Leinster football struggles not down to investment, says chairman

Pat Teehan reckons Dublin's dominance has inevitably taken a toll on other counties in Leinster.

2 March 2022; Leinster GAA began training over 30 new staff members who will shortly be taking up positions within Clubs right across the Province at the National Games Development Centre in Abbotstown, Dublin. This expansion, in conjunction with host Clubs, will see these Coaches join some 90+ Games Development Staff currently providing support and guidance across Leinster. It is built on the success of the East Leinster Project, which was established in 2017 with the placement of Games Promotion Officer’s in five Counties of Kildare, Louth, Meath, Wexford and Wicklow. The success of this porject saw a direct increase in activity in areas such as Go Games, Camps and Schools Coaching. In addition a dramtic rise in volunteerism within the club. Speaking at the Leinster GAA Games Development Expansion Launch is Leinster GAA chairman Pat Teehan. Photo by Brendan Moran/Sportsfile

Leinster GAA chairman Pat Teehan has admitted he's 'worried' about the province's present football struggles but insists it's not down to a lack of coaching investment.

Dublin and Kildare are both locked in a relegation battle in Division 1 of the Allianz League while Meath and Offaly have similar issues at the foot of Division 2.

Five Leinster counties - Louth, Westmeath, Laois, Longford and Wicklow - operate out of Division 3 while Carlow and Wexford have claimed just two points each so far in Division 4.

It's a grim summary though Leinster officials have once again displayed a commitment to improving standards with confirmation that 30 new full-time Games Promotion Officers will shortly be deployed to work with 90 different clubs across Longford, Westmeath, Offaly, Carlow, Kilkenny and Laois.

It's a follow on from the East Leinster Project which has been running since 2017 in Meath, Kildare, Wexford, Louth and Wicklow.

Dublin initially led the way in the 2000s with a pioneering coaching programme that targeted kids in schools and clubs, paving the way for the county's senior football team to dominate the last decade.

"Of course, you'd be worried," said Teehan when asked about the current league positions of Leinster counties. "The solution to it is very difficult to put your finger on because I don't think it's a lack of investment.

"The two counties you'd be looking at would be Kildare and Meath really in terms of that they have the numbers, they have their standards, you'd think they would be higher."

Teehan reckons Dublin's dominance has inevitably taken a toll on other counties in Leinster.

"Probably part of it is that Dublin's dominance, like any team's dominance, when the teams that are playing them in the earlier rounds (of the Championship), there's a certain amount of 'We're not going to beat them'.

"I honestly believe there are a number of counties in Leinster that if they were, say, taking part in Connacht or Munster, that they would be more competitive than they are in Leinster. There's a bit of a mindset there."

Teehan said that levelling the provincial playing field by attempting to reduce the amount of coaches within Dublin wasn't an option. Rather, the provincial council has targeted a significant investment in coaching in the other 11 counties.

Provincial Games Manager for north Leinster and former Offaly goalkeeper Alan Mulhall estimated that Dublin now has around 50 full-time GPOs, compared to 90 throughout the rest of Leinster.

More coaches could be deployed outside of Dublin later in the year as provincial chiefs get ultra serious about leveling the Leinster playing field.

"The positive thing I think out of all of this is that the clubs, and this is something I've been saying for years, we've all seen clubs throwing good money after bad in terms of team managers that are on the merry-go-round or whatever, the clubs are now seeing the importance of putting money into coaching to develop themselves," said Teehan.

"Like, if you're starting out coaching a youngster of four or five years of age who is going to be with the club for the next 25, 30 years, that's value for money."

Teehan explained that it will be a 'a combination of club, county and province' that funds the wages of the coaches.

The pay-off is huge if stats from various clubs involved with the East Leinster Project are anything to go by.

Teehan reported that the Celbridge GAA club in Kildare, for instance, has grown its nursery numbers from 72 children in 2018 to over 200 in 2021.

At the Gaeil Colmcille club in Kells in Meath, the employment of a GPO has helped swell the underage playing pool from 292 to 394.

Mulhall said that in the case of the East Leinster Project there is clear evidence of a rise in the number of teenagers sticking with Gaelic games as a result.

"Where we're after having maybe five years of this in clubs, and you're moving to your 13s, 14s, 15s age groups, we're seeing an increase in the number of teams that are playing in all those competitions," said Mulhall.