Better late than never as GAA hardens stance

THE GAA has finally hardened its stance on sanctioning teams who violate the inter-county training ban after pressure from County Chairmen, most notably Offaly’s Michael Duignan, and lobbying from many club officials up and down the country.

Following a teleconference with County Chairmen which was chaired by GAA President John Horan and Director Gerneral Tom Ryan (pictured), there is now a real threat of competition expulsion, substantial fines and/or suspension of county managers and officials if the September 14th rule is breached.

Anecdotal evidence would suggest that lots of teams, both football and hurling, have been openly flouting the ban and continued to train, even up to last week.

The reasons for introducing separate club and inter-county seasons for 2020 were fairly straightforward and made perfect sense.

County Boards have a very short window to run off their club championships. To enable them prepare properly, clubs were to have sole access to their inter-county players until September 14th without interference from county managers.

All going well, club competitions would be completed on time and inter-county training would resume in mid September with the remaining National League games resuming on October 17th.

However, despite this Croke Park directive, inter-county training started back without question in many counties such is the power that some county managers wield.

The response from the GPA and their Chairman Paul Flynn was pretty poor and demonstrated how much the inter-county players body has lost touch with the club game and the plight of ordinary club players.

I think Flynn’s intentions were all about protecting his members but how can you on one hand say that no illicit training sessions should take place before the set date, but still look for the reinstatement of intercounty insurance cover just in case a session takes place?

Rather than such a contradictory message, all that was required was a simple directive to all GPA members to only train with your club until the September 14th deadline.

Anyway, hopefully all is now sorted and we can look forward to a great club season in August/September followed by a unique and exciting All Ireland Series in November/December.

Defending champions Dublin will be without star defender Jack McCaffrey in their bid for an unprecedented five in a row All-Ireland titles as the Clontarf man has withdrawn from Dessie Farrell’s squad.

There has been media speculation in recent months that some GAA players would decide not to go back into the inter-county bubble after the enforced break but McCaffrey is the most high profile to do so.

The flying wing back is a doctor currently working in St Luke’s Hospital in Kilkenny having formerly spent part of his training in the Lourdes Hospital in Drogheda.

His work in the medical field has obviously influenced his decision but in an interview last year he spoke about his wish to give more time to his club Clontarf. ‘I’m always embarrassed at going back to Clontarf how rarely I’m there and how little I give back to a club that has given me so much’.

Having played inter-county football for many seasons

I can empathise with how McCaffrey feels.

Back in my day there was way less time commitment demanded for the inter-county game but you still felt a sense of awkwardness returning to the club scene following a period of absence.

There is no doubt the absence of county players from the club environment diminishes the effectiveness and enjoyment for the entire club unit.

I recall Clans having eight or nine players involved in the county set-up during the mid-nineties but it was to the detriment of our other club players and the team as a whole.

We were an in-effective club unit during those mid-nineties championship campaigns despite having arguably the club’s strongest ever team on paper.

A healthy balance must somehow be found to marry the two together more successfully without using the inter-county players as pawns.

The club should always be at the centre in consideration or decision processes regarding the future of the Association.

It’s my opinion that we’ve drifted somewhat from that focal point in recent years which had been to the detriment of club players and clubs as a whole. The coronavirus pandemic, for all its ills, might just have prompted us all to slow down and take stock of what’s really important for the GAA’s future direction.

Some recalibration is required to ensure its continued success.