Éire Óg appeal to D.R.A.

C.A.C. report says club were ‘misdirected’

ÉIRE ÓG GREYSTONES GAA CLUB are taking their case regarding this year’s Minor football championship to the Disputes Resolution Authority (D.R.A.) after their recent appeal to the Central Appeals Committee was lost.

The Greystones club are taking the case in an attempt to ‘maintain the integrity’ of the Minor football championship after both they and Bray Emmets were dumped out of the competition when score difference was found to apply despite clubs being informed at a meeting with Wicklow Coiste na nÓg and members of the executive committee at the beginning of the season that score difference would not be a factor in determining the outcome of the latter stages.

The issue arose at the end of the group stages of the competition when Éire Óg Greystones and Rathnew finished level on points. Éire Óg and Bray Emmets believed that a play-off would ensue but Rathnew pointed out that according to the GAA rulebook, score difference did, in fact, apply and, following an appeal to the Wicklow C.C.C., and subsequently to Leinster Council, the Rathnew team went straight through to the final against Baltinglass.

In their report on the matter, the Central Appeals Committee declared that while they do not ‘necessarily disagree with anything submitted by the Appellant (Éire Óg) in their written appeal, but in so agreeing we find, however harshly, that we have no mechanism available to us in rule to cure their complaint’.

The C.A.C. reported that the processing of matters within Wicklow was ‘somewhat unsatisfactory’ in that:

1. Regulation adopted in advance of the Competition provided for the use of play-offs in the event of a tie, which created a reasonable expectation on behalf of the players and management of the U17 team in question.

2. There was misdirection by the Wicklow Management Committee to the Appellant as to where any appeal on the matter should be pursued.

3. The Decision-Maker did not defend their decision before the

Wicklow Hearings Committee.

The C.A.C. state in their report that the appeal by Éire Óg Greystones to Leinster Council was lost because the club had been informed by Wicklow Management Committee that they had to appeal it to the Wicklow Hearings Committee which left Leinster with no choice but to decline to hear the appeal as the ‘appellant had already exercised their right of one appeal in accordance with Rule 7.11 (a).’

However, Wicklow County Chairman Martin Fitzgerald responded to the charge that there was ‘misdirection’ by the Wicklow Management Committee by stating that they had sought direction as to where the case should be heard and that it was Leinster Council who directed that it be held in Wicklow first. The County Chairman says that the Wicklow Management Committee has correspondence to prove that.

The County Chairman also stated that an email was sent by the Wicklow county secretary to the juvenile secretary of the Éire Óg Greystones GAA Club directing them to appeal the matter to Leinster.

Dr. Brendan Cuddihy said if the county secretary said that an email was sent to his club then he had no doubt that it was and that he had no issue with the county secretary. He also said that the Éire Óg club were ultimately directed to attend a meeting in Wicklow and that’s what they did.

‘Are we to be punished for following that instruction?’ he asked.

The charge of the Decision-Maker not defending their decision before the Wicklow Hearings Committee was put to Coiste na nóg Chairman Pat Dunne who replied that they did attend the meeting and that they did defend it, and he said he was informed on the night that it was a strange case where ‘both the prosecution and defense attorney all sided with the defendant but that the judge found against him’.

‘We are proceeding to the D.R.A.,’ said Éire Óg’s Dr. Brendan

Cuddihy. ‘We believe we have grounds for an appeal. The light is still on in that regard. This is not a case of old men arguing with each other. This is about the integrity of a competition for 17-year-old footballers. We’re pursuing this for no other reason than to maintain the integrity of the competition,’ he added.

Dr. Cuddihy added that neither he nor the Éire Óg club had any issue whatsoever with Pat Dunne, Katrina Byrne, Hugh Kenny or the county secretary, Chris O’Connor.

County Chairman Martin Fitzgerald said that he had not read the report from the C.A.C. fully but that he would make further comment when he had done so.