QUESTIONS REMAIN AT THE END OF FLYNN’S REIGN
GPA chief leaves as training furore rumbles on
PAUL FLYNN has left the building. There will be no encore. Last week, the chief executive of the Gaelic Players Association departed after one of the most turbulent months of his reign, when the breaking of public health restrictions on collective training became front and back page news.
His leaving was first flagged in January when the announcement came that he was stepping down to pursue a new business opportunity. He had been in the role since September 2018.
On the field, Flynn had a glittering career, winning six All-Ireland medals and four All-Stars as he became the epitome of the modern wing-forward and a key player in the Dublin success story.
As GPA CEO, he helped oversee the milestone merger with the Women’s Gaelic Players Association and set up the transitional committee that has Mayo’s Tom Parsons currently as chair.
There was also the agreement of a new four-year protocol with Croke Park last November, a deal which saw the GPA retain a 15 per cent share of the GAA’s net commercial revenue — though there is no longer a minimum guarantee of €2.5million per year to the players’ body.
The recent fallout leaves plenty of questions to be answered about the legacy of his reign.
First in the dock were Dublin — nine players photographed training under the supervision of a coach at Innisfails GAA club, which prompted a 12-week ban for Dessie Farrell.
Then came the further bombshell. A dossier was sent anonymously to a national newspaper, and the Minister for Justice, containing images of a Monaghan training session in Corduff that appeared to involve as many as 40 players and coaches.
Monaghan can expect at least a 12-week ban for manager Seamus ‘Banty’ McEnaney as the GAA complete their own probe.
For a body that has long championed player welfare, the issue of players being asked to train during a pandemic is arguably the ultimate player welfare issue.
Speculation around county teams flouting guidelines date back to last summer when the GAA had to issue a public crackdown to protect the club training window. Meanwhile, the GPA sought to have the injury benefit scheme restored for inter-county players, even if the training sessions were in breach of guidelines.
The GPA have a representative in every dressing room. They are better placed than anyone to know the detail of what is buzzing in the WhatsApp groups of county teams.
Yet it’s taken a photographer and a dossier to create a minor national scandal and do damage to the reputations of so many members that the GPA represents, inter-county teams as a whole, and the GAA on a national scale. How did it come to this? Last summer they rightly pointed out that this issue should be policed primarily by individual county boards.
But how do they feel about the reputation of the GAA being tarnished nationally — not to mention the reputation of their own members, particularly in Dublin and Monaghan, and also Cork and Down?
In response to questions from the Irish Mail on Sunday, the GPA released a short statement to the paper last weekend: ‘The GPA also put in place a Confidential Disclosure Platform late last year to monitor compliance with the closed season ahead of 2021 which is also being used to allow for reporting of Covid protocol breaches of any kind.
‘Breaches have been reported to this platform and followed up on. Given the platform is confidential and to ensure players feel they can utilise it, we will not be making any of the details public.’
That short statement raises questions. Like what breaches? Were Dublin and Monaghan among the inter-county breaches reported? What action did the players body take in response to the knowledge of breaches?
In response to further questions from this reporter, the GPA refused to comment.
‘The GPA has not reported any
“His departure was flagged in January”
“Did they know about further rule breaches?
breaches of training to the GAA,’ confirmed Croke Park Director of Communications Alan Milton. So what did the GPA mean when they say they have been followed up on? The veil of silence hardly helps in terms of accountability or transparency. Former Antrim hurling captain Ciarán Barr, the GPA’s head of finance and operations, has picked up the baton from Flynn on a temporary basis. More than a few questions linger. What is the point of a confidential helpline if it acts like a strange type of non-disclosure agreement? Could the GPA have shown more leadership to avoid the fall-out, especially with intercounty players allowed to return to collective training from Monday? As the season is mapped out and players get ready to return to collective training from Monday, too many questions remain.