‘The GAA wouldn’t have a pot to piss in if the players stood up to them’

There’s one story Donal O’Neill loves to tell. He’ll not ask if you’ve heard it before — you have — because its resonance has never waned.

In those early, firebrand days of the Gaelic Players Association, its founder O’Neill and chief executive Dessie Farrell organised a meeting with Nike in Dublin. The American sportswear giants’ executives’ reaction to the GAA was one of awe.

“They couldn’t believe what this organisation does and how they act. They were absolutely dumbfounded that they were getting away with it. They had the height of respect for the GAA but people in the sports business look from the outside in and wonder how they’re getting away with it.”