CONNACHT HELL
‘IF we do not stall the runaway train then many of our counties will not be financially viable, some will no longer compete at inter-county level and we will march blindfolded into a competitive structure whereby the AllIreland final will be played between franchised teams. Could you imagine the Connacht Warriors playing the Munster Rebels? It is time to rebalance our actions, confirm our amateur status and ensure that our culture and ethos is diverted away from elitism, which is leading us on a dangerous path.’
BACK in January, in his report to Connacht Council convention that read like a stateof-the-nation warning, fulltime secretary John Prenty didn’t foresee that it would take a pandemic to derail that runaway train.
That it would take a fastspreading global virus to put a focus on all of the above and raise very real questions about the viability of county teams.
To return the GAA to a shared sense of community to get through the toughest of times.
And to lead to a rebalancing of actions.
He’s heard Leitrim chairman Enda Stenson in this paper reveal the stark financial picture facing counties, particularly those without heavyweight blue-chip sponsors or a city business hub to tap into. How counties simply don’t have the finances to bankroll the scheduled return to inter-county training from September 14, and competitive league action from October 17 before any provincial and All-Ireland series in winter.
State funds have been promised – the Government has pledged a €40million war chest to be shared amongst the GAA, FAI and IRFU – but that money is needed promptly if it is to keep a tentative inter-county season on track.
Without Croke Park or Government assistance, counties won’t have the means to put out teams and cover the normal costs associated with training – from mileage expenses, to food, to medical bills. Especially not after the new Government restrictions, announced last night, that felt like a hammer blow to the GAA’s season. Any hopes counties had of generating finance via gate receipts were cruelly dashed with the decision that sports events have to take place behind closed doors. Streaming will only go so far for club championships.
And now the very resumption of inter-county action looks impractical – unless Government funding is going to be made available very quickly.
‘First of all, we have to wait and see what the health advice is, what kind of numbers we can have at a championship,’ says Prenty. ‘Because it’s going to cost counties a significant amount of money to play in a championship. In the next two or three weeks we’ll need to have a full decision where we’re going there.’
Right now, the new restrictions are in place until September 13, with the limit of 15 in any group training completely at odds with the 30 allowed in any match scenario. In fact, so much of the Government briefing was confusing and contradictory. What it all means? Prenty is blunt about whether any championship can happen without a quick injection of State funding – and that the GAA needs to get its fair share, and promptly. ‘From an Association point of view, we’ve been very responsible the last three or four months. Even since the lockdown came, with the way clubs have been looking after vulnerable people in their communities. I think we can be very proud of what they have done there,’ he says.
‘Now that we are in a situation where we don’t know where we are going to be financially, if we’re going to have a championship with crowds, I think the Government is going to have to step up to the mark and help out the counties and the clubs and the provinces and Croke Park.’
If that process doesn’t happen until the championship starts, it could well be too late for counties who literally don’t have the funds right now. ‘They don’t have the funds. We have to get some commitment in terms of where we’re going – a lot will depend on the number that can attend matches. If we have matches and no funds, and are only depending on the sponsorship that comes from the championship, plus whatever distribution of TV rights, there is going to be a major shortfall.
‘We would estimate it here in Connacht of €1.2million to €1.3million of a shortfall. And we’re the smallest of the provinces. Really, we’ve only four games – a quarter-final, two semifinals and a final. Now that’s if we have no crowds.
‘The other issue is that we may have a championship, have a start to it, and then have to go into a lockdown. That would be a major disaster altogether.’
John Prenty isn’t just a numbers man. He might be the Connacht Council’s long-time and full-time secretary but he is also invested on the ground at grassroots level. If there is one major positive out of the pandemic for the GAA, it’s that club activity is booming. He tells a story of his own club Ballyhaunis.
‘I got a great job managing a junior B team, that we didn’t have for the last ten years. We trained last night and it lashing rain and a crowd of fellas who were having great craic. They’re out a couple of nights a week, are getting three or four games, and they’re happy. We had 29 fellas training... That’s a complete knock-on of Covid because most of them are guys who work in Dublin but who are working from home now. So the happiest footballers in Ireland are the Ballyhaunis juniors.’
“We’ll need a decision in two to three weeks”
“29 fellas out training and they’re happy”