Former Westmeath star John Connellan steps up action to end 'disproportionate level of funding' for Dubs

Connellan part of campaign to reform the GAA’s games development funding model

Former Westmeath player John Connellan wants a new funding structure formulated based on the number of registered GAA members per county.

Former Westmeath footballer John Connellan hopes the GAA’s games development funding model will be reformed as a result of motions going forward from a number of clubs.

Confirming his own club Athlone will be bringing forward a proposal to Westmeath’s forthcoming annual convention, other units across the country are expected to do the same in the coming weeks.

Connellan believes the “disproportionate level of funding” provided to Dublin in games development has to be tackled and is suggesting a new structure be formulated based on the number of registered GAA members per county.

After Connellan and similarly-minded GAA members contacted every club and county board on the island of Ireland, clubs in 20 counties such as Dingle in Kerry and Kildress in Tyrone previously committed to forwarding similar motions to their county conventions.

This week, they will contact those clubs to confirm that they will be follow through on making such recommendations for what he hopes will lead to the equalisation of games development funding in the organisation.

“The whole objective is to get a codified and regulated policy for the distribution of games development funding rather than the ad hoc methodology that’s behind it currently,” Connellan stated. “There has been quite a bit of over and back over the last number of months with the GAA in trying to obtain membership figures.

“As we have seen with the structure of the football championship, it’s very difficult to come up with a perfect solution. One solution we’re toying with is funding distribution is based on membership figures.

“The real goal is that there are some checks and balances of the distribution of the funding. The GAA have accepted in correspondence that this is something they really want to look at but outside of Dublin we’re essentially 20 years behind the curve.

“The importance of games development was recognised in Dublin 20 years ago and down the country in the likes of Westmeath we’re trying to get off the ground with games development officers and we’re still no nearer to that particularly with the employment embargo that is in place in the GAA at the moment. There is no timeframe on when that is going to be lifted.”

The Irish Examiner understands a committee has been put in place by GAA president Larry McCarthy to come up with recommendations to update the funding model aimed at making it more equitable.

Irrespective of Dublin’s seven-in-a-row SFC hopes being dashed by Mayo at the All-Ireland semi-final stage in August, Connellan is adamant the matter is a live one and is keen to bring focus to the matter again. Referring to the All-Ireland SFC structure debate, he added: “While other matters have taken the media spotlight, this is a huge issue that has to be tackled by the GAA.”

Connellan previously highlighted the disparity in central games development funding between Dublin and other counties. “Dublin GAA received €20,006,033 in total coaching and development funding for the period of 2007 to 2020, or 39% of the total funding allocated to Republic of Ireland counties, in spite of only 28% of the total population being located in Dublin. In the same period, Galway only received €1,309,339 and Cavan €985,034.”

Were it to make the Clár of Congress next year, the motion would be the second proposal aimed at Dublin in three years after Donegal in 2019 unsuccessfully attempted to prevent the senior footballers’s use of Croke Park as a home venue in the Super 8s All-Ireland quarter-final series. However, Central Council later endorsed a successful motion allowing for neutral Super 8 matches to be played outside GAA HQ.