No reason for Duff to talk tough
THE GAA has certainly made itself a big target for criticism in recent weeks, though the opportunism of some in that respect has been distasteful.
Much of it was just noise on social media from people whose opinions don’t attract nor warrant much attention, but Damien Duff ’s outburst earlier this week certainly stood out.
Duff ’s frustration at the obstacles currently standing in the way of the Liam Miller tribute game being played at Pairc Ui Chaoimh is well founded and shared by the vast majority of the GAA’S membership.
But his labelling of the GAA’S leadership as “f ***** g dinosaurs” lacked class and did little to enhance public discourse around the issue.
Of the 100 caps that Duff won for Ireland, nine of them came at Croke Park.
Sean Kelly was the GAA president who drove the opening of headquarters and, while he may not be everyone’s cup of tea, you certainly couldn’t describe him in prehistoric terms.
All of Duff ’s other home international appearances were at Lansdowne Road and Thomond Park, rugby grounds first and foremost.
Not since the 1970s, when games started to drift out of Dalymount Park, has the FAI been able to stand on its own two feet in providing a ground capable of hosting major international matches.
Duff finished his career in the League of Ireland, which has been dogged yet again of late by stories of clubs in financial strife.
In the UEFA coefficient standings, the League of Ireland sits 38th, behind the likes of Moldova, Macedonia, Albania, Iceland and Liechtenstein.
The FAI stands accused of paying lip service to the League and in December 2016 had a hideous brand review presentation which, among other things, suggested that the scores of games be displayed at bus stops.
John Delaney, who has served as FAI chief executive since March 2005, has certainly had his critics over the course of all those years.
Listing these facts and observations is not intended as a sneer at the soccer fraternity.
It’s just that for all the issues that have undermined his own sport in this country, it’s difficult to remember
Duff calling any of them out as enthusiastically as he did with the GAA this week.
Since Delaney took office, the GAA has had six different presidents and is on its third director general.
Whatever Duff or anyone else thinks of the leadership, at least it is refreshed on a regular basis.
If anything, the GAA has suffered for being too radical for its own good in more recent times, with several decisions driving a wedge between Croke Park and the grassroots.
Not for the first time, the GAA has got tied up in its own bureaucracy.
Referencing legal advice as insulation against holding the Liam Miller game at Pairc Ui Chaoimh as opposed to using it to find a solution showed extremely poor judgement.
Of course, the GAA is entitled to use its grounds as it sees fit but while there may have been a time when being territorial served a purpose, it has long since passed.
GAA Congress franked how outdated it is in 2016 when 77 per cent voted against giving Central Council the discretion to open all county grounds to other sports.
It must be revisited in February to allow flexibility for, say, a Cork City-celtic Champions League qualifier or a Champions Cup quarter-final featuring Connacht at Pearse Stadium, rare events which the GAA would have nothing to be fearful of.
In the meantime, the sooner a solution is found to put a stop to the circus surrounding a grieving family, the better.