No regrets from Alan, who almost signed for Rovers
IREAD, with dread, an item in the Irish Examiner regarding Cork GAA’s decision to ban the media from its county committee meetings this year.
Cork GAA issued a statement on Friday last. It said: “As the agenda for County Committee has been reframed in 2024 to allow more open and transparent engagement with clubs, it is no longer appropriate for the media to attend.”
This is a worrying development. Even if nothing untoward happens at a GAA County Board’s monthly meeting, these events should still be open to the media.
There are some in the GAA who’ll say – with some justification – that the media’s antennae only start twitching when there’s controversy afoot. That’s true. But often the threat of negative coverage or the very fact that tough questions will be asked is the one thing that deters GAA committees from making a mess (or trying to cover up a mess).
Those defending Cork GAA’s actions will also point out that Central Council meetings are held in-camera, with bulletins issued afterwards.
I have yet to ascertain if Sligo GAA are happy to have yours truly appear at their monthly gatherings. I hope that I would be able to attend such meetings, if the scheduling allows, even if the minutiate are another form of paint drying.
It is always interesting to see GAA administrators at work, how executive committee members interact with grassroots and how club delegates act. Meetings are a different environment from matches and certain individuals thrive in this type of cut and thrust.
I recall going to a particular Sligo GAA County Board meeting where the county’s dire financial situation (at that time) was up for discussion. Having found a seat, readied my notebook and pen and turned the phone to silent mode, I was then ejected. No media allowed. It was embarrassing. Not for myself but for the then executive committee who, by telling me that I couldn’t be there, immediately suggested that tasty titbits were about to be unveiled.
SINCE Sligo Rovers was founded – back in 1928 – they’ve been represented by thousands of players. Of these, a privileged percentage of those have been (a) local and (b) staunch fans of the Bit O’Red.
It made for poignant listening last Sunday, therefore, as Sligo native Alan Cawley, a Rovers man through and through, outlined how he came this close to signing for his hometown club.
Speaking on Sunday Sport on RTÉ Radio 1, the former soccer professional told how he agreed to join Rovers, then managed by Paul Cook, for the 2009 season.
But a lack of paperwork led to a U-turn by the midfielder who signed for Leeds United as a teenager but never progressed to the first team at Elland Road.
Cawley, speaking to Sunday Sport presenters Damien O’Meara and Marie Crowe, said: “The discussion got to the point where they [Sligo Rovers] wanted me to sign. So I went down [to Sligo], met him [Cook], agreed terms and all that kind of stuff. We shook hands on a deal.
“They were at fault in the sense that when I shook hands on the deal – when I was down there to sign on that day – there was no contract there to be signed.”
He continued: “They more or less said, ‘we’ve agreed everything, come back down during the week and we’ll sign it [the contract].”
But Cawley then stated then he had a change of heart after getting a call from St Patrick’s Athletic, the club that he did join that year – with the Dublin outfit offering him “a better deal”.
There was no sense of regret from Cawley, who played for an array of clubs in the League of Ireland, including UCD, Shelbourne, Longford Town, Waterford United, Bray Wanderers, the aforementioned St Pat’s and Dundalk.
He won a League of Ireland Men’s Premier Division with Shelbourne and also got capped at underage level with the Republic of Ireland. Still, you’d wonder if – one day – the now 42-year-old will reflect and wonder what it would have been like to step out onto the hallowed ground of The Showgrounds, be enveloped and enthused by the home crowd’s roar and then inspire a victory. He added: “Because they are my team I probably would have loved a year or two with them. It’s my hometown, my place. I still want to see them do well.
“I had a lot of friends playing with them at the time. It would have been nice... but there’s no sentiment in football.”
A proficient performer, Cawley wouldn’t have look out of place in the very good squads that Paul Cook assembled, a group that progressed (with additions) to become national winners during Rovers’ golden spell.
The closest thing to Cawley in the present Rovers first team is local midfielder Kailin Barlow, a former Merville United star who is an example of how Sligo talent can make it on Church Hill.
Cawley has become a respected soccer pundit on RTÉ and, with him wearing his Rovers heart on his suited sleeve, he has never forgotten his roots. It is just a pity that he never played for Rovers.
Cawley’s revelations followed a segment on Seamus Coleman, the ex-Rovers player who has become a legend at Everton and the English club’s all-time record Premier League appearance holder.