gpa player grants hope

[kerrygold]

theres very few peasants in this country stacks involved in the sport of sailing to race or as pleasure.I thought you would have come up with a better example than that to back up your staunch beliefs and principals.

I accept your point about the can of worms,it looks like john o donahue might just have realised this also.

my arguement is the level of capital the gaa players generate for the exchequer through big game sundays and all the various spin off businesses.They would almost be self funding.No other irish sport can claim that.Remember the dublin chamber of commerse screaming like trapped rats in a hole when the threat of playing irelands soccer and rugby internations in england or wales was on the table.Big games in dublin is massive business,i cant see gaa players being passavists for too many more generation to come on this matter.It would be prudent to plan now for the future to ensure amature status prevails.

[joan]

Instead of grants etc they should be a retirement fund set up earning intrest tax free

[owenabue]

Kerrygold, the lads doing the triathlons, which is all I am willing to vouch for, are getting nothing, unless they make the olympics I suppose. These lads cycle around the ring of Beara twice as training. This is for an Ironman or two maybe each year and other shorter triathlons, where they have to fork out ever penny for themselves. We're talking races that take 8-9 hours to complete, so no room for the faint hearted. Okay so maybe they aren't filling Croke park, I'm just saying there are a lot of people taking sport very seriously, but are total amatures, with nobody paying for meals, flights, physio or gear etc. I just feel that yes, maybe the GAA need more money to cover expenses of these players, but let the GAA ask for it not the GPA. I would be a lot more worried about the player welfare of our up and coming stars.
Joan, the retirement fund is a good idea. Wasn't there some statistic last year about all the long term damage players suffer?

[kerrygold]

martin brehenys and sean potts articles are very relevant to this discussion if someone could post them up,from to-days indo.

i'll just say abue in regard to the triathlons,you say they get notting unless they reach the very high standard of olympian,thats the way it should be,achieve excelence in your choosen sport.

there are thousands of junior,intermediate and senior club players all around the county who take they sport seriously but will never reach the high or excelence of all-ireland final weekend as a player,the club player is a totally different animal to the top end senior intercounty player,they are polls apart.

[joan]

The players themselfs have made a case to the GPA and GAA with regard a retirement fund. This would be based on years played etc. The was a report owen and might I say it was an eye opener. The amount of damage done to the body only shows with age (and not old age) and retirement. Backs knees hip, airtritis all need surgery. Take a look at some of the lads in recent years they walk like old men.Forget the likes of egan and oshea etc they did not even have the benifits of knowing how to stretch back then. Funds are also needed in the event of injury leading to loss of work. Grants etc I think should be placed into somethink like this.

[kerrygold]

well said joan,thanks for that,at last someone who knows and understands the needs of intercounty senior footballers.

we can all keep going to croker every summer demanding excellence,brillance and a winning attitude from our heros,thats selfish in my book if were not prepared to give them something back and begrudge them small grants or tax emptions to make it easier for them to keep putting in the massive commitment.

why should they have wait till there old and crocked for a retirement fund to kick in,why is this more acceptable than what the gpa are requesating at the moment?

[bigmac]

Naive players left high and dry by sleight of hand
Monday April 30th 2007
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Politics and the GAA converged at Breffni Park yesterday as Meath star Graham Geraghty, a Fine Gael in the General Election, signed autographs for young fans after their victory over Roscommon in the National League Division 2 Final. ,6 OLIVER McVEIGH / SPORTSFILE



IF any inter-county GAA player has booked his holidays on the assumption that the recently touted 'grants for players' scheme would cover the cost, then my advice to him would be to head to his local Credit Union immediately.

If he is relying on Government grants being paid out in any form to inter-county players in 2007, then disappointment awaits him.

The manoeuvrings of John O'Donoghue, the Minister for Sport, have provided a lesson to the GPA - and to a lesser extent the GAA - on the intricacies of political sleight of hand.

It shows how crafty, real politicians, as opposed to the amateur ones in GAA administration, can buy and sell - even before their breakfast - innocents abroad like the GPA.

If the GPA ever believed for one moment that any Irish government was going to set up a grant system for one category of Irish sportsmen, such as GAA players, then they are very naive indeed.

It was patently obvious that such a thing could never happen simply because every other group of amateur sports performers from athletes to swimmers, who put as much into their sport as GAA players, would be knocking on the Government's door looking for similar grants. The thing was always a non-starter.

Of course, John O'Donoghue, being the smart south Kerryman that he is, never actually said the Government would pay grants to GAA players.

