The role of president should be honorary
Director general should be the one planning GAA’s future direction
IN AN interview in 2007, Nickey Brennan talked about changing the role of GAA president. He was preparing for the third and final year of his term of office. ‘I want to see the role of president pushed back and into the country,’ said Brennan.
‘I don’t intend to have as much of an executive role and I believe that future presidents will have less of an executive role.’
It did not turn out that way. The presidency is a prestigious office in the GAA, and winning candidates are always determined to make their mark.
Whether this is the function of ego or a heartfelt desire to introduce meaningful transformation, it means that changes, often with significant and unforeseen consequences, come about at the behest of someone who is just passing through.
Rather than coming about from detailed study and consultations, changes can be driven through by a president who, however wellintended, should not have that much power vested in them.
A good example is the second-tier championship about to break across the football championship.
This is a passion of John Horan’s, and, for good or ill, it will forever be associated with him.
Yet no one knows if it will be a success, or even if there will be significant buy-in from the counties about to be affected by it.
The grounds on which Horan has proposed change are frankly uncertain. A GPA survey claimed there was backing among the players for a two-tier championship.
However, when the association was contacted at the time of the survey and asked how big was the sample size, and what were the finding among Division Three and Four players – those who will be consigned to second tier – no response was forthcoming.
Horan also muddled into a controversy with RTÉ about their championship coverage, claiming last May that ‘they are driven by nothing other than numbers on the actual television screen’.
This is relevant because coverage of the second-tier championship will go a long way towards determining its success or otherwise.
In fact at one point in the discussion at a special Congress last October that voted through the new plan, Horan revealed a message he received from the head of sport in RTÉ, which, he claimed, indicated that the national broadcaster would be providing coverage of the new competition. It all sounded makeshift and frankly unconvincing, and in a media world of shrinking budgets and thinning resources, extensive coverage of what is a consolation competition should not be assumed.
This is all a consequence of a championship reform that is being driven by a president.
Were it, instead, the product of widespread discussion and had extensive surveys of the players – those most affected by it in particular – been taken, then it would be easier to believe it has a chance of succeeding.
Páraic Duffy was director general of the GAA at the time of Nickey Brennan’s comments 12 and a half years ago.
He was asked at the time about what the president had said.
‘I agree completely with him that the president’s role should be more of an overview,’ said Duffy. ‘He’s the chairman of the board and the executive report to him.’ Brennan’s ambitions were well-directed, but the status of president has not changed.
It is why the race to succeed John Horan will be the single-most analysed aspect ahead of the Congress that starts in 12 days’ time.
Congress itself is often spoken of as a decision-making body that is in desperate need of reform, but how executive power is wielded within the association is just as important a consideration.
Tom Ryan’s annual report this week was the work of a director general who recognises the challenges that confront the GAA.
In his public pronouncements, Ryan has come across as considered and well-informed, and some of his interventions have been unfussy but decisive.
However, the point is we do not see enough of Ryan. Sports administration can be a dry and very sober business, but sometimes the men in suits need to be out in front. And it should be Ryan, not John Horan or whoever succeeds him, who points the way for the GAA.
The director general serves a seven-year term, and that is a span of time in which policies can be discussed, plotted and enforced.
The holder of the position is expected to be appointed after a thorough interview process in which their credentials are stress-tested.
The presidency is a glorified popularity contract, in which horsetrading and back-slapping are premium requirements.
And that is not how a modern, ambitious and focused sporting organisation should do its business.
That is why the politicking of the coming week and a half should be regarded with a jaundiced eye.
For if being president of the GAA is an honour, its role should be strictly honorary.
‘I AGREE THAT PRESIDENT’S ROLE SHOULD BE MORE OF AN OVERVIEW’