Galvin switch highlights an old problem

THE story that Paul Galvin could join Dublin club St Oliver Plunkett Eoghan Ruadh is diverting. It is January, after all – and even at 37, the sporting movements of a figure as interesting as Galvin make news.

One of the points made in the story is that Galvin, pictured, will join forces with the Brogan brothers – and the effects this could have on the team are mentioned. If playing with one of the most talented sets of siblings in football is motivating Galvin, he is in for a disappointment.

He will know well, though, that – like any other dutiful club player – he should not expect to see the team’s county stars until deep into the autumn.

With the exception of those clubs preparing for the All-Ireland series, teams around Ireland bade adieu to their star men at the end of 2016, resigned to the fact that they will be absorbed by the grinding machinery of the inter-county game. Most clubs only got their county men back last June at the earliest. The winter and spring are spent seconded to the county on preseason and National League duty, before summer blooms and the Championships beguile us. And all the time, club players grow frustrated and the connections between them and their famous brethren get more stretched.

The official launch of the Club Players’ Association takes place next week. Their chances of success must be questioned, given the profile and money generated by the Championships in hurling and football, but these advocates deserve to be heard.