He implied, as did his leader Bertie Ahern, that the Government might make money available for such a scheme, but not that the Government would implement it.

Based on that common knowledge, it beats me how the GPA seemed to assume that it would be the Government that would be writing those cheques this year.

It was of course a nice scenario to envisage because if the money was paid to the players by a Government department, in the same way as grants are made annually to a handful of elite athletes in various sports, then the GAA would not have to worry about any weakening of the amateur ethos of the organisation.

But now that the Minister has cleverly agreed that the money will be made available by the Government to the GAA and that they can distribute it to the players, he has bounded free of the whole controversy and can still claim to have stood by his word to make money available for grants to inter-county players.

Wonderful indeed are the workings and manipulations of the Irish political system and its ability to convince people that black is actually white . . .

At this point, it is worth noting the reactions of the GAA and the GPA to the Minister's sleight of hand as expressed in two separate statements last Thursday afternoon.

This is what the GAA said: "The GAA is disappointed that its detailed and costed submission in regard to grants for inter-county GAA players which is supported by the GPA, has been rejected by the Minister for Sport.

"The submission was made at the invitation of the Minister and following detailed discussions and agreement with the players body. Despite the fact that the payment of grants to inter-county players was an initiative of the GPA, and was encouraged by Government representatives for a considerable period, Minister O'Donoghue is now saying that it is a matter for the GAA itself to pay these grants through some undefined funding mechanism, in addition to its increased expenditure and significant commitment to player welfare. The GAA will be discussing the Minister's decision with the GPA shortly."

In stark contrast, the GPA statement read: "Following a

Real politicians, as opposed to the amateur ones running the GAA, can buy and sell - before breakfast - innocents abroad like the GPA

meeting between the GPA and John O'Donoghue, TD, Minister for Arts, Sport and Tourism, and officials at his Department today, the GPA is even more positive about the prospect of funding for an inter-county GAA player welfare programme.

"The Minister's position, that he is prepared to make funding available, on an annual basis, which will facilitate the GAA in freeing up existing monies within the Association to meet the additional costs of agreed player welfare supports in the event that an agreement is reached between the GAA and the GPA on the issue of additional player welfare supports, is wholly consistent with his position on the matter thus far.

"The Minister has also reiterated his position in relation to the mechanism through which this funding can be provided, either through the existing Sport Capital Programme in respect of prioritised infrastructural projects or through additional funding by the Irish Sports Council in respect of Games development, or a combination of both. This is also consistent with his position on the matter to date.

"We would now look to the GAA to address the matter of presenting a satisfactory application to the Government for receipt of the €5million funding that has been set aside through the aforementioned channels."

There is a vast chasm between the two reactions, from the carefully couched despondency of the GAA to the ridiculously upbeat response of the GPA.

The nub of the matter now is that unless the GAA decide to pay out money directly to inter-county players through its own structures, the grants idea will die and it will probably be a slow, torturous death.

And we can take it as virtually certain that no GAA officer will be writing a cheque for a couple of thousand euro to any inter-county players in the foreseeable future.

Quite simply, the GAA cannot do so without causing mutiny in the organisation. There is one great cause that unites practically all GAA officers from underage club to Central Council level and it is the retention of the amateur ethos on the playing side of Gaelic football and hurling.

It is now the very essence of the GAA for all those officials. While the RUC and British soldiers may have been let in and soccer and rugby brought to Croke Park in recent years, on the issue of amateurism the GAA is simply not for turning.

It is the last great unifying force in the organisation and despite the fact that hundreds of GAA officials and workers are paid and that most county and club managers are being illegally paid with the covert knowledge of leading GAA officers, the amateur ethos, GAA version, is set in stone.

Therefore, the GAA simply cannot start paying out cheques, no matter how small, to county players and still claim the game is amateur.

Anyway, after the upcoming election, there may be a new Minister for Sport who may not share Mr O'Donoghue's views on these grants, so it looks as if the GPA will have to go back to the drawing-board as regards getting better compensation for players.

My own view is that they should be working through the GAA's own system of paying expenses, such as demanding substantially increased travelling expenses and most importantly, lobbying for a change in the GAA rule which would allow players to be compensated for certified loss of earnings because of inter-county commitments.

Most GAA people I know would agree that players should not be out of pocket because of their involvement with an inter-county team.

Compensating them is well within the GAA's capacity and I feel it would be acceptable to the majority of players.

And GPA lads, forget about doing deals with politicians from now on . . . other than the politicians who run the GAA.

