Tralee GAA stars clash on giving pitches to soccer

January 1992

THERE was a distinct divergence of views among some leading Tralee sportsmen this week in the wake of Sunday’s decision by the Kerry GAA Convention to endorse a motion from the Tarbert Club which seeks to open up major GAA grounds around the country to other sports including, soccer and rugby.

Two former All-IreIand winning Kerry captains hold opposite views on the hot potato topic which has .landed on the doorstep of Croke Park; Ger Power, Kerry star of the ‘1970s and ‘80s favours. the idea of renting out GAA grounds, for soccer matches while Kerry’s winning captain in 1955, John Bowling, is against the idea.

Ger Power felt it was a great idea especially in relation to a, community where there is only one pitch available.

“This thing is going on too long especially where Croke Park is concerned,” said the Austin Stacks man.

“If you take big soccer competitions and consider major centres like Limerick, Dublin and Cork, there is revenue to be picked up. Take a, situation say where you have Cork playing a European team.”

But Power feels that we’ll have to wait and see until such a policy is implemented.

“It’s like the old sponsorship issue within the GAA,” he added.

“For two or three years there was war over it. Now it’s only a matter of fact. We will have to change.”

Meanwhile, John Bowling is of the opinion that too much use is already being made of GAA, grounds to permit them, being used, for any other sport.

“I am completely against it but I want to emphasise that, I have no objection to soccer, none whatsoever.

“Take our own pitch in Strand Road, we had eight matches played there within seven days recently.

“How could we give it to anyone else? The Strand Road pitch is used all the time for schools football. Where are we going to fit them in?”

Dowling said he did not agree with the idea of major GAA grounds being used for soccer.

“But I wouldn’t mind the GAA making a present, of one of our leading pitches, to soccer as a gesture...”

Meanwhile, Mike Houlihan, the man who succeeded in getting the Tarbert motion through at convention, was inundated, all, week with telephone calls from all round, the country congratulating him on his triumph.

“To be honest, we did not expect to get the motion passed,” he told The Kerryman.

“We have moved on in other areas of GAA so why not this?”