and the Sigerson, it would definitely devalue the competition. You look back at players that made their names in the Fitzgibbon and Sigerson over the years so I wouldn’t agree with that at all. It’s something we look forward to, although I have to agree it’s interrupting the pre-season training.”

Buckley has already lined out for UCD in this year’s Walsh Cup having lost last weekend to Laois. Kilkenny, with whom he started collective training this week, play their first game in the same competition next Tuesday.

Add in 20 hours in class and other studies besides and the workload begins to add up. But he echoed the words of many other county players this past week in dismissing Joe Brolly’s talk of their being indentured slaves.

“I’m involved in the county set-up for three or four years and the support we get from the GPA makes it all the easier. Even without that, we are in this game because we enjoy it and the whole aspect of looking at us as ‘slaves’ is a bit of a joke, to be honest.

“We are in it for pure enjoyment, we are in it to make friends and we go to training every night of the week to get a break from everyday lives and it is far from slavery. We turn our heads to it and just get on with it.”

It’s an approach Brian Cody’s side will continue to take in 2015 after the retirements of five of last season’s All-Ireland winning panel, all of which has siphoned considerable knowledge and experience from their ranks.

“There is no turning a blind eye to it. You’d have to say the five lads gone have been huge to the panel over the years. I suppose last year, apart from JJ (Delaney) who managed to play in most of the games, the boys played a different role in terms of leadership so we will be missing that.

“It gives a chance to the group behind that, lads in their late 20s who have been there for 10 years at this stage, to step forward and we’ll find new leaders no doubt.”