[bigmac]

Players' pleas stay the same as impasse masters strike again
Saturday April 28th 2007
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THE excitement that greeted the historic announcement between the GPA and the GAA in regard to the joint proposal on Government funding for player welfare has already evaporated among the inter-county playing body.

The huge contrast in reaction to Thursday's meetings with Sports Minister John O'Donoghue has made most wonder has any progress being made in the last six months. The question remains: were the GAA not aware that any proposed funding was always due to come about through the Sports Capital Programme and the Sports Council's Infrastructural and Games Development grants respectively?

So, where to now? A game of bluff? Confrontation? Because this explosive parcel has been passed around so much at this stage that it is in danger of blowing up in the faces of all those seated at the table.

The Championship starts in three weeks' time, the clock is running, and the bottom line for the players - as ever - is getting a decent result.

O'Donoghue had said all along - and so did the Taoiseach last November - that the Government would provide funding, but that it was up to the GAA to distribute the money as they see fit. A long-serving politician, the Minister wasn't going to get caught up in the 'amateur' ethos debate within the GAA.

Former GAA president Seán Quinn's recent warnings about the vulnerability of an organisation that is perceived to be doing well can be applied to the current situation of the players. They want to be rewarded for their efforts through this scheme. This is not professionalism; players will not earn a livelihood - it merely offsets uncovered expenses. But, were the scheme to fail, who knows where the battle for reward and recognition would end?

Professionalism

The 'professionalism' of inter-county players is something frequently referred to but Cork's Seán Óg Ó hAilpín is quick to counter this idea.

"We are driven like professional sportsmen, but when I look at my two brothers in Australia (Setanta and Aisake) I know I can't compete with their schedules. As it is, we are struggling to find enough time to rest and recover from our schedules. There aren't enough hours in the day," he explains.

"GAA players have to develop their jobs and careers while trying to perform at the highest level. I can't finish hurling with Cork and then let my life fall off a cliff; I have to prepare for the next 30 years.

"Yet if I play poorly for Cork, is anyone going to say 'Ah sure, he had a bad week in the office'. But it is not players that are raising the bar, I believe they are caught in a vicious cycle of rising expectations.

"Players have no problem going back to the way things were 20 years ago. But are the fans, the GAA, the television companies, the media and the public? I don't think so."

A quick glance at Ó hAilpín's schedule for this week certainly makes interesting reading. Monday after work he was in the pool recovering from Sunday's exertions. On Tuesday he did a gym session after work followed by training with his club. After work on Wednesday, he was with the Cork hurlers. On Thursday morning he went for a swim before work and trained with the club after work. He trained with Cork last night before travelling to Armagh today where he's agreed to give a talk and a coaching session. On his return home tomorrow, he will train with Na Piarsaigh.

The lack of time to incorporate a hectic schedule is not unique to GAA players today, but young Armagh star Aaron Kernan is quick to stress that players see the sports grants as an acknowledgement of what they're putting into their sport, and what Ireland is getting back in return. "To be honest we are privileged to be playing with our counties," he says.

"But we feel that we should be rewarded for our efforts to improve our standards. With the grants, every individual will benefit and whatever the cost to the Government, they are getting it back in revenue," he explains.

Kernan, now trying to run his father's estate agents Joe Kernan and Sons, shares an identical schedule to Seán Óg. Daily weights and pool sessions are only punctuated with club and county training on a seven-day basis.

The club demands are particularly interesting given how many believe county players are waning in their commitment to their clubs. Kernan's diary this week incorporated two club sessions and a league match. It is less than a month since he won a club All-Ireland with Crossmaglen. While both Kernan and Ó hAilpin share a drive to succeed and improve their standards, there are no fretful complaints about their lot. But equally, both are aware that amateurism is not accepted as an excuse for failure. With regards to their schedules, they concur that welfare funding will help in a small way. At the other end of the spectrum is James Glancy, a Leitrim hurler for the past four years and now a football panellist as well. The story doesn't differ.

Glancy, an architect student in Waterford, commutes to Longford for training, linking up with the Dublin-based players in Maynooth en route. Rest days, a misnomer for weights and pool sessions, intersperse a week where he had to play a challenge game against Westmeath in Mullingar on Thursday, a club league game for St Mary's today, a football training session with Leitrim tomorrow morning followed by a county hurling match in the League Shield final against Fermanagh in the afternoon.

Mortgages

"There just aren't enough hours in the week," Glancy explains. "I'm a student and can go home for long weekends to be near training. I can only imagine what it's like for lads with families and mortgages."

Glancy's drive to be successful is no less pronounced than his more illustrious colleagues. Neither is his hope that the Government will finally commit to welfare funding.

"I think the grants will be really helpful to players in a lot of ways. They're practical but also symbolic; 'we're all in this together' kind of idea."

Seán Potts

[bigmac]

He rejected them, so why are GPA so loyal to Calamity John?
Saturday April 28th 2007
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WELL done, John, patron Minister of turning calm into calamity.

Having sparked a war between the GAA and soccer communities over Tallaght Stadium, Sports Minister John O'Donoghue has opened fire on the peace doves that had brought the GAA and GPA closer together. They even presented a joint application to Government, seeking grant-aid for inter-county players. This was done on the invitation of the Minister.

O'Donoghue has now said he has no intention of providing direct grant-aid to GAA players because it would result in copy-cat claims from other sports.

Besides, he says, it's the GAA's responsibility to deal with player welfare "in the same manner as similar issues in other sports must be dealt with by the responsible national governing body."

So that's it then. The Government has rejected the GAA's grant-aid proposal despite all their smooth talking on the issue, stretching back to Charlie McCreevy's days as Minister for Finance.

Not so, according to Minister O'Donoghue.

If the GAA were to organise their own grants for players, they could claim that the total amount paid was a major drain on their capacity to undertake other projects such as ground or games development.

They could then apply to Government for extra grants under these headings which would be for precisely the sum paid to players.

It's like parents telling their children that they won't give them any money directly for sweets but, if the kids say they need the cash to buy toothpaste to counteract the impact of sweets, the purse will be opened. In effect, it's a subterfuge which, when expanded to Government spending, would definitely interest the office of the Comptroller and Auditor General.

Besides, if the Government entered into the deal as outlined by the Minister, surely other sports would make similar applications?

The reality is that the Government didn't expect the GAA and GPA to agree on a joint application, in which case the Minister could have spouted on about how much he wanted to help but it wasn't possible due to external wrangling. Once the GAA and GPA called that bluff, a fresh escape chute had to be found.

However, with an election looming, it couldn't be presented as an outright rejection - hence the convoluted nonsense which was issued on Thursday.

In effect, the Government have vetoed the GPA/GAA proposal while trying to slither into muddy waters before the election.

The GPA's reaction is bizarre. They read all sorts of positives into the rejection and stood square with the Minister whose position they described as being "wholly consistent with his position on the matter thus far".

Really?

Besides, didn't he reject the joint GPA/GAA submission, so why are the GPA so loyal to him?

All very confusing except for one gem of clarity - Minister O'Donoghue has done the state of sport some disservice on this and the Tallaght issue.

Martin Breheny

[owenabue]

Kerrygold, I'll will agree to disagree with you on this one I'd say. Success is all relative I suppose... Only two little questions, what about the players for the six counties? Also, should a senior hurler from Kerry be treated the same as a senior footballer?

[kerrygold]

well it seems now abue any forth coming funds from the government will be directly paid to the gaa to distribute out in some form or other.Thats proberly a good result for the players,it crreates an opportunity for the gaa and the county boards to put in a place a comprehensive exspenses scheme to composate players for loss of earnings and exspenses accurred while representing their counties,while also creating a proper well fare fund for injured players such as brian mcguigan.Hopefully now all sides can sit down and put the proper structures in place while protecting and securing the amtature status of the gaa.If it happens i think it will be a positive outcome for all parties,it remains to be seen though if the will is there to see it through.I think if they get it right it will keep county players happy for generations to come,its a massive opportunity now.

obviously the kerry hurler is going to incur the same amount of exspeses as a kerry footballer because of length of season etc,i hope it will be all index linked to time and exspense accured while representing your counrty team by the individual players concerned with obviously greater rewards for the higher levels of achievement etc.

i dont see what the problem would have been with players from the six counties if grants were paid out directly to players,i'm sure there would have been a loop hole there somewhere in the good friday agreement that could have be used under the cross border co-operation initative etc.

[owenabue]

All's well that ends well so I suppose. Players welfare should all be that's an issue really at the end of the day. Nobody wants anyone to suffer just for the sake of our enjoyment.

[kerrygold]

its proberly not ended yet,just starting i'd say!

[owenabue]

Well yes, they will be all promising us the sun, moon and stars for the next few weeks! Maybe it would also be a chance for the GAA to sit down and think about like what Joan said about retirement funds. (and injury ones as well)